MAKE WAVES

MASTER THIS STYLE FOR SEXY HAIR WITH MINIMAL EFFORT

Thank God we survived the OTT hair of the ’80s. Perms, you were great, but you’ve been firmly supplanted by tousled, beachy waves.

Subtle yet sexy, tousled waves perfectly combine “I woke up like this” with “It takes time to look this good”.

“What I really like is you can dress it up or dress it down,” Urban Chic director Amy Gaudie says. “You can go from soft, sexy beach hair by day and take it to the evening.”

Amy says you can achieve Instagramworthy waves with or without heating tools, depending on what look you’re after and how long you want it to last.

“Before waving, prep the hair with a sea salt spray,” she says.

“There’s a really great product called Ocean Spritz from the Wella Eimi range.

“You can spray that through the hair and curl your hair with your fingers.”

Sea salt spray gives you waves that look like you’ve just stepped out of the ocean, minus the seaweed. You can buy it from the supermarket or a hair salon.

“Sea salt spray is ocean in a bottle, and it gives that matte texture to hair,” Amy says.

After curling your hair with your fingers and clipping or pinning it in place, Amy recommends “diffusing” with a hair dryer — that’s the attachment that looks like a showerhead. For a more distinct, longerlasting curl, Amy says to section and curl strands of hair with a curling wand or by wrapping hair around the tong on a straightener and clamping it shut.

If you’re jumping straight to curling without using a sea salt spray, make sure to follow the golden rule of heat styling — spritz a heat sealer in first.

You can find thermal protectants at supermarkets and hair salons — Amy’s favourite is the Sebastian Trilliance product.

Once your hair is safe from being singed, follow these tips while curling to achieve effortless, slinky curls.

“The sexiest beach hair is an undone wave,” Amy says.

“(Make sure you’re) always curling away from the face, starting midway down the hair so you’re not making too much volume, and leaving the ends out so they’re straighter. I would then finish with a dry shampoo texturing spray and run your fingers through. It will give you lots of volume and texture.”

Post wave-making, opt for a silk pillowcase to reduce bed-head friction fuzz.

And if you think your hair looks good now, Amy says wait until you see it tomorrow.

“The best thing is the waves get better the second and third day,” Amy says.

“The more lived in they look, the sexier they look.”