Snooki is done with her signature hairdo
It's got to be the poof! The AKC says Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi is most like the Shih Tzu. Credit: MTV
Something will be missing when MTV's "Jersey Shore" returns for its third season tomorrow night: Snooki's pouf.
Snooki (aka Nicole Polizzi) says she ditched her signature 'do - a large hump of hair piled high on the crown of her head - earlier this year.
"I'm over the pouf, just because it's everywhere, and people always associate me with the pouf. I don't want to be known for just one hairstyle," says the reality star, who recently has been sporting a slicker style with bangs.
While Polizzi, 23, may be done with the look, that doesn't mean everyone else is. From fashion runways to red carpets, variations on the pouf have been all over in the past year, worn by everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson to Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Palin.
And, as far as Polizzi's concerned, it's all "very flattering."
Nevertheless, she seems intent on moving away from it.
Encouraged by her hairstylist, Antonio Luis Rosa, Polizzi says she's going for a "more mature, sleek look" that is "still my style, but maybe more conservative."
Rosa, who's opening a salon in Manhattan next month, says the pouf was "very Audrey Hepburn, very dated, and I wanted to bring her up-to-date. I wanted her to be more modern and to look her best," he said.
As for Polizzi, the new look is in keeping with her career goals. "I feel like (for) the direction that I want to go in my career . . . this needs to happen," she says. "I want people to take me seriously. I'm not going to dress like Hillary Clinton, but like a sexy Kim Kardashian."
What other stylists say
We asked some hairstylists whether the pouf can ever be attractive:
Antonio Luis Rosa, Snooki's stylist
"It's how it's done. It's a very tricky style to carry on, because if you're wearing dated clothing or something that's not up to style and you don't look chic and then you have this big ol' pouf, you're just a big ol' train wreck."
Jamie Mazzei, creative director of NuBest Salon and Spa, Manhasset
"That's definitely not one of my favorite styles. It requires a lot of teasing and backcombing. It's not like high fashion for me. . . . The crown of the head is the highest part of the head, so why do I want to accentuate that more without bringing balance to the rest of the hair?"
Josephine Abbatiello, hair stylist and makeup artist at Salon Blue, Mineola
"I'm wearing one right now! It totally gives you a different face shape and shows more of your face, cheekbones. . . . I think the whole Snooki pouf thing is dying down, but volume is never really going to go away. The majority of women don't want pin-straight hair." - LAUREN HARRISON
Need a little lift?
Here are products that can help you get the look:
Diane Hair Donut, $3.50-$3.99 depending on size, available at most local beauty supply stores
The donut is a product made of nylon mesh, rolled into a circular shape, and used to add volume and structure to hairstyles after it is pinned in place.
Conair Hi-Styles Volume & Lift Hair Volume Builder Insert, $4.99, available at many Walgreens stores and online at walgreens.com
This semicircular product has teeth like a comb that secure it in place at the crown of the head, and an arch with smaller teeth that allow teased hair to lay over the insert.
Bumpits Hair Volumizing Leave-In Inserts, $9.99, available at many ULTA beauty stores and online at ulta.com
This semicircular product is secured by small teeth at the crown, and an arch with small teeth allows teased hair to lay over the insert.
- LAUREN HARRISON
