Paired with an evening dress or a tee and jeans, this sexy style is both casual and formal – there’s something so effortlessly casual yet elegant about sleek straight hair. I also love how it really shows off your face and frames it simply.
And the best thing is, whatever your hair texture, you can try this style in 5 steps. Though it does take some time (especially when flat ironing each section), you can memorize these steps easily and it will get easier once you get the hang of it with more practice.
What you need:
This hairstyle looks simple enough, but you will need some products and tools:
- blow-dryer
- paddle brush
- flat iron
- heat-protective serum
- leave in conditioner
- shine spray (optional)
What to do:
1. First things first, though many ‘messy’ hairstyles require slightly dirty hair, this style does not – you’ll need completely clean hair for this hairstyle.
Start by washing and conditioning your hair; and then towel-dry your hair until it’s damp.
2. Next, it’s very important to keep your hair healthy. Comb in a dollop of heat-protective serum with a wide tooth comb. (Using a wide tooth comb will not damaged hair, which is more fragile and prone to damage while wet.)
3. The next step is to blow-dry your hair. While flipping your head upside down may be a great trick for volume, the style this time around is to get it as sleek straight as possible, so ignore that trick. Blow dry your hair from root to tip, ‘flat’ down, and just aim your blow-dryer downwards so make your hair go straight. Blow-drying it straight down also prevent fly-aways.
4. After blow-drying your hair straight, it’s time to make it extra sleek. Grab your flat iron and take one inch pieces at a time and flat iron it. I say one each because one-inch pieces are smaller chunks, and therefore are easier to style – plus. the heat will penetrate better and it will last longer.
5. Last but not least, use some light weight leave-in conditioner to keep your hair looking and feeling smooth and soft. Some great leave in conditioners I’d recommend are Redken’s Extreme Anti Snap and Asience’s Essense Lotion. If you want some crazy shine, a spritz of shine spray would help greatly.
Extra Tips:
- Don’t use barrettes or bobby pins when styling your hair this way. When doing 1 inch chunks, push it behind your ear or leave it alone. Clipping your straightened sections with clips can leave in dents on your sleek straight hair.
- When you’re done blow-drying, you can use the cool setting and blow your hair with cool air, which will prevent frizz.
- To make this style last as long as possible, try sleeping on a smooth satin pillow, or put a silk scarf over your pillow when sleeping. This will prevent fuzzing and messing up your hair.
What do you think of this hairstyle? Do you try this hairstyle regularly? If you have any more tips or product recommendations (especially with the tools – I don’t know what’s good!) please do add them in the comments below. 
Images: Megan Fox for Cosmopolitan
Anyone who grew up playing with My Little Pony will know that pastel colors were the it thing, baby. And it seems now, a decade later, we are no longer playing with them, but rather getting fashion inspiration from them! (I don’t mind, they are super cute, no?)
Pastel colored hair is all the rage right now and has shown up on the runways of Chanel and fashion mags like Nylon, and a certain blogger (aka me) is fully loving it.
… But I want to know what you think: is this crazy or cool to you?
(By the way, I have a feeling these “Crazy or Cool” posts should become a permanent fixture, yes or no? Past “crazy or cool?” posts are on two-toned hair and half-shaved heads.)
Ugh, I love it so much. It’s so girly yet punk. I am not the most daring when it comes to hair (I’ve had too many hair disasters back in highschool, so it seems my wild days are over), but this almost makes me want to go out and get some pastel colored streaks. What do you think of this trend?
Update Feb 28th: I found a picture of this trend on brown hair, so all my brunette readers (including myself!) who thought it could only be for blondes … well, it’s not! The model has quite light brown hair but it seems like the trend can still work for us brunettes! What do you think?
This week’s beauty tip comes from my mom (her last one was about making your own nose strip, which I hope you found useful!) and said she read this in a magazine a few years ago and it worked for her “quite well.”
If you’re running about your day and noticing your hair is getting a little but frizzy, don’t fret. Take some of your hand cream that you carry around in your bag, rub it throughly through your palms, and finger comb it through your hair. This helps to “settle” the frizz until you get home and takes exactly 2 seconds to do.
So simple! Thanks, Mama. Has anyone tried this tip?
I love a good hair trend. The crazier the better! However – I’m a total coward and I’d rather look at the wild looks than sport it on myself.
Nevertheless, as much as I love crazy do’s, (remember we spoke previously about two toned hair color that I loved?) I did spot a new trend that I’m a little shocked at – shaving one side of your head. Kudos to the ladies above who dare to try out this wild style, but talk about commitment! I can only imagine that a truckload of extensions for a few years would do if these girls decide to grow their hair out.
What do you think about shaving one side of your head – cool or crazy? Like I said; as much as I love crazy styles, this may just be too crazy for my taste – only because I pity the grow-out time!
Reader A asked me this question recently and I thought it was perfect, because I’m the Queen of Split Ends.
What is the best way to get rid of all my split ends? And how can I prevent new split ends?
I remember the days back in highschool where I’d sit at the back of class and start trimming to pass time. I also started to do it to pass time when I couldn’t sleep (my goodness I’m weird) so I’d be lying in bed giving myself a trim.
