Here’s an update from Shuchita!

Hey Sarah,

It’s been ages since you posted suggestions from me (volume 3.25) and after weeks of deliberating I finally went in for a slightly shorter version of the Penelope Cruz style. It’s super-easy to maintain (I air dry it 99% of the times) and can be “neatened” with a hair-band or pony-tail.

Thank you so much for the suggestions, I think once you posted aboutt me, it was like throwing my hat over the fence. I couldn’t keep sitting after all those people took the time out to vote !! Maybe once I muster up some more courage, I’ll try the rolled under bob – but right now, I’m happy with this.

wishes,
Shuchita

Thanks, Shuchita! (I love your tunic, by the way.)

Meet Melissa.

Melissa needs a CHANGE. From her email:

I turn 40 this year and am having a mini mid-life crisis. I am a stay-at-home mom and have 3 boys – ages 5, 2 and 10 months. I knew things were bad, but once I took the pictures to send to you, I had no idea how bad. Ugh. Talk about a humbling moment.

I am in desperate need of advice. I must have a new style, but have no idea how to go about choosing one. I have had this exact same haircut, if you can call it that, for YEARS! Everyday, I pull it up into a clip and that’s my “style.” I am known around the preschool set as the, “mom who wears the hair clip.”

My lifestyle involves children, children and more children and that’s about it right now! I spend no time on myself, but this year I am going to change that, starting with make-up and fixing my hair several days a week. I have not had bangs since the 80s, but after viewing my forehead in the photos I’m sending you, I think I might need to invest in some! Maybe sideswept? I don’t think I can pull off the blunt ones.

I realize I will probably never get chosen, but I have decided to force myself to try new things this year. Just the act of taking the photos to send to you and stopping to right this email is more than I have done for myself in a long time! Regardless, I wish you and your family best of luck in 2010!

Melissa, thank you for taking the time and effort to send me that great email! Emails like this really give me good insight as to what kind of style would work best for potential HT participants. (Related- for those of you who send me one-word answers to my questionnaire or a tiny blurry photo, your email usually goes straight to my delete folder. What can I say, I’m a TYRANT.)

Okay! Let’s learn a little more about Melissa’s hair.

Naturally light brown. Blonde highlights applied about every 12-13 weeks.
Fine texture and stick straight
Would like to spend 15-20 minutes styling
Prefers chin length or longer
Uses no products, just shampoo and conditioner
Wears a banana clip almost every day (NOOOOOOOOOOOO!)

Melissa, THROW AWAY THE BANANA CLIPS. Seriously, right now. Walk over to your banana clip drawer and dump them in the trash. Okay? Great. Wait…I still see that one stashed away over there. That one goes too.

I completely understand that your daily life includes running after three children. I get it. But if you are going to pull your hair back, please please use a hairband. Or braid it! Or a chic headband! Or even a barrette! JUST NOT A BANANA CLIP.

Now for your options.

Forget the “mom who wears the banana clip” moniker. Melissa will be looking HOT with either one of these hairstyles!

Option #1 is a stylish shoulder-length bob – long enough for Melissa to get off of her face, but short enough to give her fine, straight hair some fullness and show off her shine. Since Melissa doesn’t need to coerce her hair straight, this style could be achieved in minutes. Just a quick blowdry and some serum and Melissa would be ready to go.

Option #2 would keep most of Melissa’s length, but the addition of sideswept bangs would give her tons of movement around her face and help make her overall look more sassy. (I hate that word, but I have pregnancy brain and can’t think of anything else right now.) Plus, if Melissa wants to pull her hair back (NOT IN A BANANA CLIP), those sideswept bangs would give her more of a style than the traditional SAHM slicked-back ponytail. I would recommend Melissa using a light, volumizing mousse to give her hair some bounce, as well as controlling her newly shorn bangs.

As for color, I definitely see some root growth in that photo. If highlights are only going to be done every 12-13 weeks, I would recommend some lowlights throughout to keep the hair looking healthy, modern and not so one-dimensional.

What do you all think? Which option would you choose?