When Kate Middleton walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey last April -- with her lustrous chestnut brown hair in loose, elegant curls -- brides-to-be everywhere put down their bobby pins. Her stylist, James Pryce, described the style as “romantic waves,” and said the Duchess had chosen the look because she wanted to “feel like herself” when she married Prince William.

Today, long and loose styles are the most popular look for brides, says Eli Mancha of Chicago’s Bang! Salon, named Hairstylist of the Year at the 2011 North American Hairstyling Awards.

The key to making cascading hair work on your own wedding day isn’t a diamond tiara but shiny, healthy tresses. We asked Mancha for advice on how to get your long hair ready for the big day.

Avoid a Pre-wedding-day Split
Even though you’ll be growing your hair or keeping its length in the months leading up to your wedding, you still want to maintain the ends to prevent splitting. “A trim is necessary at least once every three months to keep the ends fresh,” says Mancha. You might also want to invest in a silk or satin pillowcase to prevent breakage. “The ends of long hair can be very fragile, especially if your hair is fine or color-treated,” says Mancha, “and it can catch on the cotton fibers of traditional pillowcases.”

Rehearse Your Color
Start coloring your hair six months in advance so you’ll have time for at least two touch-ups, and any necessary fine-tuning before the big day. Schedule your final color appointment for a week before your wedding, “so it looks fresh and shiny but more natural than freshly colored hair,” says Mancha. You might also consider a gloss or cellophane treatment. “For blondes, a gloss will tone out any brassiness,” he says, “and it will add richness to darker shades. It also acts as a topcoat, smoothing down all your ends, producing incredible shine and locking in the color so it won’t fade during your honeymoon.”

Find Your Perfect Product Match
Choose the shampoo and conditioner that’s designed for your hair texture: curly, straight, fine or thick. You might also consider products specially formulated for long hair, which has been exposed to more washes, styling and environmental damage than short hair. Wash your hair every other day, applying shampoo to the roots, but only put shampoo on the ends about once a week. Using a leave-in conditioner after your final rinse will provide the extra moisture your thirsty ends need.

Final Prep
“I usually tell my brides to wash their hair the night before the wedding,” says Mancha. “Sleeping on the hair gives a little bit of natural body. What’s more, freshly washed hair is very slippery and won’t hold a style as well. If you are going to have any curl or wave added to your hair, I recommend you or your stylist use a flat iron to create the curls. Not only are flat iron curls more modern and natural-looking, I find that they last longer. You get a slightly more squared curl, which defies gravity better than a curl created by a round surface.”

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/anneleven

If you love the look of your hair when it’s shiny, glossy and straight, you might be saving up for an in-salon keratin straightening treatment, or tried one already. At a cost of $200 to $500, these treatments promise to turn even the frizziest, most unruly manes into manageable sleek locks, with results that last for months.

But recent headlines have warned of the hazards of these treatments. It turns out that formaldehyde fumes from the smoothing ingredients, which are sealed into the hair with a flatiron, can cause lung, eye and skin irritation. This is true, government investigations found, even of treatments that are advertised as being formaldehyde-free. That’s led some stylists to don gas masks while providing smoothing treatments and to offer masks to their clients as well.

OK, so this news might hit you like the blow of learning that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny aren’t real. But don’t despair. Some simple shower-to-sidewalk steps will help you achieve smooth, shiny hair -- without putting your health at risk.

1. Pick the right shampoo and conditioner. Sun, heat-styling, chlorinated water and chemical styling processes leach protein from hair and make curly hair especially difficult to manage or style straight, says Lindsey Watts, an educator for Empire Beauty Schools. Shampoos and conditioners that are protein-enhanced temporarily smooth the outer portion of the hair fiber, making strands glossier and more manageable, says Dr. Jeni Thomas, a senior scientist with Pantene’s research and development team. Look for products that are labeled acid- or pH-balanced; many contain hydrolyzed keratin.

2. Be gentle with wet hair. Curly hair is especially fragile when it’s wet, so blot -- don’t scrub -- hair with a towel to dry. Keep in mind that those super-plush towels that feel so good against your wet skin aren’t the best choice for blotting your hair. The makers of CURL-ease, a completely flat towel, point out that strands of hair can get caught in the loops of regular terry towels, leading to frizz. You might want to invest in a towel designed for drying hair. Some are made of microfibers that whisk water away quickly, cutting drying time.

4. Detangle with care. Use a wide-tooth comb to gently separate curls. Finer hair may require a leave-in conditioner or detangling product, while thicker smoothing creams and straightening lotions often work best on coarser, curlier hair, says Domingo Serquinia, co-owner of the Paint Shop Beverly Hills salon in Los Angeles.

5. Practice healthy heat habits. To minimize heat damage, coat locks with a thermal protection product, allow to partially air-dry, then blow hair completely dry. Be patient; use clips to divide your hair into several sections and then place a round boar-bristle brush under a 3-inch section of hair. Attach a condenser nozzle to your dryer and hold so the airflow aims downward to smooth, not ruffle, the cuticle. Before releasing the brush, hit the “Cool” button on your dryer. “Letting the dried hair cool while it’s still held tightly in the brush will help set the smooth, shiny style in place,” says Thomas.

