I’m trying to grow my hair long and it’s now at that annoying and awkward length where it hits the shoulders - it’s not long and yet not short either. The problem is, my hair is a tad wavy and it gets really uncooperative when there are sudden changes in humidity … which means that I normally get some stubborn curling outwards in the ends of my hair where it hits my shoulder. This normally resolves itself when my hair is long enough but in the meantime it’s pretty hard to look neat and sleek. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Don’t aim for neat and sleek until it gets longer, IMO. If it’s wavy, go with it. Put gel in it while it’s wet or dry it with a diffuser or use a curling iron. (Or all three.) Buy some cute hair clips if it needs taming, and when you need to look particularly professional, you can still pull it back neatly.
Purplycow, you have stolen my hair. I demand satisfaction! ::swashbuckling smilie::
My hair is the exact same way and at the exact same stage. Mine’s long enough to pull back in a ponytail, where the curls at the ends do a neat and saucy little flip. And if I’m feeling particularly sassy, I put it into pigtails and wiggle my eyebrows a lot, though that doesn’t make my hair look any better.
If I wear it down, I put mousse in it while it’s wet and then blowdry it, which makes it straight, though with lots of volume, which makes my face look really small. So I use some pomade to take the volume out.
If I don’t feel like soaking my head in the morning, I use defrizzing serum or a little pomade. They both weigh my hair down and make nice waves, instead of frizz.
I agree with Mercury, don’t try to make it conform. Let it do it’s thang, with a little help from product.
Go to Sally’s Beauty Supply and buy two products. Beyond The Zone Noodle Head cream. (For when you want to wear it wavy) And the Helen of Troy Ceramic Straightening iron in the 1 inch size. The iron will help smooth down all the wave and frizz. The curved sides will allow you to curl the ends under with little effort.
Oh and another good product it is the Volumaxx Cement Gel at Sally’s. Put a small amount in your hair while it is still wet.
I used to do hair. I haven’t given hair advice in a looong time.
Go to the salon and ask them for some help. They can probably come up with something really cute that will be really easy. Plus, they can give you a little trim so your ends are evened out. It sounds like a “bob” would be do-able at this stage.
Is it in layers? Layers are a godsend. Whoever decided that your hair should be different lengths everywhere is the smartest person in the world.
Seriously, I know it seems counterproductive to cut it in order to grow it out, but it will work wonders. I imagine that there’s some volume involved with that and the layering would really help that out.
I also agree that you should let the curls fly! I too am one of those people who checks the weather report to find out how I’m going to wear my hair. There’s no point in straightening it if it’s going to frizz up, so just let it be itself.
Hmm, growing out layers was the MOST annoying part of growing my hair. I’d never have let anybody cut new ones at that point. What I did was to get fairly frequent trims to help even things out; it took a bit longer that way, but at least it all grew out more or less even – eventually.
Then I found out that my mother was right, and I DO have the most uncooperative hair in the world – it’s fine, thick, and slippery. And I hate putting sprays or anything in it, so mostly it’s down or in a ponytail. But I like it anyway.
I have wavy-curly hair too, so I feel your pain. You’re probably not going to be able to do anything to control the curl in your hair without resorting to tricks that will ultimately dry your hair out and give yourself crackle frizz head.
Two products that I like are Sebastion Love Potion #9 and any of the silicone silkers such as Bed Head’s Girl Toys. Used straight out of the shower, the silicone on the damp hair will reduce the friction of the hair against each other, and it will hang a little straighter. I use the sebastion stuff after I’ve styled to prevent fly-aways.
In blowdrying your hair, bend over at the waist and straight brush your hair with the blower moving in tandem with the brush roots to tips, straightening as you go. Takes longer but you end up with nice straight hair, and you don’t have to use the additional heat of a iron.
You can also do little shorty braids, they look very cute.
White Ink, the bending over to blow-dry my hair sounds interesting, but I have a feeling I’d keep on coming back up too often to check what I’ve done in the mirror lol. I think I might need to ask my stylist for blowdrying lessons!
And yes, I am resorting to ponytails for Bad Hair Days now. If only my hair would hurry up and grow!
I’m lazy, either long or short does the trick for me, as both are low maintenance. All I put in/on my hair are:
Water
Shampoo
Towel
Brush (once in the morning)
I have thick wavy hair and I used to have a ponytail down my back. I cut it to go corporate a few years ago, and now I’m in a comfortable working environment so I can grow it long again. I stopped going to the barber in August last year.
I forgot how funky it gets when it is growing out. I’m considering getting it chopped to avoid the hassle
