Summer Updos

As the steamy summer weather seeps in, for many of us it means that bad hair days lay ahead.

Coming to the rescue this season are soft and sultry off-the-neck styles. As one of the hottest hair trends right now, casuals updos not only will keep you cooler, but looking sexier than ever, says celebrity hair stylist Oscar Blandi.

Blandi visited The Early Show to show some easy updos.

Blandi followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a hair stylist. He left his native Naples, Italy to train for a decade in several well-known salons in New York City before opening his own salon at the Plaza Hotel. Oscar has also become a mainstay on the red carpet, working with celebrities such as, Uma Thurman, Katie Holmes, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Connelly, Sarah Michelle Geller and others.

Whether it's the polished elegant updos we've recently seen all over the red carpet, or the more casual ones emerging as this summer's hottest hair trend, lifting your tresses can totally transform your look. The latest off-the-neck styles can also keep you cooler and looking sexier during those steamy summer months.

Blandi suggests these simple easy summer updo styles:

1. Tousled Ponytail
   This kind of ponytail works especially well for straight hair, says Blandi, because it gives a slightly messy beach-blown effect, rather than a sleek (too-tight) look.

   Steps:
   Flip head upright to help tousle hair, creating more texture. Just above one ear, loosely twist a two-inch section of hair half-way down its length. Hold it against your head while you twist another section next to it with your right hand. Repeat on the other side, carefully holding all the twists so they don't unravel. Softly gather the twisted sections at the nape of the neck and secure them loosely with a clip.

2. Loose Chignon
   Chignon is a bun, in French, usually worn at the nape of the neck. Blandi says for those with wavy hair a loosely secured bun allows naturally wavy ends to be exposed, encouraging the natural texture of this type of hair.

   Steps: Make a ponytail and twist. Use three oversized bobbie pins to loosely secure the bun with the ends wavy and exposed.

3. Flirty Twist
   An updo that works particularly well for curly hair, not fighting its inherent texture, but instead allowing for natural tendrils to fall free in the front.

   Steps:
   Leave several tendrils free up front, loosely twisting the back and securing with a hair clip. Loosen up any tightness by inserting fingertips under hair at the crown of the head and move them toward the forehead and back again.

Blandi has a monthly column in Glamour Magazine called "Hair Help," in which he answers questions regarding hair concerns. Readers are asked to e-mail questions to him at OscarB@glamour.com.