Retire your flat iron and let sexy texture and volume take centre stage this party season.

REAL CURL (above)
Stop battling natural texture and embrace voluminous statement curls – the cool girl’s calling card in this 70s-inspired season.

How to:
Step 1: Wind small sections of hair around a thin-barrel curling wand. Leave sections to cool while repeating all over the head from front to back on each side.
Step 2: Massage hair at the scalp with fingers to break up sections and increase lift and volume.
Step 3: Gently brush through hair with a flat paddle brush to blend the curls. Smooth a small amount of Joico’s new Curl Controlling Anti–frizz Styler, $34, through curls with fingers to define, leaving a slight fuzzy halo around the edges.

UP AND AWAY
Who’d have thought the humble pony could have evening appeal? Elegant height and softness outshines contrived updos.

How to:
Step 1: Blow dry with Joico Heat Set Blowout Perfecting Creme, $26, and a large round brush, ruffling hair with fingers as you go, or work with second-day hair that isn’t too clean or slippery.
Step 2: Apply texturising Joico Hair Shake, $34, to the roots and roughly massage the scalp to create volume.
Step 3: Back-comb the crown section for height before using a paddle brush to loosely sweep hair into a low pony, slightly above the nape, ensuring hair is slightly loose and not too helmet-like.
Step 4: Spritz Joico Hair Shake texturiser into loose ends to retain a tousled shape. For slightly more curl and shape, loosely tong a few random pieces with a large barrel tong and shake out before finishing with Joico Flip Turn Volumising Finishing Spray, $26.

MAIDEN WAVES
Relaxed, softly tousled waves are on everyone’s beauty agenda, and you don’t need Rapunzel length to achieve them, although it helps.

How to:
Step 1: Section hair into several large pieces and spray with Joico Smooth Cure Thermal Styling Protectant, $31.
Step 2: Using a large-barrel curling wand, wind sections of hair around the barrel, holding for several seconds. Carefully unwind and mist with Joico Flip Turn Volumising Finishing Spray, $26, to set the curl.
Step 3: Leave sections to cool before using a wide-tooth comb to gently separate hair. Finish with a light spray of Flip Turn for smooth shine and hold.

PLAITS AMORE
DIY ease means this runway look will be everywhere come summer. Braids are best when they’re low-key, so enhance dried-in-the-breeze locks with slim braids that look absent-mindedly woven in.

How to:
Step 1: Evenly apply Joico Heat Set Blowout Perfecting Creme, $26, through hair from roots to ends, then blow dry.
Step 2: Select a small section of hair above each ear, divide into two sections and weave into a fish-tail braid.
Step 3: Sprinkle each braid with dust powder and pull gently from each side to achieve a slightly looser, distressed effect. Spray ends with Joico’s K-Pak Colour Therapy Dry Oil Spray, $34, for extra shine.

Creative Direction: Megan Bedford and Marcel Gull
Photography: Michael James Rooke
Hair & Makeup: Leisa Welch
Model: Talia from 62 Models