But that disguise raised a question for us: should Hilton try brunette hair all the time? Most Hair Fans don't think so; our week-long poll ended with 73 percent preferring her blonde (11-4). One voter said brunette is fine for sister Nikki, and the separate colors aren't a bad thing. Another suggested Hilton try a strawberry blonde shade "with subtle highlights." That might make things a bit darker -- but still probably would make Hilton easy to spot on a Beverly Hills sidewalk.

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When Janine Turner co-starred in the TV series Northern Exposure, she slowly built up the interest of Hair Fans by growing out a tight short head of hair. While it looked a bit messy at times, we don't think it ever fell during the run of the series. (It sadly has since then, as she let the style go longer.) But what surprised us recently was how Turner turned her brunette hair cherry-red, for a new infomercial -- and with bangs temptingly long above the eyes.

The cut is great, but is the color change right for her? Our week-long poll said no; 59 percent want Turner to stick to her natural brunette shade (13-9). We tend to agree with that - but either way, this is one short style we've longed to get our hands on and loosen up for a long time.

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Courtesy People

As our City League arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana, actress Katie Holmes was completing a movie shoot there. We'd say she was in a mood to "let her hair down" when she returned to Hollywood and stepped out for an evening -- except she'd made a noticeable cut in her mid-length hair, and it was very messily down in her eyes.

We certainly don't recommend the "plop-down" look here -- but what about Holmes losing about three inches of hair? A nine-day poll ended with the old longer look winning a 56-percent majority (24-19). One voter wondered if Holmes had followed the lead of Selma Blair's asymmetrical cut (posted elsewhere on our site), calling it "not a good look." Another granted Holmes now appears "a bit younger," but still considered it a cross of "soccer mom meets emo kid." And someone went deep into the dictionary (deeper than ours admittedly go) to call the new style "very holmes-ly, meaning very man like with that cut." It was not meant as a compliment, as the voter added: "She is truly falling off the deep end."

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When Hair Fans want to see great styles put to a holding and bouncing test, Dancing With the Stars is a great TV show to watch. But it can be deceptive, as contestants frequently put on wigs to "act out" their routines. Even co-host Samantha Harris pulled a surprise on us in May - as she appeared one night with a style which appeared to have been chopped to neck-length. We're not sure how Harris did that, but the long style we've come to know (and rank in our Top Ten) returned the next week.

If this was an experiment, should Harris go through with a big cut? Our eight-day poll found 71 percent of Hair Fans say no (12-5) -- and we tend to agree with the voter who wrote: "She is one of the classic beauties with long hair that looks good curly or straight." Her hair tends to hold well either way, and a longer look enhances that while giving her the opportunity for a wider range of styles.

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When most women grow out their bangs, it's a bit of a styling challenge - but otherwise it's no big deal. If Jennifer Love Hewitt does it, it potentially is a big deal. After all, she's won back-to-back Crown Awards for Best Bangs. So when we saw a clean forehead with no bangs at all in the Season 2 finale of Ghost Whisperer, it was a noteworthy change -- much like the chop to a short style she made a year earlier.

Is Hewitt's hair better with bangs or without? Our eight-day poll found Hair Fans want the bangs to come back by a 59-percent margin (19-13) -- and it sparked a discussion about forehead-covering bangs in general. "Short forehead = no bangs" was one commenter's conclusion. Another argued Hewitt's bangs "make her face look like it is swallowed up by her hair." But still another voter suggested, "It depends on how they're worn and cut" -- and went on to say Hewitt's bangs accentuate her "deep brown eyes."

(But keeping in the mind the short style Hewitt had about a year ago, the thought occurs -- has she been wearing a wig on her TV series lately? We wouldn't put it past her to do that.)

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Courtesy AOL Music

Some singing stars seem to change their approach to hair not every couple of years, but every couple of weeks. Jessica Simpson has been a "by-and-large blonde" during this decade. But a Hair Fan alerted us to a recent interview, where Simpson admitted she's really a brunette. Should she go back to her (ahem) roots, or keep the color fans have come to know?

Our eight-day poll found voters prefer blondes -- or at least 68 percent do in Simpson's case. Only 25 percent wanted a brunette look, while seven percent took our third option and suggested she try a red shade (19-7-2). The brunette picture we posted may not have helped Simpson, as one voter noted it lacked richness of color. "Normally, I'd say go with what God gave you," another voter wrote. "But Jessica is the epitome of blonde." Now hold on here -- is that a reference to Simpson's occasional comments on Newlyweds?

