Styling your hair can be one of the best parts of any beauty regime. There's nothing better than stepping out of the house knowing you look fabulous and that you achieved the look yourself.
While mastering a signature do can take time, it's well worth the effort and can easily be achieved with the help of the amazing range of products on shelves today.
Hair styling products are an essential part of any hairstyle and can make the difference between your hairdo lasting all day and night, or flopping before you get out the door!
To bring some care to your hair, and to make sure your hairstyle always looks (and holds) it's best, give these tips a try.
Whether your bathroom cupboard is full of the latest and greatest products, or you've only just started to build up a collection, these tips about specific hair products, how to use them in your hair, and what works best with certain hairstyles are sure to help you out!
To help you sort through the hairstyling product maze, THS has put together a glossary of the styling products you'll need to pull off any fabulous look.
Description: a foamy, lightweight product. Hold strength: 6 out of 10. Uses: gives hair body, bounce and volume. Reduces static. Great for: curly hair, fine hair and limp hair that needs lift. Perfect For: creating body and movement and defining curls. Tips:
Provides a soft, more natural looking hold than gel.
Product Placement: can be used throughout the hair to give strands lift and volume. Can be applied to freshly washed, damp or dry hair. In damp hair mousse will combat frizz, in dry hair it will reshape a style without adding a 'sticky' feel. Mousse will add volume to thin hair, making it appear thicker. Apply directly to the roots of damp hair to create fullness and lift.
Description: a clear, heavy, goop-like substance. Hold strength: 10 out of 10. Uses: is great for making hair texture messy, holding spiky hair in place and keeping short hair flicked out. Great for: contouring short hair and taming fly-away locks. Gel will add definition to short curls and is not recommended for fine or flat hair as it will weigh it down. Perfect For: mohawks, curls and slicked back styles. Tips:
Stronger than hairspray but weaker than wax. Gel will stiffen your hair into place and provide a wet looking finish.
Product Placement: apply a small amount of gel to the roots of your hair for extra volume. Applying gel to the ends of your hair will weigh your hair down.
Description: Looks like a gel, yet styles like wax. Hold strength: 5 out of 10. Uses: gives hair a soft and messy look without making it rock-hard. Great for: shorter hair and will benefit longer styles that need volume, body, and hold without being weighed down. Perfect For: short and curly hairstyles. Flicked and spiked hairstyles. Tips:
Provides a drier, stiffer finish than gel.
Product Placement: gel wax can be applied to specific sections of your hair to create your look, such as in your ends to achieve flicks and spikes.
Description: very similar to hairspray, but has less hold. Hold strength: 8 out of 10. Uses: gel spray will hold hair into place without leaving a white residue or a rock-hard finish. Great for: up-styling as it will still allow movement throughout the hair. Shorter, messier styles will hold well with gel spray and will not look wet or be weighed down. Perfect For: curl definition and hold. Tips:
Allows for a lighter, more even touch of gel to be applied to your hair.
Product Placement: spritz over your entire style for hold.
Description: a milky-like gum substance that smoothes into a paste. Hold strength: 2 out of 10. Uses: wax works best on messy hair and is great for achieving flicks and defining layered hair . Great for: smoothing and twisting short locks into place and separating hair strands. Perfect For: reducing frizz and creating sculpted styles. Tips:
Provides a very strong hold, especially for curly hair types. Great for texturising.
Product Placement: use throughout your hair sparingly - a little goes a long way. Use in your ends for extra texture and definition. Use to keep your bangs side swept and in place.
Description: a clear-like gel that is runny in texture. Hold strength: 5.5 out of 10. Uses: can be used as an alternative to mousse for curly hair or as a styling aid when blow-drying. Great for: adding waves to straight hair . Perfect For: creating messy looks and adding volume to hair when blow-drying. Tips:
Adds a strong hold to thick hair and creates body.
Product Placement: add sculpture lotion evenly throughout your hair for best results.
Description: an oily liquid substance that is mainly used to give shine. Hold strength: 1 out of 10. Uses: can be used in any hair type to add gloss. Reduces static. Great for: any hair type and style but is especially good for smoothing down frizzy hair. Perfect For: straight styles. Tips:
Adds a great shine to locks and keeps fly-away strands and frizziness in check.
Product Placement: best used through your mid-lengths and ends. Too much serum at your roots will make your hair look greasy.
