Short Hair Talk

Short Hair Is In Fashion

Short hair is definitely becoming a more popular style within the world of fashion statements. These days, you can open almost any credible fashion magazine and see stunning and edgy depictions of top models with short hairstyles. It's a great change from the trends of decades before where fashion models were more well-known for having long locks of hair. Truthfully, short hair might have been best epitomized in the fashion scene by Twiggy, whose short pixie-cut hairstyle made it clear that shorter haircuts drew more attention to the more prominent features of the face.

These days, short hairstyles are also embraced within the fashion world because it allows for a more androgynous appearance. There are simply a wider range of styles and expressions that can be successfully commanded when an individual has short hair, whether it's the form of androgyny or an elaborate makeup design. Likewise, there are plenty of celebrities that are also rocking short hair styles, such as Katy Perry, Rihanna, and Rooney Mara. All three of these women showcase the fact that you can wear a short hairstyle while still being absolutely beautiful and not losing an ounce of your sex appeal as a woman.

For some people, the biggest concern is whether or not they can successfully wear a short hairstyle. In most cases, it is possible, provided that you have an experienced hairstylist available. Whether you are interested in the shortest of short hairstyles or a more asymmetrical bob hairstyle, anything can be accomplished if you are getting your haircut by someone who has mastered the art of cutting short hair. So, if you want to get that stylish new do that you saw on your favorite singer or supermodel, consider taking a photograph in to your local stylist to see what they can offer you. With the amount of demand in short hairstyles currently, you can be certain that you won't be disappointed with your choice.

How to Rock Your Short Hair

Like many women, when I get angry or need to change my life, I always go for the hair. It’s the easiest thing to change, as my best friend likes to say, and it’s often the victim of our own heated decision making. I almost always regret it, because I think there’s not much I can do with it. Sure, it’s cooler in hot weather, but I can’t do any of the fun braids, twists, and other things that I did with my long hair.

But let’s be honest here: since my pre-mommyhood days, I haven’t been able to do much with it anyway because I don’t have the time. So maybe it’s time to learn how to rock out my short hair without whining about how much I wish it was long again.

As it’s growing out, it can be hard to deal with, but with the right tools and bling, you can make short hair just as fun and pretty as long hair by…

Sweeping it back in a sleek, pretty headband or a pair of pretty clips
Adding in pretty rhinestones or other adornments; check out a shop like Claire’s to find what’s new. You can often find these on sale in department stores or discount stores as well; once I found some great ones in a dollar store.
If it’s super short, spike it up with pomade or gel. Add colored tips for a really striking effect.
Creating your own hair art. We used to buy those tiny craft roses to add to my sister’s hair when I did it for her dances, but here’s your own twist: Buy the white ones, then paint them with rainbows, glitter, or whatever you like! You can make your own with metal, paper mache, or whatever else you have on hand, too.
Coloring it. Highlight it, brush in some temporary wild color or even a permanent one, or try going for multiple shades at once.
Wake up and go with the bed-head look; you can get away with it just about anywhere.
Add a wig for a very temporary color effect; it’s cold outside anyway, so why not? It might help keep your head warm.
Buzz it even shorter and you won’t have to do a thing with it. That was a fun experience for me, especially as it grew back…
Use a pretty head scarf or hat if all else fails!

Perfect Product for Pixie Cuts

How to get great texture without splurging on salon brands

I'm not usually one to get my hair cut by a professional. I figure my own two hands and a pair of sharp scissors are good enough about 90 percent of the time. And as someone who can't stand her own locks much longer than ear-length, I do a lot of self-snipping. I even take care of the back of my own head without a second mirror. It's probably a little rough back there, but going through by feel has worked well enough for me. For this last cut, though, I treated myself to an actual salon with an actual hair artist working the chair. And for the first time, I have to say I came away with some pretty awesome hair.

I grow the kind of thick, wavy stuff that more or less does its own thing no matter what shape it's in. Whenever I cut it myself, it's always a mystery to me what it'll actually end up looking like in a day or two. I feel like it's got a mind of its own. But Cheryl of Revive Hair Studios in Boston, she actually tamed the beast atop my dome. She shaped my tangle into something that actually suits the shape of my skull. It's a little shorter than I had originally intended but ended up being way better for me than the longer, bangs-heavy cut I had envisioned. In short, Cheryl rocked my scalp.

She also didn't pressure me into gooping up my newly-shorn locks with their salon brands--and that's something I always appreciate. She insisted I'd have to spike my hair up, put lots of product in, but it didn't have to be the $18 product they sold there at Revive. She knew I was on a recent grad freelance writer budget and so she urged me to take to the shelves of CVS for all my goop needs.

