Catherine O'Hara: Hair Secrets

Introduction

Catherine O'Hara is one of those "shadow" people in the entertainment business I like to track and study.

In case you may not have noticed (my editors all have) I love to "discover" shadow dwellers since they offer lots of great new writing material and I get bored easily. Plus I hate following the media pack.

No, I promise I don't stalk shadow dwellers, unless of course they are celebrity hairdressers, and that's another story for another day.

Shadow folks are often around for years although not as obvious as other people.

All of a sudden, one day, the spotlight catches a glimpse of them and WHAM, they're an overnight success. Or so it may seem, even though overnight success stories are an urban legend.Never mind the fact they have been toiling hard for years to make it.

Catherine O'Hara can currently be seen as the truly spectacular Marilyn Hack in the latest film For Your Consideration, by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.

In her role as Marilyn the spotlight shines brightly on this fabulously funny, and very underrated actress (so where's her Oscar anyway?) who has been hugging the industry's shadows for way too long. Catherine's Marilyn is nothing short of spectacular and yes, definitely worthy of some acting awards, in my humble opinion anyway.

Catherine's Hair Transformation In Consideration

Catherine as Marilyn transforms in a variety of amazing ways (yes her hair changes as well) throughout the film as a result of a big media buzz about the possibility of receiving a big acting award for her work as a blind prostitute in the fictional film, "Home for Purim".

My well documented hair mania was instantly triggered by For Your Consideration sneak previews.

Not only is Catherine a fascinating study but all of the hair in the movie has twists of bizarreness.

One of my favorite actors Eugene Levy sports a rather strange hairdo as a crazy agent to the character Victor Allan Miller. Parker Posey is also coiffed in a series of outrageous styles for the film.

The film's hairdressers, stylists and make-up artists did an amazing job on the entire cast.

And speaking of the cast, it is packed to overflowing with tons of great entertainers too long to mention here. The movie is a must see just because of Catherine and Eugene.

Who Is Catherine O'Hara?

Catherine O'Hara was one of seven children born March 4, 1954 in Ontario, Canada and is a third generation Irish Catholic Canadian.

She has been acting since 1980 and appeared in dozes of supporting roles during that time. Catherine also has provided various voices for animated film roles including Chicken Little and Over The Hedge.

One of my favorite Catherine roles was as Christine Valco in Surviving Christmas. She played the unhappily married harried mom to a family that agrees to rent themselves out to Ben Affleck for the Christmas Holidays.

At one point Christine agrees to let Affleck's character pay for a completely makeover and model shoot. The resulting scenes with Catherine were hilarious. One of her greatest talents is making all sorts of crazy facial expressions.

She is also fantastic in two of the two Home Alone movies but in interviews with the media has promised that art does not imitate life with her own two sons (9 and 12 years old).

Her face is might be recognizable, especially if you love Christopher Guest films. This very funny lady has been in Waiting For Guffman, Best in Show and A Mighty Wind.

If you pop into IMDB and type her name you will be amazed at how many shadows this talented (and very underrated) actress has been hugging.

Catherine's Hair Secrets

In various interviews Catherine has indicated she is not a fan of needles other than those used in acupuncture treatments.

She has also implied her interests in maintaining her honey blonde highlighted tresses, which appear to have a beautiful natural wave, is minimal.

I wouldn't be surprised that Catherine is a low maintenance type of hair wearer. Besides having two young sons and a marriage to a very successful Hollywood writer, Catherine is busy with lots of acting and voice work.

The no muss, no fuss textured hairstyles that Catherine wears on the Red Carpet are perfect for her busy lifestyle as well as looking softly elegant for her various fashions.

Although Catherine has appeared with sleek straight tresses, she also shows off some beautiful waves and curls that have a slightly tousled feel.

Steal Catherine's Soft Wavy Texture

Catherine's face shape is basically oval but she has a slightly prominent chin and strong forehead.

As a result, she looks best with hairstyles that extend to the tops of her shoulders or longer. She varies her style with different types of parts.

