This summer, beat the heat with these cool hairstyles. We give you a few tips and instructions on different hairstyles that you can create sitting at home and don't need to spend a fortune on it.
Side braid
* Brush your hair thoroughly. Knots and tangles make braiding in general a lot harder than it should be.
* Part your hair. Since the side-braid look is asymmetrical, parting it to one side is a good choice. If you are going for a romantic look, allow the part to be messy.
* Face a mirror to make sure the braid is neat. Watching your reflection can confuse your feel for the braiding (if you are used to doing it freehand), so this is up to you.
* Gather all your hair over one shoulder. If your part is off to one side, make sure that the hair is on the side farthest from the part. Make sure the shortest pieces aren’t too short to braid.
* Tug a few shorter strands of hair out of the bunch if desired. Letting a few strands frame your face will soften the look, so if you have long side-swept bangs or want a few tendrils to curl out around your neck, separate out those pieces now.
* Split the hair into three sections. The area underneath your ear will be the “anchor” point for your braid, so don’t move the braid around once you get started.
* Starting underneath your ear, braid as you normally would. Grab one of the outer sections and cross it over to the middle, then grab the outer section on the opposite side and pull it to the middle; repeat, cycling through all three strands over and over again.
Stop at the desired length. It’s best to stop before strands of your hair become so short that they begin falling out of the sides of your braid.
Secure the end of the braid with an elastic band, arrange any wisps of hair that are hanging out, and spray with hair spray if desired.
Butterfly ponytail
* Start with straight hair. You will need hair spray, bobby pins and fine hair bands.
* Braid once and add a section. Braid as normal.
* Don’t worry if it is messy. Messy is also good.
* Tie a ponytail. Make sure the braid is in the ponytail. Use your thin hair band. Have a few strands out for the fringe.
* Loop your ponytail over. Make sure it is not too loose.
* Braid one part in the ponytail and loop over, and tuck into the hair band. Make sure it looks like the butterfly wings. Do the same once more.
* Braid the extra part of the ponytail and finish with hairspray.
Low side messy bun
* Here the hair is parted sideways and it is drawn around the opposite side of the parting and fixed in a loose, undone bun or twisted and pinned to the head. Pieces of hair are normally left free at the front.
* First, part your hair to one side - your part should start directly above the middle of the eyebrow on whichever side you choose to part it.
* Pull all your hair around behind your head over to the same side that you parted it on - pin it in place at the back of the head to keep it to that side.
* Using a fine-tooth comb, back comb the hair to give it body.
* Brush the surface of the hair lightly to smooth it down - don’t brush too hard and remove all the teasing you have just done. Re-pin the hair to the side.
* There are two ways you can create the bun with either of these methods. It is up to you how messy or tidy you make it.
* Tie your hair into a side pony tail and then loosely wind your hair around the elastic and secure with hair pins (for an easy quick side ‘do’ simply pull the hair through the elastic as per usual and on the last pull through, leave the base of the pony tail in the elastic so the hair creates a loop.)
French twist
* Brush all your hair to one side. If you want the finished product to twist from left to right, brush it to the left side; if you want it to twist from right to left, brush it to the right.
* Use grips or pins at the back of your hair to hold it in place. This will keep the hair pulled to one side.
* Place your hand underneath the hair and brush it very gently. Make sure to brush it to the side so as to keep it in position and not dislodge the pins.
* Lightly grasp the hair in one hand and, with the other, wrap it underneath, around, and over your fingers or thumb. Make sure to twist the hair in the direction opposite the one you originally brushed it in.
* Insert big pins to hold the hair in place. Feed the tip of the pin into the hair curling through the cone, slide it with the movement of the hair out to the side, and pin it to the hair along your scalp.
* Use a bristle brush or other fine-toothed brush to neaten the style (if necessary) and use hairspray to hold the twist together.