By Gretta Monahan
For many people, hot weather means vacations, ice cream, and beach days. But for just as many of us, it also means some seriously bad hair days. In fact, when it’s this humid out, we’re talking more about bad hair months than days.
So that’s when I pick up the phone and call Gary Croteau, who’s the artistic director at my salon, Grettacole in Copley Square. He’s a genuine genius when it comes to fixing tress, and has some incredible ideas for summer hair that’s low-maintenance but still high-style.
“This time of year people want to a style that’s easy,” he tells me. “They don’t want to spend time in their bathroom blowing out their hair.” Agreed. And what’s more, he argues that too many people are brainwashed into thinking they have to blow out their hair to look pulled together. “It’s totally possible to look polished without a lot of work.”
One example: For fine hair, he recommends a short cut for summer that’s easy to handle. “Humid weather just exaggerates people’s natural hair texture. So if it’s fine then it’s going to hang flat. So you want something that will work with the integrity of your hair. If it’s going to be flat, do something that looks like it’s supposed to be flat. Less layers and a shorter length will free it up to get some movement in there. “
For lots of people with longer hair, a ponytail is the obvious summertime go-to solution. But Gary’s come up with a more elegant option: a side braid that that leads into an updo at the back of the head. “Braids are a casual but still polished option for long hair,” says Gary. “You start with a very structured element—the braid—then add in a much less structured part: a twisted and loosely pinned bun.” The effect is a similar look to a ponytail, but has less of a just-back-from-the-gym-aesthetic.
Gary insists that the key is the juxtaposition of casual and formal. “Having the whole style be entirely casual can look messy. And having it all structured looks too contrived,” he explains. “It’s really about the combination of both.”
Another example: For mid-length hair, he recommends doing a slicked back look , with a severe part. “As soon as you put a definite part in there, you have a look,” he says. “And if you use a good product like Oribe Gold Pomade and Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray, it’s pretty much indestructible. If the wind blows it apart, you just run your hands to put it back in place.”
He points out that it’s also an incredibly versatile look. It’s professional for daytime, and is just as appropriate on a tennis court. “It also goes from day to night very well,” he adds. “You could dress this up or down and it always looks right.”
The secret, he adds, is making a style look intentional—as with the dramatic part, and the braid, both of which are solutions as pretty as they are easy. “Summer’s a time when your hair is definitely doing its own thing,” he says. “So rather than fighting it, pick styles that go with it.”
Find more inspiration and solutions for terrific summer hair at Grettacole, 10 Huntington Ave., Boston, 617-266-6166, grettacole.com.
