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Author Topic: Help me cut my hair (or convince me to grow it out)
theCrowsWife
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The humidity has finally dropped off and it's no longer so hot that I have to keep my hair tied back, so I'm looking to cut it short again. Last year I had it cut to chin-length, and I really liked the way it looked. The only problem is that my hair is very thick and wavy, so to get the look I want I have to straighten it. It probably took 20 minutes a day to do that, because I had to divide the hair up into so many layers. So I would like to somehow thin my hair next time I get it cut.

When I was in high school, there were a lot of kids who had chin to shoulder length hair, but the bottom layers had been shaved off. This was only noticeable if the hair was pulled back. I always liked that but I was too big of a chicken (and too fond of my waist-length hair) to try it. This was some ten years ago, though, so has that style become horribly dated? I don't think I've seen anyone with it recently, but I also haven't really been looking. Assuming that the style hasn't become totally laughable, like the mullet, that's what I'd like to do.

Any thoughts?

--Mel

[ October 09, 2007, 02:18 PM: Message edited by: theCrowsWife ]

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Valentine014
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Some pictures might help...
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Olivet
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You could also have a stylist thin out your hair with a razor cut. That's something I've been considering because I think it will be easier to tame if there is not so much of it. But no actual head shearing is required.

I was looking at something like this:
http://www.greatestlook.com/longhair/longhair18.html

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Miro
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I've been thinking of something similar, though not so dramatic as the haircut pictured. I have really thick hair and when it's down or even in a ponytail, there's too much of it. The only catch is I need to be able to put it into a bun for work.

Maybe some cross between the one above and this one would work?

[ October 07, 2007, 07:57 PM: Message edited by: Miro ]

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theCrowsWife
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I haven't been able to find any pictures of what I remember. My concern with the layered styles is that they would be hard to manage. I don't know, though, because I've never had one. My hair is very thick, wavy, and tends to go frizzy in humid weather. Honestly, there are times that just shaving it all off sounds good to me. Maybe I should go with a very short, messy style so that all I need to do is rub some gel into it?

--Mel

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quidscribis
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I used to have the bottom of my head shaved because my hair is too thick - it kept my hair manageable, or at least as close to it as my hair gets. [Razz] I have no idea of fashion, though...
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Tara
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You should get it layered. It makes it feel not so thick, and it also looks good. [Smile] Straightening it makes it look better, but it my experience it looks good even if you don't have time to straighten it.
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quidscribis
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Personally, I don't buy into the "straight is better" fashion mentality. It's just a fashion, just like when everyone was perming their hair to get curls.

I don't see why anyone should fight against their hair to create something that's completely unnatural and destroys their hair in the process with curling irons, flatirons, perm solutions, straightening solutions, and so on.

And yes, I do see my obvious built-in bias - after all, I do henna my hair to cover my whites. [Razz] I'm fickle, what can I say?

I vote for embracing our own natural hair tendencies and making the most of what we have. Healthy hair is beautiful hair. Yes? No?

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porcelain girl
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DO NOT shave off the bottom layer of your hair. There are a million more solutions to creating sleeker, more manageable thick hair. You just need to start looking through pictures and save the ones you like, then find a stylist that knows what he/she is doing.

A fantastic 60-100 dollar haircut by someone that knows what they are doing and continues to be educated will give you more mileage and the results you want. Unfortunately it takes a lot of asking around. Don't be afraid to approach people that have really great haircuts to ask who does it for them. And as quid has brought up, a truly talented stylist will want to emphasize and work with your hair's natural tendencies, while making you beautiful!

I left my trusted stylist to get a free color job and it was a terrible misadventure.

I have had short hair for a long time now, and have had EXTREMELY short hair a few times throughout the past couple years, including right now.
If you go SUPER pixie short, you can get a few months out of it before needing a new haircut. Same with a good choppy, stacked, bob. But the longer your short hair is, ,the more upkeep it usually takes. Let the stylist know your life style, and what you would like to achieve. A good stylist will be honest with you! They can also recommend good products to keep your hair doing what you want it to do.

You can walk into a salon and style a free consult to check them out first, and look through hair style and fashion magazines for inspiration.

