Super-Hair Net: Hair Watch

Super-Hair.Net

Hair Watch

When a head of Super-Hair is on display, it's worth watching. When it's on display day after day and in risky situations, that earns special attention. This section of the site has a goal of providing it -- by keeping regular updates on how women with Super-Hair deal with the challenges they face, whether successfully or not.

TAINA HERNANDEZ of ABC News is the Hair Fans' choice for our current study - and we say it's an excellent choice. We put her on our Hot List because of looks such as this, which she showed on Good Morning America 12 October. We'll just let you admire this attractive shoulder-length style here; we'll comment in detail about it as our watch unfolds, because there's a lot to say in its favor.

Latest updates are at the top; all times U.S. Central:

12 Dec 04, 5:40 P.M., Redwood City: Taina's live on World News Tonight with a very full, very loose, brushed-forward style. But she's outside -- so is this potential trouble?

A light breeze seems to be blowing, and the hair starts to seriously crowd Hernandez's face. There's flexing hold on her left side. But a strip of curl seems to surface near her right cheek....

....and the curve of hair around her right eye becomes a sharp angle. Can this style hold on to the end of her report?

The answer is yes. Although the breeze left an obvious impact on the style, it survived well -- with no flyaways coming loose to cave in the last inch or two on either side. We credit the fullness and thickness of Taina's hair for providing enough protection to save the day.

9 Dec 04, Redwood City: A report for World News Now finds Taina throwing her hair back behind her shoulders - well, as best her style will allow. Even playing it safe, she still tempts us with tips of hair brushed toward her right cheek.

Later on Good Morning America, Taina is live with a quite flat look for her. But remember, it's 4:00 a.m. in California - and the greatest styles can't be 110-percent great every day. On this morning, she loses our decision to guest reporter Beth Karas of Court TV.

8 Dec 04, redwood City: Taina's natural waves are on full display in this law library report. Our vid-cap clipped the top of it a bit, but we don't think there's any teasing or spraying going on here - simply hair at its fullest, sitting invitingly on the shoulders. If this style were any bigger, we might declare an "80's violation," but this is fine.

Tue, 30 Nov, Redwood City, 6:05 a.m.: As the sentencing phase of the Scott Peterson trial begins, Good Morning America puts Taina back in front of those bookshelves which contrast with her hair so well. Her soft waves are well-displayed, with a gentle flip at the ends and light teasing on top for her right side. "Perfect hair" doesn't get much better than this.

(NOTE: Since Hernandez's hair has been declared defeated, we will continue this Hair Watch only through the end of the Peterson sentencing.)

Sat, Nov 13, Redwood City: A trial summary for Good Morning America shows hair that's slightly looser than last time. Notice how you can see through a gap in strands on the right side, to the law books behind her. But the left side of the style is the key here, and it's angled back softly and nicely.

Taina steps onto the porch later, with a report for Monday's World News Now. It's the same outfit, but now a front-and-center look at this hair - and what a look! There's straightness on her right side, and a romantically-soft curl on the left which rests quite close to her eye. This is a superb mix of style approaches, with something for almost every Hair Fan to like. (And the soft turtleneck sweater adds even more to the appeal.)

Fri, 12 Nov, Redwood City (out of order): Scott Peterson is guilty! That means Taina can appear on World News Tonight with the verdict - and with a loose style which definitely offers evidence of bangs around her left eye.

But a turn of her head shows our eyes can be deceived. The hair near the eye curls back just above eye-level - and we may have more of a layered look, with one section actually reaching the chin if you pull it down straight. That area is groomed so well that many a Hair Fan would want to admire it -- at least.

Sun, Nov 14 (our time): We have time to catch up on some recent Hernandez appearances, all in Redwood City:

8 Nov: An emphasis on straightness, with tips brushed in toward the chin. But hair near the left eye looks awfully close....

....and when she leans to the right slightly, you see how close. A couple of strands seem off-line....

