Another Reason to Cut Your Hair

Do these short styles inspire you?  Then pay attention!  Last week I mentioned I'm looking for a BeautySweetSpot reader to join me at a media event with a celebrity stylist to donate their hair for Pantene's Beautiful Lengths campaign on National Donate Your Hair Day and am excited to announce that I found Punam from NJ who's eager to participate!  But don't worry, besides joining me at the event on Saturday, there are other ways you can get involved.  Everyone can do something... help make real-hair wigs available at no-cost to women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.  Read on to find out how you can help. Don't worry if you can't or don't want to chop your hair.  You can still be involved by pledging to donate next year or by planning a donation cutting event for friends and family. Even something as simple as Tweeting your support for the program @Pantene using #BeautifulLengths will help support the cause by building awareness to the program.

If you do plan on making the chop we'd love for you to be part of the National Donate Your Hair Day Vine-umentary!  Pantene's creating a video-documetary to capture the moment donators are making the cut, calling it a "Pony Up" moment.  Capture your chop on a Vine now through October, and submit it by tagging @Pantene and using the #BeautifuLengths and #PonyUp.  Your donation can be part of history!

Thank you all again for learning about Beautiful Lengths and for spreading the word.  It's a fantastic program and I couldn't be more proud to be a part of it.

*This is a sponsored post, but all of my thoughts and actions are true.

Thinking About Layers? Things to Consider Before You Chop: Thanks to My Intern, Who's New 'Do Welcomes Her Into 'The Industry'

At only 19, I was still sporting a fun, long straight blonde hair look . Since I am young, I was able to pull it off, but now that I am beginning to work in the beauty and fashion industry, I felt it was time for a more mature look.  Enter long layers, a real style.  I received an invite for a complimentary haircut from the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa, and knew this was my chance to make a big change with a stylist I could trust.   I sat with my stylist, Billy Deewillians and explained how I saw long layers in my future.  Here are his tips for women, like me, who are seeking out a new style with layers. Tip 1: Know Your Face Shape

"Haircuts are always all about complimenting the shape of your face," Deewillians commented.  "Before you even decide what your hair style will be, you want to make sure it suits you." Layers compliment women with round facial features instead of enhancing features on the women with angular shaped faces. Angular faces tend to go for the softer haircut instead of intense layers.  This is not to say if you have high cheek bones and a sharp chin you can't have layers.  Just instead of such angles and layers around the face like mine, go for a cut that has the front fall around the face.

Tip 2:  Less is More

It is also important that you steer clear from stringy layers and don't lose the ends, which is the effect you'll get if you add too many layers. For my haircut, Deewillians kept the length in the back and cut it shorter in the front for the style. He explained that with my hair shorter in the front, it creates more opportunities to play with different looks.

Tip 3: Style with Hot Rollers

My main concern was having to wake up earlier in the mornings to style it. I knew I wouldn't be able to go from rolling out of bed and just brushing my hair to having to spend an hour styling it. Deewillians swears by hot rollers. "It's a way for you to style your hair without a lot of heat and time," he remarks.  You can shower the night before, put a little bit of mousse in (he recommends Kerastase Resistance Volumactive Mousse), and let it air dry, or even sleep on it wet if you need. Then, when you wake up, pop in some jumbo rollers and go on with your morning. They don't have to add a lot of curls, but it will give your hair a lift at the roots.

Not only are curlers convenient and time-saving, but according to Deewillians, it works best for my hair type. "It's the go-to for fine hair," he explains. Hot rollers create the saloon looking effect more so then a curling iron.

"At the end of you day you want volume in every part of your hair, not just the top" explains Deewillians. "Therefore, you want to create thickness throughout." Well, mission accomplished because I have never felt like I had so much hair to play with.

While I may have started my summer as an ambitious 19-year-old with pretty long straight hair, I will be leaving as an accomplished 19-year-old with a sexy new hair style to prove it.

