Whine about movie/tv hair

[manderly]

So howcome movie and tv hair is soooooo beautiful if it's fried and tortured within an inch of its life and mine looks ho-hum after so much TLC?

I've been seeing commercials for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Secret Life of Teenagers (is that the right name?) all day and I find myself drooling over the shiny & soft looking locs on these girls.

No fair. Am I the only one that thinks this?? And could I have some :cheese: with my whine?

[liseling]

I think that hair is styled within an inch of it's life for tv/movies and there are lots of products that disguise damage quite well.

[Samara Morgan]

Hmmmm - I know what you mean :( I have to remind myself how damaged their hair must be, even though it looks nice :agree: Your hair does not look ho-hum at all! :nono:

I haven't actually seen those trailers yet, but I'll look out for nice hair when I'm watching them :D

[Tai Shan Fan]

Some people get away with a lot of processing on their hair without too many problems, but not that many. If your hair is short it doesn't really matter too much, as damage is trimmed away regularly. Very few long-haired celebs have all their own hair, they mostly have extensions, which not only add length, but can be addded to give volume as well. Lighting and products can induce shine (notice how much more shiny your own hair is when photographed with flash.)

I haven't seen the trailers you mention, but they'll have been a whole team of experts devoted to making them look amazing. Unfortunately most of us don't have that.

[atlantaz3]

I chalk it up to make up and mirrors - have you seen that show that showed what the stars looked like in their normal every day life? Real eye opener.

[FrannyG]

Never underestimate the powers of a good lighting director and an excellent cinematographer.

[bgarrison]

Never underestimate the powers of a good lighting director and an excellent cinematographer.
And hair extensions. It's nigh on impossible to believe they've got the amount of hair they seem to, when as thin as they are. Takes good food to grow good hair, especially as we age. Even if it truly looks nice/healthy now (anne hathaway or scarlett j) time will take it's toll (too many examples to cite).

Just like so many stick thin women with very large chests. Sure, it's true sometimes-- but not to the extent it is in hollyweird. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors and I just hope my daughter's generation starts waking up to that reality and starts idolizing people who truly deserve attention. I agree-- those candid paparazzi shots are doing a lot to dispel the myths.

How's that for a rant? :)

Anyone see Maria Shriver on Oprah? Same thoughts. Nice interesting woman, with seemingly pretty hair, but when you look closer, you see the fake highlights, fake casual curls, the dry, dull color.

[girlcat36]

My question: Which women in Hollyweird actually have healthy longish hair? Do they ALL have extensions? I can never tell for some reason.

[bgarrison]

My question: Which women in Hollyweird actually have healthy longish hair? Do they ALL have extensions? I can never tell for some reason.
Beats me, but also look at how quickly and easily they change hair lengths. Or how thin their hair looks in the candid shots. And you rarely see anyone with awkward lengths or weird bang growths. They're just human, just like us, so no magic abilities in hair growing or wrinkle prevention.(look at hands and necks to prove that < but even hands are getting PS now>) And with all the emphasis on thinness and wacky ways to achieve that, they're working with a deficit. Remember photos add weight, so when we see them and think "Oh, they're thin"-- imagine how they look in real life.

[HairColoredHair]

What bothers me is when they put their hair up and it's gained two feet of hair from how long it is loose.

sigh.

[Darkhorse1]

Ah, the magic of hollywood. Also, youth/young hair has more gloss, plus, if we had stylists following us around all day, our hair would always look it's best. However, I wouldn't want to see what it looked like first thing in the morning ;) Be proud of your hair! It's naturally lovely---sadly, the abuse from hollywood leaves many stars rushing to their hair dressers daily to fill in the thinning from their lack of food, adding extensions, using shine serum, coloring it...the list goes on....

[Chromis]

Doesn't bother me in the slightest. I just assume it's not real. In fact, knowing how much plastic surgery goes on, I pretty much assume most of their body isn't real!

