Top 3 fall and winter hair trends

By Shelley Levitt

The fashion forecast for fall and winter is a free-for-all with a dizzying diversity of styles and moods, and the same is true for hair. Take your pick: disheveled long hairstyles that are a throwback to the '90s; sophisticated volume that revisits '60s beehives or early '70s chic; or a high-camp glam reinterpretation of the power woman. This season is all about choice, says celebrity hairstylist Sam McKnight, who worked his magic at some of the biggest runway shows, including those for Chanel, Mulberry, Prada, Vivienne Westwood and Fendi. "But whatever look you go for," says McKnight, "it relies on great hair that's been well cared for."

Get your blow-dryers fired up: Here's a step-by-step guide to the three biggest hair looks of the upcoming seasons.

Hair Trend No. 1: Power Glam

The perfect accompaniment to tailored, slightly masculine fashion, long hair is both slick and swingy.

Get This Look

1. Comb mousse through towel-dried hair, starting from the hairline, back about 4 to 6 inches to just behind your ears. Keep hair slick to the scalp on the top and sides.

2. Gently blow-dry the top of the head with a diffuser attachment.

3. Blow-dry the loose hair until it's straight, beginning at the nape of the neck. Apply a smoothing serum, then flat iron the mid-length to the ends.

4. Mist with a shine hairspray. The finished look is slick and smooth on the top and sides, with the ends swinging. 

Hair Trend No. 2: Groomed Grunge

It's a "care less" look, but not a "careless" one. Think Kate Moss in the early '90s, or Alicia Silverstone's Cher in Clueless -- plaid and checks, head-to-toe leather and low-slung belts on jackets and coats. "The hair is easy," says McKnight, "but there's work involved in getting it to look this good."

Get This Look

1. Towel dry freshly washed and conditioned hair.

2. Comb volumizing mousse through hair, starting 2 inches away from the roots to the ends.

3. Using a large round brush, blow-dry hair away from the face and add a slight bend at the ends.

4. Use fingers to create a messy part and twist hair at the roots to add texture and volume; use the blow-dryer to disrupt any overly coiffed sleekness.

5. Spray a flexible-hold hairspray into the air and walk through the mist.

Hair Trend No. 3: The Blow-up

Retro influences from the '60s and early '70s create a hodgepodge of ladylike but edgy looks -- Jackie O. meets Bianca Jagger meets Christina Hendricks. To complement these looks, hair gets voluminous in beehives, bouffant and beyond.

Get This Look

1. Work volumizing mousse into towel-dried hair from root to tip.

2. Blow-dry hair with head tipped upside down for maximum volume.

3. Starting at the crown, divide hair into small sections and back comb with a fine-toothed comb, starting 3 inches from the root and gently pushing hair to the scalp.

4. Standing back a foot or more, spritz each section with a volumizing hairspray.

5. Using a soft bristle brush, smooth over the top of the hair, brushing backward from the face. Mist again with hairspray.

6. Gather the ends of the hair loosely at the back and secure with a snag-free elastic.

7. Roll hair under and into the nape of the neck, tucking under and securing with bobby pins. 

8. Allow loose tendrils to escape for a look of modern imperfection.

Shelley Levitt, managing editor of The Style Glossy, is a former West Coast editor of Self magazine and senior writer at People.

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