How to Analyze Your Hair to Choose the Style

Your hair is your crowning glory. If you are like many women, you spend nearly as much time trying to find the right, color, cut and style for your hair as you do in finding the right clothing. After all, a stunning dress just won't look its best if it isn't topped off with the perfect coif. Here's how to choose the best style for your hair type.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• A strand of your hair
• A lighted mirror
• Tissues
• A hairbrush
• A comb
• Shampoos, conditioners and products
• Towels
• Hair dryer

1. Examine the health of your hair. Healthy hair should be strong, shiny and soft. To begin to analyze your hair realistically, you have to begin by measuring it against those qualities. Take an honest look at yours and compare it both on the whole against those factors as well as against each individual factor.
2. To test the strength of your hair, take a strand of your hair and hold in your hands between your thumbs and fore fingers. Relax it to see how much "spring" it has. Then pull it tautly to see how easily it breaks. Strong hair doesn't snap easily and will still contain some bounce when it does break. Weak hair, on the other hand, will break easily and have very little spring in it. Examine the ends of the hair for splits and discoloration. If the ends are split, then the hair definitely needs help. If it is discolored that could be an indication of additional problems that need to be addressed.
3. Examine your hair in a lighted mirror, preferably right after it has been washed and dried. How does it look? Is it shiny or dull? Is it obviously oily or dried out? Dos it frizz? Does it contain dandruff? Hair that is shiny has a lot going for it. Severely damaged hair is generally dull and lackluster; it snaps off and ends split easily. It may also look frizzy and fly away. It may feel "crunchy." Often it won't curl properly. Hair that is too oily often looks dragged down and greasy. It often won't hold a hairstyle. Hair that has dandruff can be either dry or oily, but always contains telltale white flakes. It can look otherwise healthy or it can have the same symptoms as noted above.
4. Soft hair makes women look more feminine, and it is something that men like to touch. Hair that is obviously "crunchy" isn't at all desirable and could prevent you from achieving your best overall look.
5. If you determine that your hair is dry, it is important to deep condition it regularly. Most hair stylists can recommend a good deep conditioner. The best I have ever found for my dry hair is from Ojon. It is the product that Polynesian beauties have been using for hundreds of years. It is also important not to wash dry hair too often. Two or three times a week is generally enough. Any more than that can dry the hair out even more. Heating utensils can also further damage dry hair. It doesn't matter whether you use flat irons, curling irons, hair dryers or hot curlers. It is the heat itself that does the damage. However, there are now products on the market today that can help to offset the effect that heating products have on dry hair. Finally, permanents or curl removers and most hair dyes can also damage dry hair. While such products may be needed or desirable, it is important to read the labels and choose those that are specifically made to work with fragile, dry hair. Hair stylists also recommend that dry hair be cut regularly; at least once a month.
6. If you aren't certain whether or not your hair is oily, here are a couple of things you can use to make a determination. First of all, if you have to wash your hair every day to prevent it from looking greasy, then chances are that your hair is oily. Another way to test it is to wipe a clean tissue across the hair a few hours (between 5 and 9) after you washed and dried it. If the tissue comes away with residue on it, then your hair is most likely oily. However, a word of caution here. You can't use any product on your hair prior to conducting the test. Otherwise it could be skewed by the contents of the product.
7. While it isn't common, some hair is actually both oily and dry. This usually happens because of chemical products that have been used on the hair; like hair dyes, permanents or curl removers. They may dry out the ends of the hair while leaving the roots oily. This type of hair is more difficult to diagnose and to handle. The best way to treat it is with deep conditioners applied only to the ends of the hair where it is dry. No conditioner needs to be applied at the root.
8. If you are still uncertain whether or not you have dandruff, do the following test. Wash and dry your hair and then leave it uncleansed for at least 2 days. If it begins to flake during that time, then you have dandruff.
   
   If your dandruff is mild, then specialized dandruff shampoos that are on the market will likely be enough to control it. However, if your dandruff is severe, you may want to see a doctor or dermatologist to determine how to proceed further.
9. Some hair is just fly away and difficult to handle. It isn't necessarily dry or frizzy, just difficult to manage. Finding the right product to tame that type of hair is a hit and miss proposition. What works for one person doesn't necessarily work for another.
   
