Deal with bad hair days

Leighton Meester as Gossip Girl’s Blair Waldorf, and her posse of hairband-wearing prepsters.

NEW YORK—My hair is in that in-between stage where it’s no longer a ‘chic’ bob, but not quite long enough to be left on its own to flow freely, sans goodie elastic.

On most days, it looks more like a floppy mop than a marvelous mane, and I’m back in highschool P.E. class all over again—hairband and ponytail in place.

To put a cool spin to this very bland coif choice, I sometimes try to imagine Blair Waldorf and her royal prep-school highness. But unless you’re actually Leighton Meester or a cast member of “Gossip Girl” (complete with shiny hair extensions and perfect makeup), the hairband-scrunchie combo can be quite a little tricky in real life, not to mention extremely boring.

So what to do on tough days for tresses? Here are some quick hair fixes:

Pick up a few accessories. From plastics to elastics, there is a whole slew of mane stylers out there available for the taking, so shop your heart out. I am a big fan of scarves and headbands, I have at least five on heavy rotation.

The trick to not looking juvenile (and lazy), when pulling your hair back with one of these, is to still groom your hair either by brushing it out or applying a little product. Choose tasteful pieces made of tweed, tortoise shell, or patent. And when buying plastic, stick to classic colors like apple red, rich yellow and even black.

When accessorizing your crowning glory, follow this famous line: “One is enough. Two is too much. Three is the poison that will kill the person.” (Two is actually still okay, for as long as the items don’t clash.)

Try out the ‘Yorkie.’ This easy-to-do hairstyle was made famous a couple of years ago by Sarah Jessica Parker in “Sex and the City,” but the most literal description of this is actually the tiny ponytail commonly seen on Yorkshire Terriers to keep hair away from their eyes.

This style is great for overgrown bangs: You can either tease or back-comb wisps first to get some volume, or just go straight ahead twisting your top strands and securing them with criss-crossed hairpins.

Go for the ‘Ultimate Ponytail.’ You’ll need lots of hair gel for this one. Dampen strands to make product easier to distribute throughout. Using a fine-tooth comb, gather hair up in the cleanest, smoothest ponytail and secure with a tight elastic.

If there’s time, pull out a thin strand from the base of the elastic and wrap it around the ponytail, securing it with a pin. Finish with a mist of hair spray.

I once wore my hair this way a couple of years ago, and my dad commented that I looked like Loren Legarda. Which only meant that by looking like a seasoned politician (or, on one end of the spectrum, a cute prep student), I had survived yet another bad hair moment.


Mariel Chua is the former beauty editor of Cosmopolitan, Seventeen and Ok! Magazine. She is now based in New York City. Visit NyMinuteNow.com.

(Image courtesy of http://www.tvguide.com. Original Inquirer article link here.)