Summer Hair Trends 2008 by Vancouver Hair Stylist Emily

It's summertime at last, and with the summer comes a more relaxed approach to fashion. In the hot weather you wear less clothing, and less makeup, and the last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time with a hot blowdryer on your hair, so ponytails become an everyday occurrence.

While a ponytail is a nice easy way to deal with unruly hair, you do need to be careful not to overdo it. Repeatedly pulling your hair back tightly, and then wrapping an elastic around it can cause strain to the hair and scalp and eventually lead to breakage. Pinning or clipping your hair up loosely will give you a softer look, and be easier on your hair. Instead of reaching for the elastic, go shopping for some fun hair accessories, and try some different ways of putting your hair up. Loose, messy hair is very fashionable right now, which is great news for your hair, because the looser the style the less damage it will cause your hair.

If you have long hair try a loose braid off to one side like Jessica Alba's. If you have short or medium length hair you can create Elisha Cuthbert's messy updo by piling your hair at the base of you hair line, and securing it with bobby pins. Both of these styles will work with most hair types, and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion.

But the most important thing for summer no matter how you wear your hair is a good leave in conditioner with sun protection. Many different brands of leave in conditioners have SPF in them, all you need to do is read the labels. UV rays will dry out your hair and bleach out your colour, so treat your hair like you would your skin, and protect it from the sun, unless you want to wear a hat all summer.