As the leaves start to fall and the temperatures drop, we can see that the holiday season is right around the corner.  All of which present some challenges to the hair and scalp.  Falling temperatures and rising indoor heat settings, can mean dry, staticy hair and potentially a dry, flaky scalp.  Not a great combination when trying to create an elegant updo to wear to a holiday party.  But with the right natural and organic ingredients we can stave off the negative effects of cooler temperatures.  Plus, with a few styling tips and the right products, one can easily create a modern, elegant updo perfect for any holiday party!
 
Holiday hair trends for this season are anything but formal.  Two major updo trends don’t even involve a single bobby pin!  They are modern, relaxed and above all unique.  What ties these trends together is the need for healthy hair.  The Segmented Ponytail and The Fall Out Braid are two easy-to-create hair trends that of course can be expertly executed by a stylist in the salon but also can be create by clients at home with a little direction and the right products on hand.
 
Segmented Ponies
This holiday hair trend puts a new twist or 2 on an old standard.  This season the hot trend for the traditional ponytail is the Segmented Pony.  Stars like Kendall Jenner, Rooney Mara and Diane Kruger have been spotted wearing this ponytail-meets-hair-sculpture style on the red carpet. 
 
There is no limit to creativity for this trend.  Working best on shoulder length or longer hair, hair can be styled into a sleek and smoothed segmented ponytail or worn with some wave or texture and sculpted into a uniquely shaped pony.  It might sound complicated but this look is actually fairly easy to create as long as you have the right collection of products.  For more complex versions or where long hair needs to be added via extensions, we of course recommend seeing a professional stylist.
 
If shampooing hair prior to creating the Segmented Pony, use a body building formula specifically created for longer and growing-longer hair.  Look for one that strengthens the hair while providing more texture.  We recommend our P2 by Philip Pelusi Long gev ity Shampoo and Long gev ity Conditioner.  It contains our Patent Pending Hydro-Charged Pelusi Ceramide Complex, a micro-emulsion of plant derived ceramides that help to strengthen the hair while enhancing shine and locking in color.  Either blow dry hair smooth with a large paddle brush or diffuse dry hair to create some waves.  But first apply a multitask hair groom that can work for both hair drying options.  Look for a weightless formula that also helps protect from heat.  We suggest our P2 Potion.  It’s light, silky formula contains our proprietary Matrix blend comprised of hydrating herbs and plant extracts that help protect hair from heat styling while leaving hair silky feeling and light while helping to eliminate frizzes and creating shine.
 
If starting with second day or late in the day hair, mist on a powder-free hair refresher.  Steer clear of powdery dry shampoos that can leave a dulling residue.  Instead look for one that simultaneously builds texture and creates shine.  We recommend our P2 RefresHair.  It’s lovely White Tea and Thyme fragrance makes hair smell fresh while its Sunflower Seed Extract helps protect color and create shine.  Mist lightly all over the hair and brush thru with a natural boar bristle brush.  This product also creates some needed texture when working with hair.  So it also works well when misted thru freshly styled hair just to reduce slip and help make hair easier to work with.
 
Next, get a bit of a flexible hair groom on the fingertips.  Choose one that doesn’t dry hard or crispy.  Look for one that stays pliable.  We suggest our P2 Honey.  Its natural, honey-based ingredients help grip hair without stiffness or stickiness.  Hair is easier to work with yet stays flexible the entire time.  Then when creating a simple Segmented Pony, start to gather half of the hair into a high ponytail and fasten with a hairband.  Then pull the rest of the hair towards the back of the head and wrap in another hairband. 
 
Another option is to create one long ponytail and then in approximately 2 inch segments wrap another hairband then another and so on until you reach the end of the ponytail.  Pull segments in an outward direction to create a round fullness to each segment.  And viola’ the segmented pony is complete!
 
Last, give the look a very light mist of a soft setting spray.  Choose one that has a long drying time allowing you to be able to continue to work with the hair if need.  Our P2 Fluid Spray can fit the bill.  It works great as natural looking finishing spray helping keep fly-aways and frizzies under control while helping keep your Segmented Ponytail in place.  This versatile spray holds hair in place, add tons of shine and shampoos and rinses clean from the hair at your next shampoo.
 
Fall Out Braids
Neatness doesn’t count with this next holiday hair trend.  In fact, this is one trend where messy is preferred.  Fall Out Braids is another popular hairstyle to wear to holiday events.  No schoolhouse braids here.  Loose cascading hair ending in a pulled apart disheveled braid; traditional or fishtail.  The style idea here is to wear a loose unconventional hairstyle with a formal or dressing outfit.  Perfect for holiday parties this season.  Stars such as Olivia Wilde, Ciara and Chrissy Teigan have all been spotted donning this popular trend.
 
With this look it helps to start with late in the day or second day hair.  This is what makes it an easier look to create especially right after work before an evening holiday party.  No need to set the hair in rollers.  Just rough up the texture but without making it stiff or crispy.  Mist on a combination hair refresher and texture builder.  Look for one stays soft and doesn’t dry crunchy.  Hair needs texture but still needs to stay pliable.  We suggest our Tela Beauty Organics by Philip Pelusi Dri Shampoo.  USDA Certified Organic Lavender refreshes the hair’s scent while USDA Certified Organic Quinoa helps to strengthen hair and creates shine.  Plus, this formula is designed to wake up texture.  To assist in creating the Fall Out Braid trend, simply mist onto hair and lightly scrunch hair into large messy waves.  To speed the process, use a blow-dryer on a low air setting or a diffuser attachment. 
 
