Archive for the ‘InStyle.com’ Category

Great Hair Cuts for Summer to Beat The "Mom Hair Blues"

June 28, 2011

I am SO over my hair!

My hair is naturally wavy and I have been using a flat iron almost everyday of my life for the past 15 years to make my hair sleek and straight so I am taking the plunge and having a Brazilian Keratin Treatment applied to my hair so that it is easy to manage, sleek and straight for the rest of the summer. My Birthday is next week and this treatment is my Birthday present to myself. After 15 years of spending almost 30 minutes a day to flat iron, I am so ready for this treatment!

If I don’t flat iron, with the right amount of gel, scrunching and hairspray I can make my hair really curly, but not “good, bouncy curls”, they are more crunchy curls from the gel and spray. I don’t love my hair curly. I did in 1995, when big crunchy, curly hair was the style. A plus to the curls is that it takes all of 5 minutes to gel, scrunch, spray, diffuse and go. I like spending 5 minutes on my hair much better than 30 minutes so the curls have been winning the hair style battle lately and I feel blah about that. I don’t feel very stylish as it is these days rocking my chubby mom style, at least when my hair looks good, I feel better about my frumpiness.

I have hair appointment in two weeks for the Keratin Treatment and I couldn’t be more excited! I am not sure of what kind of cut I am going to get after the application, but one thing is for certain. I need a big change to get me out of this rut. I have determined that my once heart shaped face is now round, thanks to ahem..a few dozen extra pounds that I am carrying around so my once go to cut won’t work at all anymore. I have been pulling off trendy, heart shape styles for the past few years, but they grow out funky and then I am back in my hair style funk. Now.. I am ready to admit that I have a round shaped face and I am going to make sure I get a cut to compliment my face shape an hopefully..maybe even slim it a little bit.

To determine your face shape:
Break out a ruler and measure the widths of your brow, cheekbones and jawline, and the length of your face from forehead to chin.

Round (like Ginnifer Goodwin): Your forehead and jaw are curved at the corners, and your face is nearly as wide as it is long.

Heart (like Reese Witherspoon): You fall into this category if you’re wide at the brow but especially narrow at the jaw.

Long/Oval (Like Zoe Saldana): The widths of your brow, cheekbones and jaw are almost equal.

Square (like Salma Hayek Pinault): If the length of your face is almost equal to its width, you’re a square shape.

I have been surfing the web for some ideas and found these fun summer hair styles and thought I would share..

Deep Wispy Bangs

NAOMI CAMPBELL’S STYLE: One-length hair cut at the shoulders with soft bangs starting at the middle of the head.

WHAT MAKES IT COOL: “Naomi is always at events and shoots doing different things with her hair,” says her hairstylist Amoy Pitters. “Because this cut has no layers, it’s versatile and allows her to achieve almost any style.”

WHO IT WORKS FOR: “This cut is great for heart and oval faces because it emphasizes the cheekbones and downplays the forehead,” Pitters explains. “Be sure to go to a hairstylist with excellent cutting skills. There are no layers, so it’s important the length is precise.”

Tiered Layers and Swooping Fringe
RACHEL MCADAMS’S STYLE: Mid-length strands bluntly layered at three stages: Cheekbones, chin, and collarbone.

WHAT MAKES IT COOL: “Rachel’s cut is so gorgeous because of the way the long bangs frame her face,” explains her hairstylist Andy LeCompte. “She has strong cheekbones, and the layers help soften them up.”

WHO IT WORKS FOR: “Rachel has a slight curl to her hair, so it’s great to blow this look out with a slight bend,” says LeCompte. However, if you’d rather skip heated styling tools in the morning, this could work for you too. “These layers are very forgiving and look great air-dried.”

Gradual, Face Framing Layers
MANDY MOORE’S STYLE: A mid-length cut with tons of piecey layers starting at the chin.

WHAT MAKES IT COOL: “Mandy doesn’t always like to blowout her hair, and this cut looks great even when it dries naturally,” says her hairstylist Colleen Conway.

WHO IT WORKS FOR: This cut flatters oval faces especially, but with slight adjustments to the layering, can accent nearly any face shape. Plus, because the ends are so thinned, it is an ideal look for women wanting to infuse lightness into thick, dense strands.

The Haircut That Works on Everyone – The Blunt Lob
The Look: “This cut is blunt and uniform with no layers,” says Frédéric Fekkai stylist Renato Campora, who crafted Jessica Alba’s “super-easy” style in five minutes. “It elongates the neck and makes you look more statuesque,” he explains. “If you go any shorter, it becomes a bob and you lose the versatility.”

It’s Perfect For: Anyone whose hair is fine or fried from heated styling tools. “This returns it to healthy without being tied down to a short style,” says Campora. “It gets rid of stringy ends, so hair looks thicker.”

Round Face, Medium-Length
THE CUT A long, deconstructed bob with shaggy pieces around the neck.
WHY IT WORKS Hair that hits the shoulders or collarbone has a face-slimming effect. Jagged, flicky ends like Mo’Nique’s add angles, break up the chin area and won’t curve in under your jaw. The result? “You’re counterbalancing the circular shape and giving structure,” says Garren.
EXPERT TIP Curly, wispy hair can inflate at this length and widen your face, so go a few inches longer to add some
weight.

*Hairstyle tips & ideas are from InStyle.com