[ October 07, 2007, 10:36 PM: Message edited by: porcelain girl ]

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theCrowsWife
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I should probably define some parameters. I need a haircut that will gracefully grow out, because I can afford to get it cut at most twice a year (and that's figuring $30/haircut). My hair grows about 1/2 an inch per month. I'm also not interested in spending more than 10 minutes a day making it look decent. I don't mind occasionally spending more time to make it look really good, but everyday care needs to be minimal.

quote:
DO NOT shave off the bottom layer of your hair. There are a million more solutions to creating sleeker, more manageable thick hair.
What are the reasons not to? I always liked the way it looked, and it seems like it would be easy enough to touch it up at home in between haircuts. Most of the time, the only reason I knew someone had shaved the bottom was because they had their hair pulled back; when it's down, it's not even noticeable.

quote:
I vote for embracing our own natural hair tendencies and making the most of what we have. Healthy hair is beautiful hair. Yes? No?
Ha! If my hair would just make up its mind, it wouldn't be so bad. If I let it air dry, perfect ringlets form, but if I so much as move, they devolve into frizz. Gel didn't help much, and I hate hairspray. When it was long, the weight pretty much pulled the curls out and all I had to do was blow-dry it to make it reasonably straight. Now that it's short, there's no hope of it doing anything reasonable without work. Most of the time I'd just rather pull it back and ignore it.

--Mel

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Teshi
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quote:
What are the reasons not to?
To me, that seems totally laughable, like a mullet.

My sister has ridiculously thick, slightly wavy hair (I used to but stress handled the problem in grade nine) and she got it cut in such a way to make it seem a little more manageable.

quote:
If I let it air dry, perfect ringlets form, but if I so much as move, they devolve into frizz.
Even with conditioner or any of those curly hair products?
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porcelain girl
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If you are only going to get your hair cut twice a year, go for something mid-length, not a short style. A super short haircut especially will not grow out gracefully without help. Go for something layered and shaped well. Make sure you mention these things to the stylist, including that you only want to get it cut twice a year. If you are only going to get it cut twice a year I would really recommend going for quality over the cheapest possible. Hence the shopping around. Sometimes you can find someone that is really talented that will do it for cheap, but for an excellent hairstyle, I think fifty dollars is completely reasonable. Especially if it is one you want for a long haul. (For me six months is a long term commitment:))

The girls in my neighborhood used to shave the underside of their hair...when they were 15. And in gangs. I personally find it aesthetically ridiculous, and completely defeminizing. But to each his own.

Never underestimate the power of a good hair product. I have flat, baby fine hair. But nobody knows!

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quidscribis
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You know, I also wonder at the "do not shave" comment. I don't understand it. I have a LOT of hair and a very very low hairline. Shaving it at the bottom made a huge difference in how hot I got, and it was far more effective than anything else that any hairdresser did over the years. If it seems laughable to some of you, well, okay, but why should that stop someone else who finds it useful? Beauty in the eye of the beholder and all that.


Mel, have you checked out the Long Hair Community? People with all hair lengths are welcome there. It's really about learning better ways of taking care of your hair, whether it's long or short, straight or curly, thick or thin. There's a lot of really useful information there. In particular, for me, I learned that, while silicones can make hair shinier and smoother looking in the short term, in the long term for my hair, it builds up and reduces the curl and increases the frizz. I also learned about other techniques that reduced flyaway.

There's even a tutorial linked offsite on how to cut your own hair, but it looks to me like it's easier to do with longer hair - I haven't tried it yet. I'll see if I can find it.

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porcelain girl
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Crow'sWife asked for thoughts on that style. I gave mine. I think the hair line at the nape of the neck is incredibly expressive and can be cut and accented, but I personally think shaving it off (especially on a woman) looks really bad, and is out of what little style it held. I think there are other effective alternatives.

If one of my friends shaved off the underside of their hair I wouldn't comment. However, if one of them asked for my opinion before doing it, I would be honest.
I have shaved my head. I have untraditionally short hair for an american white woman. I am fine with people doing what they like, but I also have an artistic opinion that I will willingly share when asked.

That's just my opinion. If she is already secure with the idea, she can ignore my thoughts on the matter.

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theCrowsWife
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I appreciate the opinions. I think I've just been talked into letting my hair grow long again. Hair that's long enough to pull back is the easiest to take care of, and it can look pretty if I feel like taking the time. If it's going to be shoulder length, it may as well be waist length. I've had both, and they are pretty equivalent in the amount of work required.

