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Summer is the perfect season to experiment with new hairstyles! Adding flower accents is a fun way to freshen up your look, as well as an easy fix for the dreaded bad hair day. There are so many floral hair accessories available; from headbands to clips, ponytail holders to headpieces the choices are endless.

How to: Wear it Down

If you plan on wearing your hair down, a bold floral headband is a great addition. No matter what your hair type; curly, straight, short, or long this helps to keep your hair out of your face and completes a very stylish look.

Braids are also a great summer hairstyle to accent with flowers. You can try a single braid and stick flowers throughout. Thislook takes just a few minutes but its sure to turn heads. If it’s an up-do you’re looking  for you can try milkmaid braids, then finishing it off with flowers stuck throughout.

How to: Milkmaid Braids

Milkmaid braids look complex but they are super easy to execute! Just follow these 4 easy steps and you’re done.

1. Center part your hair and brain two pigtails, secure with ponytail holders.
2. Lift each braid up and cross at the crown of your head.
3. Secure with bobby pins.
4. Hairspray generously.

Remember, store bought flower accessories are not the only ones you can use. Take advantage of the beautiful weather and pick fresh flowers or buy them from your local florist. Although they won’t last more than a few days, they will exude a fresh scent and radiate beautiful, bold coloring.

How to: 50′s Pin-up

A 50′s pin-up hairstyle can be achieved by parting your hair on the side creating a side swept bang, and placing a flower or flower clip behind or near your ear. This look can be used with your hair down, pulled half back, or completely up in a smooth bun or ponytail. This sophisticated look is great for a night out or special occasion. Again, there are plenty or flower clips available for purchase or take the time to pick a fresh flower to use such as a carnation or daisy!

Embrace the season, get creative, and come up with your own ways to use flower accents in your hair. Have fun and feel free to share your own ideas!

The post 3 Easy Hairstyles That Go Perfectly with Flower Accents appeared first on Kouturekiss.

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Shampoo and Conditioner

You have to start with the foundations, getting the right shampoo and conditioner is fundamental to regaining moisture locked hair. It’s very important to ensure you get a shampoo that is not going to overgrease your tresses. On the same note, you don’t want a conditioner that is going to stay sticky and slimy on your hair either. Moroccan Oil Moisture Repair Shampoo and Conditioner (a personal favorite product of mine) is a perfect fit. These products are sulphate, phosphate and paraben free and safe for color treated hair. A little goes a long way to help get super soft locks in no time. (Don’t overload the conditioner on your roots as this will lessen the amount of time it remains clean and shiny).

Mist

A light hair mist is a simple and easy way to keep your hair looking vitalized. Carol’s Daughter Macadamia Finishing Shine Mist is a natural blend of macadamia and safflower oils, and manufactured without water or alcohol so no dryness is experienced. This is a perfect accompaniment between washing your hair as it retains style and shine.

Masque

A perfect complementary post-shower product. Similar to face masks, it serves as an intensive hydrating conditioner that is applied, unlike the mist, to hair when wet. There are many different treatments for relevant hair types so if you don’t find the perfect fit straight away, try a different product. You can also make your own; most recipes consist of eggs, olive oil and honey. You can try mixing in avocado, oatmeal or yogurt to give it that extra kick. Nioxin makes a really great unisex (to make sure the boyfriend’s hair is looking as great as yours) hydrating hair masque that is weightless and restores moisture balance on the scalp naturally.

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Hair Serum

This is quite a tricky treatment to get right. Most people use too much, but you shouldn’t use too little. Hair serum is designed to create exceptional shine and promote long lasting rejuvenation. Josie Argan makes a great serum that permeates each layer of the hair strand. It has a non-alcoholic formula that is great for dry scalps, but it works for all hair types. It is also a source of antioxidants.

Prep to Go

This just may be my favorite product I’ve listed, and hopefully your secret weapon. Bumble and bumble produce a small product Prep To Go that is essentially a hairspray. Similar to dry shampoo, this elixir refreshes hair without making it dull or weighing it down. When time is of the essence and, shampooing isn’t an option, this spray is seriously worth it.

There is no excuse to continue craving gorgeous locks all winter, with this advice. Stock up on supplies and you’ll be safe the entire winter through!

The post Winter Hair Blues: 5 Products To Keep Your Tresses Moisturized All Season appeared first on Kouturekiss.

