Hairstyle mavens - Help!

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s that time: I’m sick of my old hairstyle (if you want to even call it a “style”) and I’m ready for something new. My hair is thick, but it hangs so flat it looks thinner than it really is. It’s looking limp and lifeless. On a good day, I can get it looking thick, shiny, and wavy, but those days feel few and far between. I’m *bored * with it.

I swore up and down after a bad experience as a child that I would never, nevereverever get my hair lopped off short again. The closest I ever came was several years back when I got it “bobbed” to just above my chin, and it looked terrible. However, it was parted in the middle with little thought given to it.

I don’t have what you would call a strong chin, so I’m nervous about not having hair to hide behind to spare the innocents of the world of the view that is my profile. I’m very pale. I’m not sure what shape face I have. The sites that ask me what shape my face is and give me hairstyle suggestions are a little weird to me anyway - some of those hairstyles look straight out of an 80s hair band. No, thanks.

Okay. I need opinions. I don’t do hairspray, but I do use mousse sometimes, and a blowdryer if necessary. I own a curling iron and I know how to use it, I just don’t do it often. I look for simple, low maintenance styles.

Here goes: This is me, current hairstyle and colour. I’m thinking of changing the colour to something a little darker, maybe a rich, dark brown with a few (very few) subtle highlights.
This is the style I’m considering. (Why, yes, I *did * just finish reading the “What Not To Wear” amazing make-overs on msn.com!)

Would this look okay on me? It’s shorter than I’m used to, but hair grows (right? Right? It does still grow these days, RIGHT?)

Any other suggestions, for short-ish to longer styles are most welcome and appreciated.

2

Wow, you’re like…beautiful. But I hate the hairstyle you’re considering. It looks like it would take a lot of work not to look like you slept on it. (At least on my head it would!)

I’d rather you did something all the same length, but without really knowing your hair, it’s hard to say if that would give you any volume. My hair used to be pretty limp but the older I get, the wiry-er and bushier it gets, so now I can get away with that.

3

I’d say you have an oval face, and you’ve got really lovely eyes. A bob to just above the chin wouldn’t have emphasized those eyes!

The picture you linked to doesn’t do much for me. Unfortunately, I don’t really know what’s in style right now. Lots of shaggy layers can give you volume and force the hair to take a shape, which is what you probably need. A flippy style where the ends are curling out from your head could be a good choice–a little shorter than the picture you linked to.

4

This woman has a very similar face shape to yours. I don’t like the hair, but it gives you an idea of how to emphasize your eyes:

When I say flippy, I mean something a little like this:

Or this:

Closer to the picture you chose: Hair Style-Hair Growth-Hair Loss and Removal Resources - Hair-Styles.org
And the shaggier styles: Hair Style-Hair Growth-Hair Loss and Removal Resources - Hair-Styles.org

Or this:

These are just possibilities. I hope you get some really good feedback!

5

You are very pretty and the style you picked will not be the most flattering for you, in my opinion. A medium length shag is what you’re looking for.

6

I think this would look fantastic on you. It would be a nice frame for your lovely face.

7

I went from long, thick to hair, to long, shaggy layers, and I love it. My hair was looking so flat and formless, but I wasn’t willing to part with the overall length. The shag was the perfect solution for me.

8

Hmm. Thank you for the opinions on the hairstyle, everyone, and for the links, jsgoddess, that gives me some styles to mull over - seems everyone so far doesn’t like the style I chose, which is fine - I don’t have the ability to picture what it might look like on me. Which is why I came here! (I was probably dazzled by her makeover, she looked like she cleaned up really nice.)

My old usual hairstyle was layered and cut about an inch below my chin, but the past couple of years I allowed the layers to grow out. Last year around Christmas my hair had grown all the way down to my waistband, but I found that to be a bit much for me. It was weighed down even more.

I have a tiny head, so layers are probably the best bet. When it gets weighed down, my head looks even smaller, and when I pull it back into a ponytail, it looks kind of severe.
And thank you for the compliments, though it’s just a good picture. Usually I look more like a dork, which I am. :smiley:

9

I’d suggest you save up your pennies and go to a really nice stylist for a consultation. (A consult may be free.) If you like what he/she says, let them cut your hair and if you don’t always want to spend the money your regular person should be able to follow the lines. Of course you may get addicted to great haircuts! If whoever you see doesn’t have any ideas for you, or if you don’t like what they say, go to somebody else. And don’t settle for a haircut you don’t like - one you know you’ll have to get used to is one thing, but one you actively hate you should say something about.

And I for one like the first picture you posted and think it would look nice. But would require some blow dryer time in the morning.

10

I like this one a lot. It’s going into my possible print-out-to-show-to-my-hairdresser list. It’s a good length, too, not too scary to me. :wink:

11

I agree with foxymoron --that is a very nice, versatile cut. I like your coloring–and you have killer eyes.
I say, be prepared to WOW everyone after your new do.

Post a pic, please!

12

Nope…sorry. Still cute.

