The perfect hairstyle can enhance and soften your features with minimal expense and maintenance. Celebs have access to the best hairstylist in the biz, but sometimes we see a few red-carpet misses. ESSENCE.com found ten tantalizing styles and ask you which celeb rocks the look the best.
By Qianna Smith
Up first are two women who rule the runway: actress/model Joy Bryant and high fashion model Chanel Iman. The two keep it simple and chic with a sleek middle part and smooth flat-ironed tresses. In terms of style, who is the queen of the catwalk?
When you wear a dress that is elegant and modern, go for a hairstyle that complements your look like a stylish chignon. Model/actress Eva Marcille looked lovely at the 40th annual NAACP Image Awards wearing a side-parted chignon, while Queen Latifah dazzled at the Oscars sporting a low-style chignon with bangs that swooped down. Which star tops your hair charts?
Actress Kerry Washington wears her bangs well at a Beverly Hills benefit gala last winter. Her loose curls add a touch of quiet sex appeal to the familiar style.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell works her tried and true bangs at a party in Paris last fall. Campbell opts to keep her’s straight with just slightly bumped ends.
We love how Kerry and Naomi are making us notice bangs again, with straight or curled tresses. Whose bangs are you feeling more?
Actress Malinda Williams rocks a spiky cropped do here at the Bang & Olufsen SoHo grand opening in NYC earlier this year. Williams keeps her strands super short and finger-combed for a sexy bedhead look.
Pop star Rihanna, shown here at a Hollywood event earlier this year, sports an updated pixie cut and keeps the top and middle strands slightly longer than the sides and back. The front is bumped for a pompadour effect.
Both starlets keep their tresses jet-black and super shiny. Whose short cut is the fiercest?
Oscar beauties Jennifer Hudson and Viola Davis sport bangin’ layered bobs. Adding layers creates the appearance of movement and body, which will give lifeless locks some luster. Only one of these women can take the top hair prize. And the award goes to…
Did these two chart-topping divas go shopping together, because they are workin’ the big shades and earrings with their short and sassy dos. Leave it to Mary J. Bilge and Kelis to take a classic blunt cut and add a modern twist with brow-grazing fringe. We love this look, because even though the hair is short, it appears to be thicker. Now, tell us: who got it right?
R&B ingenue Solange Knowles looks polished and pretty wearing a loose roller-set style with a side-swept bangs at the 6th Annual Woman’s Day Red Dress Awards in NYC last month.
Actress Gabrielle Union prefers to keep some of her barrel curls off her shoulders at the 2009 BET Honors reception in Washington, D.C., this January.
Both these vixens get major points for giving this seasoned do their own stylish spin. Who did it best?
Actress Nia Long has maintained enviable tresses for years. Here, sporting shoulder-length locks at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the caramel beauty tops her dark brown straight strands with a stylish knit hat.
Pop icon Beyoncé breaks out her chic winter gear for the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix. Her golden brown tresses are topped off with a sleek knit beret.
We have to take our hats off to Nia and Beyoncé since they both show that hats are not to be saved for “bad-hair days.” But who do you think pulled this look off the best?
Star quality hair begins with healthy hair. Get your strands in tip-top shape with a nourishing shampoo that cleanses and moisturizes. These five ESSENCE faves are all a great value at less than $8 each.
1) Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Creamy Aloe Shampoo, $6
2) Dr. Miracle’s 2 in 1 Tingling Shampoo & Conditioner, $7
3) Motions At Home Weightless Conditioning Shampoo, $4
4) Optimum Oil Therapy Ultimate Recovery Shampoo, $4
5) Doo Gro Moisturizing Growth Shampoo, $6
All are products available at cvs.com.
Keep your hair in star-style condition by using a good conditioner that moisturizes and strengthens your tresses from root to tip. Get hair that feels soft and silky to the touch with our best in beauty drugstore finds.
1) Silk Elements Luxury Moisturizing Conditioner, $5
2) Proclaim Olive Glossing Conditioner, $5
3) Organic Root Stimulator Olive Oil Replenishing Pak, $1
4) Motions Moisture Plus After-Shampoo Conditioner, $4
5) Silk Elements MegaSilk Moisturizing Treatment, $11
All products are available at sallybeauty.com.
