Hair Dare: 30 Days, 30 Styles

I wear my hair the same way every day — wavy with sideswept bangs. It’s not that I don’t like mixing it up, but I’ve come to the point where I have it down. I know what looks good, I know what’s easy, and I keep it that way.

But about a month ago, I realized I was in a total hair funk. As Tim Gunn would say, my look was very “one note.” All of my poor bobby pins, headbands and clips were getting dusty on my shelf, and while I had the wavy, Zooey Deschanel-hair figured out, it was getting soooo boring.

So with the help of my digital camera (thank goodness it had an automatic timer – my roomie would not have been happy if I made her photograph me outside my New York apartment in 15-degree, snowy weather!), I took on the Beauty Riot hair makeover challenge — 30 days, 30 different styles. Whew. For the first couple of days it was easy trying looks not too far from my comfort zone, but towards the end I grew weary, forced to take risks (see day eight, I was feeling a little out of my element with that one).

Through it all, though, I’ve come out with some snappy new styles and fallen in love with looks I never thought I would go for (check out day 22). Plus, it’s amazing how mixing up your hair can really make every day feel different — in a good way. And on the last week in, I went shopping at Henri Bendel, and instead of being sucked right into the jewelry department, I went straight for the hair baubles. I guess you could say I’m officially out of my hair rut. Read on to see more popular hairstyles and tips to keep your hair from being “one note.”