The Waterfall Braid

This style not only incorporates the classic braid but allows it to flow into the side of your hair on a slant. Through our easy instructions below you should be able to grasp this technique quickly! This style looks great on short or long hair. If you are already a dab-hand at braiding then this is the perfect way to change up the hairstyle. It can be done from your fringe or from the side of your hair and is great with your hair up or down. With this versatile look, you can’t go wrong!

• Take three sections of hair towards the front, and begin a normal braid
• At the top you pick up a piece of hair and add it to the braid, at the bottom instead of adding in a piece you let it drop to create the waterfall effect
• From behind that bottom piece that you let drop, you pick up a new piece of hair and add it to the braid
• Then you pick up a piece from the top again and add that piece in and continue with this until you reach the back part of your hair

The Hippie Braid

For those of you who find the classic braid and its counterparts a little too difficult, there are plenty of other ways to get the braid effect with half the hassle! The hippie braid is the perfect way to change up your everyday wavy or straight down do. This model at Nanette Lapore incorporates a few small plaits into the front section of the hair to create that hippie but glam look! Give it a go; this is too simple to say no to!

The French Braid

This style was seen everywhere on the beaches this summer as it is a great way to get the hair away from your face while still looking beach chic! It is also great for every day and evening looks as it is such a fashionable style! A great way to make it look different as seen on Lauren Conrad, is to do the headband braid. We love this at CocoKouture as it can be done up or down, and we are all about variety, ease and convenience! To get this look just check out our instructions below.

• Begin by creating a side parting to the far side of your hair, further than your normal parting
• Separate a section where your bangs end and start your braid first with three sections of hair, under or over, either way looks good
• As you fold them into each other, pick up a new section from the top and incorporate that into the braid
• Then pick up a piece underneath and add this in
• Keep doing this until you have used up all of your bangs and secure with a hairband or bobby pins

Now that you are armed with the knowledge on how to get creative with braids, it is time to try out these fabulous hairstyles! There are a lot more braid hairstyles to have a look at, they are great for any upcoming events you may have planned. Also check out our very own CocoKouture article on how to do braids that incorporate ribbons for extra information on this trendy style!

The post Braids, Braids, Braids: Getting Creative with the Classic American Braid appeared first on Kouturekiss.

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Before we go anywhere, consider yourself warned that red is the easiest dye to wash out and is a high maintenance color to sport. Losing that lustrous look as your color dulls can be attributed to numerous things, but the most common cause is simply not taking due care when looking after your treated tresses. However, this problem is easily rectified if you take active control in maintaining your look.

You want to make sure you have a good color treatment on your hair. I would recommend one by a reputable hair product company if you’re home dyeing. (Although my advice is to go to your salon though, they can explain everything to you properly and go through possible side effects). Schwarzkopf and L’Oréal have some excellent treatments and their websites go into full detail of how to properly look after your hair post-treatment. I also highly recommend Garnier. Their Nutrisse and Belle Color collections are fab because they are enriched with various natural oils which work with your hair to get the best looking color and shine. Lush has a really interesting product called Caca Rouge Mama, which is basically a block of henna and naturally adds a red color to your original shade. Their ‘How-To-Use’ section on the website is super helpful as well.

It is also essential to use color preserving shampoos and conditioners. These products are specially formulated to protect hair and not strip the color away. If you’re going to use one of the aforementioned hair coloring treatments, they usually provide a shampoo and conditioner set that helps lock in color. Personally, I use Tresemmé Color Protection revitalizing shampoo and conditioner. It’s really lightweight and leaves my hair feeling soft and nourished. It protects hair for up to forty washes too. Undoubtedly, after time, my red does begin to fade but I think this shampoo does a really great job of maintaining it until I can get to the salon.

Clairol manufactures a particularly neat product called Root Touch-Up. In the six weeks between trips to get your color done, roots will always rear their ugly head. Similar to a dye, but applied just to your roots, this is a beauty lifesaver. With thirteen different shades, you’ll definitely find your match. (They pair with L’Oréal and Garnier colors too). If you’re not due in the salon for another three weeks and you’ve got a lot of showing face to do, this will definitely be the way to go.

All in all, if you want to rock bright red locks a la Rihanna or Florence Welch, make sure you go full force with the upkeep. Red hair is one surefire way to stand out among the crowd, especially in a sea of blondes and brunettes. If you are sick of your color, you will never want to go back once you turn to red!

The post Fiery Red: How Keep Your Tresses Flaming appeared first on Kouturekiss.