Bob or pixie, cut it short this summer

New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Short is hot. Ask Bollywood actresses Lara Dutta, Diya Mirza, Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra, who got rid of their long manes and turned to shoulder length hairstyles for the summer.

Javed Habib, owner of one of the oldest hair-styling salons in the country, describes this trend as 'very short yet very hot'.

'This summer, the shorter the hair the better you look. In fact, a short hair style can take away ages from your face and make you look younger,' he added.

'People want to manage their hair easily and at the same time want a reprieve from the hot weather. So a short hairstyle comes in very handy,' Habib told IANS.

Kaajee Rai, another hair stylist and make-up artist, says 'sweating' is the major problem at this time of the year and to avoid that people go for short hair.

'It's the heat that is killing and on top of that, sweat makes it really difficult to manage your hair, especially if you have heavy hair. So either cut them short or else trim the thickness, it will be a big relief,' he said.

While Lara and Priyanka have gone extremely experimental by going for bob cuts, Diya and Deepika are looking ravishing in step cuts.

TV Anchor Mandira Bedi and Bollywood actress Gul Panag have been elegantly flaunting their bob cuts for some time now and recently television actress Shilpa Sakhlani too cut her hair short.

This summer one can opt for a blunt as well as a pixie haircut, a super short hairstyle sported by Hollywood actress Katie Holmes and singer Rihanna.

Although actresses have gone experimental with their hair, there are some who are not so comfy with bob cuts because they feel it makes their face look big.

But Habib says the trick in such cases lies in the hands of the hairstylist.

'If your hairstylist is good, in case of bob cut, he will know that if you have a broad face, where all to add volume and how to complement them with fringes. That will solve all problems. But such things are tricky and only an experienced stylist can do justice with it,' he said.

'A bad hair cut can make you less social and you might feel depressed as well,' he added

Sometimes new cuts don't work and one has to be ready for the worst.

For Gargi Parashar, 22, it was a nightmare when she tried to ape Mandira's look.

'I have curly hair and still I wanted a cut like Mandira. So I went ahead and got them really short. The hair-stylists did what I said. But in the end, I looked horrible. My curly hair were looking like Maggi noodles and my face looked very prominent - making it the biggest part of my body,' said Parashar.

'I was helpless. It was the duty of the stylist to guide me and convince me because I can follow the trends but someone has to guide you some way. I couldn't tie a pony or pin-up my hair. It was embarrassing,' she added.

A word of advice from Rai to avoid such disasters.

'I always say that one should never blindly follow fashion trends. Go for a hair cut that you can carry off with poise and confidence, not something that celebrities are doing. You can make a fashion statement, if you know how to experiment and carry the look.'

Unlike previous years, when streaking was in, Rai says it's a no to streaks this summer and a yes for 'global colours'. Explaining 'Global colours', Rai said: 'In this case, we colour the hair from the tip to the end in just one colour - burgundy or brown - we don't mix up two colours.'

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at [email protected])