Up ‘dos mere mortals like us can actually replicate at home

Who has enough time to get the perfect up-do hairstyle anymore?  I’m sure every woman would love to have their own personal hairdresser to be armed with a blow-dryer and ready to take on the tough task of getting your hair perfect the way you want.  Those that don’t have this convenience may need some helpful tips to get the look they want in only a few minutes, and be out the door!  Here’s 17 hairstyles to try out that won’t take up much of your time.

 

With a few (and only a few) key products and styling tools, you can quickly give yourself a salon-worthy ‘do. And hey, if you hate it, try a different one — at least you haven’t blown 60 bucks and a hour of precious time on it. …More at Total Beauty

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Fall is nearly here and you want a quick style fix? Thinking bangs? Trends – even ones we love – just aren’t for everyone. Bangs are everywhere, Glamour Magazine even recently devoted a feature to our new favorite. Check out their Bangs Dos and Don’ts!

Some say it started with the Heidi Klum look, but suddenly everywhere you looked – from the Red Carpet, to fashion magazines, the SoHo girls whose style we so admire – bangs were on every face. Bangs can give ho-hum hair a little rock and roll punch; disguise those lines developing on your forehead (skip the Botox!); and might even make you look younger.

The best part about bangs is that you can drastically change your look without losing length or changing your color – good for someone like me who gets bored about a day into a new hairstyle.

Before you dive headlong (clever pun intended) into a haircut commitment, think about what style you’d like. Bangs can be cut and styled in a variety of lengths and shapes. Short bangs may not suit a long face; blunt bangs work best on oval faces. My personal favorites are bangs that are angle around the brow bone or side-swept bangs. Side-swept bangs can elongate a round face and soften square-shaped faces. They’re also a great way for ladies with hairstyle-cold-feet to get used to the idea of bangs.

Never cut bangs yourself (ask me how I know!). You may be able to tackle a trim on your own here and there, but if you’re not a stylist, cutting bangs on your own is treacherous territory.

Remember, the same cut won’t work for everyone. Here are a few factors to consider before you try out bangs:

• Hair Type and Texture - Straight and wavy haired girls rejoice! Bangs work the best on your hair type. If you’re hair is thick and tends to curl, stay away from super short bangs. Shortening your hair can lighten it, resulting in tighter curls and short short bangs! You might want to try layers and angles instead of bangs. They’ll give you a fresher, edgier look without the pitfalls of bangs-gone-wild.  Super fine hair? You may want to stay away from bangs that are too wispy or short. Fine and thin hair works well with side-swept bangs that give you more volume and texture.

• Skin Type - Is your skin really oily? You may want to think twice about styling your hair across your forehead. Your hair also produces natural oils and the two together can cause a skin breakout of epic proportions.

• Growing Pains -Bangs are, for the most part, a temporary style update. They can grow out in as little as two weeks. When they start poking you in the eyes, it’s either time for a trim or time for the growing pains! If you work with your stylist, you can have them trimmed so that they start going to the side. I do this in between trims. It’s fun because it’s like two haircuts in one! Trendy bangs across the brow one week, and sexy side-swept locks the next.

While styling products, a great brush and blow-dryer can help you through the growing out or in-between phase, I find that accessories (and there are a lot out there to choose from) can be a girl’s best friend!

Headbands, scarves and wraps are so hot right now and can disguise even the most unruly bangs as they grow out. I like to part my bangs to one side, twist slightly and pin them back for a sophisticated, stylized look. No one would guess you were growing out bangs!

Are You Ready?

Before you sit in your stylists chair, find some pictures (Heidi Klum, anyone?!) of styles that interest you. Being prepared might mean the difference between getting those perfect side-swept layered bangs a la Jessica Simpson, or getting blunt bangs that don’t suit your round face.

I tried full bangs across my brow bone and I am loving them! I have a lot of fine, straight hair; and this type works really well on my oval face. The best is - I instantly turned up my style factor. I find that I can just blow out my bangs and rush out the door. Instant hairstyle. Good bangs will always make you look finished and polished.

If you’re going to try them, now’s the time… although… I hope they never go out of style!

Eva Langoria was recently on the red carpet in an adorable curly cropped do, but she didn’t cut her hair at all. It was just pinned and curled. The trick is the layers. If you have a layered hair cut, you too can easily create this cute new look.

Just take your long layers and tuck and pin them up at the base of your neck. Be sure to conceal them with the top layers. A little curl always helps to keep everyone guessing because it is easier to hide the longer pieces that way. Remember, there are no rules, you just pin up the longer layers and keep the shorter layers on top. I have tried it and it worked great, I fooled all of my friends! Everyone thought I cut 7 inches off my hair! It took no more than 10 minutes to place and pin the hair up to give me a whole new look!

