How To...Use a Beach or Ocean Spray: Hint, it's not just for the beach

Summer is officially here!  We've had 80 degree days and it's past June 21st!  That means beach spray, sometimes called ocean or salt spray, is having its moment.  According to Allure Magazine, ocean spray started before the Emmy Awards in 2000 when Jennifer Aniston's hair stylist filled a bottle with water from the ocean and spritzed it in her hair.  But now, even if you're not near the ocean or spending the whole day at the beach you head to your local beauty salon and grab a bottle of beach spray for yourself!  Not sure how to use it?  Don't fret, read this blog to get you going!  Here are some tips for using beach spray:

• First thing is first: beach spray is not JUST for applying at the beach.  Sure, you can use it to freshen up your locks if you're on the beach, but you can use it anytime, all year long.
• Apply it on damp or dry hair and scrunch it with your fingers.  Pair it with a great bodifying mousse for extra oomph.
• For curl or wave challenged ladies, dry your hair for a few minutes with a hair dryer fitted with a diffuser to bring out the curls.  Flip your head over so your hair is upside down for part of the drying time.
• If you want a little extra texture, after it dries pull a dab of sunscreen through the length of your hair.  "You're basically faking what happens to you at the beach," says Jennifer Aniston's hair stylist Chris McMillan.
• Mess up your part and let waves take their natural shape to really mimic the beach look.  You can also pull your hair into two uber low pony tails for an unkempt, yet playful look.

My favorite beach spray - okay, confession...the only I've used, but I love it - is Sexy Hair's Soy Renewal Beach Spray (read all about my first time in this "I tried it" here.) You can use it wet or dry and it adds texture without getting sticky.  Bonus?  It comes in a small, travel size bottle too - perfect for touch ups.

What's your favorite beach spray?

3 Ways to Use Hair Oils

Photo credit

If you're like me, when you first saw hair oils in the beauty aisle you just skipped over them because you didn't know how to use them.  But after getting to know argan oil, it's really nothing to be afraid of.    Moroccan Oil was the first to burst on the scene and gain popularity, so a lot of people are using it or an argan oil.  If you just know people who use oils, change that and try a bottle today.


Here are three easy ways you can use a hair oil today:

1.  As a Leave-In Conditioner
As long as your oil contains argan, jojoba, olive, or sunflower, it's going to be hydrating.  A little goes a long way though, so two or three small drops will do you.  Run it through the length of your damp hair and then style as usual.  If your ends need a little extra tlc, you can rub an extra drop over the bottoms.
2.  As a Protectant
If you're undergoing a hair repair challenge (like I did earlier this year), you'll want to protect your strands as much as possible.  Slick on a little hair oil before taking a dip in a pool!  It will create a thin barrier that protects your hair from uber-drying chlorine.
3.   As a Shine Enhancer
Love shiny locks?  Oil will make your hair a little healthier and a little shinier.  Jojoba oil is said to be the best at creating shine as it contains the same lipids as your scalp's natural oils, so it can create a natural, healthy looking sheen.

If you're not sure what oil to start with, check out this blog by Beautylish that breaks down oils by hair type.

Other things oils can do?  Hydrate skin, calm redness, and treat acne.  Try creating a sugar scrub with an olive or grapeseed oil, sugar, and lemon juice.  You won't believe how smooth your skin will be when you rub it off.

Have you tried and loved any oils for your hair or otherwise?

4 Ways to Beat Summer Hair Frizz

Warm summer nights, longer days, al fresco dinning, frizzy hair...one of these things doesn't have to be involved in your summer!  Try these tricks for maintaining frizz-free summer hair.

• Always apply anti-frizz: There are some wonderful anti-frizz products out there, so slather some on after you get out of the shower and before you dry or style.  Oils like argan or Moroccan also can help smooth your hair strand and strengthen your locks.  Always apply anti-frizz products on damp hair whether you're letting it dry naturally or using heat.
• Blow-dry down: After using a heat protectant spray, angle the blow dryer down towards the ends of your strands instead of up.
• Embrace your natural texture: When all else fails, just go with it.  If your hair gets frizzy and wavy when it's humid and you try to straighten it, spritz in some curl spray and go for that wavy, unkempt look.  
• Create an updo: If your hair just isn't working, save yourself the stress and pull it into a messy ballerina bun (like this one, tips here).  Or try two low, messy pigtails.  If you keep them low, pony tail elastic at or below your ears, you'll look grown-up instead of girly.

How do you beat summer frizz?

Photo from: No More Dirty Looks Blog

Duck Bill Clips for Healthy Curls

Perfect for summer...a curled style that doesn't require a hot curling iron!  You know those silver clips the hair salon always uses?  If you head to your nearest Sally Beauty Supply or beauty store, you can grab a package for yourself and create stress free curls for your hair.  If you set them damp and let them air dry, you'll get a casual and cool look or old hollywood style finger waves.  Give it a try, following these three simple steps from Self Magazine.

For Casually Cool strands

1. Mist clean, damp hair with a salt-based texturizing spray to get that full, rumpled look and to keep strands from falling flat, says Jen Atkin, a stylist for Clear Hair in Los Angeles.

2. Lift top sections, spritzing underneath at the roots. This gives hair "windblown" body without the help of actual wind.

3. Secure hair in two low pigtails. Divide each in half and twist the two pieces around each other, tying ends. Wind; pin twists against head. (Check out this picture at the right -- this is how your mane should look. Tip: Try securing strands with fabric hair bands, which won't leave weird ridges.) When hair's dry, unravel and run fingers through it.

For an old hollywood feel, follow these three steps:

1.  Rub a quarter-sized blog of medium hold hair gel between your hands, then rake fingers through damp strands, starting an inch below roots and pulling to ends.  Create a side part.

2.  Twist 3-4 inch sections of hair around your index finger, pinning coils to your head with duckbill clips until all your hair is up.

3.  Let hair air-dry, then remove the clips and "brush" through the coils with your fingers, pulling gently to loosen the curls.