The best virtual hairstylers
June 2nd 2010 00:06
There was a time, pre-Internet era, when if you wanted to know what you'd look like with a new cut or colour, you had little choice but to take the plunge and try it. Sometimes you'd be lucky, other times not so, and if you wanted to see what you'd look like with longer hair your only option was to wear a wig! But thanks to continual improvements in web technology, there are now plenty of virtual hairstylers available on the Internet which allow you to experiment with a new style, minus the risk of a major hair disaster. Here are my favourite virtual hairstylers, which I consider the best on the web in terms of variations in style and overall accuracy.
People's Style Watch Instant Makeover page is a good place to start. Powered by taaz.com, it's free to use, is regularly updated with new celebrity hairstyles, and you can play around with different makeup looks as well (though these are usually less realistic than the hairstyles). You can compare and contrast your before-and-after pics, post your new look on facebook, print it, email it, and even add a magazine cover to it. Not really sure why you'd want to do that but hey, the option is there!
The Cosmopolitan Virtual Hairstyler and the Instyle one are great in terms of variation of styles and updated celebrity looks too. There's also plenty of articles on these sites that can give you further inspiration as to which real life hairstyle is the right one for you, and as with the People site, they're absolutely, one hundred per cent free.
The downside of these free sites? Depending on your connection speed, there can be a lag between selecting your style, and seeing what it looks like on your photo. Also if your browser is prone to dodginess (hello, Explorer!) you'll find that it won't like these sites so much; it may freeze or do that charming thing where it closes and gives you the option to send an error report that no-one will ever read.
In addition, you'll find that the lighting used in the celebrity photos will usually be much stronger than the lighting used in the photo you've uploaded yourself, so a certain amount of colour compensation is necessary before you can achieve a realistic-looking image. This can be done by most of the virtual hairstyling programs, but will take a bit of time and practice to get just right.
If you really want to get serious about your virtual hair styling, however, you can't go past The Hairstyler. This site has literally thousands of hairstyles to choose from - all quite realistic and frequently updated, and there's men's styles available there too. You can also get opinions from other users, upload as many photos as you want, and get a consultation from a professional stylist as well. Naturally, a site this good will not be free (it's $14.95 for three months) but it is by far the most comprehensive virtual hairstyler available on the net, at the time of writing.
As with most areas of life, the better prepared you are, the greater your chances of success. While using a virtual hairstyler is never going to be the same as the real thing, it is as close as you can get without taking any risks, and the programs just keep getting better year after year. Virtual hairstylers can also provide you with ideas that had never occurred to you previously, and can be a lot of fun to use as well. You've gotta love technology!
Love the sleek bob Ashley Greene was wearing last year? Now you can try it on.
People's Style Watch Instant Makeover page is a good place to start. Powered by taaz.com, it's free to use, is regularly updated with new celebrity hairstyles, and you can play around with different makeup looks as well (though these are usually less realistic than the hairstyles). You can compare and contrast your before-and-after pics, post your new look on facebook, print it, email it, and even add a magazine cover to it. Not really sure why you'd want to do that but hey, the option is there!
The Cosmopolitan Virtual Hairstyler and the Instyle one are great in terms of variation of styles and updated celebrity looks too. There's also plenty of articles on these sites that can give you further inspiration as to which real life hairstyle is the right one for you, and as with the People site, they're absolutely, one hundred per cent free.
The downside of these free sites? Depending on your connection speed, there can be a lag between selecting your style, and seeing what it looks like on your photo. Also if your browser is prone to dodginess (hello, Explorer!) you'll find that it won't like these sites so much; it may freeze or do that charming thing where it closes and gives you the option to send an error report that no-one will ever read.
In addition, you'll find that the lighting used in the celebrity photos will usually be much stronger than the lighting used in the photo you've uploaded yourself, so a certain amount of colour compensation is necessary before you can achieve a realistic-looking image. This can be done by most of the virtual hairstyling programs, but will take a bit of time and practice to get just right.
If you really want to get serious about your virtual hair styling, however, you can't go past The Hairstyler. This site has literally thousands of hairstyles to choose from - all quite realistic and frequently updated, and there's men's styles available there too. You can also get opinions from other users, upload as many photos as you want, and get a consultation from a professional stylist as well. Naturally, a site this good will not be free (it's $14.95 for three months) but it is by far the most comprehensive virtual hairstyler available on the net, at the time of writing.
As with most areas of life, the better prepared you are, the greater your chances of success. While using a virtual hairstyler is never going to be the same as the real thing, it is as close as you can get without taking any risks, and the programs just keep getting better year after year. Virtual hairstylers can also provide you with ideas that had never occurred to you previously, and can be a lot of fun to use as well. You've gotta love technology!
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