Long, Flowing Tresses:

The long hairstyles present on the red carpet this year seemed inspired by old-Hollywood glamour days and the carefully-crafted smooth looks worn by starlets like Veronica Lake. The styles, though long and free-moving, were smooth, and looked carefully controlled. Most notable for their Old-Hollywood inspiration were the styles worn by Jessica Chastain and Helen Hunt. Jennifer Hudson, also sported her long locks in a clean, sleek style, but the overall look appeared more contemporary with the sharp lines of the fringe and glossy finish.

Loose, Low-slung Up-styles:

As with any mention of a formal Hollywood occasion, there were a number of up-styles worn. What made this year’s up-styles significant was their consistency in being loosely gathered and slung low on the crown and nape areas of the head. These up-styles looked elegant, but not nearly as fussy and stiff as the up-styles from yesteryear. Stars like Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner wore their up-styles augmented with loose tendrils to frame their faces, creating softness with the elegant looks. Jennifer Lawrence – by contrast – also wore her hair in a low-slung up-style, but her overall look was more-tightly confined and the backward swept locks were defined by fingermarks in the styling effort.

Gamine, Short Hairstyles:

Some stars favor short hair all the time, while others change their hair frequently for many reasons. (Anne Hathaway actually sacrificed her previously long tresses in filming “Les Miserables” in which her character sells her hair to a wigmaker to support her child.) When this happens they generally appear at awards shows with their short hair styled in glamorous ways as befits their personalities. And let me tell you, rarely does a star dare to walk a red carpet with short hair without looking striking. Halle Berry is a star who has often sported gamine looks and always draws favorable attention. Charlize Theron, too, seems incapable of looking anything but amazing, no matter how short her hair becomes. And the aforementioned Anne Hathaway looked striking in a pixie-cut with an ear-length weight line and side part, since her hair has grown in beautifully after her cutting it for her film.

When every new advance in the hair & beauty industry has the potential to spark a hot trend that could lead to billions in profit, what could be more impressive than being able to say you truly have “golden hair”? It’s a story interesting enough to make Rumplestiltskin eat his heart out.

In a press release from the American Chemical Society, scientists have announced that they have successfully conducted the first synthesis of gold nanoparticles inside human hair. These nanoparticles are indeed a hot topic within the scientific community and are being experimented with for all sorts of applications. They’ve been deposited onto hair for use as electrodes, and have been used to dye wool.

And – taking inspiration from the Ancient Greeks, who used lead to dye hair – they developed a process by which they soaked white hairs in a gold-compound solution. Examination with an electron microscope showed that the gold particles were forming inside the core of the hair – the central cortex. The resulting color was retained even after repeated washings.

Now, the color results were different than you might think with longer exposure to the compound. Starting with “white” hair, the strands turned pale yellow at first, and as they were exposed for longer periods, the color darkened. The final result was a deep brown.

Obviously, you aren’t likely to see “real gold” haircolor formulas on your beauty supply shelf anytime in the too-near future, but the facts are there. And I’m sure some enterprising entrepreneur is going to make a fortune as soon as he gets access to the formula and talks a celebrity into letting him give her a “24-Karat” Hairstyle.

You can learn more about the process at the American Chemical Society website, where they also have telephone numbers for those interested parties.

Photo credit: American Chemical Society

A shoulder length to pixie makeover in a French salon. From “girl next door” to fashionista.

Short hairstyles

A successful makeover from long to short curly hair.

We must admit that the long curly hair looks gorgeous and it takes a courageous model to go through such a drastic change. It took years to grow hair this long and only minutes to make it hit the floor. In this case however her courage is very rewarding.

This neck revealing haircut is fun to wear and it enhances the bounce of the curls. The cool breeze on the neck is very enjoyable after years of long hair neck-covering hair. Also note how much better her blouse looks with the short haircut!

Reasons to get a short haircut

How to color hair

Pierre Alexander once again makes the world a better place with his collection of vintage inspired hairstyles. Click here for photos.

More about vintage hairstyles

Only truly professional hair models are ready for drastic on stage haircuts. This model clearly is one of them. It takes only minutes to transform her flowing long hair into a stunning fashionable pixie. An amazing makeover! She looks slightly shocked after the haircut, but that is normal and actually makes her look even more attractive. It almost looks like she can’t believe that this actually happened to her. The fresh feel of bare ears and a short nape is new when you are used to long hair and it takes a while to get used to it.

How to become a hair model

Tutorial video for do it yourself hair chalking. Add fun color accents to your hair. Great for parties and special events.

Temporary Hair Color

This video with detailed step-by-step instructions explains how to cut long hair into a beautiful short hairstyle. The neck length haircut features back angled sides and long side swept bangs. Again it proves that short hair doesn’t have to be boring.

Short hair tips and ideas