[paper]

This reminds me of a comercial that I've been seeing alot of lately. I can't remember the product. The girl has long big hair and is telling us how "she" does it. She says she, sprays it, teases it, rolls it, then sprays it some more! My first thought is you know she didn't do her own hair for comercial and my 2nd thought, that can't be good for your hair! lol

[Honey39]

I guess I would have Hollywood Hair if I had a whole team of hairdressers, make-up artists, lighting directors and carefully angled shots with me at ALL TIMES!!!!!

I don't know, I guess it's all fakery too - I know that I can get incredibly shiny traditionally good looking hair if I blow dry, straighten, use silicones, glossing sprays etc and DON'T MOVE. But when it all comes off, my hair looks dry and spoiled. I bought GHD hair straighteners a few years ago, and used them about once a month because of the damage. Friends who bought them at the same time and used them daily - now their hair is shot, and there's not a lot they can do to ever make it look good. Straighteners are so seductive - they can make your hair look amazing, but the long term effects - not so good!!!

[bgarrison]

I've always wanted hair, first and foremost, that felt nice to the touch. That just seemed to logical to me. Having it look nice, but feel stiff or dry didn't make sense to me.

After that I wanted hair care that didn't cost an arm and a leg and take an enormous amount of time, and results that would last more than a few hours. These are sort of political reasons-- the same reason I prefer reducing, reusing, recycling as opposed to Holy Church of Shopping, USA. A lot of the standard beauty industry seems designed to further it's existence. ( We straighten, color, cut and you need to do it all over again in 6 weeks and "deep treat" as well to treat the damage we've just done, with diminishing returns until the hair's a mess. )

So when we give our time to something so fleeting and then have to work to get the $$ to pay for it....... it's a racket which ultimately robs us of our most valuable asset--- time. But when we spend time keeping our hair and skin healthy, it's a long term investment.

Because I have sensitive skin/ acne on my face I also didn't want it rubbing my face a lot. So my choices were/ are pretty clear. Pixie or long enough to put up, minimal processing and products.

Being looked at admired is nice once in while, but what about getting in there and just living? This is my issue with nails that are too very fussy/ costly as well.

Now,with health issues, safe products are a part of my criteria.

Sorry, a bit of a thread hijack, but this just got me thinking about all of this, as well as how glad I am I found these forums. Nice to find out I'm not the only one who wants pretty hair, but has a different definition!

[JillieRose]

I always find this when watching (I've seen three episodes...that counts) Gilmore Girls. Dang, I think, what lovely shiny swingy hair they have! And then I remember that the girl is young enough to have young hair (and a hairstylist), and that the mother has stylists rather than 5 minutes before work, and then I feel better.

[Nevermore]

I've always wanted hair, first and foremost, that felt nice to the touch. That just seemed to logical to me. Having it look nice, but feel stiff or dry didn't make sense to me.


I really dislike hair that looks ok, but feels nasty. Alot of girls around here straighten their hair multiple times daily to keep it stick straight. Some of it looks ok, fake but ok, but when they flip it over their shoulder or run into me in the aisle of a store and their hair brushes me, it feels like straw *shudder* I'm sure their hair would be just gorgeous if they'd quit straightening it and coating it in hairspray.

I'm sure there are quite a few naturally skinny people in Hollywood (it's easier to stay Hollywood thin if you have a fairly low weight naturally) and I do have naturally skinny friends with nice, thick hair. That said, I never take Hollywood as an indicator of real life. I assume that everything is retouched, plastic surgeried, glued on, edited and so forth. The hair that bothers me is perfect post-sex hair though, I mean really now folks, if you're going to put sex in a tv show or a movie, at least have the decency to muss the actors' hair.

