Make it all about your hair

We grabbed women off the street in Manhattan with our celeb stylist, New York City's Gad Cohen, and gave them cuts that felt like them. First up: 33-year-old business exec Nadia Rawlinson. Her New Year's goal? “A chic, sophisticated hairstyle.” Although she adored her natural coils (so did we!), she requested a sleek, versatile bob that could go from the office to date night with ease. Her hairspiration? “Michelle Obama!” After blow-drying and flat-ironing, Cohen gave her a beveled cut that blows in the wind. “I also deep-conditioned her hair and then used straightening balm before blow-drying,” says Cohen. “It helps when the humidity hits.”

"A haircut in public. Crazy! I was like 'Oh my God' and 'Yay!' at once."

Her Go-Straight Tool Kit René Furterer Paris Karité Intense Nourishing Mask ($28 for 3.4 oz., beauty.com) Phyto Phytodéfrisant Botanical Relaxing Balm ($26, sephora.com)

When we spotted her, Kristin Queathem, 27, was going for the Kardashian hair look. “And I wasn't pulling it off!” she says. “It was long and messy with no real style, but I was too paranoid to cut it.” Queathem was so paranoid, in fact, that she almost backed out of the makeover. Luckily, Cohen eased her short-hair fears with one word: Gisele. “Once he mentioned her, I knew I'd love it,” she says. After taking off enough length to create some shape (seven inches, to be exact), Cohen sprayed volumizer on her damp hair and set it on large self-grip rollers. He used a blow-dryer to speed drying, then released her hair into sexy bedroom waves.

"Finally I'm not hiding behind my long, messy mermaid hair anymore."

Her Hot-Curls Essentials Conair Mega Self Grip Rollers ($11, at drugstores) Redken Guts 10 Root Targeted Volume Spray Foam ($17, redken.com for salons)

Glamour style editor Tracey Lomrantz Lester, 31, does up to three TV appearances a week. Her makeover wish: more grown-up, authoritative hair. “If you want to be taken seriously, you have to look the part,” she says. Cohen went for a choppy bob with long, jagged layers that's camera-ready at all times. “Letting go of my long hair was intimidating, but once I did, it was like hitting the refresh button,” says Lomrantz Lester. “It's the same me, but fresher, sexier, newer.” For styling, Cohen spritzed a volumizer and hairspray on her roots to add texture, then blow-dried her hair upside down, scrunching with his fingers.

"I was nervous! But once he spun me around to see the cut, I was ecstatic!"

Her Texture Builders John Frieda Luxurious Volume Blow-Dry Lotion Root Booster ($6.50, at drugstores) L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray Strong Hold ($15, at drugstores)

After a botched chemical straightening treatment, Nicole Tinnon, 21, had spent a year hiding her damaged hair behind headbands, hats, and loads of styling gel. Not good when you're an in-demand model! But Cohen knew just what to do about her mane: give it a wispy pixie. “I knew it would bring out the sexy, androgynous thing she has going on,” says Cohen. As 12 inches of ponytail fell away in front of a cheering crowd, “we saw her cheekbones, eyes, and beautiful long neck,” he says. Styling cream and pomade gave her ends a messy finish. Tinnon's verdict? “Now instead of covering my hair, I feel proud of it.”

"When the ponytail came off, I just felt so free."

Her Sexy, Messy Musts Kiehl's Stylist Series Creme With Silk Groom ($30, kiehls.com) Bumble and Bumble Semisumo ($27, bumble and bumble.com)