   Try requesting samples of various hair products that you want to try but don't want to purchase in bulk quantities until you know it works. That way you can determine which ones will work for your specific "fly away" hair.
10. Oddly enough, hair color can in some instances actually improve the quality of your hair. It can add body, bounce, contour and shine to dull, lifeless hair. Color can also affect how women feel. A new color can make a woman more beautiful, bring luster to her eyes, improve the look of her skin tone, and give her confidence and pride. Unfortunately, choosing the right color isn't simple. You can't just look at the colors on the boxes of hair dye and say "I like that one!" Much more goes into choosing the right color. The first thing you must consider is your own natural hair color, your natural skin tone, and even the color of your eyes. It is rarely advisable for women with pitch black hair and dark coloring to go platinum blond or vice versa. First of all, it probably won't work and second of all, it will likely look very foreign. It won't be appropriate for your overall coloring. Second, the decision should be based on what you want from your hair color. Do you just want a temporary lift of your natural color? Do your want to totally change the color of your hair; making it lighter or darker? Do you merely want highlights? Are you just attempting to cover the gray with a hair color that is as close to yours as possible? What you want to achieve through hair coloring will help you determine what "type" of color to choose. If you are uncertain altogether what you want, but you do know you want a change, coloring experts say that returning your hair color to what it was at the age of 12 is always a good place to start. Of course, unless you have perfectly colored photos or a lock of your hair from that age, it may be easier to say than it will be to make happen. Another thing that you can do is try one of the new Internet sites that will allow you to scan in a photo of yourself and then try different cuts and colors on before you make the permanent change. That is truly painless experimentation. If you have never colored your hair before, you might want to seek the assistance of a color expert rather than doing it yourself. They can help you achieve the look you want while your self-done job could be hit or miss.
11. A good hair cut is priceless for any head of hair. But it is also difficult to find, particularly for women over the age of 40. See my article on "How To Avoid an Old Lady Haircut" for specific tips on that subject. At any rate, it is never advisable to approach a hair stylist without some kind of idea what type of cut you want. If you do, chances are you will walk away disappointed. Ideally, a good hair cut is based upon the shape of your face, your type of hair and how much time and effort you have to put into its style. Women with oval shaped faces can wear just about any hair cut or style they choose. Considered the ideal facial shape, women in this category can wear hair of any length and can go closely cropped or full and big. However, you will likely look your best with hairstyles that are slightly off of your face. Women with oval faces can even wear the hair slicked-backed. Women with a heart or diamond shaped face should opt for longer hair; chin length or more. Styles should sweep forward around the upper face, making bangs an essential. Short bob cuts are perfect for this facial structure because it creates balance by adding fullness at the chin, where it is most needed. Another option is to choose styles that encourage height at the crown; that are layered; or that can be pushed behind the ears. Diamond shaped faces, however, can try a lot of different styles more successfully than those with heart shaped faces. If your face shape is square, choose short to medium hair lengths with bangs. Choose styles that are wispy around the face to soften the square look. This often means that the top hair should be a bit shorter in order to promote height at the crown. Choose styles that have curl or wave, rather than bone straight hairstyles, because they will help to soften the tough angles. Cuts should be less layered and more evenly distributed. Avoid any type of cut or style that is straight and ends at the jaw line. They will accent the squareness of your face. Think soft and feminine. If you have a round face, try hairstyles with fullness on top and height at the crown. Try a short style that sweeps back or styles that are longer than chin length. Make certain your top is layered so that you can get maximum fullness. Keep the rest of the hair close to the face. Avoid hair cuts that fall right at the chin as they will just bring focus to the round look of your face.
12. Once you have analyzed your hair, made the changes to improve its quality and achieved a good cut and style, then you should be set to go. If, however, you aren't happy with the end results, changes are you weren't honest with yourself somewhere along the line. In that case, it is a good idea to seek the assistance of a professional hairstylist to help you in your hair analysis.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to use hair products that are made specifically for your type of hair.
• Get a professional hair cut from a stylist with expertise in your type of hair.
• If you have never colored your hair before, use a professional colorist at least the first time. If you intend to color it yourself from there, seek his or her guidance on the proper dyes to use.
• Cover your hair in the sun. It can dry it out further.
• If you can't afford expensive conditioners, use natural conditioners that can be found in your kitchen (like mayonnaise). But always condition!
• Don't mix different types of hair dyes. Those that highlight or lighten are not meant to be used with those that are made simply to cover the gray. Choose one "type" of dye and stick with it if you don't want to damage your hair.
• Avoid heating products are much as possible. If you must use them, then use products that counteract the damage they routinely do to the hair.
• Whenever possible, avoid exposure to chlorine. If your hair is exposed to it, wash it immediately after you get out of the pool.