It’s red carpet season once more and with plenty of up dos and long wavy locks on show, there’s plenty of hair style envy about.  Take “Conviction” actress Hilary Swank as a case in point. How did she get to show her Screen Actors Guild Awards look?

It’s all down to MoroccanOil – an argan oil‐infused styling, finishing and conditioning products for the hair loved with sustainable credential to boot (it’s harvested under a free trade program, which supports thousands of families in the Southwest region of Morocco).

Voted one of InStyle magazine’s Best Beauty Buys 2010, Moroccanoil Treatment (€38) is hot on every beauty editor’s obsession list and popular amongst curly babes and those wanting to achieve the wavy look alike.

It’s great for prepping your hair before blow drying (throw a euro-sized dollop on your damp hair to tame frizz), but it’s also a superb post styling product too  – and in Hilary Swank’s case,  for making curls look a little more polished.

Hilary’s hair was designed by leading Hollywood stylist, Robert Vetica, who was inspired by the sensual, flowing lines of her nude Versace dress and the hairstyles of iconic 60’s Hollywood siren and Bond girl, Ursula Andress.

To create the red carpet look, Vetica shared his tips with us:

“I started by blow‐drying Hilary’s hair using Moroccanoil Treatment to instantly condition, bring any dry ends back to life and make her hair easier to style. The argan oil‐infused formula also gave the hair a brilliant, natural‐looking shine.

After the hair was dried, I did a full head set by curling 1” by 1” sections of hair, starting at the nape of the neck, then pinned each to the head. These were real, full base curls, not spiral curls. I continued section by section until I reached the crown, and then finished the sides and top of the head.  It almost had the look of a 60’s hot roller set.

I gave the set a good spray of Moroccanoil Luminous Hairspray (€24) and let it sit for 20 minutes, to insure an even longer‐lasting set. I then gave it a good brushing and applied a small amount of Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream (€28) for added body.

Finally, I gave hair a good backcombing at the root and sprayed again. I brushed out most of the backcombing except at the crown, and ran my fingers through the hair to loosen it up. I backcombed a bit more at the crown, gave it another quick spray and lightly brushed over the top to smooth and finish.”

Moroccanoil is stocked in fine salons across Ireland.  For stockists, call 061 212 028.

Photo credit: Jason Merritt / Getty Images

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SAG Awards 2010

For pics of the 2011 SAG Awards, see our Facebook page.

It’s funny how the Recession is teaching us all to go back to basics. Ditch the polished, expensive hair straighteners and go for a more natural look they say – did someone forget to mention that it’s too late, that most of the female population already own a GHD? You will see below how your straightening irons still come in handy for achieving this look…

Don’t you all crave effortlessly sexy hair,  something that doesn’t look like we’ve had to try too hard to re-create it?  Luckily for those of you with longer locks, sexy beach hair is always a great option for summer, especially for a beach wedding.

Textured, yet glossy and voluminous, it’s the sort of laidback, tousled look that Kate Beckinsale (pictured) is often papped with. Sometimes called Polished Festival Hair – think of the style as “almost-waves and a messy vibe”.

We find that our hair never gets the sexy beach hair look, even after a day of sand and sea which is why we seek sexy beach hair from a bottle. There are texturizing products which you can add which get you half way there, for example Boots MOP C-System Texture Spray (€11).

The salt, mixed with product, will give you a mussed-up, beach head look. Also the Glycerine ingredient in it acts as a natural humectant, so the overall effect is effortless beach hair with body.

To mix the style up a bit, you can also introduce a plait or two to your unfussed hair. Find out how to create a boho plait here.

How to get the beach hair look

1.  Get a little bit of volume at the roots – otherwise it will just look odd. Hence, blow dry just the roots.  If you have thin hair, do this with your head upside down when you hair is at its wettest.

2. Don’t use a brush, just finger comb as you blow dry.  Alternatively use a wide toothed comb, to get that ‘undone’ texture.

3. When your hair is three quarters the way dry, spray with a texture spray, such the MOP product mentioned earlier.

4. For curly hair, blow dry the hair straight first. Once the hair is almost dry, mix the texture spray with a little more water, and spritz hair lightly.

5. If your hair is naturally wavy, leave the rest of the hair to dry naturally and twist a few sections around your fingers.

6. If your hair is very thick or straight then plait it all over and leave to dry. You can also run your straightening irons up the plaits to give them extra texture (see? that GHD is still useful!). Let the plaits cool and then un-plait them. Run your fingers through your hair as if you’re combing it.

And voila, you’ve got sexy beach hair!