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It was a night for living dangerously, when the 2007 Academy of Country Music Awards were presented in mid-May. Two women on our "best hair" ballot showed styles at the literal precipice of collapse, yet somehow kept them out of their eyes. And Carrie Underwood came dangerously close to missing the ballot, because she wore a pin on the right side of her long hair when she sang. But the pin was gone as she presented and won awards - which was enough to let her in, with Hair Fans then moving her to the top of the list for the night.

Our one-week poll ended with Underwood ahead at 46 percent of the votes. But this wasn't the runaway of some recent award shows, as Faith Hill's high-risk curl on the forehead made her a solid second with 27 percent. (One voter actually wanted to give them a tie for the top.) Taylor Swift had a nice "coming-out" party, gaining third place with 12 percent thanks to mid-length curls which seemed to take an amazing 90-degree angle around her left eye. Then came Kelly Clarkson with eight percent, and one voter wishing she wouldn't be a "mold" - followed by presenter and CBS morning host Hannah Storm with four percent.

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For a woman who once had a Super-Hair Wars Champion Hairstyle of the Year, it was quite a blow. New York news anchor Liz Cho New York City League title became vacant -- but Cho's updated look didn't even last to the second week of a ten-way contest. She was eliminated, without receiving a single vote!

What went wrong here? We held an eight-day poll comparing Cho's two styles to find out -- and sure enough, two-thirds of the voters prefer the 2003 approach (14-7). But it was the comments section we really were watching. Several voters said the new look really isn't bad. But one said it lacks "silky sheen," and warned the sizzled and sprayed strands on Cho's right side "look like they're about to plop in her eye." That's interesting, because the current style comes across as being more solid and secure. Another voter said Cho's current style looks too much like Thea Andrews. (At least Andrews was in the Top Ten when we posted this.)

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Some women adjust their hair twice a year, for summer and winter. Maybe that's what Kristin Dodd of The Weather Channel does - because she returned to the question box for the second time in five months, after a Hair Fan noticed an adjustment. The long sizzled-straight hair along her left side now is showing bangs, and it appears the ends have been trimmed a couple of inches.

Hair Fans liked Dodd's 'do when she made the change at left -- but this change they're not quite buying. Our eight-day poll found 53 percent of you want her to keep the longer look (17-15). One voter said the newer approach was "more age-appropriate." We don't know how old Dodd is, but we lean toward that view. Her hair now seems tougher to defeat, with longer hair farther off the face. Not that Hair Fans wouldn't want it tested, of course....

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Why does it seem that in six years of American Idol, we've heard more about the hair of the male singers than the females? Carrie Underwood's styles took off into the Super-Hair stratosphere only after she won the 2005 title. But the men's hair had people talking during the competition itself - and it happened again in 2007, with "Sanjaya" showing a variety of 'dos (including a wig or two, which reminded us of David Beckham).

We put Sanjaya up against two talked-about male styles of past years, to see which one you considered the best. Underwood's runner-up Bo Bice (left) wound up leading our week-long poll, at 55 percent. Bice appeared to be heading for a runaway, but than Sanjaya fans apparently discovered our poll and tried to come to his rescue. He wound up with 36 percent, while 2002 finalist Justin Guarini was left a castaway (the story of his career?!)at nine percent (6-4-1).

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Whether she wears it pixie short, full-curl long or something in between, Halle Berry seems to know how to handle her hair. She wears numerous styles well, and has won two Crown Awards. Berry's latest adjustment came as she went on tour for her latest movie - a film where her hair is long and sleek as at left. But in TV appearances, she often has shown bangs across her forehead.

Has this actress made another "Berry good" change? In our one-week poll, 56 percent of the voters said yes (15-12). "Bangs add style," one voter wrote, calling the alternative "long and limp." But others called the bangs "lifeless," complaining they "cover her beautiful forehead" and make her look less elegant. We personally lean toward the bangs, if only because it makes Berry's style tougher to muss.

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We had heard of entertainers changing hair colors for a movie role (such as Reese Witherspoon in Walk the Line) -- but a color change for a new record album?! That seemed unusual. Yet that's exactly what British blues singer Joss Stone did for her 2007 Introducing album -- switching from the blonde look of her earlier CD (which almost beat Shania Twain for a Crown Award in 2004) to long red curls.

