Five short years ago, I was one hot mess. I had just graduated from college, so I was still used to $1 beers, all you can eat Skyline on Tuesday and $5 haircuts. Luckily, at the time, I was dating a guy who had a great sense of fashion and a talented hair stylist as a sister.

He took me shopping and she took me to her salon. Well, my first hair cut/color with her was actually in a basement – like some covert mission to change my identity – but I emerged from that basement a new woman.

I went to work the next day and got so many compliments. Friends and family raved. I would even get stopped by strangers asking me who cut my hair – some would even take pictures to give to their stylists. I’m not gonna lie. That felt really good.

So, I abandoned my old salon (Sassy’s in Harrison… and the tragic cuts I got from there we’ve since coined as “Sassy ‘Dos.”) And now, I truly appreciate the power of a dynamic ‘do.

With 2010 now upon us, I’ve been doing some research on new hair trends (I’m getting an itch for a new look soon), and I am noticing a resurgence of long hair. Long manes in the bouffant, braids or 20s-inspired barrel curls. As a short bob girl now, I’m starting to long for the long hair, but I don’t want to deal with the ugly “in between” phase. Plus, it can take a year or more to grow to long hair, so by then, the trend might already be on its way out.

What’s a girl to do? My sister-in-law (a former Ben-Gal cheerleader) said a lot of the girls on the squad get extensions to have lots of locks to toss around on the field. I looked into it, and the salon that does all of the Ben-Gal’s hair and hair extensions, Perfections Salon, is having an event tonight from 6-8pm about hair extensions! It’s called “Dames, Drinks and DreamCatchers” (DreamCatchers are the brand of extensions they carry).

A friend of mine and I are going! I’m really excited! They will have complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and are doing demonstrations on installation and care of the extensions. In the invite, it says they’ll install two free DreamCatcher extensions on all RSVPs (they can be expensive, so that’s a good deal!) You can still RSVP. Just call Jill at (513) 984-2555.

Who knows… the next time I post… it might be with a whole new head of hair!

*Images courtesy of The Skinny