Computer imaging helps bride choose 'do

By Pamela Ferris-Olson
For the Dayton Daily News

Siobhan Meadows went into the hair salon a brunette and came out a blonde with hair piled high on her head. She also emerged as a redhead with shoulder-length curls.

It wasn't that the 24-year-old Greenville High School English teacher couldn't make up her mind. She simply wanted the opportunity to try a number of different looks in order to find the right one for her wedding.

Meadows, with the help of Holly Rose Hogan, a hair designer at O'Neys Salon and Spa, 30 W. Rahn Road in Washington Twp., used computer technology to visualize how different hairstyles and colors would look on her. The bride-to-be eventually selected seven styles for Hogan to print. Meadows now can spend the next few months seeking the opinions of friends, family and maybe even fiancé Kevin McGirr before she commits to the style she'll wear down the aisle Aug. 13.

The printout offered a preview of how Meadows might look in her wedding photographs. "Those will probably be the most expensive pictures, I'll ever have," she said.

Meadows sat in front of a digital camera, her face displayed on a computer screen.

Rose asked what type of hairstyle Meadows was considering for her special day. An up-do was her top choice. Rose smiled.

"Well let's start with the most hideous and get the laughs out," Rose said. The image on the screen showed Meadows with a huge pile of hair on the top of her head.

Everyone laughed.

Meadows has been flipping through magazines and marking pages with hair-dos she likes. Before she heard about cyber imaging, the future bride expected to do a trial run with each hairdo to pick the best one. Meadows thought the computer program provided her a better alternative.

"When you look in a mirror, it is hard to be objective. Looking at a picture is like other people looking at you," Meadows said.

After Rose created several up-dos on Meadows, she switched to looser hair styles. Meadows saw one she really liked (lower photo, second from left) and thought the lighter hair color was becoming, too.

Rose suggested that any hair color be applied two weeks prior to the wedding. This would allow enough time for the color to soften and look more natural.

In less than an hour and for a cost of $35, Meadows had the chance to see herself in several dozen hairstyles with varying shades of brown, blond and red. Meadows said the process has made selecting a wedding day hairdo easier and more fun.

One thing the computer program can't do for her is make the final decision. But Meadows is optimistic about this prospect.

"When you have this in your hand," Meadow said, holding up a card showing her with seven different hairstyles, "I can really get people's honest opinions."