Haven't we all fantasized about long, luscious locks or a healthy, shiny head of hair worth getting cast in a shampoo commercial?

Good news! Gorgeous hair is achievable -- on a daily basis. With a few tips to incorporate into your routine, a great coif can even be achieved within minutes. Your guide to a well-managed mane starts here.

Frizz Control
“It turns out that for hair, friction is a major issue,” says Bharat Bhushan, a professor who specializes in nanotibology (the measurement of very small things). He and his team of researchers conducted a comprehensive study of human hair on the nanometer level. They discovered that daily activities, such as brushing, washing and drying induce friction. Over time, this constant rubbing causes wear and tear on the tresses.

“In healthy hair, the cuticle edges lay flat against the hair shaft. As hair gets damaged from chemical treatments or wear and tear, the cuticle edges begin to peel away from the shaft,” writes Pam Frost Gorder in the article on Bhushan’s findings, “Nanotechnology Confronts The ‘Bad Hair Day,’ Tests New Conditioner.” “When damaged hair is exposed to humidity, the hairs plump up and the cuticles stick out even further, leading to frizz.”

Find the right conditioner: It will evenly coat strands from root to tip. This will definitely shave off styling minutes when you try to smoothen strands before heading out.

Custom Cleaning
Well-conditioned wisps start in the shower. Depending on your hair type, shopping for the right shampoo also helps prep locks for optimum styling. Steer clear of older formulas, which strip natural oils and leave strands extra-stringy. New good-for-you shampoos not only gently cleanse your hair, but are also nontoxic to the environment.

In terms of choosing the right wash for your hair structure, pay attention to the shampoo labels. For fine, limp hair, go for a volumizing formula that gives extra bounce even with minimal styling. For curly locks, opt for a rich, conditioning formula that combats frizz and leaves ringlets (or waves) soft and shiny. If dandruff is a concern, switch to a specialized, medicated shampoo until flakes disappear or lessen noticeably, and then start using any of the new gentle formulas mentioned above.

Tools Assessment
The brushes, hair dryer, rollers and other styling tools you use also contribute to how quickly you can get out the door. Check your styling stash: Do you have the appropriate brushes, and do they have to be cleaned? Is your dryer powerful enough? (Also check for a “cool boost” button.) How long have you had your flatiron? (The newer ceramic ones are gentler on hair.) Staying updated on the newest styling technology saves you time and effort when it comes to keeping your crowning glory in its best shape.

Styling 101
Salon pros dip into their styling bag of tricks, especially when entertaining multiple clients or are working in fashion shows, where time is of the essence. Here are some of their strategies that you too can employ:

• Stand tall. Some pros ask their clients to remain standing for the first few minutes of cutting hair, to ensure straight lines and accurate angles. For at-home styling, standing up versus sitting down makes you work faster. You can also move around this way with ease and reach for styling products and brushes.
• Go for the flip. When blow-drying hair, bend forward and aim the nozzle toward roots while tousling hair with hands. This is one of the fastest ways to achieve volume without having to meticulously divide hair and blow-dry in sections.
• Mix and match. While you don’t need every product available, it’s good to be strategic with what you use. From shine serums and volumizing mousses to sculpting gels and mouldable waxes, find your perfect styling combo and enjoy fab-looking tresses.

You’re itching to get out of your hair rut -- same color, same cut for years -- and into a dramatic new do. Before committing to an extreme hair makeover, most experts agree you should start with small, well-considered steps rather than all at once, and leave yourself open to some unexpected discoveries.

“I love when women are open to experimenting,” says Jon Patrick, a Beverly Hills colorist and stylist, “but I want the risks to be well-calculated.”

Here’s advice from the pros on how to achieve a hair makeover that will turn heads without leaving your own head spinning.

Growing out Hair
If you’ve decided to go from chin length to shoulder grazing, don’t kiss your stylist goodbye for the next year. Remember, hair grows from the scalp -- not the ends -- says Michael Shaun Corby, a hair guru who primps runway models for New York’s Fashion Week. “Left on its own, short hair will grow into something resembling a mullet in the back and unwieldy feathers in the front,” he says. 

The most graceful way to grow your hair out is to establish what Corby calls “a clean perimeter,” with a one-length bob that falls somewhere between the jawline and the middle of the neck. See your stylist every six weeks to trim and maintain that line while the underneath layers catch up. If you’re growing out bangs, keep one quarter as fringe, while your stylist begins incorporating the remaining bangs into the bob.

