INDstyle

Hair do's that beat the heat

by Amanda Bedgood

Summer's here and the hair should be easy

I have a love/hate relationship with my long hair. I've done the short hair thing. Frankly, I spend more time fixing that sort of cut than I do this longer one that allows for quick ponytails and super fast topknots. But, come summertime there's always a struggle to keep my hair looking good in spite of the heat. By the end of a day working or baby chasing, the lovely locks of the morning are long gone. We know you face the same. And so, I've rounded up the best in hair do's for summer to keep you looking fresh even when you're facing a day chasing kiddos before a night on the town.

There are two keys to achieving summer hair: the first is that you must accept a certain level of messy (think sexy bedhead) and the second is to keep that hair away from your face.

A list of the top hair couldn't be complete without a nod to Blake Lively. She, of the greastest messy hair ever to grace the Upper East side, has a way of rocking beach worthy hair on the chicest of red carpets. You'll need a lot of texture to pull it off - try Bumble's hair powder (you can snag it at Bath Haus locally), plus a wayward curling iron, a teasing comb and a few random braids (fishtail or traditional or both).

January Jones does the topknot for summer. The often polished little updo gets a bit messy for summer and works well from day to night. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld does the side pony just right. At the end of the day, when hair's a bit ratty, it's the perfect way to get instantly polished. Again, whip out that teasing come and the hair powder. Perfect for strapless dresses and a statement earring.

And to prove just how fully this IND Styler endorses the side braid, yours truly is pictured with Paloma Reyes at Red Carpet Runway last week where we both rocked the side braid. It takes about three minutes total - the beauty being that when it's kind of a mess, it's quite perfect. Just my kind of style.