6. Add a spritz of shine. Spray your hairbrush or your palms with a shine spray and run it lightly through your hair. If you apply the spray directly to your hair, you’ll likely get too much product on your locks, and that extra moisture could lead to frizz.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/anouchka

Whether you’re wearing your hair loose and tousled, sleek and smooth or in an updo, nothing ruins the look of your hairstyle like split ends. It’s the equivalent of donning a gorgeous designer dress with a hem that’s unraveling.

The Science of Split Ends
Split ends are the result of hair that’s been pushed -- literally -- to its breaking point. Hot styling tools, excessive friction, chemical processes like coloring or straightening, all weaken the protective cuticle that surrounds the delicate hair fiber. When enough stress is put on the cuticle, it loses its grip on the inner fiber and the ends fray into two or more strands.

If you have thick hair, you’re especially likely to suffer those roughed-up ends. That’s because, as researchers have discovered, the structure of thick hair is less flexible than fine hair, making it more vulnerable to breakage. What’s more, medium and thick hair fibers also rub up against each other more often than fine fibers, and this friction can cause the cuticle to chip.

Want to keep your ends intact? Just follow these five rules.  

1. Limit highlighting to only three or four times a year, says Kazumi Morton, a Beverly Hills colorist whose celebrity clients include Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. “Because highlighting is done with bleach, it weakens the hair cuticle and makes it more porous,” Morton says. (Regular color doesn’t create this type of damage.)

2. Use hot tools with care. “Your hair is technically dead and doesn’t have nerve endings,” says Morton, “so you’re not aware of how you’re burning it by overuse of curling irons and flat irons.” Don’t let the temperature of your flat iron go above 350 degrees if your hair is thick, or over 300 degrees if it’s fine. Keep your curling iron on a medium setting. When you blow-dry your hair, first rough dry it without a brush -- holding the dryer a few inches above your head -- until it’s 80 or 90 percent dry. Then, with the nozzle attached, keep the dryer moving through your hair in a downward direction, so you’re not applying direct heat to any one area for more than a second or two.

3. Handle wet hair gently. Hair swells when it’s wet, becoming fragile and vulnerable to damage. Brushes can snag your hair, shredding the ends. The best way to detangle knots after you’ve shampooed and conditioned your hair is to use a wide-tooth comb or pick, moving it slowly through your hair.

4. Strengthen your hair’s natural defenses with a fortifying leave-in conditioner.  Pantene’s Split End Repair Keratin Protection Crème helps seal ends that are already fraying, protects against heat damage and boosts hair’s keratin structure to prevent future split ends. Two other split-end smoothers: Pureology’s Essential Repair Split End Correcting Treatment and Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Pure Treatment Oil.

5. Get regular trims. Chopping off just a quarter- or half-inch every two or three months will prevent already frazzled ends from splitting up the hair shaft. Plus, it will create the smooth, sharp lines that show off your cut and color to its most dazzling advantage.

Bad hair days can drive you to distraction -- or at the very least, to the nearest hat department. We went to celeb stylists for advice on dealing with some of the peskiest problems. Here are their top tips on how to rehab your locks.

Frizz
“Start fighting frizz in the shower by using a hydrating shampoo and conditioner,” says New York stylist Kevin Mancuso, a favorite of Demi Moore’s. “Hair expands when it’s exposed to water, as it is on a humid day, but well-hydrated hair is less likely to drink up the moisture that’s in the air.” Use a silicone-based styling product to help seal the hair cuticle and lock moisture in.

If the frizz has already taken hold, you can still benefit from a silicone serum. Rub a dime-sized amount in your palm and smooth over the surface of your hair to add shine and deflate poof. Also, avoid brushing curly hair once it’s dry. 

Flyaways
A few simple steps will help you avoid the wind-tunnel look. “Often, when people blow out their hair, they over-dry it, causing flyaways,” explains Boston stylist Mario Russo, known for styling the locks of Natalie Portman and Caroline Kennedy. “Add a small amount of a moisturizing leave-in conditioner to your hair while it’s still damp, concentrating on the ends, which tend to be more dried out. Then blow-dry the hairline and crown first to get them smooth, aiming the nozzle down the hair shaft.” Keep the air in a downward flow as you dry the rest of your hair. It's important to get all the moisture out to avoid frizz, but stop as soon as your hair is dry to the touch underneath as well as on top, to avoid breakage.

A straightening iron can also help smooth flyaways -- when used correctly. “Always apply a heat protectant first: A hydrating spray is ideal,” says Russo. “Use minimal tension and round the ends in. Finish off with a styling cream or silicone serum to smooth down wayward strands.” Stash a travel-size serum in your bag to tame errant hair on the go. A dab before donning a chapeau will also help with hat hair gone wild.

