hey babe, take a walk on the wild side.

The hair above speaks for itself - what a mess! But a good one. The kind of mess I can absolutely approve of. The magic here is that these ladies may have the limpest, flattest hair in the world but their locks have been teased, mangled and whipped into a literal hot mess! Now usually when we say "hot mess" we're talking about Lindsay, Paris, Britney, or that girl crouched down outside the club crying... ("honey, you didn't lose your cell phone you're actually ON it") Anyway, those ladies are hot messes so I guess in this case these are examples of one hell of a SEXY MESS. If I could insert a roar here I would. Anyway ladies, sometimes over the top, disheveled hair can look GOOD. Reinventing girls gone wild here folks so do as I say and take a walk on the wild side.

Sienna Style.

I. love. Sienna. Miller. Her style is effortless, chic, and the girl is always polished - on and off the red carpet. That being said, we all know that hours of prep go into those red carpet looks - so the deal breaker for me, what elevates this stylish specimen of female above the others is her every day "ready to wear" ways. Topping off her fabulous style is hair that compliments her features like a match made in heaven. She has rocked every length and style imaginable and she sticks with what works. While her color doesn't often change - her looks consistently DOES. She somehow achieves that perfect medium of looking completely put together and fresh without appearing like she labored over her appearance for hours. TRUE. LOVE.

Brunette Ambition.

That's Money Honey!

This is IT. Hair perfection. The end.

Sweaty McBetty.

Thank you God (and Darren Le at Mizu) I have short hair. It's so freakin' hot out I couldn't bear to be lugging around 10 pounds of hair like some ladies I spyed in Boston today. I think it's safe to say if your hair is grown past your ass you should cut it! And by cut I mean CUT and not BRAID. This isn't Little House on the Prairie people and in case you didn't know GQ just voted us Worst Dressed and I can't say I disagree. Having even a little style in this city can make you a damned celebrity and that needs to change! Let's work from top to bottom, shall we? Rule of thumb: If you go outside and you're sweating more than Tiger Woods at a paternity test - do yourself a favor - copy one of these looks and get that hair up asap. Classy, understated and cool - can you dig it?

MAKEUNDER.

Nine out of ten times most people can not tell when a woman has extensions in their hair unless their hands are all up in there and they can feel the bonds. A friend of mine has some awesome clip ins she picked up somewhere and the color is such a complete match it's hard to tell where her hair ends and the extensions begin. Still, there are those unfortunate cases. The looks in this post are unacceptable. Not only is the hair so synthetic it looks like it came off of a broom, but the lengths are unsettling, the cuts are unfortunate and their own hair (well some of their hair and most of someone or something else's) have left these women looking trashy. Never a good look. One of them is actually an advertisement for a brand of extensions. Um, NO. I can only imagine how long these poor souls have to sit in a chair to achieve this level of offensive. I'll be the first to say, I love a good makeover story, but these cases cry out for help. Strip them down and hose them off in an effort of an epic MAKEUNDER.

Bow Down to Big Curls.

Once upon a time my twin sister was known to iron her hair. Not flat iron, IRON IRON. Like bust out the ironing board and singe to your heart's delight. Luckily the grace of the flat iron finally entered her life and to this day she meticulously straightens her hair with the help of every product on the market she can get her hands on. As for me - I dream of curls. CURLS CURLS AND MORE CURLS. I love them. I would probably give anything to have a head of hair like the ones below. GORGEOUS! The key here, I think, is a haircut that works with your curl. That may mean an investment because, in my experience, not every hairdresser can cut a head of curls. Ladies with curls, you can feel me on this - what is worse than getting a haircut with your sopping wet hair, only to find, when it's dryed at the end (and it's called a diffuser people, get one!!) that your curls have shrunken up 2 inches and now you have a look thats more Shirley Temple than you EVER wanted to be even at age 5? The worst. Even when the haircut works, another key to curls - product! When my curls were in their finest hour (before I cut, processed and watched them slip away) moisturizing products were essential (Davines Momo Line or Bumble and Bumble's Curl Conscious take the cake). All that being said, it comes down to the bottom line: curly is where it's AT. Stylists who can cut a head of curls as referenced above should be worshipped. Bow down to big curls!

Ta Dye For!