Description: comes in a can and is sprayed directly onto the hair for hold. Hold strength: 10 out of 10. Uses: can be used as an alternative to gel spray and keeps a strong hold all day long. Great for: curly hair, upstyles, messy hair and flicked hair. Perfect For: Upstyles. Tips:
Great for creating hold, volume and body, and controlling fly-away strands.
Product Placement: use on dry hairstyles as a finishing product to hold and maintain shape. Don't concentrate spray in one particular area or you'll end up with one stiff, artificial looking section.
Description: a no-salt texture spray that gives you all the sexiness of beach hair, without the dry, gritty and crisp texture often with surf sprays. Free of moisture zapping salt. Uses: creates texture for a wavy hair finish that's soft and lush. Great for: all hair trypes. Perfect For: beach Hair. Tips:
Great for creating soft beach hair on hot and humid days.
Product Placement: spritz on damp or dry hair and keep layering until you get a textured look.
Description: creamy or oily in texture. Uses: tames frizz, smoothes strands and gives moisture to dry locks. Great for: curly and wavy hair textures, or hair that is prone to dryness. Perfect For: curly and frizzy hair. Tips:
Will combat frizz and control dryness.
Product Placement: use throughout your hair.
Description: a spray product that is stronger than hairspray. Hold strength: 10 out of 10. Uses: can be used in any hair type for a strong, rock-hard hold. Great for: styles that need an extremely strong hold. Perfect For: upstyles. Tips:
Gives a firmer, stronger hold than hairspray.
Product Placement: spray over your entire finished 'do for great hold. Spray directly into roots to create volume.
Description: an alternative to wax that has less of a glossy finish. Hold strength: 2 out of 10. Uses: moulding cream is perfect for creating soft curls, flicks, waves and soft up-styles without weighing the hair down. Great for: defining layers and hair length. Perfect For: texturising, especially short hairdos. Tips:
Allows you to twist, mould and sculpt your hair into different looks.
Product Placement: use on dry hair for a great finish. Use on damp hair for texture.
Description: powder that absorbs excess oil in your hair. Uses: instantly creates Bardot-worthy body, extends the life of a hard worn hairstyle, beefs up braids and helps updos hold up. Great for: boosting bangs, lifting roots and keeping updos up. Perfect For: plumping up fine hair and preserving curls. Tips:
Its most popular use is to maintain straightened strands as long as possible between washing.
Product Placement : lift up hair, puff it through and massage it in.
Description: a foamy, lightweight product. Uses: Whether you have curly hair or straight hair, thick hair or fine hair, adding a form of heat protection to your regimen can prevent split ends, halt breakage, and smooth flyaways that usually result from a lack of moisture from constant heat styling with a blow dryer. Great for: preventing split ends and halting breakage. Perfect For: smoothing flyaways that usually result from heat styling with a blow dryer. Tips:
Your style will last all day without feeling crunchy or stiff.
Product Placement : work evenly through damp hair. By using the product on slightly wet hair, the heat protectant can better seal the cuticle and help lock in moisture before you blow dry.
Description: a spray product. Uses: this root lifting spray helps hair follicles rais the root, plump up a ponytail, or add a little "starch" to lock in shape when heat styling. Great for: locking in a hairstyle shape when heat styling. Perfect For: creating volume. Tips:
Your style will be smooth and weightless without leaving your hair or sculp damaged
Product Placement : Mist your hair, lift and heat then smooth out with a brush.
Description: runny, styling product like hair conditioner. Uses: Hair Balm takes skincare and applies it to your hair: It comes to the rescue in case of over-processing. Great for: fine, wavy or curly hair that is frizzy and uncontrollable. Perfect For: curls. Tips:
Great for straightening and adding shine.
Product Placement : work through damp hair with fingers or comb, and let air dry.
Description: runny, often clear, styling product. Uses: prepares your hair for straight styles using styling tools, and helps to enhance naturally straight hair. Great for: keeping your locks smooth and frizz free while straightening with an iron or blow-dryer. Will also help to speed up styling times when using heated styling tools to get a straight look. Perfect For: straight, smooth styles. Tips:
Product Placement : run throughout your lengths before straightening your hair with a blow-dryer or straightening iron to give you straight, smooth locks with less time and effort.