When Bad Hair Cuts Happen to Good People

Spotted: Cameron Diaz with short, somewhat curly hair at the Weinstein's Golden Globes after party.  What was she thinking?  I normally feel horrible for good people who receive bad hair cuts, but really?  She should have known better!  Short and curly?  Two styles that never mix! What do you think of Cameron's new 'do?

Hottest Male Celeb Hair Styles of 2011 & How to Get Him to Rock One

Let's be honest, you can totally fall in lust with a guy because of his hair and 2011 has been filled with sexy A-list coifs.  I picked out the top six (Yes, six, I wanted to do five, but couldn't leave out one of these crops.) male cuts and styles and spoke with Celebrity Stylist for Paul Mitchell, Diana Schmidtke to find out how you can help your man can accomplish the look that makes your heart race. Most women would bring a photo of a celeb to their stylist to demonstrate the look they're trying to accomplish and Schmidtke recommends men do the same. However, knowing Joe and most men, they would never bring a photo to their barber.  Could you imagine?  That's where you come in.

Use this a guide and help him style sans the embarrassment.  Schmidtke warns, "It’s important to note that a lot of cuts and styles are dependent on hair type so help him work with his stylist to get a variation of the look if your his type isn’t ideal."

Chace Crawford's medium length, shaggy cut works best with wavy or straight textures.  His front fringe is longer so he can sweep it over his eye creating a sexy, messy look. Mesmerizing!  Key product: A high-shine pomade for separation.

Robert Pattinson has a longer cut that gets tight in the back.  While he doesn't need much product, he does use a blow-dryer and round brush every once in a while for some added bounce.  No matter how much this hair cut makes you swoon, unless your man loves spending time in the bathroom getting ready, it's probably not for him.

Justin Bieber has longer layers in the front that gradually evolve into uniform layers that spike towards the back.  Key product: A paste to add texture and help separate the pieces in the front like Redken Mint Shape Forming Paste.

Ryan Reynolds has the most classic cut of all.  A bit spikey, tight at the nape and clean with longer layers at the top to give the appearance of movement.  Key product: a matte paste to add texture like AXE Hold & Touch.

George Clooney asks for a sheer, over-comb, short crop cut.  I'm not sure if it's the cut or the salt and pepper hair that gets me, but it's working.  I'm also a huge fan of the groomed scruff.  Key product: a moisturizing paste that makes hair appear thicker like Paul Mitchell Mitch Construction Paste.

Matthew McConaughey has long layers with naturally wavy hair.  The layers make the waves work well.  It's the hair even us girls wish we had!  Key product: a gel without sticky hold like Paul Mitchell Mitch Steady Grip.

Bangs! A Scissor Happy Nightmare

I've been known to do spontaneous things, but my most recent act of spontaneity was definitely not my smartest.  Did you ever get in the position where you were in a rut with your look and needed a change?  Well, I found myself acting out on my boredom with a pair of scissors (hence the shot above). I've had straight across bangs before, about two years ago when I launched BeautySweetSpot.com and I hated them then. Why then, would I think they would be the answer to my prayers now?  Fashion forward?  Maybe for someone like Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada, but not for me.

I can accept them when I'm wearing my sunglasses.  As Joe says, "It's like you're completely hiding your face!"  Exactly. Otherwise, I'm living in total regret and am pinning them back when I go out and anxiously waiting for them to grow out so I can feel like myself again!

Have you ever made a bad beauty decision?

Adrian Grenier's New Hair Cut

I have to admit, one of the reasons I began watching Entourage was because I thought Adrian Grenier was so damn hot.  This "news" is so appalling I'm going to get right to the point.  He cut his curls.  I don't think it's just curls he lost, he also lost some kind of exotic sexiness that came along with his complete persona. Still hot?  Yes, I definitely think so, but much more on the average level now.

What do you think about Adrian's new look?

What kind of hair do you like on men in general?