[Magicknthenight]

This reminds me of a comercial that I've been seeing alot of lately. I can't remember the product. The girl has long big hair and is telling us how "she" does it. She says she, sprays it, teases it, rolls it, then sprays it some more! My first thought is you know she didn't do her own hair for comercial and my 2nd thought, that can't be good for your hair! lol

Is that the pantene commertial? I've been seeing that commerital alot. She says..its a pretty easy style then goes into how she blow drys it in sections, sprays it, puts it in curlers, takes it down, messes it up with her fingers and sprays it some more. This..to me does not seem like an easy style.:shrug:
Or healthy. :twocents:

[Julesn]

Ok, check this out. One of the most sought after heads of hair in hollywood is obviously Jennifer Aniston, right? Here's what she had to say about having hair extensions (which, btw, is why Hollywood hair looks so great):Jennifer Aniston's Hair IssuesMay 25, 2006
7:10 PM

As if Jennifer Aniston doesn't have enough to worry about right now. With Brad's baby coming, and negative buzz about her forthcoming movie, and now she has hair issues. What is the cause of her hair problems? Extensions. Jennifer made a rash decision to cut her hair shortly after her split with Brad Pitt. She regretted that, and ended up having hair extensions put in to recover from her rash decision.

"So I decided to have a couple of extensions, never knowing you end up with 400 things in your head that cause your hair to break off.
"Nothing destroys your hair faster than extensions. It's taken a year and a half to get my hair grown out."

Julie :)

[ktani]

I have read things like that too about extensions and models and actresses talking about hair damage that has been job related.

Sometimes an actress is required to dye her hair for a part.

Models get their hair tortured for a photo shoot.

It is not discussed a lot but articles do appear here and there.

I have read them over the years.

I will not say it is smoke and mirrors.

These days it is silicone and digital mastery.

[Stagecoach]

What bothers me is when they put their hair up and it's gained two feet of hair from how long it is loose.

sigh.

Arrrgggg, yes, this bugs the life out of me! It's so... cheating! :p

Anyway, I really don't think their hair is in that good of condition. But first off, cameras just can't show the detail of nasty hair (like the split ends and annoying halos we all get!), and with serums and a hairstylest at hand during all important times, it's pretty easy to look perfect!

[Hatsumomo]

Every magazine I read seems to go on about Kate Beckinsale's amazing hair. I don't mean to bitch or anything but all I can see is a curtain heavy with sticky-out broken hairs every time I see here. The extension overload look is awful, I really don't envy many celebs. Demi Moore and ZiYi Zhang being two exceptions of course! I'd rather have hair that looks okayish when just left to it's own devices than hair that looks stunning when fried, sprayed and disguised and awful when just left.

[Aisha25]

Every magazine I read seems to go on about Kate Beckinsale's amazing hair. I don't mean to bitch or anything but all I can see is a curtain heavy with sticky-out broken hairs every time I see here. The extension overload look is awful, I really don't envy many celebs. Demi Moore and ZiYi Zhang being two exceptions of course! I'd rather have hair that looks okayish when just left to it's own devices than hair that looks stunning when fried, sprayed and disguised and awful when just left.
I agree it's true when I see people on US commercials and movies I see yucky fly away split end hair. Doesnt look good to me at all.

[Peggy E.]

I've always wanted hair, first and foremost, that felt nice to the touch. That just seemed to logical to me. Having it look nice, but feel stiff or dry didn't make sense to me. <snip>

Sorry, a bit of a thread hijack, but this just got me thinking about all of this, as well as how glad I am I found these forums. Nice to find out I'm not the only one who wants pretty hair, but has a different definition!


Now, you are a true and honest threat to the marketing industry - a savvy consumer who thinks for herself, knows what she wants and why, and will not buy into gimmicks and junk just because she's told "everyone who's anyone uses this!" Good for you!!

It's tough to do, though, particularly when the voices trying to control us, dress us, make us up, show us the right way to look, act, think, BE are so insidious. You have to have such a strong sense of self and confidence to stand up for what you know is best, and this is aye near impossible for youngsters just taking their first independent steps and not wanting to stumble and draw attention to themselves.

It must be part of the human instinct, this need to "fit in," to mark us and distinguish the tribes to which we belong, be it "Chanel," "J Crew" or "Wal-Mart!"

And when you are constantly in the public eye, every wrinkle examined, any sign of age, is blown up and plastered all over the media. How you look, what you wear, who you are boils down into a product that's invented and maintained by the entertainment industry for the sole use of an admiring - and blood thirsty! - public.

