As summer’s humidity is finally gone, trying to calm your frizz this fall shouldn’t feel fruitless.
And with a change of season often comes a shift in style, but if you’re not ready for a major makeover, we tapped NYC-based stylist Kevin Ryan (he’s done hair for W and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as Tommy Hilfiger’s runways and well-coiffed celebs like Drew Barrymore, Hilary Swank, Selma Blair and Reese Witherspoon) to share a few easy tips to update your fall ‘do.
“Everything changes rapidly,” Ryan says, meaning there’s not one specific style that will have you looking in the know. Blame social media and our constant need to react to everything, but the good news is there’s not really any hairstyle that will have you looking out of the loop this season.
Embrace your curls
Ryan’s seeing curls everywhere, with people embracing their natural curls and straight-haired folks envying perfect curls. “Some hair is never going to look good curly,” Ryan admits. “Acceptance of is part of that.” But for natural curl-havers who may be avid straighteners, Ryan suggests bringing the bounce back to your hair, by letting it reconfigure itself and letting “curls get their memory back.” In other words, start a good shampoo and conditioning regime, use products with coconut and condition as much as possible (every time you shower) for up to a month until your natural hair gets its groove back. “You’re undoing damage,” Ryan explains of the tactic.
Get some curl
Those with naturally straight hair may not ever be coifed with ringlets, but Ryan has a few tactics to add a little curl or, for the super straight hair-havers, sometimes just “a band” to naturally non-curly locks. Electric wands, like Ryan’s own R Session Pro Tools, can mimic the curl patterns of natural hair. Those with less time can scrunch dry their hair with a diffuser attached to a blowdryer and those on the laziest side of the hair spectrum can use flat clips to clip hair into round shapes and let it dry naturally.
Prevent hat hair
Hats and hoods can be essential during a blustery commute, but that extra warmth doesn’t have to cause a bad hair day. Ryan says the process starts at night: Sleep with a satin pillowcase or wrap hair in a satin headscarf to prevent damage-causing friction. “This helps a lot,” he says, in both the hair resuscitation process and the prevention of static hair the next day.
Always be prepared
Pack a hair emergency kit with elastics, hairpins, powder (like Unite’s Expanda Dust to add texture and absorb oils) and a brush, for all occasions. With this, you can style a quick updo or pin bangs back for a daytime meeting before restyling to go out. Ryan’s biggest fall hair tip is this: Check the weather. And invest in a rain hood. “No one wants to wear a rain hood, they think only grandmas wear them, but it’s the only thing that will save you and the smallest thing you can carry,” he says. “They’re in every store, they never went away, but somehow young girls have talked themselves out of them.”
