Super-Hair.Net: Cutting Edge Hair News

Super-Hair.Net

Cutting-Edge Hair News

Right photo courtesy Heat World

Kylie Minogue is a big international star. But sister Dannii Minogue also has enjoyed music success, especially in her native Australia. So when she makes a style change, the British commonwealth tends to notice. Dannii's 'do these days has bangs added to her medium-long locks.

Trouble is, Hair Fans sped away from Dannii's new look faster than Kylie's "Loco-motion." Our one-week poll found a whopping 88 percent of the voters against the change (15-2). Even an admitted bang-lover was unimpressed: "Her bangs just hang, and she lost body and the slight waves she used to have." (Keep in mind the left photo was taken at some big celebrity event, so the hair could have been "glammed up" a bit for it.) We agree that Dannii could use more oomph on that forehead; either find a way to thicken the bangs, or split them to the sides and make us wonder a bit about them.

Thanks to all of you who take part in our polls! And we welcome any news tips you have on changing celebrity styles. Contact us at: SuperHair@Gmail.com .

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Courtesy Reporter Caps

We thought fall was supposed to be the season for women to add protective bangs to their styles, to guard against troublesome winds. But we've made a couple of discoveries of celebrities adding bangs for spring. Headline News anchor Richelle Carey never was afraid to place hair near her eyes. But now angled bangs seem to have the left eye surrounded -- and we wonder if some kind of product is added to lock them in position.

Has another "Carey" carried off a good change? Our one-week poll was close again, but the bangs win a 53-percent majority (10-9). One voter felt the bangs make Carey look "'meaner' or menacing. Without the bangs is much softer and gentler." Perhaps it's because that key area around the left eye has to be "toughened up" a bit for hold -- but sometimes tough tresses can be the most interesting to watch in action.

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At the Grammy Awards, Carrie Underwood hinted at it. Then at the 2008 CMT Awards, she confirmed it. No, not those romantic rumors - but the addition of curved bangs to a hairstyle which our voters already admired a lot. Four Crown Awards in two years speak for themselves. But could this change put Underwood in the running for even more - including the Best Bangs category?

Our one-week poll found Hair Fans quite split about this. Opponents of the bangs wound up ahead, but only by a 52-percent margin (13-12). "She is so pretty without them hiding her face," wrote one voter. "The bangs make her look less sophisticated, and look awkward on her small forehead," explained another. But a bang-backer said the change "help show the softness and thickness" of Underwood's hair. And they still give close watchers of Super-Hair something to examine closely - because it appears a flick or two at those bangs to straighten them out might drop them in her eyes. Could one wrong turn on stage be its undoing?!

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Courtesy Rolling Stone, Hollywood Life

To borrow from her hit song, we "Don't Know Why" she made the change. It couldn't be due to Norah Jones's new movie, because the look is long and steamy in My Blueberry Nights. Perhaps a voter was right for guessing, "Someone just gave up!" Whatever the reason, the style which put Jones in our Top Ten Tresses list on two occasions (and even outlasted that other Norah with amazing hair -- O'Donnell) is gone. She's recently been seen with a close-cropped short look, as if she's ready to spend a long hot summer down south.

Do Hair Fans like this big cut? It was close for a while, but the final decision was No to Norah. A nine-day survey ended with 64 percent of the voters against it (16-9). "Her face isn't that beautiful frankly," one critic said bluntly. "Why draw more attention to it?" From watching Jones for years, we know she'll try to keep any look off her face and in place. (The picture at left was simply a fun photo shoot.) But the long look certainly provided a style with more drama, and displayed more impressive work to control. At least she has a "Handsome Band...."

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Courtesy CBS Sports

This moment in a 2006 National Football League game helped spark a 2008 debate. Troy Polamalu was returning an interception for Pittsburgh, and Kansas City running back Larry Johnson pulled on his famous long hair to make a tackle. The league had ruled hair-pulling legal (making it surprisingly rowdy, compared to pro wrestling). But the "growing" appearance of long hair on more and more players brought a more conservative proposal -- to ban it during games, supposedly so player names and numbers would not be obscured.

We don't ask questions about men's hair very often, but this became a hot topic on sports talk shows. So we asked Hair Fans about it for seven days, and seven out of ten said long hair in games should be out of bounds. The absence of comments and dearth of votes suggests to us many more visitors might not even care. But we see dramatic athletic scenes like the one above, and wonder what would happen if the genders were reversed. Is there some head of Super-Hair you might dream of pulling -- perhaps even down to defeat?

Thanks to all of you who take part in our polls! And we welcome any news tips you have on changing celebrity styles. Contact us at: SuperHair@Gmail.com .

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Right photo courtesy Off the Rack

High School Musical made Vanessa Hudgens a cable TV star. A romance with Zac Efron made her a tabloid star. But can a little trimming make her a Super-Hair star? Hudgens was spotted with bangs on the long side, at an appearance in March. But our voters were as divided as the hair across her forehead.

Our one-week poll ended with the bangs winning, but only with 52 percent of the vote (16-15). "With bangs it's harder to do the butt cut," one supporter commented. (Now wait -- isn't her part actually a bit off-center?) But an opponent argued Hudgens has "one of the cutest faces in Hollywood; why cover it up more?" We say the bangs will help Hudgens keep her hair from collapsing in that face (which it does regularly) -- and we dare to suggest she go further, and cut a few inches all around. Her look is too spaghetti-stringy for our liking.

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The rumors of her daily talk show being canceled: apparently false. The tabloid stories about her divorce: we don't know, and don't really care. But reports that cooking star Rachael Ray has trimmed her hair are true. She showed her new chin-length look on some daily shows in early March, then had fun with it at the "SxSW" festival in Austin, Texas.

Has Ray cooked up something special here? Our one-week poll found Hair Fans resisted this change faster than some people resist lima beans -- with 83 percent against it (24-5). "She generally has good hair," one voter told us. "The look now is simpler with less body and no highlights. It looks OK, but I miss the lighter color with highlights and more body." We think that assessment is a bit generous, when it comes to the old style. It often seemed limp and weak to us, as if hair wasn't a big deal for Ray. With a bit of care, the shorter look might hold up through hours of cooking (though it was loose in the picture we found from Texas).

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Courtesy TV Heads

We're pleased to say this web site discovered Christina Brown before NBC News did. She was nominated for Super-Hair Wars in 2005, when she was a journalist in Las Vegas. Eva Mendes crushed her easily then, but perhaps Brown could do better now. The anchor of Early Today changed her longtime shoulder-length locks into a short bang-filled cap early this year - and our one-week poll found Hair Fans like it.

Brown's new look was preferred by 64 percent of our voters (14-8). "Cuter" was a word used by two different supporters of the change. But beyond that, there was disagreement: one claimed Brown's cut "makes her look younger" -- while another contended, "The new cut makes her look older...." We're personally torn on this one. The longer style is more tempting to us, and a higher-risk look to stay in place. The short approach is even more undefeatable, but not as thrilling - and part of us wonders if she's trying to copy morning TV competitor Robin Roberts.

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Review other Cutting-Edge polls: 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

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