Trend alert: 'Feather' your hair

CINCINNATI - Whether it's on the catwalk, a movie premiere or on the street, feathers are finding their way into the trendiest heads of hair. Look no further than the TV show, "American Idol," where Steven Tyler's hair is draped with plumage. Much more subtle looks have been seen on such celebrities as Jennifer Love Hewitt, Miley Cyrus, Beyonce and Vanessa Hudgens. Even Roseanne Barr had some in her hair when she was on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" recently.

"It's just like jewelry for your hair," says Renee Heidrich, owner of Pure Concept Salon and Spa in Kenwood and Aveda by Pure Concept in Deerfield Township. "It's all the rage just to spice up your hairdo a little bit. You can add all kinds of wild colors or add feathers that are close to your hair color so it looks like highlights in your hair."

Within the last two weeks Heidrich has added the feathers to her lineup of services for her clients. "You would be shocked," she said about the different types of clients who have added feathers to their 'do's'. "From tweens and teens to women who scream 'society'. They've all just decided that this is the latest trend, it's fun and they want to be part of it."

Some websites dedicated to fashion and trends, say this fashion is really a throw-back to the 70s. Enter the words "feather extensions" in an online search engine, and you can find dozens of examples of people adding them to their coifs.

The plumage is taken mostly from roosters' tail feathers. Stylists add it to hair and say you can wash and style them, even curl them, without hurting your hair. Heidrich says the extensions can easily last a month or two in your hair and cost, for the thin long ones $8 each or a bundle of 7 for $48. The fatter feather can run as much as $12 each.