When you stop to think about it, you really have to be insane to want to be a famous star!

[noelgirl]

Ok, check this out. One of the most sought after heads of hair in hollywood is obviously Jennifer Aniston, right? Here's what she had to say about having hair extensions (which, btw, is why Hollywood hair looks so great):Jennifer Aniston's Hair IssuesMay 25, 2006
7:10 PM

As if Jennifer Aniston doesn't have enough to worry about right now. With Brad's baby coming, and negative buzz about her forthcoming movie, and now she has hair issues. What is the cause of her hair problems? Extensions. Jennifer made a rash decision to cut her hair shortly after her split with Brad Pitt. She regretted that, and ended up having hair extensions put in to recover from her rash decision.

"So I decided to have a couple of extensions, never knowing you end up with 400 things in your head that cause your hair to break off.
"Nothing destroys your hair faster than extensions. It's taken a year and a half to get my hair grown out."

Julie :)

So I guess this means that hers is actually real (well, now anyway)? I actually saw her in person a couple of years ago - she's really cute in person, really nice, and her hair actually looked reasonably healthy up close, despite all the coloring she does.

[rubyredslippers]

You know whose hair makes me really sad? Rihanna's. It started off so beautiful and long. Sure, it was dyed and straightened, but at least it was long. And she's just been hacking it shorter and shorter, chopping in bangs and then bobbing and now whatever-it-is-that-spikes-up.

What a waste of pretty hair.

On the bright side, Taylor Swift has beautiful natural curls! Though they both are musicians . . .

[Darkhorse1]

I think the only hair on tv I admired was that blond girl in the fructuis commercial--where they tied her hair to a table or something. You could tell her hair was very, very long, and it looked to be in good condition! I saw that ad and instantly wanted hair that long again! (well, I never grew it to my knees) With long hair, it's harder to mask damage than shorter hair.

Sadly, in hollywood, the abuse your hair goes under isn't just what's done to it--it's styled all the time, washed, lots of product, then the heat of those lights, long hours, probably lack of sleep--I mean, it all adds up I'm sure.

[paper]

Is that the pantene commertial? I've been seeing that commerital alot. She says..its a pretty easy style then goes into how she blow drys it in sections, sprays it, puts it in curlers, takes it down, messes it up with her fingers and sprays it some more. This..to me does not seem like an easy style.:shrug:
Or healthy. :twocents:

Yes! Thats the one. Oh, and "she" puts on her make-up while her hair is drying.

[Magdalene]

Alot of background actors I know do have naturally long, healthy hair, because they are cast for their "as is" looks. I always have to have it put into my contracts that I will not cut or color my hair, and that's just for stage work. Wigs used to be far more common for film, but now that the high-definition is here, it requires more "realistic" hair, hence the extensions.

One actress I know is one of the wives on Big Love- she went in for a trim during the hiatus, and they "accidentally" cut 8 inches off of her hair. When they found out the show was picked up, she was madly taking some magic vitamins from France to get it to grow back, because she hates wearing the extensions. Apparently they are much heavier than real hair!

[bgarrison]

When you stop to think about it, you really have to be insane to want to be a famous star!

I couldn't agree more. And when you look at most of their personal lives it just proves the point.

Sad that so much of it's not about "art" but personality, appearance, and the public's need/desire to live vicariously (or feel superior to).

There's a few that buck the trend, but it's sad to see they're in the minority. I think in general we're evolving, but then there's these big gaping maws of stupidity which just make me want to shudder:.

[noelgirl]

Alot of background actors I know do have naturally long, healthy hair, because they are cast for their "as is" looks. I always have to have it put into my contracts that I will not cut or color my hair, and that's just for stage work. Wigs used to be far more common for film, but now that the high-definition is here, it requires more "realistic" hair, hence the extensions.

One actress I know is one of the wives on Big Love- she went in for a trim during the hiatus, and they "accidentally" cut 8 inches off of her hair. When they found out the show was picked up, she was madly taking some magic vitamins from France to get it to grow back, because she hates wearing the extensions. Apparently they are much heavier than real hair!

