If you love the clean, sexy look of shorter hair but don’t have the unearthly cheekbones of Halle Berry or Victoria Beckham to rock a pixie, you’ll be thrilled with the trends in spring hairstyles and summer do’s. Choppy, shoulder-length styles are coming into vogue -- witness Ashley Olsen’s artfully tousled locks, Gwyneth Paltrow’s edgy long bob or Amber Valleta’s versatile chop -- and the longer length means a fresh silhouette with many styling options.

The No-fuss Hairstyle Makeover
The choppy, shoulder-length hairstyle is a longer bob whose ends are cut in a jagged way, specifically tailored to each face. The hairstyle is a shorter version of the loose, carefree waves that so many stars, like Blake Lively, are wearing. “You only need to cut five or six layers off long hair to get this look,” says stylist Byron Williams of Byron and Tracy Salon. Williams points to Paltrow’s evolution from middle-of-the-back hair to a just-above-the-shoulder cut. “It’s a safer choice than most short do’s because it’s easy to grow back if you want, so you get a nice pop of change without too much of a commitment,” he says.

Not only is the longer choppy bob more forgiving than a pixie, it’s also more polished than long hair. “Long hair will never go out,” says Williams, who has tended the tresses of Ashley Olsen, Nicole Richie and Drew Barrymore. “But stars are trying out this look because it’s fresher, classier. It feels more put together and edgier at the same time.”

The shorter locks work well with spring’s barer silhouettes too. “When the sun comes out, you want to clean up a little bit,” says Shai Amiel of Capella Salon in Studio City, Calif. “You peel off your clothing layers, and with shorter hair, you can flash the skin on your back. This look is fun and playful, carefree but sophisticated too.”

Hairstyle Tweaks for Your Face Shape

• Round face Opt for a middle part and longer bangs that frame the face to create the illusion of a face that’s more oval.
• Narrow face A side part will make your face appear wider, as will shorter bangs and jagged layers that range from chin length to shoulder length.
• All face shapes An asymmetrical version of this style works equally well with narrow, round and oval faces. Ashley Olsen sports a good example of this slightly off-kilter cut: Her hair is parted in the middle with longer bangs on one side of her face.

How to Style the Look
For Olsen’s bohemian take on the style, start with day-old hair, which often has more body. Rub a dime-sized dab of shine serum in the palm of your hands and rub all over your hair. Scrunch small handfuls of your tresses and warm with a diffuser or a blow-dryer set on low. Use a large-barrel curling iron to smooth ends, taking care to not create uniform waves or too much curl. The look should feel idiosyncratic and carefree -- not overly polished and styled. Finish with a light spray.

Amiel suggests playing with braids for another great daytime look. Pull small random sections from the back of your hair and braid them. “The tiny braids will poke through and play on your shoulders -- it’s a really cool look,” he says. Plus, leave the braids in while you sleep, and you can undo them the next morning for a wavy style.

How to Fake It
Eva Longoria and Sandra Bullock are long-haired stars who have taken this look for a test drive without cutting their tresses. If you have long-layered hair and want to try out the choppy bob, gather the back ends of your hair and roll inward toward the nape of your neck, suggests Amiel. Secure with bobby pins. Pull out random layers from the front to frame your face and from the back to create the jagged look. “Low commitment and lots of fun,” says Williams. “That’s the best part of this look.”

As a judge on “Dancing with the Stars,” Carrie Ann Inaba shrewdly assesses spins and steps. As host of TV Guide network’s red carpet coverage for Hollywood’s award shows, she chats up celebs about coiffures and couture. And on Sunday, March 7, she’ll be reporting from the most glamorous walkway of them all: the Academy Awards pre-show. Between fittings and hair appointments, Inaba shares the ticktock of how she’s getting gorgeous for the big event.

Diet

Back when I was a dancer and had to fit into tiny costumes, I’d go on really strict diets -- including fasts and liquid diets -- before a performance. Now, at 42 years old, I don’t feel the need to have a bathing suit-ready body under my dress. Still, I totally cut out chips, because the salt makes me puffy and zaps my energy, and I added more fruit and vegetables to my diet.

Workout
I always amp up my fitness regimen for the Oscars by doing double workouts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. One workout is always a cardio dance class called Drenched. If I’m really going for it, I’ll do back-to-back classes, which I love, but that means I’ll be toast be midafternoon. Or I’ll follow Drenched with some Pilates at home or a Wii Fit session.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’ll do just one of these workouts, and on weekends I always go for a long bike ride along the beach. I’m not working out to shed pounds -- though losing an inch or two is always nice -- but for muscle tone and energy. My favorite part to work on is my back, because so many of today’s dresses are backless. I think it’s sexy and feminine if you can see the outlines of a woman’s muscles when she moves.

Skin
I think if your skin is touchable, soft and moist, that really reflects an inner beauty and health. To get ready for the Oscars, I start on that final Friday, my big grooming day. I’ll also get a spray-on tan from the pro who tans everyone for “Dancing with the Stars” and knows how to make it look natural. Up next? A relaxing pedicure for open-toed shoes. One thing I can skip is getting my brows waxed. When I was on tour with Madonna in ’93, the makeup artist pretty much plucked all of my eyebrows out for the skinny-brow look of the time, and they’ve never really grown back.

Hair
I color my hair a week before the Oscars to give the color enough time to settle in. I do a root touch-up and both highlights and lowlights: The darker tones of the lowlights balance out the highlights and give my hair weight and depth. After all, I’m Asian, so there should be dark hair in there somewhere! I’ll likely also have a trim too -- something I do every other month -- and keep it well-conditioned to add shine. I cut bangs last year, and now I’m trying to grow them out because I’m doing a lot of updos on both “Dancing with the Stars” and on the red carpet. As flattering as they may look, you’re very limited in what you can do when you have bangs.

The Day of
My team and I gather at a Hollywood hotel in the late morning. It takes me two hours to get into hair and makeup and get dressed, and we go live from the red carpet at 3 p.m.

I start my preparation with a full breakfast at about 10 a.m., which includes two scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, some hash browns, grapefruit juice and coffee. You can’t be in a hunger cloud on the red carpet; my brain needs to be working at full capacity. I’ll also work out for 30 minutes, doing some jumping jacks to get my energy going and a little Pilates and stretching. I have an inversion board, so I’ll hang upside down for a few minutes to get the blood circulating to my head. 

Then I’m ready to hit the red carpet and start my celebrity interviews.