Subtle beats full-on when it comes to the red-carpet roll-call. Charlize, Cameron, Renée, Kylie and Co. perfectly demonstrate that it's not always necessary to go down the dramatic restyle route to be the catalyst for a hot new hair trend. You, too, can play it safe yet significant with subtle ways to revitalise your hairdo for 2005, without going for a Sophie Anderton post-jungle-style revamp to get yourself noticed.
For instance, there are lots of ways to work that parting. If you're a stuck-in-the-middle type, switch to wearing it on the side and vice versa. A zig-zag parting is funky and looks like you've made an effort. A fringe is also a relatively painless way to change your look without altering your basic cut. This season, fringes should be worn freestyle - natural and full of movement rather than tamed with straighteners or products. Think Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley. If you do favour a sleeker finish in the manner of Beyoncé, use a hot brush or straighteners to create a kick through the ends.
If you haven't done so already, liberate yourself from your straightening irons and learn to love your hair's natural texture. The trend for 'naked' hair - sexy and natural-looking with plenty of freedom and movement - continues. Forget precision grooming tools and time-consuming styling techniques; streamline your must-haves to hands, hairdryer, texturiser or shine enhancer and free your inner 'festival flower child'. Swap your habitual ponytail for a half-up style, as seen on the majority of summer catwalks, or get creative by tying your hair back and creating a low-maintenance up-do. Coil into a chignon at the nape of the neck, invest in a Gwen Stefani-type net snood or create a side bun - a hip new look explored by Jennifer Aniston - by brushing hair into a side ponytail and coiling or looping the ends into place. Secure with grips and lashings of hairspray.
Volume, from big and Bardot-esque to boho waves, quiffs, twists and texture is a highly fashionable option depending on how much hair you have to work with in the first place. Dust off your diffuser, track down your tail-comb and invest in volumising products and you can transform your locks without going anywhere near a pair of scissors. Get your hands on Sexy Hair Concepts Big Sexy Hair What A Tease Backcomb In A Bottle, £14.50, call 020 8381 7793, Fudge's Oompf Booster, £7.95, www.fudge.com or Richard Ward Mess Head Moulding Paste, £3.49, Tesco. The idea is to create height, not width. If you fancy a head full of curls for a limited time only check out your options in-salon. Wella Innowave creates beautiful, natural-looking curls for approximately two to three months from £40. For your nearest salon visit www.salonfinder.co.uk and L'Oréal Professionnel's Soft Wave is gentle enough to be used on coloured or highlighted hair, with effects lasting an average of six weeks (call 0800 0726699).
Colour can breathe new life into your 'signature style' and create as much or as little impact as you wish. Among the A-listers, brunette is currently the new blonde and intense, chocolatey shades favoured by the likes of Renée Zellweger and Reese Witherspoon will remain hot until summer. Botanics Semi-Permanent Hair Colour, £3.79, Boots, in Bitter Chocolate can transform mouse or mid-brunette into brown-black vamp. There's also a permanent version if you like what you see. Dark tones can be broken up and softened with random blonde or caramel highlights around the face and crown area to reflect the light if you're nervous of looking washed out. If you want to remain or become blonde, cool smoky shades will create a stronger-looking complexion and are more flattering at this time of year than golden tones. Temporary colour is an ideal format to experiment with and the results fade away after a number of washes. There's also a real vogue for having a flash of fashion colour incorporated into your base shade. Rather than going for the whole Sharon Osbourne effect, restricting it to a small area - a stripe, coloured tips, section of fringe etc - will give an otherwise conventional style the X-factor, and many salons offer this service at very reasonable prices.
