How to get youthful locks

Forget Botox, facials and the latest miracle cream, the new way to lift your face, shift those lines and highlight your best features is with your locks. We asked London's top stylists to reveal the secrets of looking younger using the magic of your hair.

THE SLICKED-BACK CHEEKBONE SHARPENER
Sweep back the hair and even the most hidden cheekbones will emerge. Picture Ursula Andress emerging from the sea, then add the new, squarish shape seen at the Julien MacDonald show (pictured right) and you'll save yourself the money of going under the knife.
How to do it: Use Kerastase Micro-Voile Protecteur sun spray (£17.90, 0800 316 4400) at the roots of the hair to eliminate UV damage and create the necessary beachy wet look. Use a wide-toothed comb to sweep hair straight back — creating a square shape either side of the crown — then leave the lengths dry. "Combing the hair back in this way immediately opens up the face and exposes the natural graphic lines of the bone structure," says catwalk stylist Luke Hersheson (www.danielhersheson.com). "Imagine extending the natural 45-degree angle of your cheekbones beyond your ears. Creating the corner of your square shape' where this reaches the back of the head gives the illusion of sharper, more defined cheekbones."

THE BABY-FACE TEXTURE
A bit of movement and a few whimsical flyaways can take years off a face. Use the Chloe SS10 show as your lead and add softness with summer's new anti-ageing texture.
How to do it: "A more dishevelled texture reminds us of baby hair and instantly makes us look younger," says Bruce Masefield, UK creative director for Sassoon Salon. "Creating loose waves with kinks at the same height as the corners of the eyes and mouth also accentuates these features and draws the cheekbones out." Spray Sassoon Halo Hydrate leave-in conditioner (£15.15, 01256 490690) into newly-washed hair, then twist it into one-inch-wide sections. Turn your head upside down to blowdry the twists, then use your fingers to separate and create loose movement. Add Sassoon Motion Hold Hairspray (£14, as before) onto a couple of sections around the face and bend the hair into more defined curls that sit level with your eyes and mouth.

THE INSTANT EYELIFT
Expression lines around the eyes and forehead are the beauty bane of most women's lives — but if miracle creams have failed you and Botox doesn't appeal, a Bardot-esque bun just might. At the Lanvin SS10 show, Redken Creative Consultant Guido created bagel-shaped rolls on the top of models' heads that will smooth crow's feet and forehead creases.
How to do it: Pull hair into a sleek ponytail on the crown of the head. Run Redken Thickening Lotion 06 (£10.20, www.redken.co.uk) into the tail, then blowdry and backcomb along its length to build instant body. Wind it into a wide bun and fix the end with bobby pins. "Adding height with the hair creates the illusion of lifting the whole face," says Guido. "Tension in the ponytail at the crown lifts the forehead but if you want to focus on the eyes, move it slightly lower down the head and pull from the temples."

THE SIDE-PART FACE SLIMMER
There's little even the most wondrous skin cream can do about a sagging jawline. The side-parting — seen at Alexander Wang, Prada and Versus — is this summer's trick to cheat your way to a slimmer, fresher face.
How to do it: "Creating a triangular face shape with width at the top will slim round face shapes and heavy jawlines," says session stylist for L'Oréal Professional Malcolm Edwards. "The curving, curtain shape at the front also adds girlish softness." Add lift at the roots by spraying L'Oréal Professionnel Volume Lift (£9.90, 0800 072 6699) into the hair and backcombing the two inches closest to the scalp. Make a side parting (the deeper the part, the more dramatic the look) and pull hair around the head. Secure in a low ponytail or loose knot just below the other ear.