Top Tips For Styling Hair This Summer

Hayley Gibson-Forbes, Director, S J Forbes Reveals Her Top Tips For Styling Hair This Summer

When it comes to styling hair this summer – whether it's for a festival, poolside lounging, or for a much-needed beach holiday – clients need a handful of go-to styles that are quick and easy to create, which will last all day, regardless of heat and humidity levels, and that look fresh, stylish and effortlessly on-trend.

Braids are everything that poolside styling should be: they're easy to create, last all day, look effortlessly stylish and can be added to dry or damp hair, depending on how clients would like their hair to look later. Braiding dry hair tends to give a better idea of how the finished style will look, and is more suited for a messy braid.



Crown braids are not only gorgeous, they're practical for a day at the beach or by the pool, as hair is pulled away from the face. To recreate the crown braid, or scalp braid, with plenty of volume, prep hair with mousse before rough-drying. To encourage maximum volume, re-apply the mousse once hair is dry.

Create a scalp braid that follows the top section of the crown, pulling hairs away from your face. The ends of hair can then either be tied up, in to a top-knot, pulled back in to a chic pony, or can be left loose.



If clients want to add textured waves and curl to hair, for later in the evening, then braid damp hair – either freshly washed or dampened with a sea salt spray – and when hair is dry and they remove the plait, hair will be left with long-lasting beachy waves. Whether clients are styling dry hair or damp hair in to a plait, always advise them to use a protective product after washing and before styling, to shield hair from the damage-causing sunrays and moisture-stripping effects of chlorine.

I love Kérastase Soleil Huile Celeste, which is a conditioning oil containing UVA and UVB filters to protect locks from the sun's harmful rays. At S J Forbes we recommend Kérastase Elixir Ultime. This magic potion is a beautifying treatment enriched with four precious oils, and is a must-have for all hair types. A few drops added to hair either pre-wash to prepare locks; pre-blow-dry on the mid-lengths and ends to nourish protect and add shine, or as a finishing product to reduce flyaways, adds serious nourishment and shine.



Beachy waves are a no-brainer for summer holiday styling. Quick to create and easy to maintain, even when exposed to chlorine and sea-water, they are gorgeous, relaxed and un-done, which is exactly how hair should look on holiday. To create beachy waves in hair that has a slight natural kink to it, a salt spray is ideal: it offers intense texture and a tousled, just-off-the-beach effect.

Clients should keep sea salt spray in their beach bag and whenever hair needs an extra boost in curl or volume, just re-spritz. For clients with unruly thick, frizzy hair or difficult curls that need taming in to beautiful waves, try an intense control smoothing serum, which creates a serious shine, smoothes and moisturises, and tames unruly curls. Use only a small quantity and add it to the hair both before you blow-dry and again once you've finished, or apply to damp hair and let it air-dry. Look for a serum with a 24-hour humidity protection and UV filter, so that hair is not only nourished and styled, but protected for the summer season.