How can I give my hair a sun-kissed look without highlights?

Don’t we all love how the sun gives our hair beautiful, natural highlights after a sunny getaway? If only we could get the same effect from the winter sun! There are, however, a few tricks to sun-kissed hair without opting for streaks or highlights. The pros give us their top tips.
 
You don’t need to have highlights put into your hair, but you do need to lighten the overall colour of your hair. ‘Try a temporary colour, but don’t go any higher than two tones above than your natural hair colour as you want the lightened sections to look natural. Old tricks such as using lemon juice, honey and even salt to lighten the hair aren’t guaranteed to work and should be avoided at all costs as these can dry out your hair.’
 
Similarly, avoid sprays that claim to lighten the hair. ‘Lightening sprays can be risky. Depending on which product you use and the condition of your hair, you may end up with an orange tinge rather than golden highlights. More often than not, women who have used these sprays end up coming into the salon to put right hair that has been turned a dirty copper shade rather than golden blonde. It’s difficult to remove these unwanted tones and restore the hair to its natural colour.’
 
Lightening shampoos designed for blonde hair do not always work either. ‘Many women think that by buying a lightening shampoo, they will be able to give their hair a lighter appearance. This simply isn’t the case. Sure, these shampoos will make your hair bright and shiny, but wont lighten your hair.’
 
Our tip. At your salon appointment, ask for sparsely spread and very subtle sections to be dyed lighter to achieve the ‘just got back from the beach’ look. Keep your hair colour subtle to avoid a streaky look that looks far from natural.