No More Bad Hair Days

1. Use a dab of cream to style. It makes hair soft, shiny, and manageable without weighing it down, says New York stylist Nathaniel Hawkins. Apply a dime-size amount to damp hair, comb through, and style. To add shine to already styled hair, rub a pea-size drop between your palms (the heat from the friction will help you work it through) and smooth. Our pick: Nexxus Designing Texxtur High Fashion Texture Crme ($13; nexxus.com). Never sticky, it nourishes hair with avocado oil.

2. Pick aerosol hairspray over a pump. The finer mist goes on drier to protect your hair from frizz. Go a step further and choose a humidity-resistant spray like TRESemme Tres Two hair spray ($4; at drugstores). And don't worry; today's aerosols don't deplete the ozone.

3. Stash a waterproof hairbrush in your shower. Make sure it has round, ball-like knobs on the bristles. To help detangle, slide through hair after you condition but before you rinse.

4. Condition with a color-depositing rinse once a week. It's the quickest way to get temporary highlights or perk up your color between salon visits, says Hiro Haraguchi, owner of Hiro Haraguchi salon in New York. For the truest, longest-lasting vibrancy, use a color conditioner that's a shade lighter than your natural color. We like Artec Color Depositing Moisturizer ($15.50; lorealprofessionnel.com for salons), available in 12 shades.

5. Powder your 'do. A bit of baby powder
will help absorb excess oil when you don't have time to shampoo, says
Stuart Gavert, owner of Gavert Atelier salon in Beverly Hills. Sprinkle
powder onto your roots, rub it in with your fingertips, then brush
through. Or try a colored powder that matches your hair, like Bumble
and Bumble spray powder ($34 for 4 oz.; bumbleandbumble.com for salons).

6. Swap your daily conditioner for a protein-rich mask. Once
every two weeks use a treatment like Krastase Nutritive Gluco-Active
Nutridfense ($65; 877-748-8357 for salons) to hydrate dry or damaged
hair. Leave on for several minutes in the shower; the steam will help
hair absorb it faster, says Gavert.

7. Get sleek with hot tools. On days when heat styling is a
must, use a hydrating pomade on dry hair before you iron, says Frank
Galasso, a Los Angeles hairstylist. This not only guards against heat
damage, but the oils in the product will smooth stray strands. We love
PhytoSpecific Beauty Styling Creme ($20; www.sephora.com).

8. De-frizz with hand cream. No flyaway-taming product in sight?
Rub a tiny dollop of hand cream between your hands and distribute
evenly throughout your hair. It will absorb the moisture and look
silky.

9. Prevent hat head. Avoid kinks in your tresses by tying a thin
silk or satin scarf around your head under your heavy winter hat. The
fabric helps hair "breathe," explains Hawkins.

10. Get waves without rollers. Spritz dry hair with hair spray,
then roll 2-inch sections of hair around your fingers; clip each "roll"
with a bobby pin. Keep clips in place while you get dressed, then take
them out, and finger-comb for natural-looking waves.

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