....and they appear no more than a quarter-inch off the eye. But there's no noticeable wind, and there the strays stay.

Later on 8 Nov: Perhaps in response to what we've just seen, Taina changes things up with a part on the other side! There's waviness in the hair this time, and the pressure to hold appears more on the right side than the left. But it's combed back at the crown (and probably sprayed) to keep things secure.

9 Nov: This look is classic and solid - with a flip of curl at the ends, and subtle brushing-back around the forehead to create room for Taina's face. Add a coat of spray, and this could last impressively all day.

Later on 9 Nov: Drop the left side down a couple of inches, and you have this tempting-looking style. Now there has to be spray on the left, to keep this in position. While indoors, this is precisely fabulous.

Wed, 10 Nov, Redwood City: We're going out of order, to show you a rainy and breezy California day. For the first time, Taina ties her hair in a ponytail for a World News Now report. The wind's strong enough to blow the hair up on our right. So what's the big deal?

Look carefully to Taina's left and you might see it. A strand or two is coming loose during her report, around the right ear.

The wisps are blown out by the breeze - and then the elements begin to overpower them and take control. Is this a threat to Taina?

Yes -- as the wind starts blowing those one or two loose strands toward the face! On the first try, they swirl around the eye. The eyebrow is crossed, but there's just barely insufficient length to get in her right eye. Is this hair cut well enough to frame the eyes, and escape?

The strands make a second pass, but flip directly onto Taina's forehead. Another close miss - and now the hairs seem longer, as if there's slow loosening of the ponytail from wind hitting the back of her head. Are they long enough to defeat this style -- or can she maneuver her way out of major trouble?

A third gust of wind comes - and the strands bend inward at the same angle as the first time. Taina stares ahead and keeps going, perhaps hoping to finish her report in time to escape a defeat with the tape rolling.

But the third time is the sad success -- as the breeze pushes those couple of strands into the right eye.

DEFEATED. And this picture makes it clear -- as the wisps now are almost to nose-length.

Who could have imagined this? A great head of hair that is fabulously tempting and risky when full-bodied winds up falling when it's tied back, presumably to keep things safe. This is the same sort of thing that led us to declare Bonnie Bernstein fallen (a call Bernstein fans dispute to this day). The lesson here seems to be when you tie back a style, make extra-sure it's securely in place. Even ponytails can come loose and flawed under pressure.

Thu, 4 Nov, 6:30 a.m., Redwood City: The Scott Peterson case goes to the jury, and Taina appears live on Good Morning America to talk about it. This is a good full look, with a hint of curl at the ends -- and there's no wind to reveal if she's sprayed it into a set or not.

Wed, 3 Nov, Redwood City: We photographically chop Taina's style, but again she choose a straight look. It's not perfectly straight as a ponytail would be, but it's straight.

We're fascinated by that wide strip near the left eye. When Taina leans, it seems to get close to her eye -- but we think it's a layer that's sprayed into line.

This picture from an ABC News report later in the day shows the hair back on the wavy side. Now that layer isn't as noticeable, and the overall style looks more naturally in place.

But take a closer look at that left side, The hair closest to the eye seems curled back a bit, somewhat like more and more women are doing with sideswept bangs. That hair's long enough to drop in her eye - but it's staying in line well.

Tue, 2 Nov, Redwood City: A report for World News Now essentially shows the same look as the last entry - but we notice a touch of looseness in Taina's left side. It's loose enough that a strip of hair almost is separate from the main style.

We focus on the hairline, and spot teasing on top to move the right side out of danger.

Mon, 1 Nov, Redwood City: This report for Good Morning America appears as closing arguments begin in the Peterson trial, and probably was taped a few days before. Hernandez's hair is very straight and very safe - as conservative as we've seen it, tucked behind both ears. This takes substantial back-combing on her right side.

Wed, 27 Oct, Redwood City: Safely secluded in a law library, Taina's natural waves are nicely displayed. That loose strip of curl we noted on the right side before is pushed well back now. As for the left side....

