It’s summer — the season of vacations, new experiences and fun!

For my latest seasonal makeover, I headed to the Parlour Salon on Toronto’s busy Ossington Street. In just a few hours, I was transformed by their talented stylist Stephan Belair from a brunette with blonde highlights, to a brunette with beautiful red and pink strands.

Stylist Stephan Belair from Parlour Salon.

What particularly impressed me about Stephan was how careful he was with my hair. We brainstormed together and he made suggestions on whatever would work best for my hair type. He then very gently coloured and washed my hair, without rushing at any point. Salons often get very busy and I frequently find that stylists are in a huge rush to get to their next appointment. With Stephan, I felt that I had 100 per cent of his attention at all time, which was wonderful.

Everyone who works at the salon had either a very colourful hairstyle or a very funky haircut, or both. The pink and red combo that we ended up doing was an excellent choice for summer and made me walk away feeling excited and refreshed! Here is what it looks like:

Enjoying my new summer look.

I also got a chance to ask Stephan to provide some advice to our readers about summer haircare tips and trends. Here is what he recommended.

What are the key 5 hair styling trends this summer?

Hairstyles for this season are all about keeping it natural and relaxed.

• Braids — Braids are back in a big way. The double-dutch boxer braid, recently re-popularized by the Kardashians, is the trendiest braid style for this summer. Unique braids like twisted ponytails are also really big this year.

• Loose waves — Loose waves never really go out of style, but this lazy-girl style is especially perfect for summer. It’s a very lived-in natural look, like you just came straight from the beach.

• Undone buns — Undone buns were everywhere at Cannes 2016 and are a great summer style. Instead of a messy topknot, opt for a low-sitting undone bun for refined and relaxed second-day style. Like this.

• Embrace natural texture — I love this trend. Embrace your natural hair and play it up. If your natural texture is tight curls, put down your straightener! Love the hair you have and rock those curls.

It’s pretty in pink with this on-trend summer braid.

What about the top 3 hair colours this summer?

• Colour melting — Sticking with the natural theme for this summer, colour melting is a technique that blends the highlights with the base color of the hair, so you don’t have any harsh lines. Melting is a very natural-looking colour transition that is replacing ombre.

• Pastels — Pastels are getting more creative and multi-dimensional this year. One of the top summer pastel colours is opal, which blends purples and blues to literally make your hair look like a gem. Another gorgeous pastel colour for this summer is rose-gold, like Sienna Miller’s.

• Tortoiseshell/Ecaille — A well-blended halfway point between brunette and blonde that is very low-maintenance. It’s a very warm shade that brings together golden blondes, caramels and chocolates for a stunning natural colour.

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What are your top 5 tips for hair care and hair maintenance in summer, specifically for coloured hair?

• Use a colour-safe shampoo and conditioner to help protect and repair your strands. It’s important to not use any products that will strip your hair of colour or potentially alter the tone.

• If you’re at the beach or by the pool, use a leave-in conditioner in your hair before heading outside. It will protect your hair from potential sun and water damage.

• Heat protection with your tools is important! You probably hear it every time you go to the salon, but it needs to be said. Using a heat protectant before a styling tool prevents damage, and helps your hair stay strong and healthy. Try and mix in a hair treatment like Olaplex if you are frequently using styling tools to repair the hair.

• Or just no tools at all. It’s warm outside — embrace some of the summer styles and embrace your natural hair by air-drying. Skipping the hair dryer occasionally will help prevent damage.

• Avoid chlorine, if you can. Especially if your hair is coloured. Chlorine can alter the tone. Swim in lakes and salt water (perfect excuse for a vacation).