Change your look in a home makeover: 5 versatile hair styles

Little girls love to play with each other's hair. Calling their game "beauty shop," or something like it, they use rollers, spray, barrettes, and a whole range of hair gadgets to experiment with a variety of looks.

Grown women enjoy experimenting with new hairstyles, too. The only problem may be time and cost, since going to the hair salon isn't free. But you can experiment at home for the cost of a few supplies like a curling iron, rollers, and hair accents of your own choosing. Try styles like these for a change. You might even find yourself dressing for the part!

1. Part your hair on the side. A side part suggests a bit of playfulness and femininity. Straight or curly, your style will look a little more trendy and perhaps coquettish when you pull the top of your hair to one side. Slip into an evening gown or a cocktail dress and watch how your personality will adopt a slightly seductive tone, which naturally should be used under the right circumstances!

2. Pull your sides back. Some women have the sides of their hair highlighted for this purpose. But even if not, you can braid the sides of your hair, roll them, or simply sweep them back for a casual but attractive look. This framing device will make your facial features more apparent, so this is a good opportunity to play up your eyes, cheeks, or mouth, or wear those special earrings you've been saving. The side sections can be blended into a pony tail or joined and braided down the back. You can form a knot of the sides and tie a ribbon around it. For a girlish effect, pull a tendril onto each cheek or in front of both ears.

3. Try an up do. You may need clips, barrettes, or hair pins to pull this off, but an up do can make you feel chic or comfortable, depending on how it's arranged and your hair's length and layers. Sweep it all into a topknot for a glamorous night on the town, combing a few curls onto your neck or along your cheeks. Or gather your hair into a chignon at the back of your neck, braiding it if possible. Practice making a French twist, using combs and pins. Or slip your locks into a casual pony tail for everyday housecleaning or errands.

4. Cut bangs or grow them out. Bangs go in and out of fashion, just like straight and curly or long and short hair fashions. Have a stylist trim a few wispy bangs for you, and if you don't like the look, let them grow out. Bangs can fall over half your forehead, be combed into one or both sides, be fluffed for a sophisticated look, or tease the eyelashes with extra length. Whatever your age, there is a style of bangs that you can try.

5. Go curly or straight. Whether your hair is normally straight or curled, try the opposite effect. While women with straight hair often get a permanent for curls, take a temporary if more extreme approach. Set your hair in styling gel and tiny rollers or pin curls, then leave it for several hours. When you remove the rollers you will have a very curly look that can be shaped any number of ways, from jazzed to cool, pulled up or left down. Add a ribbon or let it fly. You'll have fun arranging your hair's newfound body!

You don't have to become a hair stylist to arrange your locks. Wait for a creative mood and then get busy with mousse and mirror to design a new you!