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Another tip for humid summer weather is, leave some conditioner in your hair after your shower - rinse hair after conditioning, but lightly, leaving a little bit of product in. This will weigh down your hair a bit, which loosens the waves, and it will also keep your hair moist, so it doesn't need to draw any more (frizz-creating) water from the air.

Really, the best thing you can do in the summer is lay off the heat tools, like blow dryers and flattening irons, and give your hair a break. Especially if you're going to be at the beach, it's just not realistic to expect your hair to stay straight all day, even if you do torture it into shape in the morning. Plus, who wants to be the lame girl sitting on her towel alone, while all her friends are goofing around in the water?

For cute beach hair, here's my tip (stolen from a hair pro friend). After gently towel-drying hair in the morning, liberally apply leave-in conditioner (or just leave some in from your shower, as suggested above), and then put hair into pigtail braids. You'll look cute all day, and when you take out your braids later, your hair will be in defined, beachey waves. So cute for evening!

Or, for a more polished look, do a shiny ponytail bun. Apply lots of leave-in conditioner and then apply a shine product like Redken Glass or Aveda's Shine. Pull your hair back into a ponytail that is either high or at the middle of the head, depending on where you want the bun on your head. Wrap the ponytail into a bun. You have a choice of wearing the bun at its natural height and thickness and adding clips, pins or chopsticks or pinning the bun tightly to your head. The key with the slicked back bun is to give the hair a really shiny, wet look. Perfect for the beach, or a night out.

Do try to stick to your TLC routine, at least for the summer. If you take good care of your hair now, you might just be able to attack it with heat tools again by fall, without worrying about major damage. And if you must do that in the future, do invest in a hair appliance that won't fry and singe your locks. Buy one of the newer ceramic irons that are available now. These are less damaging because they distribute heat evenly andquickly. Ask your local hairdressing salon or beauty supply store if they carry ceramic flat irons for sale. Again, these are not cheap, but they could save you the cost - and embarrassment - of having to chop off all your hair when it gets fried, and growing it out all over again.

Also, from now on, never blow-dry or flat iron without first applying a heat-protective product that shields the hair cuticle from damage. Try TIGI Protein Protective Spray, Paul Mitchell Heat Seal, or PhytoStyle Heat-Protective Spray.