13

Yep. I was having the same problem - hated, HATED my hair. I sucked it up and went to an expensive salon with a really good reputation and the stylist gave me a cut very similar to this - just a little shorter. I LOVE IT. I got two compliments on my hair that very day, from strangers, so I know it looks good. And the nicest thing about this cut is that so far I haven’t been able to eff it up - no matter how crappily I blow dry it, it still manages to look good! I can tuck it under, flip it out, change where the part is, and it all looks good.

So get yourself to a good salon and take the photo above with you - ask the stylist if he/she thinks it will work for you. If so, go for it - if s/he knows what s/he’s doing, they can customize it for your hair.

Get a color consult while you are at it, too - you have beautiful eyes and the right color will make them stand out. I have a friend with very similar coloring, and she dyed her hair almost black once - it made her eyes really stand out. Very striking.

14

Yeah, you have a really striking face, but that style you chose isn’t going to flatter it. I was going to suggest long layers to frame your face - looking at the picture foxymoron posted, that’s in the right neighborhood. The reason your hair lies flat is too much bulk - a good stylist can take enough bulk out with layering and still leave you with enough length to frame your face nicely & make it look soft & feminine. And, yes, stay away from a center part, for Og’s sake!

Good luck! Love to see the results!

15

Another vote for this one. It’s now without being too horribly trendy, and I think it will make good use of your gorgeous eyes and brows. (Do you wax them? They’re fabulous. Me jealous.)

16

From the styles jsgoddess posted, this or this would look good on you. Have you thought about getting “Bettie Page” bangs? The difference with them is, they are cut with right angles at the temple, which isn’t the usual way they are cut. (At least, not in this area, you have to specify, and explain to get them cut that way.) Combine a pageboy style from this page, with Bettie Page bangs, and you have an easy to maintain hairstyle, that will complement your face, and will be different. (Scroll Down) Think Wendy Padbury, Vanessa-Mae, Sandra Bullock, Sabrina Lloyd, or Rita Tushingham over Phoebe Cates or Patricia Arquette. Or Nicole Kidman’s hairstyle would look good too. If you want to be really daring, maybe consider Louise Brooks style initially, and let it grow into one of the longer Pageboy styles?

17

The brows I pluck along their natural lines. My eyes seem to have a natural shine so I don’t usually wax those, but thanks for asking. :stuck_out_tongue:

Looks like it will ultimately be that picture foxy pointed out from jsgoddess’s suggestions that I will be printing out and taking with me. Zsofia, I like the consultation idea, so I will take the photo with me and see what they suggest.

Zabali, thank you for the suggestion, but I think Bettie Page bangs are just a touch too adventurous for me. I did think about it, though. My hair can be so thick, though, that the effect would likely be lost on me - it would end up making me look like a little mushroom cap. I may ask for a few wispy strands for bangs, though, that can easily be brushed aside if I want a more open look.

romansperson, I’ve dyed my hair pitch black before. YIKES! I learned the hard way, very quickly, that too dark will make me look washed out. My white skin suddenly looks ashy and sick. And of course, black is a permanent colour, which made it that much harder to get out. I’d still like a darker colour, though, I just won’t go as overboard as I did in the past.
My natural colour is a deep, dark red-brown. Dying it blond makes it look like straw if I don’t get it just right. I’ve been “boosting” it red for years (fireapple red!) My favourite so far has been a frosty, icy pink (not flourescent) a la Utena Tenjou, but I’m trying to pick a “normal” colour for a change. :wink: Something soft and subtle.

18

Welp…

Haven’t got into my hairdresser yet. (patiently listens to groans) The excuses are actually damn good ones (and not all mine!), however, I won’t bother you with the gory details. Suffice to say there’s been a nasty bug going around. Hair will be cut soon.

However, I did finally dye it, and, at least to me, it’s a drastic change. I wonder if the hairstyle I (and the Dopers) chose will still look good with this new colour?

I’m very pale, as you can see, and I wonder if this colour makes me look washed out? It’s very dark, but as you can probably see, that red is never going to be gone.

Anyway, I just took these (I really have to learn how to set the timer on this sumbitch camera so I can just sit normally - you guys are too well aquainted with the crutch of my right arm):

Ahh! It’s “blurry action shot”! - couldn’t get a good shot to show that I attacked my head with the curling iron. Looks like I just got out of a damned convertable. Anyway…

Here’s a better shot of the new colour. Please excuse the recycling bin behind my head.

Too dark? Nice change? Would the cute layered cut still work? So far, the only other person who’s seen it has been my husband, and he says it’s pretty, but he’s supposed to say that. :wink: I’m still in the “startled when I see myself in the mirror” stage. I think I like it, but it might be just new, know what I mean? It seems fuller, however, it could be the curls I put in and the heavy duty conditioners the dye comes with…

19

I think the color looks good on you (even though I’m very partial to red shades, myself).

20

Maggie Gllyenhall, that’s who remind me of. Looks good, but I see your point on the too-dark-washed out thing. Maybe amber-red highlights?