The multi-talented performer has gorgeous sparkling blue eyes and a stunning smile that play well with her blonde hair.

Catherine has a great girl-next-door aura. Her just-below-the-shoulder length hair is soft and shiny but not too sexy for a mom of two young boys.

It appears that Catherine's hair is naturally wavy.

Her mane could be styled with a diffuser attached to a blow dryer to encourage natural texture or she could wash it and then scrunch it.

Another option is to blow dry it using a round brush to encourage volume and movement finishing with a curling iron run vertically through her tresses to create loose waves.

Step By Step Instructions

Follow the steps listed below to re-create Catherine's soft wavy texture.

Keep in mind that anyone with natural curls and waves would need to be temporarily straightened with a paddle or flat brush and then curled along the ends with hot rollers or a curling iron.

Naturally straight strands would need to be blown out with a round brush to add fullness and movement and the ends would require curling.

1. Shampoo and condition natural curls with products created for your hair texture, type and current condition. If your strands are excessively dry, which naturally curls might be, use products to add back moisture.

If your hair is colored or chemically treated be sure to use products that address these special needs to prevent the development of additional dryness or damage.

2. Finish with a cool/cold water rinse to close the cuticle and help add natural shine.

3. Towel blot - do not rub - hair with an absorbent towel. Remove excess moisture so that hair is damp but not dripping.

Note: If you wish to add volume products, apply a volumizing spray like PhytoVolume Actif or similar to your roots. Finger pick and massage the volumizing products through the root area.

4. Depending on your specific natural curl type and condition apply a moisturizing heat protecting conditioner or a product cocktail which includes a leave-in conditioner and/or defrisant product along with a straightening balm (if your hair is wavy or curly) or a styling mousse (if you have straight strands and desire volume, natural bend and texture).

5. Separate hair into individual 2" sections. Clip remainder of hair out of the way.

Start at the back and using a Boar's bristle paddle brush (paddle to straighten or round to add volume) direct air flow from a blow dryer with an attached concentrator down the shaft of the hair to seal the cuticle and add shine.

6. After each section is 100% dry, roll around a large curler or into a free form pin curl.

Pin to the scalp and continue to blow dry the remaining hair.

7. When all of the hair is dry, remove the pin curls.

Bend over at the waist and run fingers that have been lightly coated with shine serum through the strands.

8. Flip hair back over and arrange with fingers or wide tooth pick.

9. Use a curling iron (or hot rollers if you prefer) and create random curls along the bottom of the style.

10. Allow curls to cool and then tousle lightly with fingers.

11. Finish with a spritz of hairspray for hold and to prevent frizz.

Optional Tips & Looks

If you want a soft cascade of waves "in an instant" but have no time to curl your hair check out the latest Ken Paves and Jessica Simpson HairDo™ options from HairUWear.

Ken and Jessica Simpson developed a spectacular line of clip-in hair that can transform your hair in a matter of minutes with no permanent changes.

It's easy to steal Catherine's soft waves if you select either the 23 inch HairDo™ Synthetic Wavy Clip-in Extension or the 21 inch HairDo in Human Hair in a variety of gorgeous hues.

Steps To Add A HairDo™ Piece:

1. Prepare the texture of your own hair to match the texture of your add-on piece.

2. Create a horizontal part from temple to temple near the crown.

3. Clip your top hair up and out of the way.

4. Wrap your bottom strands into a few flat pin curls. Secure well.

5. Simply snap on the HairDo piece.

6. Unclip your top hair and integrate it with the added HairDo piece.

7. Finger tousle and you're finished.

8. If desired, finish the style with a gorgeous silk or real flower, a jewel encrusted barrette or similar clip or pin placed near the hairline.

Summary

Catherine O'Hara is a multi-talented comedic actress with a dizzying array of funny faces and fantastic dry wit. She also happens to have beautiful blonde tresses. Be sure to see her new movie, For Your Consideration.

If you haven't seen Surviving Christmas or the two Home Alone movies, be sure and head over to your friendly video store and catch her fantastic performances. And who knows, maybe some day we'll see her winning a much deserved Oscar statue.

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