Hair Extensions & Fashion

Hair styles for Curly Hair - Just Add Layers

Curly hair styles create a sense of charm and youth for those who know how to wear it well. It is important to realize that not all haircuts are great for those with curly hair and straight blunt cuts will create a bulbous mushroom effect as will hair that is cut too short. i think many of us with the curly hair have gone through this in our early teens

To have your natural curly hair looking shiny, glorious and up to date it is best to wear your curly hair from medium length to long and get long layers cut into the hair. When you go to the hairstylist be weary of hairdressers that send you straight to the washing basin before observing your hair and the natural directions your curls take. The directions of your curls must be taken into consideration before being able to cut the right layers into your hair.

Naturally red hair with soft big curls look great with layers cut into the hair.

Long curly hair looks very beautiful and feminine.

Adding layers to curly hair adds volume and shape to the hair. This look is great for an evening out on the town.

This is a beautiful yet simple up do you can create with curly hair that has been layered. This hairstyle is fantastic for formal occasions such as proms and weddings.

Curly hair that is not cut into layers can create a mushroom effect with the hair flaring up on the sides of the face.

Dark curly layered hair frames the face nicely and makes the eyes pop.

The Fringe

Increasingly, current men's fashion trends are being based upon last season's women's fashion trends so it comes as no surprise that the fringe will be a major feature of men's hair trends in 2009. Thankfully it won't take all it's cues from the women's fringe trend of 2008, nor will it be long enough to warrant accusations of being a medieval-bowl-cut revival.

How To Cut The Fringe

Thankfully, the men's fringe trend in 2009 comes in a variety of lengths, so you're going to be able to play with the look to suit your face shape. While you'll be looking to keep shorter back and sides (British grade 4-5), the way of truly making it your own is to play with the length of the fringe itself. No better example exists than the Bottega Veneta Men's Spring-Summer 2009 catwalk which provided two fringes in stark contrast to each other:

Of the two, the latter side swept fringe is the more preferential, with the cropped fringe looking a little too nondescript. If the side swept fringe does look like a hair style you might wear, be sure to check out Marni's menswear Fall(Autumn)/Winter 2008/2009 catwalk collection where it was a look sported by most of the models.

Personally, I'd recommend something far more current and cut your fringe with texture and at brow length as seen on Burberry Prorsum's Men's Spring/Summer 2009 catwalk (below).

How To Style The Fringe

Whether you take a straightening iron to your hair or enjoy naturally straight hair, the men's fringe trend in 2009 is all about texture. I'm not talking about afro-inducing curls akin to those spotted on Alexander McQueen's Fall(Autumn)/Winter 2008/2009 runway (those were horrible) but light, layered detail. And in giving us the best length, Burberry Prorsum also featured the best textured styling for the men's fringe:

This textured hair style, with its longer fringe, is the 2009 incarnation of the 'Caesar cut', named after the hair style Roman dictator perpetuus Julius Caesar who is frequently depicted wearing his hair in a similar fashion. For a similar reason, it's also become known as 'the Clooney Cut' after actor George Clooney. While cut to bring hair from the temples and crown towards the forehead, the overall effect depends largely on using a matte wax or pomade to create the rugged texture and is quite akin to something sported by men in the Regency era.

And if it's a rugged texture you're after, particularly if you have wavy or curly hair, then look no further than Gucci's Men's Fall (Autumn)/Winter 2008/2009 catwalk where the models oozed sex with a take on 2009's fringe hair style trend.

The Slick Back

Though he's given his name to an incarnation of the fringe hair trend, actor George Clooney has been a larger influence of another of 2009's hair style trends for men: the slick back.

In being a part of 2009 hair trends the slick back drives home one major point: men's hair styles in 2009 are all about the classics. In fact the slick back may actually be a little too classic for most men, with its popularity in the likes of Ralph Lauren catalogues it actually conveys a real American style that will guarantee it success in the States but probably little outside.

How To Cut The Slick Back
If you're after the slick back look there's one important thing to first consider: is your hair wavy or straight. From there on in it's easy.

Guys with straight hair: stick to a longer cut on top. Guys with wavy hair: go for short hair on top, perhaps a few inches in length depending on the strength of your wave. The two models below, both from Jil Sander's Spring-Summer 2009 catwalk, best demonstrate the different cut lengths for the two hair types.

For both straight haired and wavy haired men: short on the sides.

And for those who have neither straight nor wavy hair? Consult your stylist. You're going to have a real time getting the slick back hair style with curly hair, and unless you're willing to dedicate vast amounts of time each morning to your hair you might want to seek a chemical curl relaxer.

How To Style The Slick Back
Looking at it, you already know it's not going to take a lot of effort to style the slick back (provided your hair is suitable, and cut appropriately). Using the right product, like good old-school Brylcreem if you're after a classic wet look, the real trick is to make sure that the side you choose to slick the hair back towards actually suits your face. Try both ways, and don't forget that your mirror doesn't show your true image.

The other major choice is whether to add a part or not. Clooney wears it with one, as did many a model on Moschino's Fall(Autumn)/Winter 2008/2009 catwalk, while the models at Jil Sander's collection launch (above) wore the look partless.

The Classic Part

Wearing the slick back hair trend partless might not be the way to go, however, given that the traditional part figures in so heavily into men's hair trends in 2009.

But while a part my seem simple enough, plenty of options still abound.

How To Cut The Classic Part
This one, I'm well and truly leaving alone. No, this is not a white flag of surrender. There are simply too many ways to cut a hair cut worthy of a part. See your stylist, but before you do so, here are some tips on the styling.

How To Style The Classic Part
There are so many options here, as you can apply a part to most any hair style. However, the classic part in 2009 is very much about traditional styling - the sort worn de rigueur by the likes of actor Cary Grant and The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; the 20th Century's ultimate trend setter. And it is from the Duke (middle and right, below) that we can see two classic stylings: the side sweep (right) and the slick back (middle).

Grant too wears the side sweep though, unlike the Duke of Windsor, this is no ordinary part but rather the scalp revealing kind that arguably hasn't been truly fashionable since Grant himself was setting the silver screen alight. You can also take your queues from another of 2009's men's hair trends, the fringe, and combine it with a part as seen on Roberto Cavalli's men's Fall (Autumn)/Winter 2008/2009 runway.

A word of warning, however: avoid the soft part we saw on Calvin Klein's Spring/Summer 2009 men's runway (below). It's far too effeminate, and doesn't cast a sleek nor stylish figure.

As with styling the slick back, the trick here is to find a part that suits your face shape. Though some will argue that the side you part your hair on reveals great details about your personality (it doesn't, some people just have too much time on their hands) the truth is that making the part look sexy really comes down to cohesion between your hair and facial structure.