Distressed denim

Searching for your own personal style? It might be just a pair of jeans and bottle of bleach away.

The July issue of Cosmopolitan advises how to create trendy distressed jeans, which can cost hundreds of dollars, out of ordinary – and cheaper – regular blue jeans:

¢ Using scissors, make a cluster of 1/2- to 2-inch-wide horizontal cuts in one small spot to create a hole. Repeat as desired throughout the thigh and knee areas. Slit the seams of the front and back pockets. For further effect, you could also slice open the folded hems of your jeans.

¢ Put your jeans in the washer with one cup of bleach. After washing, splatter the still-wet pants more bleach using a large paintbrush and a toothbrush to create blotches of different sizes. Paint the waist, fly, hems and edges of the pockets with bleach, then wash again.

¢ To make the holes and edges fray, rub a pumice stone along the cuts, belt loops, waistband, pockets and fly. Wash again and dry on high heat.

Hair care

Textured tresses

Hair style and texture might get most of the attention, but people really should consider their hair texture when devising a beauty routine, advises Manhattan salon owner Haime Munoz.

Munoz, who created Easy Straight, a home hair straightening system, offers tips on how to make the most of your hair texture:

¢ Fine. The right cut for you likely is angled long layers around the face with the length above the shoulders to add essential movement. Color treatments will add volume. Even if you don’t want to change your color, a simple process or highlights can lift the top layers and add vibrancy and body.

For maintenance in summer heat, wash up to twice daily depending on activity. Use a deep-cleansing shampoo to remove build-up, which can weigh hair down. If hair is dry, compensate with product like a gloss to add moisture to ends.

¢ Wavy. Wavy hair can be kept at almost any length. Long layers are important because they keep the curliest parts from getting fluffy. Waves are the most versatile texture because they can be transformed from curly to straight.

Shampoo once a day with a mild shampoo and work a silicone-based gloss evenly through damp hair while finger-combing. During the day, pin the front section flat to the side.

To prepare for an evening style, pull hair back into a bun during the day by wrapping hair around the base without twisting. Secure with a barrette or pin during the day and let loose for evening.

¢ Curly. Ask your stylist to keep hair as long as possible and aim for a blunt cut to avoid unwanted extra volume. Wash hair every other day using a rich moisturizing shampoo followed by a heavy conditioner – and don’t rinse it out completely.

The less-frequent washes will preserve much-needed moisture.