AMY Winehouse is never far from the front pages, but recently it was her hair-do that hit the headlines. The singer swapped her trademark beehive and long dark locks in favour of a new peroxide-blonde bob.

With the paparazzi favourite seemingly experiencing meltdown with alleged drug and alcohol addictions, and her husband behind bars, is her radical image change signifying a cry for help?

"Amy Winehouse is obviously going through a tough time and a drastic new look can often be a call for help or can increase confidence to deal with a crisis," said Liz Scott, image consultant.

"Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand so the first thing women think about when life is a challenge is how they feel about themselves. This is intrinsically tied up with how they look - or how they feel they look."

Considering an image change? Whether you're just about to start a new job or you're experiencing the end of a relationship, giving your mirror image a shake-up can give you a much-needed lift.

But sometimes, giving your hair the chop or getting a whole new wardrobe may not always have the desired effect, according to Natalia Colman, style consultant.

"It might make you feel better for a little while, even empowered," she said. "But your new look might not be you'. A radical transformation could be too much too soon, so it's best to go on a journey towards transformation,'' she said.

"Nancy Del Olio is a perfect example of this. She's clung to her long hair extensions for years and now that she's finally free of Sven, her radical change of hairstyle is symbolic of her new-found freedom.'' But if you are thinking of doing an Amy and heading straight for the hair dye to make an impact, stop! Changing your hair three shades lighter or darker than your natural colour can clash with your colouring. And if you don't have a personal hairdresser on speed dial like the celebrities, you could be in and out of the salon as frequently as Britney's rehab stints.

Before you hit the dye bottle or instruct your hairdresser to make radical changes, consider how long it will take to reverse the process if you hate the results.

Ask professionals' advice about what you are thinking and get their honest feedback as to how it will suit you before you take the plunge.

If you do make a horrid mistake, though, hair colour can nearly always be rectified.

Giving your make-up an extreme overhaul can be a non-permanent way and more subtle way to transform your mirror image.

Doing something radical in a time of crisis often isn't the best idea.

Changing your image should be a positive experience.

Be prepared to work on hair, make-up and clothing for maximum impact and feelgood factor.

  • Have you had many changes of image over the years? We'd love to see the pictures. Email them to Jaine Blackman.