SPORTING a wig is no longer restricted to women in the glamour field or to those who may be losing hair. It has become an integral part of dressing up for an occasion — a necessary fashion accessory meant to enhance your looks like any other.

So you can have your choice from trendy burns, bobs, curls and full and half switches in black, brown, blonde, white (the Madonna look) and even red, pink, blue and purple. Some such synthetic (and hence, washable) hairpieces are available in a mix of seven bright colours!

But then, that’s when you want to go real funky. The big news now is the options you have in looking stylish while keeping your hair natural. You need not go to a professional hair stylist to decide what’s good for you. With available knowhow, you can decide upon the look that suits your face and goes with your lifestyle.

Let’s start with the most common shoulder-length hair, which is very straight and sits flat on your head. Clearly, you would need to get some body into it — make the hair look bouncy and vibrant, regardless of whether you face is long and thin or round and chubby.

In such cases, how much can you back comb? It cannot be an everyday ritual. So your only option is go in for chemical treatment. But before embarking on such a drastic course, decided on what you would like your hair to look at the end. And this is where your creativity comes to play.

The safest way out is to section the hair and put it on spiral rods to create all the wild curls you want. That is, of course, a spiral set to show what a spiral perm would eventually look like. A spiral set can last for two to four days and a perm, for up to six months.

For the perm, you have to be sure you can look after the curls. A wild look does not mean you can afford to be careless with your hair. Besides you need time and patience to work on a style for a little carelessness can ruin the hair beyond repair.

If this should sound risky, you could try out some cuts. For those who habitually tie long, straight hair into ponytails, a bit of layering can work wonder. Just clip at the bottom of the strands to get a flip-out and see the difference it makes to your face.

But there are precautions that must be borne in mind. The hair in the crown area ought to be swept in. And the back of the crown area can be gently back-combed with the hair thrown back to give body on top of the head.

This way, the cut looks very settled and elegant, much like the look of the sixties’ Hollywood movies. If you part it wrong and throw all the hair back, you would lose the style. Moreover, the area above the forehead needs to be flattened so as to carry an air of sophistication.

This style does not have to be blow-dried every day and neither does it require rollers. It stays the way it is cut. The look is one that can be done only on straight hair and goes perfectly with facial features marked by high cheekbones.

At the other extreme, there is the curly, bushy hair that needs to be straightened out with chemical treatment. The problem with such hair is that it draws attention to itself and suppresses the facial features. Your only option here is to create the effect of straight hair while letting the curls be.

The way this can be done is by cutting the hair and layering the front out. Keep the parting irregular and straighten the hair out with ironing plates. Without washing, this style can be carried for a week. And should you want to persist with it, go in for chemical treatment.

There’s also the wildly curly, problematic hair, typical of most South Indians. Here again, the tendency would be towards straightening with chemical treatment, but if it goes wrong, the hair could fall out in bunches. In such cases, consult a good dermatologist who can advise on how best to treat your hair.

Ideally, layer the hair gently at the bottom and around the face for chemical treatment. After treatment, there are three ‘musts’ for keeping your hair healthy and shiny: oiling before a shampoo, conditioning it afterwards and getting a neat trim every month without fail. (MF)