Part 2

Halle Berry, Natalie Portman and Anne Hathaway’s fetching pixie cuts have persuaded women to ask me if they should have their hair done the same way, too. The reason is that it looks cool, stylish, easy to maintain,  makes one look younger, etc.

Personally, I feel women look prettier with longer hair 90 percent of the time, and their Hollywood pegs are quite unrealistic.

But if you are determined to have short hair, be ready to spend more and go to an expert precision stylist for the following reasons:

Face shape counts. Women who look good with short cuts usually have tiny oval, longish or heart-shaped faces. So, if your face shape is none of the three, the stylist will find a suitable short cut for you that will still flatter your face. Short hair is particularly challenging if you have a wide, round or square face.

Hair texture. If you have wavy or curly hair, a precision stylist is needed to work with your waves so your hair won’t grow out looking messy and all puffed up at the wrong place.

Short hair is not low maintenance. If you want to keep the style, you have to see the stylist every four weeks to trim out the shaggy overgrowths and those wisps covering the top of your ears.

If you want to grow it out, a short hair expert’s cut looks less awkward and your stylist can help you style it, so that it will look like your hair was done that way on purpose.

The right hair for your face shape. Your facial features matter a lot, including the eyes, nose, chin, neck… Again, the right stylist would have studied all your flaws so he or she can work around them.

Not all precision stylists enjoy working with short hair since it is not their forte. There is one I have seen at work; word of mouth from happy customers have convinced me to recommend Mr. Dan Tee, international style director of LPK Premier salon, who was hired from New York where men and women want their hair short and chic.

Whether the cut is a cute pixie, geometric, with sideburns, or short on the sides but full on top, name it, Tee can do it. If you bring a picture of the style you want and he feels it won’t suit you, he has no qualms about telling you so. But he will suggest an alternative, maybe with a color change to give you the desired effect.

Dan has worked with top salon brands in New York and New Jersey for 23 years and has served as an international creative director for Toni & Guy salons and Franck Provost Manila.

Those who want to try short hair for the first time might want to take the plunge with Tee (tel. 8479520).