I've tried some of the fancier salon hair brands courtesy of my mother's impulse buy leftovers, and I have to say, I've never been quite so satisfied as I am with my current stuff: the Got2b "Playful" texturizing pomade. I used this gunk last time my hair was in a pixie cut and it's to date the only hair styling product I've ever run out of. It's a couple dollars above the Garnier Fructis level at $6 a pop, but it's miles better than the limp, sticky stuff in the green containers. It smells good, goes on evenly, and actually gives short hair texture instead of just plastering it to itself. Highly recommended for those who like a little spike up top.

What Do You Do with That Half-Grown Hair?

Every few years, when my hair is finally down my back where I love it, I get sick of it and decide to cut it as closely cropped to my head as possible. It started my junior year, when I decided to nearly buzz my long, red hair just for the hell of it. But after a few months, I get sick of it again and wish for those long locks that I could twist, braid, and manipulate in dozens of ways—and right now I am in the middle of growing it back, which will take me about two to three years.

I hate to say it, but I hate my hair right now. I look like a mushroom head—an unfortunate look that I remember capturing forever in my eighth grade photo, actually—and it can be hard to do things with your hair when you’re just trying to patiently grow it out. This is 2012, though, and there are plenty of things you can do to it while you wait. Here are a few ideas.

Try to help it grow faster. Here is a list of 22 ways to do that; most of them revolve around your diet, of course, since there is really no quick fix for long hair. Unless you want to try…
Get hair extensions. I wouldn’t do this myself—it seems too weird, and I’d want to make sure they were ethically harvested from what/whomever they were taken from—but I know plenty of women who do.
Wear a ball cap. This sounds like a total cop out, and maybe it is, but do you remember how cute you look in a cap? When I was about 11, I wore one every day with a ponytail through the back of it. I must admit that I was pretty adorable in my White Sox cap; I am sure I had a Chicago Bulls one, too, since I was a big fan back then.
Dress it up. Add in all kinds of little trinkets, barrettes, glitter, tinsel, whatever you want. I would say not to go for the feathers, since many are from real birds; if they are definitely synthetic, then go for it.
Dye it. While you wait for it to get long, how about going blue or green for a while?
Push it back with a headband. This is usually my favorite option, though now with the feathers of it poking out of my head, it looks a little goofy.
Cover it with whatever head wrap you like, from scarves to bandanas to whatever you have around. I love to put mine back in a tie-dye bandana, though it drives my mother nuts!
Try out a wig or two. Why not? It could be fun. You might even decide that you like it!

Tabatha's Takeover

The perfectly-coiffed bitch is back.

If you have never watched Bravo's Tabatha's Salon Takeover, you're probably missing out. I don't care about my haircuts, the cutting technique--unless they tried to trim my hair with a hacksaw--or the modern decor in the salons where I get my haircuts, but I'm still hooked on this show. Included in a nasty-to-nice television genre with Restaurant Impossible and Kitchen Nightmares, Coffey's show makes you feel better about your house, your place of business, your coworkers and your own cleaning skills--which is no easy feat.

Tabatha Coffey, the hard-nosed bitch with a soft spot for befuddled salon owners, is the reason that everybody keeps on tuning in. The Australian (she's from an actual place called Surfer's Paradise) hairdresser only wears black and menacing boots, her platinum blonde hair intimidating frumpy hair stylists the world over.

The salons on Tabatha's Salon Takeover were chosen probably because they make most people watching feel like Mr. Clean, with the muscles and everything. The salons are typically disgusting, with decades-old hair caked into the chairs and the floor, and gunk in the hair-washing trays. The decor is usually reminiscent of the '80s--if not actually from the '80s--meaning that the clientele is old, complacent or children.

Tabatha then reveals the secret footage of the generally unprofessional workers from the salon. The salon owner weeps about his or her terrible managerial skills or how much in debt his is, etc... but Tabatha doesn't care. Tabatha never shows any emotion, only her black, talon-like nails.

Tabatha then whips the stylists into shape, telling them that their haircuts look terrible or their updos look sloppy. She revamps the place, updating it into modern styles. It's magical, but the managers woes are usually absolved, and when she drops by "randomly" in the next six weeks, the salon has typically improved.

In its fourth season on Bravo, Tabatha's show will be called only Tabatha's Takeover and will feature other businesses aside from just salons. This season, Tabatha will be revamping dog hotels, bakeries and coffee shops, amongst other failing businesses. It still remains to be seen how she'll tell some poor baker how to revamp his sloppy souffle, but if any hair stylist can do it, it's probably Tabatha. And if not, she'll just resort to intimidation tactics.

Will you be watching Tabatha's Takeover? Do you think it will be as successful as the previous three seasons?