Get a Simple, Sexy Summer Haircut

As part of our laid-back summer beauty guide, we vowed to give Whitney a summer hair makeover that would take her from flat to fresh in no time at all. Whitney came to us with the same old cut she's had her whole life — "I've had it for forever!" she said. "I want a fun new cut for summer that's not as heavy and long."

Whitney's stylist, Nicole of Butterfly Studio Salon in New York City, started her hair makeover by giving her layers to lighten up the weight of her hair. "Working in some soft layers will give her hair more movement," Nicole said. "They'll give her a fun, flirty look." She also wanted to give Whitney a softer, longer, grown-out bang; "something that will be easy to style, but that's going to bring some softness, some sexiness to her look," she said.

Because Whitney usually wears her hair down, we wanted to give her a cut that would be easy to style and that would look great in a flash. Nicole started out trimming her ends and used a straight-edge razor to create a soft fringe around her face. "You have fantastic natural body," Nicole told Whitney, "so this cut is going to be great for you. It's very simple, and it'll be easy to play up the natural wave in your hair to get a low-maintenance style that looks amazing."

Before

After

"I look fantastic!" Whitney said after she was cut and styled. Overall, Nicole cut 2 1/2 - 3 inches off her hair and then a half-inch more to give her layers. She then used Kaze Wave Sensual Curl Texturizing Foam to give Whitney those coveted romantic, beachy waves and to give her hair some texture. "This is perfect for summer," Whitney said. "It's soft, it's fun, it's flirty — I love it!"