If you don’t think you can do it, invite a friend to help, you will be surprised how easy it is to do. Also, add a little product like mousse before blow drying to give your hair a little texture, this way it will be easier to pin up. Have fun!

Send us a pic! We would love to see a before and after and we will showcase you and your new look in our blog!

I think that it’s human nature to want what we don’t have. As an advocate of make-up, I agree with anything that will better my (or someone else’s) appearance.

I will say that nothing looks worse than over-processed straightened hair or a bad kinky perm. Better to just leave it alone, get a good cut and use the correct styling products for your hair type (or if it’s really horrible, cut it off and buy a wig). (over processed bad perm, right)

I do wonder, however, why men with great, full heads of hair shave their heads repeatedly? Is it just to be in style or are they lazy and don’t want to be bothered with fixing it (probably)? (Channing Tatum, left) I guess they don’t realize that (for a large majority of them) the time will come soon enough that they won’t have to fix their hair because (some or most of) it will have fallen out.

The first was a woman who had her head shaved with the exception of two large balls about three inches above her ears. She must be a huge fan of Disneyworld, because she looked like Minnie Mouse.

The second, I’m actually looking at right now on the train. She has her hair corn-rowed about an inch apart toward the crown of her head. On the top of the crown is a large fountain-type bun (of obviously synthetic hair) in the same orange-burgundy colored hair that the cornrows are.

If either of the women were exceptionally beautiful, they might be able to get away with wearing such horrific styles, but unfortunately…not.

I don’t know why this is, but I’ve been told that (in general) women from Jamaica and the West Indies are more likely to color their hair in unnatural colors as well as creating the most unusual hair styles (in comparison to African American women). I find that Caucasian women just tend to over process their hair and leave it like it was when they got out of bed (which is equally unattractive).

Find a classic hairstyle that suits the shape of your face. Identify your best facial feature, accentuate it and de-emphasize everything else.

Remember, unflattering hairstyles bring even more attention than flattering ones.

Adding a little punch of color to your hair is fine, but banana and cherry should be left for the fruit.

Unless you look like a fashion model (and can get away with doing whatever you want because your body and face are so hot no one’s looking at your hair) think of using colors that your hair might naturally be when it comes out of your head. If you want highlights, you may want to consider using two of three colors (in small sections) so that it all blends together. It also tends to look better when the roots start to show.

Let’s also touch on root products for a minute. There are many companies who make products to touch up in between color. I actually don’t mind seeing a little root on someone with highlights because it looks like you were at the beach for the season and your summer hair is just growing out (although, you still don’t want it to get out of hand. Four inch roots are just plain ugly). If you have grey roots, buy one of these products. You’re covering your grey for a reason(to look younger!). If everyone can see that you have grey roots, it defeats the purpose.

Revlon’s Roux, Tween Time Hair Color Stick is a great, inexpensive product that you can find all over the internet. I know someone who’s tried other mascara-like products and found this to work the best)

I know that everyone wants to “do their own thing” and “express their inner self”, but there comes a point where self-respect and personal hygiene come into play. I take a train to work and some of the people that I come in contact with are disgusting. I sat behind someone that had chucks of something stuck in their hair. I was waiting to see a family of some kind of bugs crawled out. SOAP IS CHEAP! BATHE!

If you don’t have a hairdryer or cant afford to have your nasty dirty hair blown out or styled, cut it short and use some kind of styling product. There’s nothing worse than sitting next to someone and wondering whether you’re going to have something crawling on you after you get away from them.

(this is actually good, in comparison to the things I’ve seen)

I must say that it pleases me to see the “lunching ladies” (few as they are, I couldn’t even find a picture)
that have their hair “done”, coordinate their outfit from head to toe, carry themselves with poise and conduct themselves as if they were brought up with the manners of royalty.

At least for some. Drag (Dressed, As, Girl, from Shakespearean times) where I grew up (in the rural mid-central US) consisted of the guys who dressed up for the midnight weekly show of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The first real Drag Queen I saw was at a show in San Antonio after I left home.
As I live in the NY metro area, it seems as though drag has almost gone mainstream.

One of the best Drag Queens of our era, made it big with his/her own television shows a few years back.

Lady Bunny is also a household name in the NY area for her contribution to the yearly “Wigstock” celebration.

If you’re going to do drag, my only request is that you at least try to do it right (even if it’s only on Halloween).
Please shave off the goatee, and if you don’t want to shave your legs, wear opaque tights (I hate scag drag).

If you need help with your make-up, go to a MAC store or counter (they usually have no issues with drag, transvestites, or transgender) and have them give you what they consider an optimum look for your facial features.
Buy all the correct tools you need to do the job.
Go home (and if you’re unsure of your abilities) and take off one side of your face, reproduce that side to your satisfaction and when you’re through, take off the other side and do the same.
Voila! Girl YOU BETTER WORK~!