Gold-medal makeover: Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard faces some tough hair challenges, so our experts offer some revitalizing solutions

Shape, July, 2004 by Jody Buffalo

Capturing her first Olympic gold at the tender age of 14, Amanda Beard, now 22, made United States swimming history as the second-youngest gold medalist ever. Now, with just weeks to go before the Summer Olympics in Athens, Amanda is living in Tucson, Ariz., and training hard: She's in the pool four-plus hours a day. The merciless Arizona sun, coupled with chlorinated water, has made her hair dry, brittle and in need of serious attention--which is why Shape, along with Hollywood stylists Luke and Rona O'Connor (seen below, center), have come to the rescue.

The O'Connors, co-owners of the LuKaRo Salon in Beverly Hills, Calif., flew to Tucson to help get Amanda's hair in peak condition. Since chlorine dries out strands, it's critical to rehydrate with the right products. Luke's choice: ThermaSilk Moisture Infusing Shampoo and Conditioner ($4 each; at drugstores).

After washing and conditioning her hair, Luke snipped off Amanda's frayed ends, but avoided overlayering her hair, adding just a few layers in front to frame her face. "Too much layering would expose too many ends, and since Amanda is always swimming, it would give her a dull, frizzy look when the ends of her hair inevitably split again," Luke explains.

Long hours in an outdoor pool had also stripped the color from Amanda's tresses--why colorist Rona wove five different shades of brown through Amanda's hair. Then, Luke blew it out with the heat-activated ThermaSilk Volume Boosting Ultra Gel ($4; at drugstores). "I used her natural volume and styled her hair so she can copy it herself each day," he explains.

A few touches of makeup completed Amanda's look: La Bella Donna Compressed Mineral Eye Shadow in Cameo (a taupe) and Bronze ($19 each; at labelladonna.com) on her lids, a coat of waterproof mascara (like Rimmel Endless Length and Lift Waterproof Mascara in Jet Black, $4; at Wal-Mart stores) on her lashes, and a sheer glossy plum-pink lip color (like L'Oreal Colour Juice Sheer Juicy Lip Gloss in Watermelon Crush, $7.49; at drugstores). The result: fresh-faced beauty.

Amanda gave her makeover a perfect 10: "My hair feels healthy and looks so beautiful and shiny! The cut is flexible, ideal for an athlete."