I do background work sometimes, and most of the time it is "as is"; however, some productions (usually '20's-'30's period pieces) require extras' hair to be cut short - no wigs, no updos, no exceptions. One such film recently filmed here - I legitimately had a scheduling conflict, so the decision was sort of made for me that I wouldn't work on it, but from what I heard, with the free haircuts some of them got, you get what you pay for. They style it to make it look ok on camera, but it's all styling. At the end of the day they're stuck with some strange-looking haircuts.

And I wonder which of the wives it was - I'm curious now!

[Magdalene]

I do background work sometimes, and most of the time it is "as is"; however, some productions (usually '20's-'30's period pieces) require extras' hair to be cut short - no wigs, no updos, no exceptions. One such film recently filmed here - I legitimately had a scheduling conflict, so the decision was sort of made for me that I wouldn't work on it, but from what I heard, with the free haircuts some of them got, you get what you pay for. They style it to make it look ok on camera, but it's all styling. At the end of the day they're stuck with some strange-looking haircuts.

And I wonder which of the wives it was - I'm curious now!

You're right, I should have put "usually." And it's not one of the famous ones ;)

[bgarrison]

So howcome movie and tv hair is soooooo beautiful if it's fried and tortured within an inch of its life and mine looks ho-hum after so much TLC?

I've been seeing commercials for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Secret Life of Teenagers (is that the right name?) all day and I find myself drooling over the shiny & soft looking locs on these girls.

No fair. Am I the only one that thinks this?? And could I have some :cheese: with my whine?
manderly-- i feel like i owe you an apology! the whole obtuse point to my posts was:

Your hair is so pretty and real, try not to be jealous of what seems to be, but probably isn't. I know it can be hard at times to remember, but it's really true.

sorry to take so long to say that clearly!

bg

[Hatsumomo]

You know whose hair makes me really sad? Rihanna's. It started off so beautiful and long. Sure, it was dyed and straightened, but at least it was long. And she's just been hacking it shorter and shorter, chopping in bangs and then bobbing and now whatever-it-is-that-spikes-up.

What a waste of pretty hair.

On the bright side, Taylor Swift has beautiful natural curls! Though they both are musicians . . .

Don't worry, most of it was a weave:). If she grew it out for a few months, she could put it back in again.

[young&reckless]

I have to say since joining here I am far more drawn to hair that looks like ... well hair.

[manderly]

manderly-- i feel like i owe you an apology! the whole obtuse point to my posts was:

Your hair is so pretty and real, try not to be jealous of what seems to be, but probably isn't. I know it can be hard at times to remember, but it's really true.

sorry to take so long to say that clearly!

bg

There's no need for an apology :D

And the hair I was mentioning LOOKS soft and shiny, I have no idea if it's natural or not, though I do lean to the belief it is because these are young women/girls.

I've never envied Jennifer Aniston's, it's always stick straight :p

That Pantene commercial cracks me up too, but her hair is super shiny....as is all shampoo commercials :)

[Darkhorse1]

I asked my hair dresser about extensions, and she said there are many different ways to put them in (weave, glue). She said the glued in ones are the quickest, but are SO damaging. Basically, if you glue in extensions, you have to cut your hair above where you glued them in...so in reality, your hair will be shorter than before.

I thought Jennifer Aniston cut her hair short due to damage from extensions she wore in a movie. I have all the seasons of Friends, and in the audio commentaries, the hair dresser said they gave her a bob (I think after her split with Brad), and she really hated it because she loved her long hair/hide behind it. She'd had extensions just the season before (very long hair) for a movie called Rockstar? I'm assuming they damaged her hair.

[Pegasus Marsters]

I chalk it up to make up and mirrors - have you seen that show that showed what the stars looked like in their normal every day life? Real eye opener.

