Best Way to Do Hairstyling at Home

Modern hairstyles are easy to wear and effortless to achieve. Equipped with the right tools, styling products and experts’ tricks of the trade, you can look like you’ve just stepped out of the salon.

The right haircut

Nothing looks quite as good as a sharp, new haircut, and once your hair has been cut into a distinctive style, home maintenance becomes effortless. Before you take the plunge with a new hairstyle, however, make sure that your hairdresser explains its upkeep and the approximate styling time that it will take in order to recreate the look at home. Maintain the shape of your style by having your hair trimmed every four to six weeks – this way it is less likely to behave temperamentally.

Remember that the most successful hairstyles work well when they suit the hair type. Desperately trying to dry your Pre-Raphaelite curls poker-straight every day will cause you endless frustration, damage your hair and make you late for work. It’s pointless having a salon ‘do’ that takes hours to style when all you want to do each day is wash ‘n’ go!

A guide to styling products

Confused by the labyrinth of rows upon rows of styling products? Here’s a guide to the different types of styling products currently available and a run-down on the looks that each can achieve.

Mousse defines curl and boosts the volume of fine, fly-away hair. Serum/silicone smooths, imparts shine, improves condition, defrizzes and controls fly-away hair. Styling spray thickens, boosts volume, straightens, aids styling and holds hair in place. Gel is most suitable for sculpting and holding a short hairstyle. Some straightening products also come in gel form. Wax smoothes and tames hair and is often used to give hair a wet, slicked-back look. Pomades and grooming creams achieve similar results. Hair-protectors shield hair from the damage caused by blow-drying and heated appliances. Hairspray holds hair in place but, too much of the stuff and you’ll end up with hair as stiff as cardboard. However, for styles that easily lose their shape, a light misting of hairspray once the hair is dry will help hold the style for longer.

Tools of the trade

• Blow-dryers should have three heat settings (including a cool setting) and two speeds. To avoid frying hair, hold the hairdryer at least six inches away from your hair and, on the medium or cool setting, rough-dry your hair until it is about eighty per cent dry before you attempt to style it (make sure that you keep the air stream moving). Now style your hair with a brush until it is completely dry. (If your hair is slightly damp the style will drop, but take care that you don’t overdry it.)
• Diffuser attachments disperse the air through little jets and are great for preventing frizz and introducing root lift when used on curly hair.
• Blow-dryers with built-in stylers blow out a jet of hot air and are useful for adding volume and flipping up or curling under ends.
• Straightening irons and crimpers have heated metal plates that either iron out any waves and kinks or, using a crimped-iron attachment, add lots of little waves to the hair. To avoid damage, run the iron swiftly through the hair or hold it for the minimum amount of time. You can also use these tools to crimp or straighten the loose ends of ‘hair-up-dos’.
• Curling tongs are useful as a quick fix, to flip up or curl under ends, or to curl the tendrils around your face when wearing hair up.

• Hot brushes achieve a similar affect to tongs, but their wands are covered in brush-like spikes.
• Heated rollers are useful if you want to create various size curls or volume at the roots and crown. However, they can damage your hair, so if you own the traditional, plastic spiked type, place a piece of tissue around each roller before winding your hair round it. Even better, buy the more hair-friendly rubber or steam rollers.
• Velcro rollers are favoured by many hairstylists. They are self-grip, come in all sizes and do not damage the hair with heat. Use them to achieve volume or curl; a couple of extra-large ones will help smooth out and straighten your hair.