At the end of the report, Taina bows her head and shows what she's doing. A wide strip around the forehead is pulled back, and probably sprayed down.

We close in on that critical side, and again note how close the hair rests to her left eye - no more than one-and-a-half inches out. But it holds well, and looks swell.

Later on the courthouse porch, the right side of the style is pulled back even more for control - and from this angle, the left side looks layered above the eye. (But we think this look can be deceiving.)

Tue, 26 Oct, Redwood City: The look is a bit looser on the courthouse porch -- so loose she might call it messy. But it's still not a beaten style, because the hair is kept back and the critical left side is well in position.

So how close is Taina's hair to defeat? One strip of curl is curving in toward her right eye, with seemingly nothing to keep it from bouncing around short of teasing on top.

And a bit of a lean shows left-side strands from a bit back of the forehead dropping within an inch of her eye. We think we see evidence of layering here, as those strands don't appear shoulder-length.

Mon, 25 Oct, Redwood City: The waviness of Taina's hair shows again outside court - and so does a sectional approach to its preparation. The section closest to the left eye is pulled back, and (we suspect) sprayed down.

Here's a closer look at that left side, where the hold is doubtless critical to success. If Taina actually was out in the wind, that side probably would stick strongly.

Sun, 24 Oct, Redwood City: A bit out of order, we obtain this shot from a 21 Oct report for World News Now. We see more of what we suspect is the natural waviness of Taina's hair. There's not much processing, which is especially noticeable by the lack anything special at the ends. But that's OK; her hair is well-arranged as is -- especially a noticeable combover of hair closest to the forehead on the left side. We can't tell if spray or a pin is keeping it there.

And here's the better view we promised of the Friday Good Morning America approach. It's au natural again, and now we're sure she's sprayed the left side into place. (Perhaps the right side as well - or did she round-brush hair back, off her eye?)

Fri, 22 Oct, 7:05 a.m., Redwood City: We try to vid-cap a live report for Good Morning America - and while it's admittedly fuzzy, we can see an emphasis on keeping the hair back on the shoulders. No wind blows to cause a problem for the style. (We're working on getting better pictures of this day.)

Tue, 19 Oct, Redwood City, CA, early morning: Hernandez is covering the Scott Peterson murder trial, and this "preview" report for World News Now apparently was prepared several days before. We admire this style for the looseness it displays, yet the beautiful perfection it has - with perhaps only a bit of teasing on her right side to round hair away from the face. She flip-curls the ends up here, and if she sprays the hair we really can't tell. Overall, very nice.

Mid-Morning: Another taped report for Good Morning America is apparently made on a different day, because Taina wears a different outfit. Wind is blowing noticeably behind her to one side, and it seems capable of rustling her hair on an upstairs porch. She prepared for this by giving her style flexibility to go behind the left ear on the "vulnerable" side, and teasing the right side back more noticeably.

Our camera doesn't really show it, but our check of the tape spots a loose couple of strands on that right side. The breeze is making this hair flex a bit - but will it move enough?

Not if she can help it. Taina leans to her right, perhaps noticing the strands in her eyesight. That moves the strays away, yet the left side stays in line. But look closely above the left eye - is she showing hidden bangs or layers there? We suspect so.

The report ends with the wind still blowing (note the tree at left leaning) - but the loose strands are arched out of range of the right eye. Taina's left-side hair has a touch of wave around the eye, which may help keep it in position. And it appears the breeze got the best of the tips this day, because only traces of curl are there. This natural look wins a challenging fight.

You can join the "Hair Watch," by contributing reports and/or vid-caps of styles under our focus. Send them to us via e-mail: Super-Hair@email.com .

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OTHER HAIR WATCHES:

Season 4: Katie Couric (Final 9/12/4)

Season 3: Jennifer Hawkins (Final 7/17/4)

Season 2: Stephanie Woods

Season 1: Norah O'Donnell (Final 3/22/4)