People often say that when it comes to lifestyle, Texas and New York are on two opposite ends of the spectrum.
As a person who used to live in Dallas and now lives in New York City, I can personally attest that they're more like two different planets — and nothing makes that more obvious than when it comes to hair. Specifically, the largest and highest acceptable volume for hair.
By and large, Texas and New York have REALLY different ideas about what constitutes "big hair." They say everything is bigger in Texas, but is it really? Is Texan big hair on the insane level pop culture makes it out to be?
What exactly DOES "big hair" mean to stylists in both states?
I got blowouts in New York City and in my hometown of Dallas to find out once and for all.
I began my adventure at the top-rated Pouf Blowout Salon in Dallas, Texas. There, I asked my stylist Cheryl to give me what she considered to be "big, voluminous waves."
I immediately knew based on the name, location (North Dallas is prime location for debutante and socialite types), and glowing reviews that I just needed to try this place. I figured if I couldn't get Texas-level volume at a place literally called Pouf, than the big-hair hype had to be a myth.
I instantly knew I was in for something real big, though, when she rough-dried my hair by grabbing my roots and pulling them upward.
The direction I gave her after all, was literally just: "Give me what you give someone who walked in here and demanded sky-high hair." She did not disappoint.
She then used a ceramic barrel brush to blow-dry my hair straight and upward...
... Which left me looking like a Bumpit commercial from 2007 gone wrong.
You know what they say in Texas: The higher the hair, the closer to God!!! If that phrase is true, I was shaking hands with him/her/them (can God even have a gender, really) at this exacty moment.
Ironically, while all of this was happening, I sat directly in front this sign that read, "Sorry, I can't hear you over the volume of my hair."
I can't make this stuff up, folks!
But thankfully, Cheryl wasn't done yet — she took a curling iron to my comedically large hair, brushed it all out, and sprayed down my roots with hair spray.
If my hair were longer, a blowout of this nature would make much more sense. But I snapped and got a haircut immediately after making this Blowout appointment. Whoops!
The final result? GIGANTIC HAIR.
She concentrated all of the volume toward the back of my hair, and it's the closest thing to a beehive I'll ever have.
This 'do honestly felt HUGE to me at first, but after it settled with me, I grew to love it.
Next stop: Bull in the Heather Salon in Greenpoint, one of the swankier neighborhoods in New York City's Brooklyn borough.
Full disclosure: This is my regular salon, where I stop frequently for cuts and color treatments. They know me and my hair styling tastes particularly well here.
There, my stylist Paige rough-dried my hair the same way: by pulling my hair straight upward.
I'm seeing a pattern here …
But her brush technique was WAY different — unlike Cheryl, Paige used a boar-bristle round brush and pulled the bottom layers of my hair in every direction.
Then, as she got to the top layers, she began pulling upward and forward. She also parted my hair far to the right instead of the center.
After using a flat-iron to amp up the waves she'd created with the round brush, I was left with hair that was big in a completely different way.
Much like the Dallas blowout had me feeling, I couldn't help but feel rather silly at the sheer height of my hair. But again, it grew on me in mere minutes.
There wasn't as much pure volume in this style as there was in a Texas blowout, but it was all concentrated to the front and side of my hair, and the waves were far less distinct.
I couldn't choose a favorite between New York and Texas. Each state's voluminous look has its own distinct style — and those styles work for two very different social settings.
I wore my Pouf-y Dallas hair to a very formal graduation ceremony with family. Meanwhile, I wore my relaxed Brooklyn hair around the city for a laid-back day of errands followed by a typical night out at my favorite dive bar. Both were perfect for the occasion at hand.
But I suppose the saying is true — everything is a *little* bit bigger in Texas.
Or at least it is when it comes to the hair.