I like the looks of that site, quid. My mother has fought her curly hair all her life, so I've never really learned how to make it look nice while keeping the curls. I've already tried a few of the suggestions, with good results.

--Mel

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quidscribis
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Yeah, I like that site, too. [Smile] I had stick straight hair as a child and teenager, then it started going wavy in my early twenties, and since finding that site and experimenting with different things, I've discovered that my hair is actually curly. I get corkscrews now - when I use enough moisturizing stuff on my hair. Color me extremely surprised - I had no idea. There's no curly in my family anywhere. (I am a mutant child!)

I hope you figure something out that works well for you. [Smile]

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ElJay
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You should probably also realize that a $50 - $70 haircut on the west coast is probably equivalent to a $30 haircut in rural Ohio, which is where tCW lives. [Smile]
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Wendybird
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I have thick but not very wavy hair. I have a stylist I've been going to for 14 years. The key is finding a good stylist and sticking with them because they learn all the ins and outs of your hair and what works and what doesn't. If I try to find someone cheaper I am very unhappy with the cut.

I get mine razor cut which thins out the thickness making it move easier and makes it cooler. The layers aren't too obtrusive and grow out well. But find someone experiences with razor cutting because you can get a butchered cut otherwise.

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quidscribis
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Um, I'm under the impression that razor cuts do a pretty significant amount of damage to the hair and promote splitting and breaking. Not so important if you're planning on getting it cut fairly often or keeping it short, but if you want to grow it out, then not such a good idea.


I completely agree that finding a good hairstylist who can work with your hair is very important.

Sadly, for me, it was very difficult to find such. Because my hair was so very very thick and wavy (as an adult), no one ever knew what to do with it. So it was one butchered haircut after another by hairdressers who didn't listen until I gave up on them and started cutting my own. Since I started cutting my own, ironically, I've gotten far more compliments on my hair than when the professionals cut it. Go figure. The point being that yes, a good stylist who knows what to do with your hair is important, but if your hair isn't exactly the norm, that can be darn near impossible.

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quidscribis
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I found the tutorial on trimming your own hair. Yay!

Like I said, I haven't tried it yet. Haven't felt the need to cut my hair since I learned about it, so I can't say for myself how difficult/easy it is or how well it works, but there are a number of other people who rave about it, so it looks promising.

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theCrowsWife
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Ooh, I like the V-shaped one even better. I can probably go for a long time without a trim, though, since the curls will hide any uneveness.

--Mel

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porcelain girl
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I don't believe razor cutting damages your hair, it just cuts, say a triange of hair, down into varying lengths so the section of hair thins to the ends, as opposed to creating a blunt and therefore fuller edge. I could be mistaken. Some stylists also use thinning shears, which can achieve a similar result for ladies with thick hair.

I don't imagine razor cutting would be really necessary on someone with curly hair, however. I'm with Wendybird, find someone great and hang onto them. I now have a trusted stylist on each coast of the States.

I cut my own hair for a couple years, but it was always short. I haven't had long hair since I was seventeen, and it was almost to my waist then. I don't know if I will ever grow it back. Enough people have told me that I look like a young Judi Dench that I've already embraced the current Dench. Oh, Judi. What a dame.

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Farmgirl
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quote:
so I'm looking to cut it short again
NO!!!!!!!!!
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quidscribis
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Ah, I thought I'd read it somewhere! Here's an interesting site and it talks about razorcut damage to hair, among other things. Read the whole thing and look at the pretty pictures. [Smile]


Mel, I cut my own hair, and while it's not perfect - I do it in front of the mirror, ya know? - the waves/curls hide it fine enough. [Smile] So, you know, I'm with ya. [Big Grin]

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Javert Hugo
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I have long, thick, wavy hair, and I cut it blunt across the back and with lots of choppy layers int he front. I love it. I worry sometimes that I should change my hair style, but I love it because it is easy to style in every iteration. Highly recommended.
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theCrowsWife
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quote:
Originally posted by Farmgirl:
quote:
so I'm looking to cut it short again
NO!!!!!!!!!
Psst. Read further down. I decided to let it grow out instead.

--Mel

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dkw
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I'm about three months overdue for my annual haircut. I should probably do something about that.
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Farmgirl
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yes you should. You should wait another 3 months...


*long hair advocate here*

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