The Evolution of a Hairstyle (3)

Halle Berry's short hair — Photos by PR Photos

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The first photo, taken in 1992 at the MTV Video Music Awards, shows one of Halle Berry's earlier looks. Close-cropped at the sides and nape of the neck, the hair is styled to fullness and greater length at the parietal ridge and top of the head with soft curls.

The other photos are all from a similar period for Ms. Berry, showing her first with a short, choppy razor cut, styled to flare out for a sassy, contemporary look. The style is great for Ms. Berry in that it draws attention to her strongest, most attractive features—her lovely, expressive eyes and dramatic cheekbones.

Halle Berry's short hair in a choppy razor cut — Photos by PR Photos

The style soon evolved as the hair is lightened and has grown slightly longer, although the cut and styling remain identical to the original style. Even with the added length, the style still flatters and draws the viewer's attention to the greatest features of Ms. Berry's face.

The fourth style is an obviously festive updo created through the technique of twisting the hair in patterned sections to the back of the scalp, ending in a quasi-fall of tight, springy curls. From appearances, this style may have been executed after allowing the hair to grow a little more.

Halle Berry's longer hair with natural-looking curls — Photos by PR Photos

The first photo above shows Halle Berry's hair grown long and styled in a very natural-looking curly wave pattern. The idea that the hair has been grown out is only an assumption because the three previous photos are undated, and we have no way of knowing the precise length of time between them and this more current photo, dated July 2004.

I make the point only because advances in cosmetic technologies and techniques have given us the ability to make dramatic and utterly natural-looking additions to the length of the hair.

It is entirely possible that the three previous photos are from the same general time frame as the photo above. The fusion method of hair extensions would have allowed Ms. Berry to go from gamine-short hair to mid-back length hair in a matter of hours. If, however, the hair was indeed naturally grown, it would require at least two years to achieve, give or take regular trimming (and gives us an indication of approximately when the three previous photos might have been taken).

A good stylist, trained in fusion-bonding extensions, can create natural-looking shades and colors of hair by combining different shades of hair strands and can even bypass the need for further chemical processing or wave pattern styling by using hair that has an almost infinite variety of wave patterns and curl sizes.

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