By Master Stylist Vicki Ogden-O’Fee

There's a cliché that summer is the best time to go blonde. While you can go lighter at any point throughout the year, there's something about the warmer months that inspires women to make a change.

Come December, we're sure to see a few more blondes about town especially as we approach Christchurch Cup and Show week. However, there are plenty of other hair trends on the rise, too. Here, we explore the best and trending hairstyles for spring/summer 2019.

Sexy waves and feminine curls are big at the moment and for the season ahead.

We say embrace natural curls and waves. Growing up with curly hair for some is an endless nightmare of frizz, triangle head, the fear of bad hair days, everyone says they’re jealous, but only you know the struggle of having naturally curly hair. Work with your hair, not against it.

Embrace your natural wave with a beautiful shiny colour.
Embrace your natural wave with a beautiful shiny colour - V for Hair and Beauty, Merivale, Christchurch

Trying to flatten your curls is the opposite of what you should be doing. Make sure you spend time experimenting on different ways to style your hair, so you find what works for you.Talk to your hairdresser.The key to awesome curly hair, is a killer haircut. Make sure your salon has done special training on curly cuts otherwise you may end up with a butchered cut. Ask questions! It’s your hair, so make sure you’re getting the proper treatment.If you’ve been getting the same blunt cut haircut since you were five, it’s time to switch it up. Let’s face it Dora the Explorer hair is no good for anyone. Try out lots of layers which allow the curls to lay nicer for a fuller all over curl. Global rich hair colour is a great way to help with curly hair frizz, tame your hair and enhance shine.

Balayage is big this season… own it!

Balayage is a highlighting technique that has a softer, more natural effect than traditional foil highlights. It is a freehand technique in which the colour is painted onto pieces, creating a soft effect at the top of the strands and more concentration and saturation through the ends. The colour palette for this service is endless and only constrained by your imagination.

Balayage, big this season…own it
Balayage Hair, V for Hair and Beauty, Merivale, Christchurch.

Balayage is huge this season and why not, it’s beautiful, sexy, feminine, glamorous and natural depending on how your individual Balayage is created by your hair stylist… also a huge thing is selecting a very competent stylist for this beautiful look.

Baby Highlights beautiful sexy feminine

Confused over the various hair colouring techniques? Fret not, you are not alone. With all the various terms and styles popping up, it's hard to keep up with the trend, let alone spot the difference between balayage and highlights.It's easy to pull up a photo from Instagram, simply point to it and tell your hairstylist this is the hair colour you want next. But do you really know what you are asking for and what it takes to maintain the style? We give you the lowdown on the various hair colouring techniques, so the next time you see a hair colour you like, you'll be armed with much more than just a picture.

Baby Highlights, V for Hair and Beauty, Merivale, Christchurch.

Highlights add dimension to your hairstyle and are a subtle way to liven up your otherwise plain jane tresses. When strands of hair are lighter than your base colour, this is referred to as highlights.

Highlights are typically done with foil, you might be familiar with this process when the hairstylist wrap strands of hair in foil after applying colour. How light your highlights are, the placement and thickness are left up to your preference or the hairstylist's expertise. As highlights start from the roots of your hair, you would need to go for regular touch-ups to avoid the harsh lines that come with root regrowth.Highlights basically leave your base colour intact while adding colour to sections of your hair. Hence, colour choice can be very important to make sure that it looks multi-dimensional, rather than looking stripy.The shade of your highlights should be decided based on your base colour and your complexion. Try not to go 3 shades lighter than your base colour. For example, if you have black hair, your highlights should be a shade of dark brown, brunettes should go for copper or caramel hues, and blondes should opt for a lighter shade of blonde. Go lighter than 3 shades and you run the risk of looking like a skunk or a zebra and very unnatural!

Changing up your blonde look, pastel toning very on trend!

Pastel toners are very on trend You must have blonde hair to make the colour show up. It seems obvious but having natural or fake blonde hair is your first step to going pastel. Putting the pastel hair toners on natural blonde hair will give you a cool wash of colour, but it won't last long. For major results, you'll want to have a powder lightening service first. Start out small, like with ombre blonde or highlights, or go all in with your full head. Either way, you'll want to hit the salon. To make the shade last, you'll also want to choose the right colour for your blonde. "Yellow tones will interfere with a cool colour, so if you want blue hair, you need your hair to be very pale blonde," explains Vicki Ogden-O’Fee "On the other hand, if you want pink or mint hair, a more yellow blonde will work."

Pastel Colours
Pastel toning very on trend!

Your skin tone helps you choose what colour to try. It's hard to choose between lavender and pink, but your skin tone can guide you and your stylist can advise you. "If you have red tones go in your skin, go for cooler shades like blue, green or lavender, “If you're very pale, warmer shades like pink and orange will look amazing."It fades fast. Say goodbye to quick, five-minute showers. You're going to be spending a little extra time maintaining your new colour. Deeper pastel colour will last a big longer, but true pastels fade fast. "The more 'baby' the colour, the quicker it will wash out, advises Vicki Ogden-O’Fee “It’s best to buy pigmented hair products to keep your pastel hair perfect all the time." Ask your hairstylist to advise the best to take home, like we do at V For hair and Beauty Merivale.It's high maintenance. Your strands will take a bit of a beating, so it's important to care for them properly. Use sulphate-free shampoo and strengthening conditioner — products containing keratin will help keep your hair super strong. And moisture, moisture, moisture! Beware of products containing the words "cleansing," which will totally strip your colour and dry out your hair.But it's all totally worth it to become the unicorn you've always wanted to be.

Rich, multi-dimensional pastel toning.
Rich, multi-dimensional pastel toning.

Glamorous silver fox, going grey with sex appeal and style.

For those ladies where the silvers are starting to move in, then you are very much in luck this season, shiny silver stylish cut locks are high on the fashion forecast this season, the one secret is your silver hair must be shiny and set you apart with a youthful glow.From the French verb coffer, which means to do (someone's) hair, the English word coiffure generally refers to a hairstyle or previously, a headdress. To be well-coiffured is therefore to imply a well-done, well-arranged, stylish hairdo. This is the biggest tip we can give for the new 2019 season ahead; any sign of grunge is so long gone “Hair this season is beautifully coiffured and coloured with expertise and precision.

Glamorous silver fox, going grey with sex appeal and style
We don't just do hair, We do beautiful
2019 summer season quote from Master stylist Vicki Ogden-O’Fee, Hair must be well coiffured and great grooming takes effort.