Sex Up Your Hair
by LAarti Sanan
Statistics show women spend more time on their hair than on any other part of their beauty regimen. No doubt you know what looks good for daytime wear. But some nights, you want to look more than good -- you want to look and feel sexy.
We asked the hair pros at Oscar Bond Salon and Spa in New York City's Soho how to get the cut, color and style that transform you from daytime attractive to nighttime sexy. The cut, says salon owner and world-renowned stylist Oscar Bond is the most important part of your look, and he advises getting a cut with long layers. Oscar Bond stylist Allison Woodruff agrees. When you think of women with sexy hair, like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston, she notes, what you see are their layers. But Jessica's perfect tumbling curls or Jennifer's gorgeous straight layers aren't the only way to go. Hair that looks like you've spent the day at the beach is also all the rage. Sexy hair is beachy, chunky and tousled, and it moves. Here are some more tips.
Make it easy on yourself. If you have a great haircut the rest is easy, Woodruff says. "The key to having undone hair is to be really undone about it," she notes. If you have a wave in your hair, for example, simply add a light mousse or thickening product to wet hair and scrunch while blow-drying using a diffuser. If you have straight hair, wrap some around a curling iron for a few minutes and give yourself some texture. But don't be methodical about it, she notes. The idea is to create movement. "You want it to look kind of messy," she notes. If you use two different curling iron sizes, you'll get a more tousled look.
Use the right products for your hair type. Look for volumizing products, says Woodruff, since sexy hair is about being big. Think of your hair in terms of how much weight it can handle. If your hair is fine, use lightweight thickening products instead of heavy, creamy, oil-based ones. Super-curly hair, though, can handle a ton of weight so you can use really creamy stuff. You don't want the products to hold your hair down, but to help hold your tousles.
Bangs are sexy. Bangs boost the sexiness of any hairstyle, says Bond. He suggests long bangs, off to the side, that just cover an eye or cheekbone. Just be sure they aren't too short. Remember, the key is to have hair that moves. Bond says he likes to combine really long, heavy bangs that are just shy of looking grown-out with a bob shape in the back. "This look can be professional by day, but when you add the right product you can make it more tousled, which will give you a sexy finish."
Two words: hair extensions. Senior stylist Jason Wilkerson likes to use hair extensions to "sex up" a client's look because extensions add volume, thickness and texture at any length, and some extensions already have a wave in them, which can help create that siren look. Women in their early 30s or younger like long extensions, he says, that fall below the breast. Some women use extensions to fill out thin hair. Others like to add funky colors.
Contrasting colors are sexy. Head colorist Wendy Bond suggests speaking to your colorist about adding a range of highlights and lowlights to your hair. Shiny, subtle, contrasting colors with richness and depth will take your sex appeal to a new level.
Statistics show women spend more time on their hair than on any other part of their beauty regimen. No doubt you know what looks good for daytime wear. But some nights, you want to look more than good -- you want to look and feel sexy.
We asked the hair pros at Oscar Bond Salon and Spa in New York City's Soho how to get the cut, color and style that transform you from daytime attractive to nighttime sexy. The cut, says salon owner and world-renowned stylist Oscar Bond is the most important part of your look, and he advises getting a cut with long layers. Oscar Bond stylist Allison Woodruff agrees. When you think of women with sexy hair, like Jessica Simpson and Jennifer Aniston, she notes, what you see are their layers. But Jessica's perfect tumbling curls or Jennifer's gorgeous straight layers aren't the only way to go. Hair that looks like you've spent the day at the beach is also all the rage. Sexy hair is beachy, chunky and tousled, and it moves. Here are some more tips.
Make it easy on yourself. If you have a great haircut the rest is easy, Woodruff says. "The key to having undone hair is to be really undone about it," she notes. If you have a wave in your hair, for example, simply add a light mousse or thickening product to wet hair and scrunch while blow-drying using a diffuser. If you have straight hair, wrap some around a curling iron for a few minutes and give yourself some texture. But don't be methodical about it, she notes. The idea is to create movement. "You want it to look kind of messy," she notes. If you use two different curling iron sizes, you'll get a more tousled look.
Use the right products for your hair type. Look for volumizing products, says Woodruff, since sexy hair is about being big. Think of your hair in terms of how much weight it can handle. If your hair is fine, use lightweight thickening products instead of heavy, creamy, oil-based ones. Super-curly hair, though, can handle a ton of weight so you can use really creamy stuff. You don't want the products to hold your hair down, but to help hold your tousles.
Bangs are sexy. Bangs boost the sexiness of any hairstyle, says Bond. He suggests long bangs, off to the side, that just cover an eye or cheekbone. Just be sure they aren't too short. Remember, the key is to have hair that moves. Bond says he likes to combine really long, heavy bangs that are just shy of looking grown-out with a bob shape in the back. "This look can be professional by day, but when you add the right product you can make it more tousled, which will give you a sexy finish."
Two words: hair extensions. Senior stylist Jason Wilkerson likes to use hair extensions to "sex up" a client's look because extensions add volume, thickness and texture at any length, and some extensions already have a wave in them, which can help create that siren look. Women in their early 30s or younger like long extensions, he says, that fall below the breast. Some women use extensions to fill out thin hair. Others like to add funky colors.
Contrasting colors are sexy. Head colorist Wendy Bond suggests speaking to your colorist about adding a range of highlights and lowlights to your hair. Shiny, subtle, contrasting colors with richness and depth will take your sex appeal to a new level.