Shampoos and conditioners prep the surface of the hair for styling by cleansing away dirt and oil. Conditioners leave your hair feeling healthy, soft and smooth.

Most volumizing shampoos typically contain a harsh surfactant system to over-cleanse or “strip” each hair fiber. This causes the outer layer of the hair shaft, the cuticle, to lift up – thereby creating texture along the surface. End result? Your hair feels (and probably looks) like straw.

In order to mask this dry feel, a lot of volumizing conditioners contain materials that coat the hair surface, such as silicones. These ingredients make your shower experience fantastic, but by the end of the day your hair will likely end up with back where it started – flat on your head!

That’s why we’re so excited to bring you Full Shampoo and Conditioner this Fall! Our scientists invented a shampoo and conditioner system that provides the optimal care for flat hair and perfectly preps it for styling, especially with Full Thickening Cream!

Full Shampoo cleanses the hair gently with a sulfate-free, non-stripping surfactant blend. Full Conditioner contains a light blend of conditioning ingredients that won’t weigh your hair down but provide excellent detangling. Just what flat, lifeless hair needs. The result? Hair perfectly prepped for styling– or on its own,  hair that’s clean and healthy, with movement, body, bounce and shine.

Get the right angle
If you’re wearing a ponytail getting a picture taken of you head on might be unflattering. After all, no one wants to look bald when they have gorgeous hair. We suggest tilting your head at an angle so that the photo will capture your smiling face and a bit of your hair!

Side partings
If your face appears elongated in photographs, be sure to style with an off-center part. The eye will travel to other facial features and your tresses rather than focus on face shape.

These are some of our tips, what are yours?

You will need these tools: A hair dryer with nozzle, a round brush, some Living Proof No Frizz Straight Styling Cream.

1. Make sure bangs are damp to wet and apply a dab of Living Proof’s No Frizz Straight Making Cream from roots to ends.
2. Place brush where your hair meets your forehead and wrap your bangs around brush so it goes underneath the brush.
3. Using a hair dryer with nozzle on high heat, blow-dry your bangs angling the air flow straight down above the bangs.
4. Dry from roots to ends while holding the brush horizontally, pulling away from the face and then towards the nose.
5. Then, with the brush held vertically, blow-dry the bangs as you pull the brush down and towards the side for a relaxed side-swept bangs look (think Reese Witherspoon) .

If your side bangs don’t quite reach behind your ear, run a comb through your bangs and spritz the end of your bangs to meet with your hair by your ear to avoid a piece-y look.  Tip: If you don’t already have a travel size hair spray try Living Proof Hold Flexible Hairspray in our 1.8 oz travel size!

If you know you’re going to be photographed, spritz some hairspray on your fringe prior to shooting. This should give your hair an added shine and also help hold them in place and from falling in your eyes.

• Step 1.
  Start with clean, damp towel-dried hair. It’s best to blot the water out of your hair since your hair is it’s most fragile when wet.

• Step 2.
  If you have long hair start with a small dollop of No Frizz Wave/Curl Styler for medium-to-thick hair and rub the product between your hands. Spread the product through your hair on one side starting at the roots and working it down the hair shaft making sure it’s evenly distributed. If you prefer, you can also use a wide tooth comb to work the product evenly through your hair.

• Step 3.
  Dispense more product, rub it between your hands again and spread it through the other side of your hair, starting at the roots. Continue this process until all of your hair is fully coated. Don’t be afraid to use too much.

• Step 4.
  Scrunch your hair a bit to enhance your curls and just allow your hair to dry on its own. Voila! A naturally beautiful look!

If you want to see video of how to achieve this look, follow this link!

Keep in mind that you’ll be outdoors for most of the day (make sure to protect yourself from UV rays!) and that it will be hot. It’s best to choose hairstyles that are easy, fun, and out of your way. There’s no reason why you can’t look cute and feel comfortable this holiday weekend!

Ribbons
Red, white, and blue ribbons aren’t only cheap (just head over to your local arts and crafts store) but they’re super cute and versatile. We suggest either weaving them into braids (especially a French braid!) or using them to tie pigtails or pony tails like Zooey Deschanel does in (500) Days of Summer. With the pigtails, curl your hair to give a sweet look a bit of a sexy edge!

Bandanas
If you want to keep your hair down, bandanas are a great, stylish way to keep your hair away from your face while showing off your gorgeous locks! Plus it helps give your look a very relaxed, laid-back, mellow vibe.

Braids
We mentioned pigtails earlier and if you don’t want to take the time to curl your hair, we recommend braiding it and adding a bit of ribbon for flair. Another look we love is a messy braided updo like the one Sarah Michelle Gellar rocked at a premiere a couple of years back (it was that memorable).

