An Interview With Frédéric Fekkai

Gleaming hair is a sign of youth and vitality, so I cringe when I see a woman with lackluster hair—it ages her. Pollution, harsh chemicals, and heat styling can all turn hair dull, but a few extra steps will ensure your head shines.

• Start in the shower. Look for shine-enhancing shampoo and conditioner with ingredients like olive oil, jojoba, and rice proteins. Alternate these with your regular formulas to prevent buildup. Be wary of clarifying shampoos; they can deprive hair of much-needed moisture and even strip the dye off color-treated hair. After you shampoo, apply a conditioner evenly through the ends and rinse thoroughly. If your hair is color-treated, use a hair mask weekly to replenish moisture.

• Prep work. After towel-drying, apply either a glossing cream or shine serum with high levels of panthenol (provitamin B5). Glossing creams are lighter and have less silicone, so they're more appropriate for women with fine to medium hair. Use a shine serum if you have frizzy or coarse hair or unruly curls. (Avoid saltwater sprays; they tend to leave a matte finish.) Massage a quarter-size dollop of the product evenly through your hair.

• Dry the right way. Place a round, natural-bristle brush under a three-inch section of hair. Start at the roots, and hold the dryer so the nozzle aims downward—never up against the shaft. Slide the brush down without twisting it, to seal the cuticle.

• Add a spritz. While your hair is still warm from the dryer, flip it upside down and mist the ends with a shine spray. This ensures you won't get too much product near the roots. If you need a touch-up during the day, spritz some shine spray on your hands and run them lightly through your hair. Again, you don't want to overdo it.

ALLURE Magazine

How to Grow Out Your Bangs

An Interview With Harry Josh

There are two types of women in this world: those who have bangs and will probably die with them, and those who are just dying to grow the damn things out. But since the average fringe takes six months to a year to grow out fully, slicking your hair back into a ponytail every day can become a bore.

• Cut it. Growing out bangs requires trimming and reshaping. Have your stylist cut blunt bangs at an angle once they've passed the bottom of your eyebrows to soften the look. If they're already side-swept, let the outer corners grow while micro-trimming the middle. Each time you get a cut (every four to six weeks, please), have the hair around your face slightly angled to meet the growing bangs. And to even out the overall length, trim a quarter inch off the back.

• Style it well. When your bangs reach your eyebrows, it's all about control. Those with coarse, wavy hair need a little pomade to weigh it down, while fine hair responds best to a dime-size amount of gel that's got some alcohol to shape and tame flyaways. Once your bangs have reached the bridge of your nose, apply a styling lotion and curl the fringe up and back with a round brush. Gravity alone will help the hair fall into a sexy wave. And by all means, experiment with different parts—if you usually create one in the middle, a side part can make bangs look less like the center of attention.

• Color the truth. Fresh color pumps up hair that's going through an awkward stage. But thinly placed highlights can look oddly striped on bangs, so request a vegetable rinse to give the illusion of uniform length. If you just can't part with highlights, get balayage (fine strands of color) a few shades paler than your base. Have your colorist concentrate on the tips of the bangs. This draws the eye to the ends and makes the bangs look longer.

• Push it back. It couldn't be a better time to grow out bangs or layers, because hair accessories—clips, combs, headbands—are hot now. Pin your fringe back with a couple of delicate bobby pins and tuck that under a soft fabric headband. Or pull them back with a clawed band. For a less severe look, let a few pieces sneak out and graze the forehead on an angle. Those with wavy or curly hair can twist the fringe back off the face (as if they were doing a French twist) and secure it with a U-shaped hair pin. In the end, even if you thought it was a mistake to get bangs, at least it will seem as if you meant to look this chic and fabulous.

ALLURE Magazine