So let’s talk hair. Curls, cuts, color and casting.

Hair is one of those things I think that we take for granted. Any regular person with a regular job can switch their hair from a lengthy brunette to blonde bob in an instant with no repercussions. Obviously, we are all our own people and have to make choices for ourselves.

I only bring this up because I was at dinner talking with my friends who are also in the same predicament. We have curls, but work more with smooth hair, but still get called in for jobs where sporting our natural curls might be best. So what is one to do?

I have found that for me, a consistent hair style has worked best. I have fine, curly hair, and know that my hair in particular for my career choice, is best as a neutral style with a neutral cut and neutral color. You may want to refer to my previous post about being confident in yourself and knowing exactly who you are first to help your casting here.

I’ve always wanted to do tons of infused extensions, get keratin treatments to permanently smooth my curly hair, Brazilian blow out, balayage, everything. However, I know that for my job and for my casting, those don't work for me. I have a variety of castings that I go out for, some a high powered PR person to a detective to a mom in a post-apocalyptic show, (read: very little hair and makeup). If I had a perfect blow out, or so many extensions, that might not work great for me and my casting. I need to be able to wear my hair naturally in its versatile styles, so while the struggle is real to keep it smooth (or perfectly air-dried ringlets!) I have made that choice to skip those treatments. I get to add some extensions if I feel compelled, no biggie. I have the freedom to be versatile and most importantly, show up to my audition or set with what my hair looks like in my headshot.

SPEAKING OF HEADSHOTS…

Every time you change your hair, you need new headshots. Now, everyone is at different stages in life, but a good cut and color in L.A. will cost upwards of either $125 or $250. That’s basic, not including beautiful hand styled baylage or color, extensions, treatments, etc. And you’re likely having to get that done every 6-8 weeks to maintain that it looks that great (hello gray’s!). Then, add your headshots, $300 and up, retouching, and let us not forget the convenient uploading of all the headshots your reps are happy with that are at either $10 or $15 a piece per picture per site (there’s about three.) So then we’re talking about $600 to change your hair.

I’m old school, but you better let your reps know that you’re going blonde, or red, or brunette. Not that they will dictate your hairstyle change, they probably won’t care and support you regardless, but they do need to be informed. It’s important that they’re informed because they are the ones who are pitching you. If you’re known as the girl with the platinum pixie cut or the girl with the blunt red bangs and a bob then suddenly you’ve gone blonde with extensions and you’re tanning… your casting will likely change.

But what about a wig?

And yes, you can always wear a wig, but if you are going to commit to hat, make sure you are using a high-quality wig that hair stylists can work with, and know that your reps know it’s a wig, too. (IMO).

If you study some of your favorite actresses, you’ll notice they maintain and have a versatile natural hairstyle for a while. That’s because that’s they’re calling card. Even if they’re going from a light blonde to a deeper blonde, it’s news. It’s like, little tiny changes, like, they’ll a bang for a while then might add a new shade that’s like, three shades up or down the scale. Just a note to take from your peers!

I love statement hair styles, LOVE. But when you are committing to that, it’s exactly that: a commitment. Make sure you’re ready to commit to for a a year, because when you go form one extreme to another, both your reps and casting all have to figure out how to read you and get you in with your new style. So before you take that leap, just consider things other than being trendy.

Have a BEAUTIFUL week!

xox,