Yeah. They look just like regular people... which er... they are. :shrug:

My annoyance with movies is when they can't keep a consistent length... Star Wars, episode 3. Great example of this. Padme's hair goes from BSL to classic and back again several times. Even in animated films they can keep the hair a consistant length, it shouldn't be hard in live action :rolleyes:

[Pegasus Marsters]

I asked my hair dresser about extensions, and she said there are many different ways to put them in (weave, glue). She said the glued in ones are the quickest, but are SO damaging. Basically, if you glue in extensions, you have to cut your hair above where you glued them in...so in reality, your hair will be shorter than before.


Wrong. There are products that melt the glue off your hair. I glued in extensions (wefts to be exact) in my friends hair and there's a product that she used that melted the glue so she could remove them. And if they're done in wee sections instead of using wefts, you just twist at the point where the glue is and it snaps and you can take the extension out.

[annarose]

I agree-- those candid paparazzi shots are doing a lot to dispel the myths.

How's that for a rant? :)

Anyone see Maria Shriver on Oprah? Same thoughts. Nice interesting woman, with seemingly pretty hair, but when you look closer, you see the fake highlights, fake casual curls, the dry, dull color.


So true bgarrison. The paparazzi shots of Britney Spears and her extensions showing shocked me, I never even knew that's how they were done, and it looked awful to have that in your hair! She seems to always be getting photographed with her hair is a real mess. I'm kind of glad, it makes me feel better about my real life NOT movie star hair.

[thankyousir74]

bgarrisson, I've read all your posts and I can't help but agree all the way with your mini-rants, as well as many of the other discussing these realities. As a girl growing up in these digitally and surgically enhanced times, I'm glad that I can take in my breath and say that all these media-induced wants aren't real. Not just the celebrity bodies, the hair, the lack of wrinkeles, but that want to be like that, the want to look airbrushed and perfect, isn't real either. You know, I'm just one of those girls who like to wake up in the morning and still like how I lookin the mirror.

I admit I wasn't always so confident though, and I'm not sure what did it, but gradually, appreciation of my self and disgust/annoyance for what the media and assumed public would prefer me to look like. I know not all girls my age are so lucky to have this confidence and assurance (friends tell me all the time what i should do to look "better"), but I hope all girls of this generation realize it at one point or the other. That's kinda why I like this site so much. When it comes to long hair, care and REAL beauty wins in the long run. Real, non dyed, non straightened, heat treated hair wins. It's the art of appreciation of the hair your body produces and the embracing of your hair type to make it look its best.

but yeah.. end rant.

[noelgirl]

I asked my hair dresser about extensions, and she said there are many different ways to put them in (weave, glue). She said the glued in ones are the quickest, but are SO damaging. Basically, if you glue in extensions, you have to cut your hair above where you glued them in...so in reality, your hair will be shorter than before.

I thought Jennifer Aniston cut her hair short due to damage from extensions she wore in a movie. I have all the seasons of Friends, and in the audio commentaries, the hair dresser said they gave her a bob (I think after her split with Brad), and she really hated it because she loved her long hair/hide behind it. She'd had extensions just the season before (very long hair) for a movie called Rockstar? I'm assuming they damaged her hair.

That couldn't have been after her split then, because it was definitely during Friends (around season 7 IIRC) and her divorce was after Friends ended. I think it was right after the wedding, actually.

Aaaaand I'll go back to my cave. I have given this entirely too much thought :p

[Kayleena]

Hi to all! :bluesmile Manderly, you definitely have company, & it definitely is not fair. :agree: I'll join you for the "whine." :bottomsup: I’ve been discouraged about that very thing for many years, especially because I still try occasionally to make my hair look like that & I don’t have the skills. Your hair looks good, BTW. I just wish the industry didn’t have such difficult-to-reproduce standards for what they say looks good. I console myself with the fact that because my hair is long, I have the “palette” – if I really need to have my hair styled that way, I can go to a stylist & hopefully get it done. Now that my hair has finally reached waist-length, it’s been comforting to see that my real hair is longer than that of many celebrities. Thanks for all the encouraging words in this thread! Hope everyone has a good hair day soon! – **Lady Kayleena Victoria of the Performance Stage in the Order of the Long-Haired Knights**