Instead of trying to braid your hair this way and that, a summer trend that caught on like wildfire, let your ponytail loose. Ponytails are huge for fall and this season wear them with volume at the crown (a la Bridget Bardot). To get volume at your crown, use a fine-tooth comb and tease one-inch sections at a time, pushing hair down gently towards your scalp. Then, using the same comb, lightly smooth hair back over the teased section and secure with elastic. Lock everything in place by misting with a strong-hold hairspray like TIGI Hard Head Hard Hold Hairspray, $11.50.
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Hairstyle Tip 7: Experiment with a new hair product
There's no better time for change than during the fall season. Ess says one of the easiest ways to vary your hairstyle is to try a product you don't normally use, "we all love what we love, but try something new. If you've never used a mousse at the root, try it just once. It won't kill you and you might love it," she says. Or, if you've never used a heat styling spray before blow drying, try one. Your hair will likely soak it up and look "incredibly shiny and amazing," says Ess (try Shu Uemura Iron Design, $28). "Give yourself a goal once every couple months, to read about a product that sparks your interest and go get it," she advises.
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Hairstyle Tip 8: Go for a richer, darker hair color
We know it can often be hard to part ways with summer highlights, but fall is all about adding richness to your hair color. "If you're blonde, just go slightly more golden or amber colored. If you're a redhead, go just a little more copper. Brunettes, go a more chocolaty brown," says Ess.
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Hairstyle Tip 9: Show off a bun
Fall clothes have lots of high collars and scarves, making the best hairstyle for chilly weather an elegant bun that rests just above the nape of your neck. Keep the look fresh and chic with a deep side part and sophisticated sleekness. Add volume to your bun (if your hair is thin) with a clip-in ponytail extension like PutOnPieces POP - Put on Ponys - Sleek, $35 -- they can be found at most drugstores and don't look synthetic when intertwined and pinned up with your natural hair.
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Hairstyle Tip 10: Update up your hot hair tools
Tools are so important when it comes to styling, says Ess. So, if they are in bad shape, now's the time to replace them. "Throw out that curling iron if it's covered in gunk. Throw out the blow dryer that over heats, and throw out the brush that's so full of hair that you hide it when people come over (or at least clean it out)," she says. She also recommends adding a different sized curling iron to your collection or pull out the hot roller set that's gathering dust in the back of your bathroom cabinet. The goal is to reinvigorate your hairstyle by updating your hot tools, says Ess. Check out the best hot tools according to our readers before you shop.
Change is a good thing in our opinion. Just when you think things are getting blas� and you couldn't imagine seeing another "beachy" hairstyle how-to, up comes a new season to reinvigorate your beauty, oh, and lust for life. Hairstyles, like the leaves, are changing and to keep you on trend this fall we found the easiest ways to update your look.
Helping us refurbish our hairstyles to make them fall-appropriate is celebrity stylist to stars like Lauren Conrad and Rachel McAdams, Kristen Ess. She gives us the simplest ways to transition our hair.
But before you revamp any hairstyle, you first have to make sure your hair has recovered from summer fun -- repent, if you will, for its past seasonal sins. Post-summer hair damage from spending time in the sun, salt water, chlorine and air conditioning probably has your hair feeling dull, frizzy, dry and brittle. Check out these quick tips on how to care for summer-damaged hair:
� Replenish moisture: Try an intense hydrating mask on your hair. A product like Frederic Fekkai Protein Rx Anti-Breakage Treatment Mask, $29 can do wonders for dry, brittle locks.
� Minimize frizz: Swap your regular styling products for straightening cream. It fills in the hair's cuticle so that it looks smoother.
� Trim those split ends: Sorry, but the only way to get rid of split ends caused by summer wear and tear is to trim them off to keep the shaft from continuing to spilt.
Now, as the temperature goes down (hoorah), you can keep your hair as cool as the weather with these simple ways to update your hairstyle -- see them now.
