It’s hot. Very hot. So hot, we’re swarming to the beach in droves; swimming, sunning and being generally salty. And whilst we love all things summer, when it comes to our tresses, how to style your summer hair can be quite the conundrum. Too fuzzy? Too fluffy? Too straight, even?

Fear not, lovers of sandy bottoms and balmy nights; we asked one of our favourite backcombing and blowdrying experts, Anthony Nader, on his tips for feeling “more beach” and less blah.

Go on – ride the wave, you salty dog, you.

don’t wash hair daily
For starters, don’t wash your hair daily, as you’re only making your strands appear and feel way too soft and smooth. Back off on the washing and also skip the heavy conditioning cream, as this is only going to weigh down your beach hair.

MAKE FRIENDS WITH A SEA SALT SPRAY
Before you leave the house, on 80 percent dry hair, douse your strands with your sea salt spray and rake through evenly with your hands. For those of you with a longer mane, do a head flip over and get your spray nozzle on the underneath section and spray away. This ensures maximum beach-going vibes.

RIDE THE PONY-WAVE
Don’t want a day off from sunning, but want to give your hair some lovin’? On damp hair, use a leave-in conditioning spray and then comb it smoothly into a fun, high ponytail – wrap the tail around the base and pin, or weave your magic here and create a loose braid. FYI – the best part about any braid you create is when your hair dries, you can unravel it or give it a shakeout and you’ll have fab beach waves.

DIFFUSE THE SITch
For those of you who were blessed with a wavy texture, but you need to give it more oomph, my biggest go-to for you girls is attaching a diffuser on the end of your hairdryer. This encourages the texture to maximum potential, now #SayYes. By attaching this to your dryer, you only get the heat and not the fast air, so now your strands won’t look like you’ve been caught in a beach storm.

FAKE THE WAVE
3-barrel curling irons or ‘waving irons’ can also get you the beach hair look if you’re stuck in the office over the holidays. Handy hint here for loose waves: you’ll want an iron with a larger barrel and, if you want tighter waves, opt for the smaller iron.

a fishy tail
Also, try this one if you want that Summer vibe but your reality is being stuck in the office: Spray your sea salt spray on dry hair and then blast the product in by scrunching into your palms. Then divide your hair into two and direct the length down into two low ponytails – no need to secure the ends here. Now, twist each tail in a backward direction from the nape area to the ends and use your diffuser here to put heat on the tails only. Let the tails cool right down (approximately 5 to 10 minutes), then unravel both, rake through your newfound beach wave swirls and you’re good to go.

Shop the Look

WAHL DIFFUSER, $20. SHOP NOW


HI LIFT TRIPLE BARREL CERAMIC DIGITAL & DUAL VOLTAGE, $26. 
SHOP NOW

AVEDA TEXTURE TONIC, $39. SHOP NOW

Cover and Tile Image: Steven Chee for GRAZIA