Cutting Hair
Ask yourself what look you’re really going for. “Sometimes women don’t really want short hair,” says Patrick. “What they want is the appearance, at least now and then, of short hair. If you think that may be the case, have your stylist show you how to put your hair up in a chignon or into a looped bun.” If you’re going short for the sake of convenience, keep in mind that a short do might actually require more upkeep since you won’t have the option of pulling your hair back into a ponytail or bun. You’ll also need trims every four to six weeks to maintain the shape. 

Bring photos to show your stylist what you mean by “short-ish” or “a few inches.” And before you commit to a new style, “ask your hairdresser what it’s going to take for you to duplicate the salon results on your own,” say Damien Miano of the Miano Viel Salon in New York City. If you have thick, wavy hair, for example, you’ll need to log a long session with your hair dryer and flatiron to get it to bend into a Victoria Beckham bob.

Transform Your Color With No Regrets
Remember when Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow all became brunettes a few years ago? “Suddenly I had all these blondes who said they wanted to go dark,” says colorist Andrea Sher of Anagen Salon in New York City. “I’d say, ‘No, what you really want is a change.’”

An all-at-once change doesn’t allow for incremental and dazzling shifts. A blonde who thought she wanted to go mink brown may feel reinvented with a few caramel streaks, while a brunette dreaming of Gwen Stefani platinum may discover she looks fabulous in Debra Messing auburn. “When women say they want a dramatic color change, it’s usually because they want to brighten their look,” explains Viel. “Sometimes the solution can be as simple as adding lowlights to hair that has been over-highlighted.”

Schedule a consultation with your colorist to discuss flattering shades for your skin tone. If you want to go lighter, ask how many shades your hair can be lifted or bleached without causing damage and how many visits it will take. Finally, be sure to talk about upkeep. “Any change that takes you more than two or three shades lighter or darker is going to require a lot of maintenance,” warns Viel. “And straight hair will need more frequent touchups than curly hair because when roots grow in, the line of demarcation is much more obvious.”

One of the best ways to stretch your getting-gorgeous dollars is by coloring your hair at home. If that sounds scary, relax: Today’s drugstore hair coloring products are gentler than ever and loaded with botanicals and conditioners. Following a few easy steps, you can use them to get natural-looking color as well as body and shine. 

Here are five secrets to foolproof at-home color.

At-home Coloring Secret No. 1: Stay within your color range.
Go only one or two shades lighter or darker than your starting hair color (the color your hair is at the moment). You don’t want to make extreme color changes on your own, because hidden beneath the shade that’s apparent to the naked eye are underlying pigments -- from pale yellow to dark red-brown. When hair is dyed, those pigments take center stage. “I can put the exact same color on seven medium brunettes, and they’ll each end up with different results because every woman's hair takes the color in its own way” says Philip Pelusi, who owns salons in Pittsburgh and Manhattan. That's called individuality, and it's something we all want to celebrate.

However, when you’re going from brunette to Lady Gaga platinum or vice versa, you first need to prep the hair by filling in the pigments that are being removed, or by removing pigments before depositing a darker color. This is what’s known as a “double process,” and it’s something you want to leave to the pros to avoid ending up with an orange or green hue.

At-home Coloring Secret No. 2: Choose the right formula.
Start out with a clear understanding of what you want to achieve, and that will lead you to the appropriate type of product.

• Glosses and glazes work in just three to five minutes to boost color by adding tone, shine and vibrancy. They last up to six shampoos. If your hair is highlighted, opt for a clear gloss that will add shine without depositing a hint of color that can affect the tone of those finely calibrated streaks.
• Semipermanent color contains pigments that coat the outside of the hair fiber and fade after six to 12 shampoos. Semipermanent color will only darken the tone of your hair and cover a sprinkling of gray.
• Permanent color contains ingredients that open the hair’s cuticle, allowing the color to penetrate the shaft. It can lighten or darken hair and will provide full gray coverage. After four to six weeks, you’ll need a touch-up to cover showing roots.

At-home Coloring Secret No. 3: Select the right shade.
Josh Wood, a celebrated London hair colorist who looks after some of the most pampered locks in the world, has done many corrections on at-home dye jobs gone wrong. “Typically, women have simply chosen the wrong color because they haven’t identified their skin tone, and skin tone and hair color go hand in hand,” he says. “The right hair color will bring your skin to life, lending it that beautiful luminescent glow.”

