Cynthia Santana Hair Studio

STORY BY LIESEL SCHMIDT

Flip through the pages of any style magazine or thumb through the posts of any influencer, and you’ll see that hair trends are ever-changing. With the shift of the seasons, hairstyles naturally get a re-fresh, and summer is one of the best times to get a new look to rock on your sun-kissed vacay days. For the latest 4-1-1 on all things hair, we bow to the expertise of Cynthia Santana, hair guru and owner of Cynthia Santana Hair Studio. “As summer heats up, I've been getting a ton of requests for longer and fuller hair with extensions,” says Santana, an educator for Bellami Hair Extensions who exclusively uses Bellami hair on her clients. “Beach waves, loose curls and just texture, in general, seem to be trending. As for color, the most common request is a champagne blonde or golden blonde balayage. Bright reds are also coming back, and brunettes are also joining in on the warmer toned balayage. For the summer, most ladies like a bit of sparkle in their hair color. Gold tones reflect more light, so it's perfect to give that beachy, summer look. It also just makes the color look brighter overall.” With more than 20 years of experience in the hair industry that includes working in high-end salons in New Orleans, Delaware and DC, Santana naturally understands the needs of different hair types and lengths, which makes her a fount of knowledge for anyone wanting to find the best style for their hair. “For thicker hair, I usually recommend loosening up the weight by adding layers,” says the salon owner, who opened Cynthia Santana Hair Studio in 2015, bringing with her a specialty in hair color and hair extensions that she accumulated from her time as an educator for Bumble and Bumble, L'Oreal and Bellami. “Styling the hair by adding curls or waves also gives the appearance of fuller hair that isn't weighed down. Depending on the texture of the hair, I sometimes also recommend a smoothing treatment. Formaldehyde-free smoothing treatments such as Cezzane and High Liss give frizzy or overly-textured thick hair a sleeker feel. Because these treatments really compress the cuticle, they give the hair a thinner feel. The perm is also making a comeback, but a looser look created with the use of longer, bendy rods, which makes the process faster and allows for more customization. You can get a tighter look, more volume on the roots or less volume on roots and beachy curls on the

For thinner hair, Santana recommends blunt cuts and—of course—extensions. “You don't want to cut too many layers in finer hair because it could make the hair look even thinner,” she advises. “Shorter hairstyles will also work best. Traditional haircuts like a bob, or even a layered bob, suit finer hair very well. A layered bob works because it maintains a heavier weight line at the bottom of the cut and the length is not too long. If the guest is on the edgier side, shorter cuts like the trending ‘bixie’ cut would be great. The ‘bixie’ is a haircut that's a cross between a pixie and a bob. Thinner hair is also great for the new body wave or perm techniques.” During the high heat of summer, sweaty days can make you feel the need to shower more often. Which begs the question; should you also wash your hair more often? “It's always important to not over-wash your hair, especially if your hair is colored or compromised in any way,” Santana warns. “I usually recommend washing hair twice a week, but over the summer, you may find that you will wash at least one extra time, depending on what you have going on. If you use professional hair care, you will find that the products will be more water-soluble, meaning they will rinse out easily with just water. If you are just sweaty and you washed your hair earlier that day or even the day before, it’s fine to simply rinse your hair with water and add conditioner to just the ends. This will keep your hair from drying out and your color from fading. Dry shampoo is your friend, but don't overuse this either. If you are using dry shampoo regularly, you’ll want to wash your hair every two to three days.”

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