Breakage/Halo- is it normal? Can I do anything about it?

[arylkin]

So my husband and I watched The Other Boleyn Girl last night, and I don't know if it's because we watched it on our new blu-ray player (so maybe I could see things that I couldn't before) and actresses hair are always like this, but all the women had long hair with hardly any breaks!

Now, I know they have professional stylists and have had their hair blow dryed (which probably makes the breaks lay flatter- I don't know- does it?), but with waist long hair you could only see a handful of shorter broken strands.

I feel like my hair is in pretty nice shape, but I have a problem (especially if I'm standing in sunlight or with a bright light directly above me) with many broken strands that are visible throughout the length of my hair and shorter strands around my crown.

Since I've found LHC I've tried to be gentle with my hair and have started taking much better care of my hair (no blowdryer, CO, trying to use hairsticks rather than elastics, etc), but I don't really see what I can do about the breaks through the length of my hair (and also- I'm calling them breaks- they could be just shorter strands or newer growth- I don't have split ends).

So, I guess my question (after much rambeling) is, is this normal? Can I do anything about it? I guess the answer would be that I can only prevent new breakage.

The Other Boleyn Girl really hurt my hair self esteem! :o

[Gumball]

It's definitely normal. Nigh inevitable really. Breakage, no matter how gentle you are, can occur. Also regarding the halo it's not necessarily breakage, but also likely brand spanking new growth. The baby hairs might not lie down all the way so they happily stick up like a new sapling reaching for the sunlight. Want to see a halo? Come see one of us curlies. Hehe. I don't think the media should make you think one way or the other regarding your hair. The best thing for you to do is take the best care of your hair as you possibly can. You've got beautiful hair!

[spidermom]

I've noticed plenty of medium to long-haired actresses in movies or TV shows who have lots of shorter hairs forming a halo, especially noticeable when they are back-lit. If you don't see that, suspect wigs or lots of product, including hairspray.

[Angelica]

I wouldn't take too much notice of the women in "The Other Boleyn Girl" re: their perfect hair. I suspect they were all wigs. I don't believe Natalie Portman has hair like that. I'm not sure about Scarlet Johanson (sorry if I spelt her name wrong) because I am not that familiar with the actress.

I watched a documentary regarding The Lord of the Rings and the man being interviewed confirmed that everyone in that film wore wigs. He said that actresses now realise how better it is to use wigs for their film roles as it was much more kinder on the hair and gave them that much more styling options. He even mentioned Nicole Kidman "discovering" wigs for her roles. So in films we don't know exactly if what we are seeing is really the actress's real hair.

Even in advertisements now on television or in magazines about shampoo or hair colouring there is often a small print stating that the model or actress is actually wearing extensions.

[NeilTheFuzz]

It's totally normal. It's partly caused by breakage, but also it's mainly caused by hairs shedding and starting the growing process all over again. This means we have little hairs. Mine are terrible - they stick up like I've been electrocuted!

A good way of tidying them away when you really need to is to get your hair in the style you want it to be. Then, wet your hands and get a pea sized amount of gel and rub your hands together, then smooth the little hairs down.

Neil

[kunibob]

I used to work for a films special effects company, and I was pretty shocked at how much digital processing is done -- it's very, very common for CG artists to comb through every single frame and polish/air brush out minor flaws. They probably wore wigs (as was mentioned above), and then the frames may have been airbrushed to make sure every strand was in place.

Always remember that nothing we see in movies is real! It's easier on our self esteem that way. :)

[Delila]

...Always remember that nothing we see in movies is real! ...

Very true!

Just think about how much money they spend getting the actors ready for filming. Hair (wigs, styling products, stylists), makeup, lighting, photographic angles, airbrushing, editing, it all adds up.

What we see on screen is always some form of heightened reality, no matter how "natural" and "unaffected" it might seem.

[arylkin]

Well thanks everyone! I feel better. :crush:

[Katze]

Absolutely is most hair in films fake or digitally manipulated! Yours is REAL. :D

When I was a kid I loved costumes and dress-up (still do...) and asked my mom about ladies in movies who go from straight to curly hair from one scene to the next, and how they do this. She responded with information about 'falls' as they were called in her day - hairpieces - as well as wigs, weaves, etc. I was SO disappointed, because I wanted to be able to do that myself.

Ah well...real still beats fake, in my book!