A lot of us girls choose to do this by altering our hair-style. Remember when Felicity cut her hair off? Or in Sex and the City where Carrie went brunette following breakup…and then blonde again when she was “herself” again?

A new look is a symbol of a new you, and reinvention opens the door to new possibilities–or, to take a more bleak look, the end of the old options.

Image: Newscom

No one is this more true for than our beloved Britney Spears. Her mood is always reflected in her hair. When she was young and apparently innocent/carefree, she had gorgeous long flowing blond hair.

Her life started to go bad, she shaved her head. (OK, I’ve never seriously considered going THAT far…)

She got a little bit of … help…and suddenly her hair was reborn (er…regrown)…with a little help from extensions.

Now she has a new man, and she’s gone brunette!

Britney has been seen around town in her new brunette ‘do – and I have to say, I really dig it! It seems to be natural and mature – in a way that we hope she has become, as well.

What do all of you think of Britney Spears’ new look?

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Out With the Man, in With the Hair Color

We sent Tom to Jeff Chastain, one of the star stylists at Ted Gibson. He’s from rock-centric Seattle, and known for red carpet styling, and some of his celebrity clientele includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Jane Fonda, Kathy Bates, Marcia Gay Harden and Emily Van Kamp.

What Jeff foresaw for Tom was something of an “evolutionary” style, where rather than have a new look all at once, he would grow into the style. As Tom was about to head out on some tour dates, this was perfect timing.

“Tom and I spoke about growing out the front and back of his hair out to have an edgier, shaggier look,” Jeff said. The initial cut (shown at left) needed another 3 to 4 weeks before it reached its definite look, but Jeff gave it a choppier texture, left the bang and the back longer, and minimized the volume on the sides so it would sit a little more flattering as it grew.

This was last month, and as you can see from this picture of Tom at a Joe’s Pub performance last month, the style is coming into its own! “It’s never been easy for me to explain what I want in a haircut,” Tom tells us. “It’s refreshing to have an experience where they just know what works, and I can just put my trust in them to make a good cut.”

Tom’s experience illustrates a very important tenet of hair styling – while many of us are looking for that instant “make over” the ideal experience is actually one creates a great look and also is cut in a way that it will maintain your desired style as it grows in (rather than grows OUT of the style, which is why so many of us get frequent hair cuts and are never happy).

If you are looking to go this route, some things to remember when growing your style in:

* Try to keep hair hydrated by using a moisturizing shampoo and a good conditioner daily – but a clarifying shampoo once a week in order to avoid product buildup.
* Avoid chemical processes. Double processing, especially with bleach makes your hair brittle; this can lead to breakage.
* Use products that complement your hair texture, rather than damage it or weigh it down. Remember, very often, less is more.
* If you have dyed hair, your hair is most likely a little dry. To protect your hair, wash your hair every other day.

Image: Richard Cervone/photo by Hollywood

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Growing into Your Hair Style