By Donna Chapman
Bright summer weather has a detrimental effect on your hair. Lunch hours spent on the roof terrace or in the park; cycling to work, softball matches, picnics, lounging around at the local lido, will all leave their mark as exposure to intense sunlight breaks down hair's protein structure and depletes natural oils and moisture levels reducing elasticity and increasing fragility. Therefore achieving hot looking hair during a heat wave requires effort, if you really want to pull off the effortlessly gorgeous look.
The right shampoo for your hair type is key at this time of the year, when dry hair becomes dryer, oily roots oilier, and flat hair flatter. Sassoon Professional Luxuriant Clean, £11.50, www.sassoon.com, gently cleanses and injects moisture into sun-parched locks. If you're saving your pennies for a dream holiday, Alberto Balsam shampoos, 99p each, deliver a variety of attractive floral and fruity fixes for seven different hair types. Control greasy roots with Batiste Tropical Dry Shampoo, £1.99, 01484 536 344, a between washes lifesaver for social butterflies with overactive scalps.
Baked, thirsty tresses crave moisture. Regular conditioning treatments will prevent hair becoming frazzled. We like Davines Su Maschera Replenishing Protective Mask, £16, www.davines.com 020 7663 8080, Indola Innova Glamour Crystal Hair Mask, £7.99, www.indola.com, and Richard Ward Ultimate Repair Treatment Mask, £4.49, Superdrug. Avoid overloading fine or flat hair by switching to a leave-in spray. Schwarzkopf Professional SEAH HAIRSPA Ocean Mineral Spritz, £13.50, 01296 314000, moisturises and adds body without weighing down locks.
Bright here bright now
Chemical colour suffers just like condition, with fade and brassy tones more or less inevitable for the alfresco crowd. Tints of Nature Shampoo, £4.95, and Seal & Shine Conditioner, £5.95, call 01590 613490, contain natural UV filters including sunflower extract, and work in tandem to protect against the bleaching effects of sunlight and pollution. TRESemmé Colour Thrive shampoos and conditioners, £4.99 each, with Fade Defy Technology prolong the life of colour treated blonde and brunette hair. For red tones, the worst affected by sun exposure, the John Frieda Radiant Red collection will help to keep things rosy.
Down time
With summer in full bloom, polished femininity swings sharply into focus, with a wardrobe of hairstyles to complement your capsule collection of pretty prints and luxe linens a must. "Celebrate summer by investing in some good old fashioned rollers and hairnet," says award winning Tina Farey of award winning salon group, Rush, www.rush.co.uk. "Desist with the styling irons and instead set hair to create volume, hold and movement. Simply place the rollers in wet hair prepped with mousse and allow to fully dry. Remove and gently comb through. Your hair will then explode into Hollywood glam."
Up-dos with urban chic
Creating a ponytail with verve demands volume. Don't fixate on a super sleek blow-dry as when tied back the results can look disappointingly lacklustre. Instead prep hair with a volumising mousse such as Intercosmo Blow-Up Mousse, £6.95, 020 8399 5624, and distribute evenly from roots to tips. Introduce a defined side parting if you have a grown out fringe, an off-centre one if you don't, or dispense with a fringe altogether by vigorously blow-drying hair back from the face using a paddle brush. Really simple styling tricks, such as plaiting the top of your tail and adding a second elastic further down, will look like you've gone to town. If there's the opportunity for ‘deskapades' such as drinks with the office Romeo take the look up a notch with an elevated crown, Goody's So Fresh Comb & Lift Combo, £2.99, www.goody.com, is brilliant for big time teasing Sixties style. You can apply this trick to the actual ends of the ponytail too if you want to make your look more directional.
Better half
Working the city castaway look can be inappropriate for career girls, but you can still subtly work the vacation vibe with a half-up, half down style beloved by the Hollywood elite when working the relaxed red carpet vibe. Sweep the front section of hair back off the face from the hairline and combine it in a ponytail with a generous section of hair taken from either side of the face to create a structured framework and leave the rest of the hair in loose waves.
Tied up in knots
Dividing long hair into two ponytails one above the other provides plenty of scope for experiment with loops, twists, and knots, but for staying power ‘second day' hair is best. Reinvent the classic chignon, by using a side ponytail as your starting point and create a quirky bit on the side. Freeze any hair handiwork with Charles Worthington Salon Shine results Maximum Hold Hairspray, £4.99, for all day humidity resistance.
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