I stopped with this obsession when one morning I woke up with a pair of scissors next to my face, because I had forgotten to put it away before sleeping. I vowed never to be so dumb again because cutting my face open and dying due to “obsession with split ends” kinda sucks. Anyway – on the the answer.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no solution other then cutting them off. When your hair has split into three sections (or 8, in my case), then it’s beyond repair – hair can’t stick back together, so it’s best you just snip it off to prevent more splitting.
Also, prevention is better than cure – so to prevent split ends, here are some ideas:
- Before blow-drying, flat ironing or curling your hair, remember to use a heat protective spray beforehand. Also, try to keep heat styling tools to a minimum as much as you can and avoid using the highest heat level – they do unbelievable damage to your hair in the long run.
- Apply a deep conditioning mask at least once a week to keep hair soft so your ends won’t split as easily. You can read how to do a deep conditioning mask at home at my post, How to: Deep Conditioning Hair Mask.
- Get regular trims to keep your hair looking healthy and free of split ends. If you’re trying to grow your hair out, just get 1/4 of an inch trims each time, something called “dusting” – basically, an extremely short trim to keep your hair still looking great!
So to summarize: split ends can only be cut off, so it’s really better to take care of your hair and get regular trims. Sad but true. 
What do you do to prevent split ends? Do you get them a lot?
Perhaps it is a bit ridiculous to make such a big deal about a change in haircut, but … well, I will now add to that ridiculousness because it gave me an idea for a discussion post.
Reality TV star Kate Gosselin, and mother of eight (how good does she look?!) endured 20 hours of hair extensions to get her new hair, and long gone are the days of that famous spiky ‘do. She really does look like a new woman, no? What do you think about her transformation?
Anyway, I brought it up because I wanted to ask if you had done the same: Are you doing anything to your ‘look’ now that it’s 2010? Did anyone go for a “new-year-new-you” makeover? I’ve been toying with the idea of starting the new year by getting a digital perm to transform my straight hair to big curly waves, but I haven’t taken the plunge yet!
This beauty tip of the week is something I’ve been doing for as long as I can remember, and yes, once again it’s a tip I learnt from my mom. (Why don’t I just hand this blog over to her?!)
To refresh your memory from all that Xmas feasts and New Year’s partying, the previous tips she’s given us is making your own nose strips, and how lemon juice is great for natural highlights.
This week’s beauty tip is so simple to do I will write it as a haiku:
Lord, please give me hair
So shiny it catches light
Cold water, my friend
Hmm… That was a total failure. But basically, to get naturally shiny hair, one tip is to rinse your hair in cold water after you’ve washed it. Cold water as a final rinse after washing will seal your hair’s follicle, allowing it to reflect more light and putting those hair-flicking Pantene models to shame.
Have you heard of this beauty tip before, and have you tried it out? I would love to hear your thoughts and theories on it.
Bangs, without a doubt, have come back with quite the vengeance these two years! Regardless if it’s ‘in fashion’ or not, bangs are a great way to change your look without getting too drastic.
The trick with bangs though, is that they are such a statement piece, it’s vital to get the right kind – and it all depends on your face shape, says famed hairstylist Antonio Prieto. Stylist from his salon, Antonio Prieto has very kindly gave us all tips on choosing the best bang for your face shape.
- Oblong. With long and narrow faces, the object is to always make the face look wider. This means creating more width and volume at the side of the face. A longer, side-swept bang is perfect for your face shape. Be careful about the length of the bang though, because that also makes a difference. In fact, the length of this type of bang is the most important factor, says the stylist. Make sure your bangs fall on or near your cheekbone.
- Triangle. Bangs are a great idea for this face shape, as this face shape consists of a narrow forehead and a wider jawline. Bangs create width on the forehead to balance out this face shape. Try any type of bang you want!
- Round. Unfortunately those with round faces will not suit bangs – it’s best to avoid them, as they just draw more attention to the fullness of the face. When round face shapes get bangs, the eye will see less face and will be cut off to show a shorter, fuller, rounder face.
- Diamond. This face shape is basically a more angular oval face shape. A short, side swept bang works well on this face shape to soften up the angular areas. The length for the bang doesn’t matter; though don’t keep it too long!
- Heart. Heart face shapes consists of a narrow chin and a wide forehead. Because bangs create width in the forehead area, it is quite tough as this face shape already has width. As long as the bang is cut narrow and doesn’t past the outside the eye (meaning it’s kept to the center of the forehead), bangs can look beautiful with this face shape.
- Oval. And as always – oval face shapes are considered the ‘ideal’ face shape, so lucky you, you suit anything!
Set on having bangs? Whether it’s pixie like Keira’s, blunt like Camilla’s, side-swept like Nicole’s, or choppy like Hilary’s, take a picture to your hairstylist when asking for bangs – describing them won’t suffice, visuals are everything with stylists. And don’t ever try cutting your own bangs. I speak from experience when I say they always end up horrible and the growing out period is long and painful. (If you do get bangs and they go wrong, check out my post, How to Grow out Your Bangs.)
What do you think of the stylists’ tips? Do you have bangs? What type do you have, and do you feel it suits your face shape? I’d love to hear all your stories. Personally I have tried many times but I find bangs just don’t suit me.
Remember my rule with heat styling tools – keep it in moderation and use leave in conditioners and a weekly DIY deep conditioning mask to prevent damage and split ends. (For more tips on how to prevent and treat split ends, check out my post How do I Get Rid of Split Ends and Prevent New Ones?)
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