We could chalk up Stone's change as a common trend among young celebrities (she turned 20 in the week of our poll), but we wanted to know if going red is really better for her. Hair Fans weren't quite sure in our week-long poll. They split 43 percent for blonde, 43 percent for redhead - with another 13 percent taking a third option, suggesting she try a brunette look (10-10-3). The only voter to leave a comment said the red approach is "too fake" - and even if you hadn't seen Stone before, we would tend to agree. From a strict Super-Hair point of view, we'd only say Stone clearly cares more about hair color than hair control.

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Right photo courtesy Detroit Free Press

The 2007 World Figure Skating Championships were held in Tokyo, so you may have overlooked them -- and you might not have heard about a noticeable change by one of the top U.S. skaters. Ice dancer Tanith Belbin showed up in Japan with a dark brunette shade to her hair, instead of the mostly-blonde look which has made her famous. According to a post on our message board, Belbin did this because brunette is her natural color -- and reflects more seriousness, along with "a little more intensity."

We love women who are intense, when it comes to hair. But did Belbin stumble and blunder by changing colors? Most Hair Fans in our one-week poll said no; 62.5 percent of them liked the brunette look (10-6). One commented brunette is better as a "survival of the fittest." (As if being blonde makes her hair weaker?!) The change didn't seem to matter much to the ice dancing judges, as Belbin and Ben Agosto finished third. It doesn't really matter to us, either; our concern is more whether that bit of curve outside the left eye is strong enough to keep hair from falling in her face during routines.

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She's a dancer from the Detroit area who's known only as "Melissa S." (since there's also a Melissa R.) She's the contestant in the TV search for The Next Pussycat Doll who has barely escaped elimination twice. But if Hair Fans had a say in the matter, her long hair could bounce and move face-to-face with Nicole Scherzinger from now on - because they consider her the woman with the best hair in the cast.

Melissa S.'s hair originally was a bit grayer than this post-makeover photo shows - and she can take the hair off her ears, by using some kind of mysterious "lift" above the right eye to keep the style in position. But this look wowed voters in our one-week poll, racking up 76 percent of the support. Then came New York "Knick City dancer" Asia with 14 percent. The envelope-pushing extra-large natural curls of Anastacia, which personally impress us, settled for only five percent - tied with Florida native Mariela, whose tight curls somehow added a foot or so in length when they were blown out. All in all, though, we give this show credit for giving Hair Fans a lot to watch and admire.

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The left-side picture of Bonnie Bernstein is real. The picture at right is NOT. It's a "Photoshop makeover" submitted by a Hair Fan, suggesting a possible style change for the woman whose long locks have won 17 Crown Awards in five years. The comments sections during the 2006 Crown voting were dominated by whether it was time for Bernstein to make a cut.

We turned that debate into a poll question here - and her current long look prevailed among voters by a 57-percent margin (21-16). Yet the comments in this survey were filled with appeals for a shorter style. One wrote of the makeover picture: "When I first saw it I got excited because I thought she cut it for real!" Another suggested an above-the-shoulder bob, along the lines of Katie Couric. Then there were the voters suggesting stylists to do the deed - from Frederic Fekkai (because long hair "is dragging her looks down") to Luke O'Connor (to "add some waves and body").

But one person stuck up for the long hair Bernstein has preferred for years. "Perfection in every way.... The less hair look makes her look like a librarian, or even forgettable." We don't know if we'd go quite that far, but Bernstein's shown so much skill with keeping long hair under control (such as the 2007 Rose Bowl, at left) that we consider it more interesting to watch - and even a bit more dramatic, when she's not wearing hats or pins.

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Sometimes we make great new hair discoveries, and can't wait to post them here. But sometimes what we consider "great," other people consider no better than average. That's what happened when Lizzy Caplan showed up as a sarcastic, punchline-filled member of the new TV series The Class. We put her strong short style in the Top Ten for a while, but it was quickly panned on our message board. So when Caplan grew out her hair a bit late in Season 1, we wondered if Hair Fans considered it an improvement.

Our week-long poll found the answer was a begrudging yes. The longer locks won 79 percent of the vote (15-4) - but several people were underwhelmed by both pictures. "New is the lesser of two evils," wrote one of the more polite voters. "Both looks are hideous," wrote a less polite one. We prefer the "Caplan cap" she originally had, which barely budged in frantic scenes and refused to fall in her eyes. The new look drooped noticeably on camera in a couple of episodes. We'll see if the series returns for Season 2, to allow Caplan to keep trying.

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Remember the car company which declared, "Wider is better?" Theories like that can come and go -- not only in cars and trucks, but hair designs. Betsy Stark earned a high position in our Ultimate 50 for a well-rounded, yet solidly holding short style. But early in 2007, Stark has streamlined her look a bit - going a bit shorter, but certainly tighter and kept well back from the jaw.

