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Beauty

3 Secrets to Creating Salon-Worthy Hair at Home

Our calendars are packed with parties, but getting our hair “done” before each one is a luxury we don’t always have time or money to splurge on. So we asked hair pros for their inside tips to guarantee long-lasting, salon-worthy strands that stun for every holiday soiree.  

To keep an updo intact:

We’ve become pretty adept at fashioning our hair into a chic chignon or classic twist. Too bad it always manages to come undone within minutes of heading out the door. The stylist’s trick to a ‘do that won’t unfurl? “Before creating any updo, tease hair at the roots and ends. This creates a strong foundation that anchors any updo so it stays put,” says stylist Julien Farel, who’s worked with Kate Beckinsale and Salma Hayek. Then spritz dry shampoo onto pins, clips, and elastics before securing to hair. “The gritty texture adds extra grip that keeps ‘do holders in place.”

For waves that won’t wilt:

Buoyant waves help locks look elegant and lush. When done at the salon? They bounce beautifully all night long. When we try at home? They fall flat mid-event. “Hair takes on shape as it dries, so the key to long-lasting hold is to set waves while hair is still wet,” says Farel. His tip: Swap the curling iron (it requires hair to be dry) with rollers.

To do: Wrap 2” sections of wet hair around 1” rollers; rolling hair up in the opposite direction of how it falls (this props roots up for added oomph). Blast with a blow-dryer until dry. Once cool, remove rollers, and tousle with fingers.

For a voluminous blowout:

It never fails that an at-home blowout results in one of two extremes: a frizzy, poufy mess or a sleek style that just hangs there. The fix, according to celebrity stylist Edward Tricomi of the Warren Tricomi Salon in New York City: Work in sections rather than haphazardly blow-drying hair. “This ensures locks dry smooth, even and frizz-free.” And building strategic volume in on top and bottom infuses the smoother style with extra movement.

To do: Separate damp hair into four sections. Take the first section of hair (clip up the rest) and use a round brush to lift locks up and off the scalp, blowdrying the top a few inches from the roots down to midsection. Then, once dry, continue from midsection down, curling ends in toward the neck so hair doesn’t lie straight. Lastly, blast it with cool air for 10 seconds to seal the cuticle and prevent frizz from spoiling the style. Repeat steps on remaining sections until hair is fully dry.

This story originally appeared in our print magazine.

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