I know it's still spring, but it's starting to feel like summer. Thoughts of summer evoke visions of sun-kissed hair that gently blows in a warm breeze.

The truth of the matter is that summer sun can be as rough on your hair as it is on your skin. Overexposure to summer sun can cause weak, dry, brittle hair that often turns to a faded or brassy color. Being aware of what the sun can do and being proactive to preserve and protect your hair is the first step to keeping it healthy all summer long.

So what can you do now to prepare your hair for summer?  Start with these 5 tips for summer-ready hair.

In addition, peruse magazines for easy summer hair styles. Look for braids, twists and knots that don't require styling tools. Keep your hair coloring gentle to prevent the summer sun from playing havoc on your hair. Thinking ahead will help to guarantee great looking hair all summer long.

Just a few short years ago the word "green" was never uttered above a whisper in hair salons. The thought of a clients hair turning any shade of this hue would send shivers up the spine of both the hairdresser and client. As the hairdresser would scramble to remedy this horrific situation the client would often have tears welling in her eyes wondering, "Why me?"

Then Al Gore made a movie called "An Inconvenient Truth". The movie won Gore an Oscar and made the rest of the world instantly aware of how our lifestyle was stripping the earth of its natural resources. The word "green" suddenly had a new connotation and became the new buzz word attached to the most savvy products. "Green" was no longer a dirty word in hair salons. Everyone wanted the green experience to be integrated in every part of their life.

No, you don't have to stop styling or coloring your hair to be green. The good news is that there are many simple beauty solutions that are environmentally friendly. Most of them are common sense.

1. Color your hair less frequently by choosing a shade close to your natural color. This will allow your new color to blend with your natural color while avoiding a strong root line.

2. Keep your coloring time short. Unless you are over 20% grey you don't have to leave the color on a full 30 minutes. The color can be left on for 15 minutes and still make your color vibrant and blend away the grey hair.

3. Keep the color off your scalp. Start your color 1/4" off your scalp. Let color develop and then run color through root area for the last 3-5 minutes. This will give the illusion of depth at the roots and allow color to blend with the rest of the hair color.

4. Rinse hair thoroughly after coloring. There is a cleansing agent in all hair color that is activated when wet. This will be sure to rid you scalp of any residual hair color. This is also a great way to prevent stains from hair color on your pillow cases.

5. Save water, save time, look sexy. Don't shampoo everyday unless you have fine, oily hair. Most hair has more body on day two. Place shampoo on roots only and never rinse and repeat.

6. Rinse hair with cold water. Using cold water requires less fuel consumption and decreases pollution. Cold water is refreshing to the scalp and helps to add shine to your hair.

7. Buy large size shampoos and conditioners. This will allow you to refill your small size containers as needed. You will use less plastic and almost always have your favorite shampoo and conditioner on hand.

8. Have a beer with every shampoo. Beer is a great way to add body and shine to your hair. Put your favorite beer in a spray container. After shampooing spray hair with beer and proceed with styling. The smell of beer will dissipate as the hair dries.

9. Chamomile tea is a natural golden blond toner. If your highlights oxidize to frosty ash color you can add gold with chamomile tea. Simply brew a strong tea and let it cool to room temperature. Rinse tea through your hair and style as usual.

10. Beware! Not all natural remedies work. People often ask me if olive oil is a good conditioner for dry hair. Olive oil is heavy and almost impossible to shampoo out of your hair. By the time your hair is clean it will be dryer than it was before your oil treatment. It's much better to use a product especially made to condition your hair.

Being green doesn't mean you have to forget about your pretty self. Looking good and taking care of your self is living green. Be smart! Be beautiful! Go green!

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Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Jessica Simpson, and Lindsay Lohan all have their own W Magazine cover for the November issue. Do you know what else they have in common? They all are wearing big, sexy, beautiful hair. Their hair color is perfect, and the hair looks as shiny as a Pantene conditioner commercial. You know what I mean, when the hair looks so polished and perfect that it doesn't look quite real. This is a “heads up" for all of us mere mortals to notice. Hair that is in great condition is a major beauty trend this season. It also looks alluring, sultry, and young. I think it might be the perfect time to talk about conditioning our hair.

The first question is do hair conditioners work? Everyone knows that once hair grows from your head it's dead, so how can it be brought back to life? Well, conditioning can't bring hair back from the dead, but we can make it look better than it ever did before you brushed it, teased it or put in too much color. Hair conditioning is an illusion that works. Most conditioners contain keratin which is an amino acid. This will resurface the hair and not wash out completely, but it should be maintained from shampoo to shampoo.

Conditioners can add moisture, strengthen fragile hair, detangle, add gloss, and add light oils to keep hair pliable. Hair conditioners can make dry, dull, beat up hair look more like the hair you fantasize about. Hair in good condition looks like the hair you had in your teens. This gives your hair a more vital look, just like good skin and bright eyes. Everyone over thirty knows exactly what I am talking about and what a difference this makes in our appearance. One of my Beverly Hills clients once told me that at a certain point, it is all a matter of patch, patch, patch. I am starting to understand what she meant.

Before I start talking about conditioners, we should talk about proper hair maintenance. Treat your hair with love. Moderation is key. The more you abuse it with frequent blow-outs, extreme coloring, and styling products with high alcohol content, the more you will need to condition your hair.

The condition of your hair is predetermined by its texture. Curly hair is usually dry hair. This means you should probably use a thick, rich, moisturizing conditioner.

TIP - If your hair is exceptionally course, do not rinse out all of the conditioner. This will help keep the hair moist, pliable, and manageable.

The curse of fine hair is that it usually has no body, goes flat instantly, and is often fly away. Most people with fine hair refuse to use conditioners because they fear conditioner will exaggerate these conditions. They are wrong.

TIP - Use a delicate conditioner on the ends of hair only. Fine hair is the most delicate hair. You must carefully use a wide tooth comb on the ends of your hair and work upwards towards your scalp. This will help prevent split and fly away ends.

BEAUTY NOTE - Volumizing shampoos and conditioners don't add volume to your hair. They are simply light enough not to make your hair become flat or oily.

If you have normal hair , just shop around and find the best conditioner for you.

TIP - If your hair looks good on day two, you found a conditioner that works for you. You don't have to break the bank finding the right conditioner. Many midrange priced conditioners work well on normal hair.

Leave-in conditioners work best on excessively dry or chemically processed hair. Leave-in conditioners work especially well on women of color. TIP - Less is more. Excessive use of leave-in conditioners will make hair look oily, not glossy.

There is a new Japanese thermal conditioning treatment that does last longer than a few shampoos because the conditioner is flat ironed into the hair with protein and moisturizers. This is especially effective on very damaged hair. This will help the roughed up cuticle to lie down and result in healthier, and shinier looking hair.

If your hair still looks dull after conditioning, it is time to color your hair. Start with a semi permanent color close to your own. This will instantly make your color rich and vibrant.

The new big hair has to look healthy or you are going to look like you are doing a sixties or eighties retro look. This is a no go! Remember this year’s big hair blows in the wind, shines in the sun, and always turns heads. Never forget your conditioner. It is probably the biggest trend of the New Year.

Thermal Conditioning Treatment by Shunsuke Takahashi, Louis Licari NY & Beverly Hills

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