So to borrow from an old soul tune, is Stark right in doing the "Tighten Up?" Our one-week poll found most Hair Fans don't think so. A 62-percent majority want the old style to come back (8-5). One voter found irony, in that the "new look makes her look older." We agree with the majority, but for a different reason. The rounded style appears riskier and more inviting, even though the new look probably is more precise and even harder to muss.

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The Academy Awards in late February taught us several new things about Nicole Kidman. For instance, she was not born in Australia - but is a native of Honolulu. (Don't ask us to explain the accent.) And when she wishes, Kidman can wear her long hair super-sleek straight just as well as she can with playful curls. The straight approach wowed Hair Fans, who voted her the star style of Oscar night.

Kidman's 39 percent of the vote crushed our personal favorite, as Celine Dion settled for second with 26 percent. (The gap was much wider until the last couple of days.) "Nicole for her taste," one voter wrote; "always a lady." After the top two came Naomi Watts with 13 percent, Sherry Lansing and Jennifer Lopez with nine percent, and four percent for an "Other" who apparently was Reese Witherspoon. "Long, flowing, simple yet seductive," the Witherspoon backer wrote. We'll take the blame for forgetting she was yet to come, as we prepared our ballot.

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Courtesy KABC-TV

Believe it or not, we first heard about something happening with Britney Spears at a church service. A speaker mentioned her in passing, but didn't say what had happened. Then we came to our home computer, to find a Hair Fan had sent a picture of what had happened - Spears walking into a Los Angeles salon, and starting to shave her head. She wound up shaving off all her hair, reportedly saying she was tired of having things "plugged" into it. But at the same time, Spears went in and out of a rehabilitation clinic.

We'll take the advice of talk-show host Craig Ferguson, and not make fun here of what Spears did. If you wish to do that, several "Photoshop" ideas of a new style are posted at our message board. But we wanted suggestions about what Spears's next real style should be. The one-week vote was tight, but ended with 42 percent preferring the long hair which first made her famous.

A shorter hair-style, such as Spears showed during our poll when she stepped out in public wearing a wig, received 32 percent of the votes. And amazingly, 26 percent called on Spears to keep her hair shaved. One voter's comment probably summed up the feelings of many people about the whole situation: "What a freak!"

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Courtesy Yahoo Music/Wireimage

When it comes to top-notch hair at a big event, the question for Carrie Underwood clearly is not, "Can she have it?" The real issue is, "Does she want it?" - and at the 2007 Grammy Awards, she clearly did. This look from the red carpet (we were unable to monitor throughout the telecast) was the Hair Fans' runaway choice for this year's best style of the show, giving Underwood three such wins here in nine months.

A daringly-placed mix of combed-back wave and flowing curls brought Underwood 66 percent of the vote. But an interesting discussion developed about whether Underwood's young face is a factor in this style's success. "Put Carrie's hair on another woman's head and it is boring," one voter wrote. "I would like to see how she looks 5-10 from now with that hairstyle." That thought brought a reply praising Underwood for body, waves and softness: "How can anyone not love that head of hair regardless of what face goes with it?" We would dare to add something no one brought up: comparing Underwood's length to award shows she won last May and November - was she wearing extensions at this show?

The real contest in this poll was for second place. That went to Christina Aguilera and her "retro" curls which admittedly leave us in awe. She received 21 percent, followed by Nelly Furtado with seven percent and a three-percent tie between Natalie Maines and Corinne Bailey Rae. One voter suggested Shakira for the runner-up spot -- and while her curls were jaw-dropping, she missed the ballot because they fell in her face during her performance. Sometimes hair doesn't lie, too.

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She's a cheerleader, so she knows a bit about athletics. She's a local pageant winner in east Alabama, so she knows a good bit about getting hair to look its best in public. Put those two points together, and you may have the reason why Auburn University's Krista Klumpp finished first in our annual "Elite Eight" poll among the Best Manes on Campus.

After six-and-a-half days of voting, Klumpp led seven other good styles with 43 percent of the vote. Double Crown Award nominee Megan Willis of Texas tied for second at 21 percent, with a woman who surprised us - Lauren Amundson from the small Christian Brothers University of Tennessee.

(In fact, one commenter ranked Amundson above Willis as a personal favorite.) The only other woman to gain votes among the candidates was Duke's Ashley Salvino, with 14 percent.