You want to balance warm skin tones with cool hair color (look for champagne, ash and beige shades) and cool skin tones with warm hair color (look for cocoa, pecan, caramel, bronze, honey and chestnut shades). “The foundation you wear will give you a good indication of whether you’re cool or warm skin tone,” says Wood. “If you’re still not sure, ask for a color consultation at a cosmetics counter.”

At-home Coloring Secret No. 4: Read the hair color box.
The product box is crammed with information to help you make the right buying decision. Pay attention to the language: Words such as “bold” and “brilliant” indicate you’ll get more dramatic results than a natural “true-to-you” color. Study the color chart on the back of the box as a guide to the results you can expect, and read the ingredients list for things such as botanicals to nourish the hair.

At-home Coloring Secret No. 5: Don’t skip the strand test
Snipping and dyeing a few strands will give you a precise preview of how the color will look on your locks and how long you need to keep the product in your hair if you’re covering resistant grays. Remember, don’t start the timer until you’ve finished applying the color to your hair, and keep the product on for the entire suggested time.

If you love the clean, sexy look of shorter hair but don’t have the unearthly cheekbones of Halle Berry or Victoria Beckham to rock a pixie, you’ll be thrilled with the trends in spring hairstyles and summer do’s. Choppy, shoulder-length styles are coming into vogue -- witness Ashley Olsen’s artfully tousled locks, Gwyneth Paltrow’s edgy long bob or Amber Valleta’s versatile chop -- and the longer length means a fresh silhouette with many styling options.

The No-fuss Hairstyle Makeover
The choppy, shoulder-length hairstyle is a longer bob whose ends are cut in a jagged way, specifically tailored to each face. The hairstyle is a shorter version of the loose, carefree waves that so many stars, like Blake Lively, are wearing. “You only need to cut five or six layers off long hair to get this look,” says stylist Byron Williams of Byron and Tracy Salon. Williams points to Paltrow’s evolution from middle-of-the-back hair to a just-above-the-shoulder cut. “It’s a safer choice than most short do’s because it’s easy to grow back if you want, so you get a nice pop of change without too much of a commitment,” he says.

Not only is the longer choppy bob more forgiving than a pixie, it’s also more polished than long hair. “Long hair will never go out,” says Williams, who has tended the tresses of Ashley Olsen, Nicole Richie and Drew Barrymore. “But stars are trying out this look because it’s fresher, classier. It feels more put together and edgier at the same time.”

The shorter locks work well with spring’s barer silhouettes too. “When the sun comes out, you want to clean up a little bit,” says Shai Amiel of Capella Salon in Studio City, Calif. “You peel off your clothing layers, and with shorter hair, you can flash the skin on your back. This look is fun and playful, carefree but sophisticated too.”

Hairstyle Tweaks for Your Face Shape

• Round face Opt for a middle part and longer bangs that frame the face to create the illusion of a face that’s more oval.
• Narrow face A side part will make your face appear wider, as will shorter bangs and jagged layers that range from chin length to shoulder length.
• All face shapes An asymmetrical version of this style works equally well with narrow, round and oval faces. Ashley Olsen sports a good example of this slightly off-kilter cut: Her hair is parted in the middle with longer bangs on one side of her face.

How to Style the Look
For Olsen’s bohemian take on the style, start with day-old hair, which often has more body. Rub a dime-sized dab of shine serum in the palm of your hands and rub all over your hair. Scrunch small handfuls of your tresses and warm with a diffuser or a blow-dryer set on low. Use a large-barrel curling iron to smooth ends, taking care to not create uniform waves or too much curl. The look should feel idiosyncratic and carefree -- not overly polished and styled. Finish with a light spray.

Amiel suggests playing with braids for another great daytime look. Pull small random sections from the back of your hair and braid them. “The tiny braids will poke through and play on your shoulders -- it’s a really cool look,” he says. Plus, leave the braids in while you sleep, and you can undo them the next morning for a wavy style.

How to Fake It
Eva Longoria and Sandra Bullock are long-haired stars who have taken this look for a test drive without cutting their tresses. If you have long-layered hair and want to try out the choppy bob, gather the back ends of your hair and roll inward toward the nape of your neck, suggests Amiel. Secure with bobby pins. Pull out random layers from the front to frame your face and from the back to create the jagged look. “Low commitment and lots of fun,” says Williams. “That’s the best part of this look.”

