Makeovers remind us of classic episodes of America’s Next Top Model where Tyra unveils the transformation she has in store for the models. The models cry out of happiness, fear, and sometimes horror, and we love every drama-filled moment. Unfortunately, life is not ANTM, and Tyra is not free to weigh in on all of our hairstyles. Instead, we talked to collegiettes who have changed up their hairstyles in major ways and they are here to help us make the decision: to chop or not to chop?
1. The Blonde Pixie
Twiggy made this style fashionable decades ago, and it’s still super trendy!
During her freshman year of college, Chloe Lustig, a sophomore at the University of California, Los Angeles, went from shoulder-length hair to a short pixie cut. “I had been wanting to make a drastic change to my hair for a while,” Chloe says. “I had a Pinterest board of cute short cuts and everything! My mom has a very short haircut, and we look similar, so I knew that if I chopped my hair off, it wouldn’t look crazy.”
Chloe also says she felt like it was the right time to go for the pixie because she’d seen Jennifer Lawrence do it and it was becoming a trendy look. But she also says to give this kind of drastic chop-off some thought: “For a lot of girls, hair is like a safety net—if you cut a lot of it off at once, you may freak out! If you’re interested in going shorter, I’d say go for it, but in steps.” So make a Pinterest board, or even an old school collage of magazine cutouts, and make sure the pixie is right for you.
2. The Lob
Some of our favorite fashionable celebs are rocking long bobs these days, like Olivia Palermo, Emma Stone, Elizabeth Olsen and Rose Byrne. Lee Martin, a sophomore at Christopher Newport University, decided to go with something different from the long hair she’s had since elementary school, so she cut her hair off to her shoulder.
“After I cut it off, I never looked back,” Lee says. “I got so many compliments, and people now can’t even imagine me with long hair because it would just look wrong. I haven’t had a single regret. I’m so much more confident, happy, and just overall more comfortable in my own skin.” Plus, she adds that her new look is so much easier to style and dry!
3. Daringly Dark
Sometimes, we feel like the color of our hair just isn’t doing enough for us. Going for a dramatically deep color can help you express your personality through your hair.
Bridget Higgins, a freshman at St. Johns University, found that her mousey brown hair needed a change. She went for the DIY option, with boxed hair dye. Initially, she was shocked because her hair went full-on black instead of a deeper brown, but she ended up embracing it. “I liked that the dark color brought out my eyes and it was such a huge change that everyone complimented it or at least commented on it,” Bridget says. You never know what you might get if you don’t take a chance!
4. The Shave
We’ve admired stars like Lupita Nyong’o, Solange Knowles and Natalie Portman who have sported shaved heads and buzz cuts. This look highlights the natural beauty of your face, focusing attention on your eyes and bone structure.
Antonia Giles, a junior at Davidson College, had sister locks for years. When she recently went abroad to Germany, this hairstyle was unfamiliar to hairstylists. So she shaved her head. “Coming back to America with a shaved head has been hard, especially in the South, where people are less accepting of black women in general,” she admits. Antonia feels that this change is perceived as an “alternative” look.
Ultimately, making the decision to go with a dramatic change can be scary; but remember, hair grows!
5. The Pixie With Highlights
A pixie cut can seem like a drastic change if you’re used to long hair, but going for this short cut can be a freeing change if you’re looking for a low maintenance, easy hairstyle.
Abigail Zeitler, a junior at The University of Texas at Austin, recently opted for a brown pixie cut with a few highlights to make her life easier on the 70-mile bike ride she has planned for the summer. She wanted a low-maintenance look.
What Abigail didn’t anticipate was the way it would make her stand out and give her a boost in self-esteem. “Confidence-wise, it’s more noticeable having short hair and being a girl because of the gender stereotypes there are today,” she says. Why not boost your confidence with a standout look like a pixie cut?
6. Locks of Love
Ever feel weighed down by your long locks? Chelle Ivancic, a freshman at DePaul University, did. That’s why she just cut 14 inches off of her hair for Locks of Love. And get this: This is her seventh time doing it! Pretty inspiring, if you ask us.
“I have extremely curly hair,” Chelle explains, “So my texture became much more present once the hair was no longer weighed down.” She even got headaches from her heavy hair! So if you’re ready to let that length go, opt for a shorter look that helps others! There are plenty of hair donation options out there.
7. The Ombré
There are so many ways to do the ombré that it can feel overwhelming to find one that works for you! Taylor Evans, a junior at Occidental College, originally went for a lighter brown shade to complement her midnight black locks, but the color turned out to be orangey-red. “I ombréd the ends of my hair before going abroad to Prague for a semester,” Taylor says. “New city, new look… As the months went on, it lightened and I loved it.”
Since then, she has gotten a haircut to keep her hair healthy, but she really misses her trendy ombré look. “It was a way of expressing my personality with a simple hairstyle, which was something I had never really done before,” Taylor says. So whether you’re looking to take on a new locale by storm this summer, or want to show the real you through some hair flair, go for this fresh and exciting style!
Is a drastic hairstyle change in your future, collegiettes? Consider all your options: You’ve got so much to work with!