Awhile back, we wrote about how ultraviolet radiation can damage our hair just as badly as your skin. UV radiation is just one of the many things that can damage your hair. Here’s our list of the worst ways you can damage your hair:

1. Bleaching – Why is this #1? Bleaching the hair is the process of breaking down and dissolving melanin (the protein that gives hair its color) particles. It completely strips the hair of its original color and irreparably damages it. Hair will be more prone to breakage because of the weakened cortex and cuticle layers.
2. Chemical straightening – This includes relaxing your hair, straightening treatments, perms, etc. These processes rearrange the hair’s molecular structure and as a result, your hair becomes fragile, brittle, and extremely porous.
3. Bad Grooming Habits – Why does this come before coloring or heat styling? Mainly because it occurs on a daily basis and you don’t even realize that you’re doing it. Here are a few examples:
   • Excessive brushing/combing — especially when the hair is wet. We wrote about how Living Proof products take brushing and combing into account when developing their products but it’s good to remember that when your hair is wet, it is at its most fragile.
   • Not using a product before heat styling – your hair needs some sort of protection from heat appliances, especially when it’s wet.
   • Using damaging styling tools – make sure to use a wide-toothed comb or a brush with natural fibers so you don’t cause split ends and breakage.
4. Coloring –The use of chemicals to remove, replace, and/or cover up pigments naturally found inside the hair shaft will leave hair dry, dull, brittle and weak. Going to a lighter shade is even more damaging since you have to bleach your hair first to remove the original color and then deposit the new color.
5. Heat Styling – Heat styling your hair once in awhile isn’t too bad but blow drying or flat ironing your hair on a daily basis will make it lose its elasticity and more prone to breakage. It’s better to heat style your hair after you’ve let it air dry a bit.

Here’s the Living Proof line of defense!

• 1. First and foremost, make sure you have your hairstylist use Living Proof’s No Frizz line when washing and styling your hair so it’s protected with our patented PolyfluoroEster technology. No Frizz coats each strand with a shield that blocks humidity without leaving an oily, greasy residue.

• • 
    Tip #1: Always discuss an emergency “back up” hairstyle with your stylist so if it does rain you you won’t feel panicked or unprepared.

• • Tip #2: Updos are preferable on rainy days since any type of “damage” is less noticeable.  If you’re planning for an updo, wash your hair the day before the wedding rather than the day of the wedding. Just-washed hair is more difficult to style since there is less grip and tack.

• 2. Once your hair is styled, liberally spray the style with Living Proof Hold Flexible Hairspray. The more you layer it on, the stronger the hold. Make sure to have a bridesmaid keep a travel size Hold hairspray with her so you can touch-up later on during the night, particularly the time between the ceremony and the reception.

• • Tip: Your guests might also want to touch up their styles throughout the night. Offer No Frizz Restyling Spray and Hold Flexible Hairspray in the bathroom at your venue.

• 3. If you have enough time, order umbrellas in colors that match your wedding theme.  That way you’ll protect yourself, your wedding party, and turn a messy situation into a fun one!

More than anything make the best of a rainy situation and keep a smile on your face! A good attitude will keep the clouds at bay in any type of weather!

1. When using Full Thickening Cream, start with clean, damp hair.
   Squeeze a dime-sized amount of Full onto your fingertip. Once you dispense the correct amount, rub Full between your hands. (Reminder: Full is designed to provide thickness, not lift. So if you want to use a root lifter, you should apply that first.)
2. Spread it through your hair evenly, starting just beyond the roots and working down the hair shaft to the ends.
3. Use your fingers or a wide-toothed comb to make sure it’s evenly distributed throughout your hair.
4. After applying the product completely, we recommend using a round brush and a blow dryer to create a really full style.
   Starting at the roots, wind the round brush through your hair one section at a time, aiming the blow dryer under the brush to lift the hair as it dries. Gently pull the hair away from your head using slight tension to roll and thicken as you go.
5. Continue blow-drying small sections of hair until all your hair is dry and full.

Tip. Finding the right amount can take some experimentation. It is possible to use too much Full, so if your hair feels greasy, reduce the amount you’re using. If you don’t feel the thickening effects, increase the amount you’re using – a dime-sized amount at a time.

Other than making sure she had plenty of water and sunscreen for the day, she also brought along her No Frizz Restyling Spray. While waiting for the rest of her team to cross the finish line – she spritzed it on for an immediate feeling of freshness. It really came in handy for the post-race photo-ops!

Do you have any restyling stories for us? If so, post it right here!

1. Wear a hat – yes, it’s an obvious one but wearing a hat made of a tightly woven material is an easy and stylish way to protect yourself from the sun. If you can get one that can shield the face, neck, head, and ears, you’re golden.
2. Scarves – the material may not be as thick as a hat’s but it is better than nothing. Also, wrapping a scarf around your ponytail is a sassy, bohemian look that’s very chic right now. Or you could go for the Audrey Hepburn look because that will never go out of style!
3. Condition your hair – if you feel that your hair is much more dry and brittle this time of year, it’s best to consider using the No Frizz Leave-In treatment once a week, especially if you swim frequently.

Keep in mind that the sun’s ray are at it’s strongest between 10am and 3pm so it’s best to limit direct exposure to sunlight especially during that period. Do you have tips of your own? Summer styles you’d like to share? Feel free to share all your tips and tricks!

UPDATE: Read Part I of this post here!