Too-short Bangs
Got a little scissor-happy? While you can’t speed up hair growth, you can make the process more bearable. “Try sweeping your bangs to the side,” suggests MariLynne Mele, of Blow, a New York City salon that specializes in blowouts for a high-end clientele. “Blow-dry your bangs down with a comb to achieve maximum length, then lightly go over them with a rounded brush. Giving the ends a bend will ensure they don't bounce up, and impart a soft, naturally wispy look.” Luckily, headbands are tres chic these days too.

Over-processed Hair
Too many chemical treatments and your hair can end up looking -- and feeling -- like corn husks. Celeb stylist Ted Gibson, who helps get Anne Hathaway and Debra Messing ready for their photo shoots, offers this advice: “Getting a haircut, even a trim, will instantly cut off damaged ends and give you a fresh new look. Be sure to do a deep-conditioning treatment once a week as well.”

Mele recommends making your own treatment cocktail. After washing your hair, use a deep-conditioning mask mixed with about two pumps of shine serum. Apply, wait ten minutes, then rinse. It will give those dry, broken hairs extra shine and some weight to keep them down.

Roots
It’s one of the great mysteries of life how you can go to bed with perfectly fine color and wake up the next day with half-inch roots. To tide you over until your next dye job, New York City colorist Jason Backe -- a favorite with beauty editors -- recommends this trick: “Hide gray by using eye shadow or mascara on the roots and setting it with hair spray. Both shadow and mascara are available in shades from light brown to black, which will work for all shades of brunette.” 

It’s harder for blondes to get away with this. They’re better off trying one of the new at-home hair-coloring kits designed solely for root touch-ups. Match the color as closely as possible to the rest of your hair. Finally, no matter what’s at the root of your problem, changing the location of your part will help hide the telltale signs.

Every woman has had the experience: A tried-and-true beauty routine that once left your hair beautiful and shiny and your skin its radiant best suddenly seems to have stopped working. Is it time to move on to a new set of products? Here, advice from the experts.

Should You Change Your Shampoo and Conditioner?
When your once bouncy, gleaming hair starts looking flat and dull, you may wonder if it has “gotten used to” your favorite shampoo or conditioner. There are two things to keep in mind. No. 1: As hair expert John Gray, author of The World of Hair Colour and lead consultant for P&G Beauty, says, “High-quality hair products are rigorously tested to ensure that their performance does not deteriorate.” No. 2: Hair is technically dead, so it can’t develop a tolerance to a product.

That doesn’t mean that you’re imagining the changes in your hair. Residue from styling products is one common reason why hair may look and feel drab. To give your hair a clean slate, try a one-time wash with a clarifying shampoo. These shampoos contain ingredients -- such as enzymes and citric acids -- that bind to product deposits and whisk them away.

Seasonal changes can also make it seem like your shampoo and conditioner aren’t doing their job. In fact, these products are delivering consistent results, but it’s your hair itself that behaves differently in the high humidity of summer than it does during dry winter conditions. While you always want to choose a shampoo and conditioner that’s right for your hair type and texture, if you use a volumizng shampoo and conditioner in the summer, you may find that richer and more hydrating versions of those products work better in winter.

Coloring, highlighting, relaxing and perming all affect the fundamental properties of your hair, says Gray. If you’ve had one of these chemical processes, you may need to add deep-conditioning treatments, including masks, to keep your hair in tip-top shape. Ask your stylist for advice on how frequently to use these at-home hair care treatments.

Do You Need to Swap Your Skin Care Products?
If the feeling that your skin care regimen isn’t working any more is a familiar one, then the fault may lie with your own expectations. “Using skin care products is a lot like dieting,” says Tom Woodhouse, head esthetician at Sally Hersberger’s Face Place, a skin care clinic in New York City. “Often, you’ll see a lot of improvement over the first three months, and then when you’ve achieved the maximum benefit from the products, your skin goes into more of a maintenance mode. What you’re missing is the excitement or novelty of those early results.”

Then again, our skin is dynamic, changing in some way almost every day, says Ellen Marmur, dermatologist and author of Simple Skin Beauty: Every Woman’s Guide to a Lifetime of Healthy, Gorgeous Skin. Rather than thinking of yourself as having one static skin type, Marmur says it’s more effective to learn to read your skin and be flexible in the types of products you use. While you may have a general tendency toward dry skin or oily skin, irritation or acne, it’s important to adjust your regimen to the type of skin you’re having today. If, for example, your skin is looking greasy and starting to break out, you may want to switch temporarily to a cleanser that contains salicylic acid, which will help unclog pores.

The active ingredients that keep our skin looking its best, like peptides or retinol, work year-round. But just as cotton feels cool against your skin in July and cashmere is cozy in December, different formulations feel -- and look -- better as the weather changes. Consider rotating your skin care regimen to include oil-free or gel-based products in summer and richer creams and lotions in the winter.



Photo: @iStockphoto.com/manonroy