If waves need a bit more enhancement, use a big barrel curling iron and a flexible texture building heat protectant.  Normally one might reach for a firming type of spray but instead we recommend something totally different.  We recommend our heat protecting, creamy yet granulated formula, Tela Beach Hair.  It’s USDA Certified Organic Sugar Cane Granules help finger-style waves and create that just from the beach feeling while never making hair crunchy or stiff.  Get a bit on the fingertips and scrunch thru the hair.  Next, take large sections of hair and wind around the iron leaving the ends out.  Toss hair with a little more of the Tela Beach Hair.  Wave should look like they just effortlessly happened.
 
Next, grab the bottom several inches of the hair and begin your braid.  To make braiding so much easier use a resin-free groom to keep the hair under control and keep it from slipping out of your hands while creating it.  You could continue with the Tela Beach Hair but we also use ourP2 Honey with natural Honey humectants to control frizzies and add moisture.  As you create your braided look, let the edges stick out and if the braid looks too neat when finished, simply run the palm of your hand up the braid from the bottom to fray and undo the braid a bit.
 
Cool Weather Ingredients
The holiday season not only means a chic party hairstyle but it also means cooler temperatures and drier air.  These conditions definitely have an effect on the hair and scalp.  Both remove moisture from the hair and scalp, making them perform less than their best.  Scalps can become dry and flaky causing “seasonal dandruff”.  Hair can develop static and fly-aways, won’t hold its style and can also make hair color look dull and dry.
 
So to combat this, look for certain ingredients in your hair care products that will help trap moisture in the hair and scalp.  Skin care humectants, also known as moisture binders, play a big role in our product line.  Almost 40 plus years ago I started adding the now very popular skin care humectant Hyaluronic Acid to our hair care formulas.  This ingredient is a moisture binding powerhouse.  It is found in pretty much all of nature and has the ability to draw and bind moisture to itself.  Rose petals are rich with hyaluronic acid.  It’s one of the reasons rose petals take several days to dry out once they have dropped off the rose itself.  This is the principle to how this ingredient also traps moisture in the hair and scalp.  It is one of the key ingredients in our P2 Deep Hydrating Hair and Scalp Conditioner and P2 Lite Leave-In Conditioner.  Both are essential products during the fall and winter months.  The P2 Deep should be used once or twice a week as a treatment and can also be done in the salon with a heat source such as a hooded dryer or a heat lamp.  The P2 Lite is a great everyday additive to any hair care system to boost the moisture level on any texture.  It can also be misted on the hair throughout the day to eliminate static.  We have even had some flight attendant clients tell us they mist this on face before and after flights.  They found a way to benefit from this product that even we didn’t think of!
 
Another unique humectant is Cassia Angustifolia Seed.  This is derived from the seed of the Cassia Angustifolia flower.  It has the same effects as Hyaluronic Acid but it is even lighter.  This is a better fit for adding moisture to sparse medium textured and finer textured hair.  This can be found in our P2 Intense Deep Conditioner and in our P2 MoistureSheen Shampoo and MoistureSheen Conditioner.  P2 Intense can be used once to several times a week as a treatment and can also be done in the salon with a heat source the same as the P2 Deep Conditioner.  Changing up to a more hydrating shampoo and conditioner for the winter season is another good idea to add moisture to the hair.  Sparse, fine hair textures need to be on guard for too much slip or softness but the Cassia Angustifolia Seed adds moisture and still keeps hair on the fuller side.
 
Next, USDA Organic Baobab Oil is another special humectant we recently started working with.  This is a cold-pressed oil expressed from the seeds of the Baobab Tree.  The Baobab Tree, most often found in Madagascar and throughout the continent of Africa, is duly named because of its many uses from bark being woven into rope, its fruits and leaves being eaten as salad, as medicine to alleviate digestive issues and even the hull of a dead Baobab Tree being used as shelter.  Certified Organic Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil is rich with Vitamin D3 and Palmitic, Linoleic, Oleic and Alpha Linolenic.  It nourishes and moisturizes hair and scalp without weighing down hair’s volume.  Organic Baobab Oil also helps reduce frizz and creates shine.  Our source for this ingredient insists on only organic, hand-picked ingredients from sustainably sourced, small community farms.  The sustainably harvested Baobab fruits has also helped support the livelihood of women in the local communities where these trees grow.
 
Certified Organic Baobab Oil plays a major role in our P2 Clenz Crème Non-Suds Cleansing Conditioner.  Although this innovative formula was originally created to be the preferred alternate to frequent shampooing for all hair types especially dry, frizzy, hard to control, chemically treated hair, it makes a perfect winter time product to add to any hair care system.  Because it leaves much of the natural oils in the hair and scalp, it can be used in the winter as a once a week to several times a week product to give hair and scalp a break from traditional shampooing.  This allows more moisture to be retained in the hair and scalp much needed during the cold, dry winter months.  P2 Clenz Crème is also Sulfate Free, Silicone Free, Gluten Free, Allergen-free fragrance, Salt Free, Paraben Free, Formaldehyde Free, Propylene Glycol Free; contains an Allergen-free Fragrance, is also Vegan and Reduces Color Fading.
 
For product recommendation and more information contact us at Tela Beauty Organics by Philip Pelusi at either philip@telabeautyorganics.comor tela@telanyc.com.