If you want a head start on fall’s new hair trends, don’t touch the scissors. Judging from the looks shown at the recent New York designer fashion shows, long, sleek and bountiful hair is back.

New Hair Trend No. 1: Neat and on the Side
One of fall’s most important accessories will be a streaming, shiny ponytail, so start growing your hair now. The look is a continuation of the current spring hair trend for long braids, often worn to one side.

Ponytails were assembled from naturally long hair, color-matched extensions or a terrace of layers. The tried-and-true staple is one of the easiest hairstyles to copy from the New York runways.

Long, shimmery ponytails make way for big statements above the neck, including fur collars, thick neck scarves and hats of every variety. With fall’s must-have low side part (a look that already jumped from the runway to the red carpet, with Sandra Bullock and Kate Winslet showing it off at this year’s Oscars), generous ponytails took a sporty turn at DKNY and Lacoste.

Get this look: Apply a mist of frizz-taming serum and blow-dry hair super-straight. Part the hair in the center or extra-low on one side, and secure with an inconspicuous elastic band. For extra-sleek locks, smooth hair sections with a flatiron after drying.

New Hair Trend No. 2: The Pouf
“In fall and winter, you often see off-the-face hair, because there are more collars, high necks, scarves and hoods, so sometimes hair gets in the way,” says celebrity stylist Sam McKnight, who brought modern glamour to many runway shows with new hair trends, including those for Chanel, Mulberry, Prada, Vivienne Westwood and Fendi. McKnight is also responsible for creating the images of Naomi Campbell, Gisele Bundchen and Uma Thurman.

For Mulberry, a British luxury collection that showed in New York, McKnight piled hair into a slightly messy but still compact bouffant, a look that requires lots of back-combing and hair spray. Messy, mini-bouffants also decorated the heads at Vera Wang and Lela Rose.

Get this look: Back-comb just the sections of hair around the crown, gather into a mini-bouffant and secure with pins to preserve volume. Sections of hair left loose, especially around the face, make the look modern.

New Hair Trend No. 3: Shiny and Pretty
To complement the modified menswear silhouettes, hair was styled in a slicked-down sheen. Skip the greasy stuff and use a very fine bristled brush with a weightless oil or spray to give hair a glossy finish, says New York stylist Sam Brocato, who created the shiny, wavy ponytails for newcomer Nima’s presentation.

Get this look: Rub a few drops of light hair oil or smoothing balm into palms, and run hands lightly down the midshaft and ends of hair. Work into hair with a fine, natural-bristle brush. For curls, use a large-barrel curling iron and wind small sections of hair along the barrel. Pull hair to one side and toward the front and secure with an elastic band. Tame flyaways with a light-hold hair spray.

New Hair Trend No. 4: Undone Buns
Strands and ends are now purposely left untucked with fall’s new hair trend, the chignon . Models at Yigal Azrouel wore buns loose with the new low side part. Designer Jason Wu, who created Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown, instructed stylist Odile Gilbert to give his chignons an effortless quality for a look he called “untamed hair on a grown-up girl.”

Get this look: To pull off the hair trend, create a low, loose ponytail with the front sides pulled slightly out of the elastic band to create volume. Wrap the ponytail with a 10-inch elastic band or thin, stretchy headband, and pin into a coil at the nape of the neck.

New Hair Trend No. 5: Flowing Waves
Diane von Furstenberg’s models sported chunks of waves that looked like seawater-drenched layers left to air-dry. Long, wavy ribbons of hair that flow across the shoulder were key looks with several designers, including Ports 1961, where big curls looked like a good ’80s perm.

Get this look: Brocato calls the new hair trend with curls “edgy texture,” partly because few locks adhere to a regular pattern. Instead, ends are smooth and uncurled while the midshaft is curled or bent, usually with a curling iron held at mixed-up angles, he says. Alternatively, McKnight gets the look by spraying a light coat of hair spray before creating one or several thick braids. Run a hot flatiron down the braid to set the bend; unbraid and spray to hold the curl.

No matter what the hairstyle -- ponytails, waves and chignons alike -- always finish with a final mist of hair spray: It’s essential to keep these new hair trends frizz-free and as polished as fall’s new clothes.