So! I cut my hair off! And I am happy with it short!
...although I am not actually sure this is the RIGHT short haircut yet.
When I told my hair gal I was ready for a Big Change, she got excited and asked how changey she was allowed to get. I told her I would be up for a big chop, so she sent back a picture of a "lob" - a "long bob" - as a suggestion. I said I was down for that, but if we were going to cut it, let's CUT IT and take the length up past my shoulders.
So we did! And I like the length! But I don't know if bobs work for me. I have very thin, very flat hair - and while having it short certainly does help in giving it SOME body and shape - I don't think it's enough to carry a bob. I think I need layers.
Here are some incredibly alarming pictures from my apparently terrifyingly-lit bathroom of me before makeup, but after having blow dried my hair with a bit o' mousse in it (so, at absolute PEAK body and fullness potential):
That second one was after I flipped my hair upside and ran my hair through my roots for "volume."
I *almost* like it. But my hair isn't thick enough to keep that wall effect along the side of my face where it's supposed to remain untucked. I can't help tucking my hair behind my ear, and then it's back to flat against my scalp with the ends looking weird.
I next tried curling a few sections right up front, to give some extra body & break up the uniformity of the length on that side (also, put on some mascara FTLOG):
This works a little better, I think. And would (I think) be more in line with the results if I got some layers added in so that different bits were landing at different lengths rather than The Wall Of Hair That My Poor Thin Hair Cannot Maintain.
(Curling my hair every day is also a reasonable option unfortunately. BLOWDRYING my hair every day will be a stretch and a sacrifice, I assure you.)
That was a lot of words to hang-wring about maybe needing some layers. I.. apologize.
Other short-ish haired girls who tend toward flat and stringy: might I get some suggestions for products you've found to keep your hair from looking flat and sad and stringy within an hour of blowdrying and styling?
(The answer may be as simple as "hair spray"... I did not grow up using hair products and they are still sort of a mystery to me. So seriously any suggestions are welcome.)
I was so excited to see there were going to be POST-HAIRCUT pictures! I love post-haircut pictures!
ReplyDeleteI will not try to give any advice, since I have the opposite hair problem (thick, and tends to get too poofy).
With you on flat and stringy. How often do you wash your hair? For me, the game changer was cutting down to every other day and using a volumizing dry shampoo on off days.
ReplyDeleteI can swing every other day right after I get it colored, but after about 4-5 weeks of new growth on the top of my head I have to go back to every day. My own (undamaged / undyed) hair is so freaking thin that sleeping on it 1x = salad dressing head. It's charming.
DeleteHowever right NOW, fresh off of a dye? Heck yeah, dry shampoo all the way! BTW which one do you like? I'm using Paul Mitchell right now, and it's pretty OK, but would be interested in other recs...
Flat and stringy sisters unite! Also, welcome back! Big Sexy Hair root pump is amazing. From the looks of your photos, you put too much product at the ends and not enough on top. Just use a volumizing product on the top. I like the cut! I'd vote for some face-framing layers.
ReplyDeletelimp hair high five!! Ooh, I think I tried some BSH powder once, but it made my hair gunky and sticky so I've stayed away, BUT I have not tried their mousse. ::adds it to list::
DeleteAs you know, I am a huge fan of your new haircut! When I've had that short, I usually just use my curling iron to make a few curls to give it a wave. That usually works. Except in the summer. In the summer nothing works and so that is why I grow it out and put it up. Very uncooperative summer hair.
ReplyDeleteI started putting a little mousse in my hair prior to blowdrying and it helped keep some body in it longer. I also have SUPER straight hair, no natural wave whatsoever, and I have had some success with a LOT of mousse and the scrunch up my hair with my hands. I have piled it up and secured with butterfly clips while I put on mascara, eat breakfast, brush teeth, and then took the clips out before walking out the door. It gives me some body and wave all day without having to use any heat. (Apartment with pithy AC = no heat hair in the summer.)
ReplyDeletexox
Also, I had originally written "mouse" instead of "mousse" and COULD NOT figure out what the error was. Like, WHY does this say "tiny little rodent" instead of "body enhancing hair product" ?!?!
DeleteOh. S's. That's why. Derp.
xox
I WANT to do this so badly - figure out some scrunching situation that ends up with wavy / beachy hair!! But all I get is a "looks like you forgot to brush your hair, also FYI it's really stringy" look, which is... not ideal.
DeleteI love the length! I obviously have zero advice for you about the lack of volume, except that I wonder if it's impossible to, I don't know, embrace the flat and aim for shine? This is what I can't achieve as a curly-haired person but I feel like if you go for volume you'll end up with frizz, at least during the summer in DC.
ReplyDeleteDude, you and I are hair twins, I think. I have a bob right now and love it. Your mileage may vary, but any time I've had the same thought about getting layers and then gotten them, it has been a BAD DECISION. Usually my fine, thin hair does better if it's a graduated bob (shorter in back, longer in front) or if I kind of feather one side back a bit so there's some pretty hair movement instead of stick-straight hair. (This tends to balance out the other side of my head, since I part it on one side and stick the other side behind my ear, like you.)
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I've found to give my hair volume (and I have tried so.many.products) is the John Frieda Luxurious Volume In-Shower Treatment (link: http://www.target.com/p/john-frieda-luxurious-volume-7-day-volume-in-shower-treatment-4-oz/-/A-16601228#prodSlot=dlp_medium_3_16&term=john%2Bfrieda). You put it on your hair for a few minutes and then rinse. The first day it appears to do nothing. But! For the next 2-3 days? VOLUME, baby! It is seriously amazing. It's only $9, so hopefully it works for you.
This feathering - how are you doing it?? What does that mean?? Teach me!
DeleteAlso adding the John Freida stuff to my shopping cart....!
The "feathering"? OK, let's see if I can describe how to do it: push a piece of hair away from your face with your fingers and just kind of "settle" it behind your ear. Don't tuck it fully behind your ear, just move it back so it's sitting on top of your hair. Then very quickly spray it with hairspray so it looks like it's layered (even though it is not).
DeleteLove the new haircut!
ReplyDelete