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Right photo courtesy TV Heads

When Meredith Hoenes became the champion of the "Kansas City League" in 2005, she was a morning TV traffic reporter. When we interviewed her for Super-Hair Q&A, she was an occasional news anchor. But now Hoenes has become the co-host of a local morning talk show - and her approach to hair may have changed with the job. She's grown out a shoulder-length style to below the armpit, and even seems to have added some bangs.

To borrow from a Kansas City weekly paper, did she add Meredith Hotness with this change? Our week-long poll found 74 percent of you apparently think so, and support the longer style (14-5). One commenter said the difference in Hoenes's hair is "subtle." But we've found it's also significant, because her style is very risky now -- and we believe we have a vid-cap of her hair falling in an eye, during an interview.

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Courtesy Reporter Caps

We've noted here more than once that when it comes to Super-Hair, even one inch can make a big difference. For instance, it can determine whether bangs clear the eyes or plop in them. And when a woman takes an already-short style an inch or two longer, it can be noticeable. A Hair Fan noticed CNN anchor Heidi Collins doing that -- with longer locks in the back and covering the ear. The Hair Fan alerted us, suspecting she's growing out her traditional look.

The longer approach won the backing of 55-percent of the voters in our week-long poll (16-13). But length was not what people were commenting about here. "Can that color be any more fake?" one complained about Collins's more pronounced red shade - and that was one of the gentler reactions to it. Another suggested if Collins wants to add to her style, she should have "more of her hair down around her neck and shoulders than all on top of her head." And to the voter who cynically asked if Collins owns a brush - well, at least you could see her eyes in our photo.

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Courtesy Yahoo TV

OK, we'll admit it: the 2007 Golden Globe Awards snuck up on us. We knew they were coming, but we really didn't know who the top contenders were. So when we came across a "red carpet" photo of Sheryl Crow, we didn't quite understand why she was there. It turns out she was a nominee in a music category -- and while Crow was swept away by Dreamgirls fever, she still won your support for the best hair of the show.

Crow's curls were nicely prepared for softness, then tossed together a bit for a mix of "naturalism" and hold. They earned her 44 percent of the vote in our six-and-a-half-day poll -- but we think she gained a note of criticism from one voter, who asked: "Why do women with great hair get lazy and part it down the middle?" (We smell another question coming on that issue.)

Second place with 24 percent went to a new name for us, Ali Larter. Then came Ugly Betty executive/beauty Salma Hayek with 16 percent, and Rosanna Arquette with eight percent. (Her sister Patricia was not on the ballot, yet still was panned by one commenter.) Tracie Edmonds only gained four percent, yet still looked nice enough to make our poll.

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There was a time on our web site when Ana Maria Canseco of Univision's Despierta America was Susan McGinnis's toughest rival. Canseco led the first week of 2003 Crown Awards voting for Best Bangs, and seemed to have the two-time champion on the ropes. But McGinnis fought back to win the Crown - and while Canseco was a Top Ten Tresses member for several months, an extremely close call with her short style led us to move her aside. So we were quite surprised when TV Heads.com posted new vid-caps showing Canseco with shoulder-length hair. It's sometimes curled and sometimes flared, but still with high-risk bangs which look like they should fall in her eyes at any second.

Is Canseco making a good change by going longer? Hair Fans were quite divided. An eight-day poll ended with 53 percent in favor of the change (19-17). One voter's comment reflected the conflict, saying the short cut "always looked cute" but a longer style "would look fabulous on her." Another person was more blunt, declaring Canseco's short look made her appear "like she is 12 years old." That Hair Fan calls the longer approach sophisticated, and says a longer layered style "would be exciting to see." We say: if that style stays out of her face (perhaps with her favorite holding trick, flared ends) -- absolutely exciting.

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Linda Dano has appeared in daytime dramas for decades - perhaps going all the way back to when they were only called "soap operas." Her looks over the years have been predominantly short. So when this 60-plus star decided to grow her hair out to shoulder-length, she may have been a bit uncertain about it. In fact, Dano asked subscribers to her online newsletter what they thought of the change.

A Hair Fan brought that newsletter to our attention, so we decided to ask <EM>you</EM> about the new look. After nine days, a 64-percent majority said it was time to get out the scissors and go short again (18-10). But the only comment we received suggested neither look really works for Dano. We're not sure what that voter would suggest, but we lean toward a slightly shorter style than the one at left - trimming the bangs a bit to give the appearance that they could hit the eyes, without really doing it. We suspect the bangs in the left photo can fall with ease.

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

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