Styling Products

The secret to a smooth and luminous blow-out? A simple shine-enhancing cream. Not only will this type of product provide a bit of body to the hair, but it will also moisturize and reduce frizz. To use, squeeze about a dime- or quarter-sized amount (depending on your texture) to your fingertips, emulsify with your fingers, and distribute through damp hair from back to front. Blow-dry as normal with a round brush.

Tips: If you have particularly oily hair, apply to the ends first, working up to the roots. If you're lacking volume, use your round brush to overdirect the hair in the opposite direction while blow-drying. As far as product goes, for two great suggestions, just read more.

Beachy waves are typically achieved by using some kind of mattifying product, like Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray ($22). Recently, I became reacquainted with a spray wax styling product, and I'd forgotten how easy they are to use. Just like their matte counterparts, these spray waxes provide that laid-back choppy look, but with a slightly shiny finish. Best of all, they're lightweight.

Try Enjoy Texture Spray ($16) or Sally Hershberger's Genius Spray Wax ($12.50), both of which provide hold and texture to all hair types and lengths. Of her product, Sally says, "It's really about having the next-day sexy/messy look, with out looking all dry and greasy." To find out six different ways you can use this multifunctional product, just read more.

I know what you're probably thinking. Tips for air-drying your locks might seem like pointless advice to give. "Wash, towel off, and wait. Right, Bella?" Yes, it's all true. However, there are a few guidelines you can follow so that your hair dries a lot faster without frizzy or limp results, making air-drying all the more appealing.

If you're like me, perhaps you don't always have the time to blow-dry, or maybe you're concerned about heat damage. It could also be that you're just a naturalist at heart. Whatever the reason(s), as promised in my earlier post on applying products with ease, check out some tips for air-drying success when you read more.

Most of the time, when I think mousse, I think foam in a can that gives my hair lots of volume. But a little while back, I found Redken Aerate 08 Bodifying Cream Mousse ($13.59) and thought, "Hmm . . . mousse in a jar? Really?" If such a wild invention were to work, it would make the product more portable (take that, TSA), rid us of the need for aerosol cans (yay!), and make application a lot more precise.

So is this cream the beginning of a mousse revolution? Well, yes and no. To find out what the pros and cons are, just read more.

Whether you call it "product" or "products," what would we do without our favorite hairstyle enhancers? Knowing when to apply product and how much or how little can be confusing, so I've put together a few tips so you're not left with hair-raising results — unless, of course, that's the look you're going for. Find out six tips when you read more.