Few things are sexier, nor more sought after, than beach hair. That straight out of bed look that Kate Moss and her 90s super crew never failed to master; a fine spread of rooty highlights almost impossible to replicate at your local hair salon, styled in a graceful combination of blow-dried waves and mess that is supposedly ours after exposure to sand and salt water.
‘Supposedly’ being the operative word. I don’t know about you, but a trip to the beach has never left my hair looking sexy. More so claggy… and sticky. Similar to the kind of hair you get after four days at a festival with no showers, as opposed to Gisele on Copacabana. It seems to be one of those (read: nearly all) fashion things that fails to translate into the actual situation depicted on the pages of editorials. No, the truth is, you are unlikely to find yourself on the hair form of your life while on holiday. But that doesn’t stop us lusting after it.
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Luckily (sort of), this doesn’t matter too much, given that the time we are actually on the beach is limited to a few weeks of the year. The look, though (tousled, done-but-undone waves) is not – in fact, we think the look actually looks better in the city than it does on the sand. To help you nail the look and feel all too better about the pineapple situation we all really rock on holiday, our panel of experts let us in on getting the look right, whatever the climate.
“Tousled beach waves are the perfect look for summer and an easy style to achieve. Beach waves are perfect for all hair types whether your hair is straight, wavy or curly,” say the team at Blo, the latest blow dry bar to hit London from Gwyneth Paltrow and GHD. “To achieve them, we shampoo and condition hair as normal, then spray Unite 7 seconds Conditioner all over hair for a smooth polished look. For root lift, we then apply Unite Boosta Spray all over the roots of the hair, and apply one pump of argan oil and a ten pence size amount of Unite Blow and Set from mid length to ends to ensure the hair has hold and the style stays in place. Then, we brush the products through hair and blow dry upside down to obtain as much volume as possible. Once the hair is dry, we brush it all through again to detangle the hair.”
“A center parting with a beach wave hair style always looks amazing. We section hair in half – the key is to remember to create the curls away from the face. Starting from the bottom and working our way up, we curl the hair around the tongs whilst twisting the hair strand at the same time. We do not want to create a ringlet curl but a soft wave, so use different size sections to make is look like a more soft tousled look. We finish the look with the Unite Beach Day salt spray all over your hair to separate the curls and create a beautiful tousled wave.”
“A quick and easy way to create natural waves that will look great on the beach is to apply Percy & Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational No Oil Oil on wet hair – or even fresh from the sea if you’re on holiday,” says Paul Percival from Percy & Reed when probed on his no-fuss approach. “Then, loosely braid the hair in one section at the back. This will protect the hair in the heat and prevent it from frizzing. At the end of the day, release the hair from the braid and apply a pea sized amount of Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish to smooth the hair. This will create a soft, natural wave.”
“We are often asked to create a beach wave in the salon,” says Bruce Masefield of Vidal Sassoon. “To achieve this tousled look, wash hair and blow dry roughly – we love the GHD hair dryers – and then take hair in sections. Using a large barrel curling iron (again, we think you should go for GHD) create the curls on these. Our tip is to alternate the size of each section for a more natural result, and definitely don’t be too rigid with the sectioning. You should start underneath your hair and gradually work up to the cheekbones. Remember whilst doing this to leave out the ends of the curl, for that loose, beach wave look.”
“When curls are completely cooled, loosen the curls by running your fingers through the hair for a fabulously tousled look with oodles of texture. Finally, spray with a light mist of Sassoon Professional Edit Hold to lock in the waves and go!”