Watch what’s on your head

8 kickass hairstyles for the year

8 kickass hairstylesu00a0for theu00a0year

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The feathered bob

Keira Knightley, British actress
This one is reminiscent of the '70s, and is high up on our recommended list because it works on wavy hair too, contrary to popular perception that bobs are meant only for women with poker straight tresses. The hair is blunt cut at chin level, and angled bangs are styled on to the forehead or the side of the face. Works wonders to shorten the length of a long face.

Blunt bangs

Sandra Bullock, Hollywood actress & Carla Bruni, Mrs French President
This one will only work if you have straight hair, or you decide to go in for a session of permanent straightening. The style is especially flattering for round and square shapes, and helps balance out high cheekbones. Keeping the length manageable is crucial. Go for bangs cut just over eyebrow level, so you can sweep them to the side if you decide to change your style.

The handbook

Your guide to styling blunt bangs at home
>>Your hair needs to be towel dry. If it's totally dry, re-wet the bangs.
>>Comb the bangs away from the rest of your hair using a fine-tooth comb. You can clip back the rest of your hair.
>>Lift the bangs using a round brush, and begin to blow dry on low heat. Keep the brush moving so you don't focus on one area for too long; this can make the hair appear dry.
>>Set the straightening iron to medium heat and smooth your hair, starting as close to the roots as possible and moving swiftly to the edges. Use the fine-tooth comb and run it straight down into place.

The cute crop

Carey Mulligan, British actress
She's been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, so you are going to be hearing a lot more about this one. The cute blonde crop Mulligan has been sporting is an easy out-of-bed hairstyle, handy for those who don't like fussing over their hair. The length allows her to wear it differently, like you see in the pictures above. While at the British Film Institute media conference in London to promote her film, Never Let Me Go, she wore it plain, for the premiere after-party, she pulled it off away from her scalp, fastening little bits with bob pins, giving it volume and a chic avatar that went perfectly with her Vionnet halter-dress and gold Giuseppe Zanotti for Vionnet wedges.
pics/getty images and afp photos, subhash barolia

Short crop for square face

Aamir Khan, Bollywood actor & MS Dhoni, cricketer
The trick is to keep the sides leaner and short, and wear the top longer and styled higher, using mousse. Strong-hold gel may make it seem like a cock's brow. Keep the hair clean around your ears. The way to tell a square face is to check for a square jawline, almost as wide as it is long.

Medium length nothing

Siddharth Mallya, Heir to industrial empire
We call this style what we do because this is a medium-length hairdo that you can fashion depending entirely on your mood. You can wear it parted on one side, or thrown back the next. You can spike the longer strands on your crown or wear it tousled. Strictly meant for the under-35, and men with attitude. The bummer: it requires serious styling and a cut of your monthly income set aside for gels.

The moptop

Justin Beiber, Underage singing sensation
This is for the under-20 guys only, and works best on straight hair. It's essentially a fringe cut mid centre off the forehead, swept to one side. The trick is to drag your hair towards your face when you blow dry it, rather than away from it.

The buzz & burr

Barack Obama, American President
The buzz style is actually an ultra-masculine style, and must be adopted only by those guys who have a flattering skull shape. Can't figure it out? Just check with your hairstylist. Obama's hair is naturally wiry, so it's a good idea to keep it closely trimmed. It's the wash-and-go hairdo, and takes practically no styling. Take it one step ahead and you have the burr cut. A clipper with a very short blade is used to cut all the strands to the same length. You can see more scalp with a burr, and it feels rough, like sandpaper, when you rub the head against the grain of hair growth.

The Caesar

George Clooney, Hollywood actor
George Clooney made grey trendy, and he brought back the Caeser cut into fashion. It's a style you can easily achieve with a number 4 clipper guard used all over your head. Good option for older men.

From the experts

The one thing Indian men do wrong
They rebond their hair. It looks like a wig. No man can ever pull it off. Instead, they should learn to deal with their natural texture and love their curls. Indian women think curly hair on men is very sexy, anyway.
Sapna Bhavnani, celebrity hairstylist

The one thing indian women need to change
Their perception about curly/wavy hair. Understand your hair and work around it, instead of fighting it. Learn how to scrunch dry it so you can enhance what you are naturally blessed with. Use the right product for your hair -- you don't need obscenely expensive goo. You just need the right one. Change the product as the season changes. Wavy hair, since it is typically drier, needs heavier products. Fine textured hair tends to fall flat, so it works better with clearer, cleansing shampoo.
Sangeeta Mahimtura, Technical Director, Juice salon