Flashback to 1997, a summer night in Saugus Massachusetts, and a few friends and myself gathered around my kitchen table with my head pressed into a steaming bowl of boiled RED Kool Aid. The desired look: a few sweetly tinted peekaboo highlights. The final result: let's just say I earned the nickname "Ronald McDonald" for months after that. With that (traumatic) experience behind me, it's not easy for me to look at pictures like the ones above and think that could EVER be a good idea. Fact of the matter is it could go TERRIBLY awry in the wrong stylists hands (IE your novice friends and a couple bottles of manic panic). But from the extreme example of Nikki Minaj, to the statement making Katy Perry, and the tasteful (and i'll say it, STUNNING) example of Lauren Conrad - this look is tye dyed and gone to heaven.

Band Together!

Lately, headbands are my BFF. Growing out my shaggy mop over the past few months has proven to be a major challenge for me. I had grown accustomed to the finer things in life, including a deluxe haircut where every hair fell naturally into it's place with minimal effort. Thanks to my stylists skills my hair ALWAYS looked put together, even when if I was a complete mess. I loved it, but sadly getting your hair cut to perfection when you're trying to grow it out is totally counterproductive. Enter, my best friend, the head band. Nothing is more satisfying than tucking my mullet up fashionably in to a headband before I walk out the door. Going through my day knowing that my overgrown mess is being stylishly assisted is a delight. When it comes to headbands though, luxe is the only way to go. CVS specials - great for the beach but not for the streets. Goody is not couture but if you're working with a bargain budget then Forever 21 hits it out of the park. Headbands are a great lil' DIY project too, so get creative and band together with the ladies above in a perfect partnership of fashion meets function!

Let Em Fly!

When it comes to feather extensions, for this girl, the jury is still out. At this point in time the verdict is - feather extensions are for the birds! Don't get me wrong, I have seen them tastefully done on a few lovely ladies I know and as referenced above but hair accessories in general baffle me! I remember once upon a time i would get all sorts of trinkets braided up in my head - one particular summer I waited in line for hours to get a string wrap complete with beads to match. It lasted in my head maybe a day or two but of course I though it was THE look - the perfect addition to my sweet golden bronze tan (read:burn). Today though, at least 20 summers later, I feel I may have passed the point of no return. Take Steven Tyler's example below and remind yourselves when it comes to every trend - keep it classy, not trashy, and let your natural locks fly free!

NICE BUNS ;)

I absolutely love this blog: http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/03/braided-top-bun.html

Joanna (the blog's writer) puts out some consistent inspiration and maybe I never did attempt that American Flag Cake or those friendship bracelets (you're all lucky I didn't bust out the gymp and start banging out the keychains I was once famous for) I seriously adore these hair tutorials! How cute is that braided bun? I would totally sweat a girl with one of these all tied up on her dome piece. Perfect for getting your frizzed out humid struck summer afro off your neck in these steamy months! Shoot me an email if you test it out!

long story SHORT...

At lunch with some friends today we found ourselves discussing one of my favorite topics: hair. As my friend Lauren shared about me "we've seen Lindsey through a long year full of good times and bad times, highs and lows, ups and downs, and MANY different hairstyles." This is true. And the catalyst to all that change well -- GROWTH people! About a year a go I shaved my head down to less than an inch. As someone wrote on the pic taken only minutes after the buzzer left my head - "you look like a baby bird" and you know what, I felt like one! I shaved my head because my obsession with hair had taken over. Each day there was a direct correlation between how much my hair was cooperating to how I felt about myself to how my day was going to go. Hair styled to my satisfaction - best day ever! Hair out of place - complete disaster. I lost myself, not IN my head but ON it. Well ladies and gentleman, I am happy to report, with the regrowth of my hair there has been personal growth as well. I've returned to this blog today - over a year since my last post and a year since I shaved it all off -because during my hiatus from blogging about hair I never for a second lost my interest in it. In talking with my girls today over some birthday cake and some haircut horror stories, I felt my excitement growing. I couldn't wait to write this post and get back into it! And the good news is, I have something new to offer --- and it's not just my opinion of feather extensions, braided headbands or brazilian blowouts --- it's perspective people. As much as I love hair, I know that life goes on with or without it. It isn't the be all to end all - it doesn't dictate who we are or anything about our worth - and long story SHORT (or should I say, shaved?) I found that out for myself.