Hair Trends

Get ready for a garden party of the floral variety, because botanical-garland headbands are having a moment. A few months back we saw Katy Perry and Vanessa Hudgens donning boho-style head-toppers at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Annual Festival, and most recently, stars like Keira Knightley, Kirsten Dunst, and Ashlee Simpson have been spotted in flowery wreath hair accessories. Wear them paired with your hair down in flowing waves, or tossed back casually in a braided updo. And now that Summer is here, expect to have even more occasions for which to wear them, from outdoor barbecues to weddings by the water.

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The wet hair look dominated the Spring and Summer 2012 runways, with an assemblage of designers — such as Cushnie et Ochs (upper left), Giambattista Valli (middle center), and Helmut Lang (lower left) — getting in on the action. And while it might not be a look for every day, famed celebrity stylist José Eber (founder of José Eber salon in Beverly Hills) says the key in re-creating the slick style is to use wet gel on dry strands — not on wet.

"Distribute the gel evenly in the palms of your hands and pull it through your hair from the roots to your ends," he explains. Then it's up to you how to work it. Gel the front liberally and place the rest back in a ponytail à la Monique Lhuillier (middle left), or go for a retro, Mad Men kind of vibe with a semiglossy faux bob, as seen at Jil Sander (middle right). The shiny style also provides the perfect way to stretch out needs-to-be-washed hair with an avant-garde twist.

Also pictured: Alexander Wang (upper center), Thierry Mugler (upper right), Elie Saab (lower center), and Alberta Ferretti (lower right).

Nicole Richie is the latest celebrity to join team pink hair, revealing her newly dip-dyed ends on her Twitter account with the caption, "Tickled Pink!" Nicole is now among a growing group of stars brightening their hair this season, as January Jones, Brooklyn Decker, and Coco Rocha have also tested out the trend. Looking to get a similar pop of color for Summer? Try these vividly hued Sultra clip in extensions ($18), which will blend in nicely with curly or straight textures. Or if you want a dip-dyed look like Nicole, reach for the hair chalk. Both of these methods are temporary remedies to your bright hair craving that will work on any hair color.

Source: NicoleRichie.com

Lately, it seems the stars have been feeling nostalgic when it comes to their hair. Ke$ha, Naya Rivera, and Katharine McPhee have all been seen sporting 1930s-era finger-waved looks. This style works well on long hair, especially when it's swept over the shoulders for added drama. In order to re-create this vintage style at home, try using medium-sized hot rollers. Once the curls are set, gently comb through the hair with a paddle brush to bring out bombshell volume. You can also take a note from Ke$ha and accentuate this Old Hollywood hair with an accessory like a glamorous Grecian headband.

Spotted on stars such as Freida Pinto, Keri Hilson, and Anna Chlumsky, the deep sweep varies from extreme parting (like Freida's), to pulled almost all the way over to the side (à la Keri), to completely pinned back to the other side (on Anna). Not only does the retro-inspired style have panache, but it provides a great way to disguise (or enhance) windblown hair. The look has also appeared on the heads of celebrities such as Kate Bosworth, who donned the quasi-updo at the L!fe Happens premiere and Carrie Underwood, who made a soft, feminine statement with her ACM Awards coiffure. It's sweeping the nation, so to speak.

No longer does the term "blue hair" conjure images of older ladies with hair set and sprayed to helmet-head proportions. Instead, the blue-haired look of 2012 takes a fresh, youthful approach, as certain stars have demonstrated as of late. Most recently, Jaime King debuted a bevy of blue strands, alternating in color from baby-hued to royal. Then there's Katy Perry, who has displayed just about every shade of blue in hairstyles ranging from crimped ponytails to blunt bobs. In addition, Selena Gomez got in on the trend earlier this year with electric blue and purple strands woven underneath.

Even celebrity kids, such as Zahara Jolie-Pitt and Coco Arquette, have had fun with the look. And while blue may be on a streak now, plenty of other celebrities have exhibited sapphire strands in the past — Lauren Conrad, Bai Ling, Juliette Lewis, Kate Bosworth, Kelis, Selma Blair, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Gwen Stefani — so don't expect this trend to end here.

Ultrashiny flat-ironed hair looks luxuriously chic and expensive (and is easier to achieve than you might expect). But on the flip side, shiny, wavy hair can sometimes fall a little flat. "I love a matte wave," says celebrity stylist and beauty adviser for Slim Fast's Studio Wow! campaign, Joey Maalouf. "I feel like a shiny wave just looks like you have greasy, undone hair, but a matte wave looks like sexy volume." Your hair mantra? "I just got out of bed and am the sexiest person alive."

We've seen the matte, wavy hair trend all over red carpets as of late. And of course, Joey's friend and muse, Rachel Zoe, practically revived the après-beach look. The key to getting strands that are more fantastic than frazzled, however, is the timing of product application. "For a wave, I tend to like a dry pomade, and I put in most of my products after I use any heat on the hair," says Joey. And for a no-heat method for getting sexy waves, try a nighttime braid. "Do it the night before and sleep on it; when you wake up, your braid will be perfectly messy."