Short Hair! - YouLookFab Forum

Category

General

Welcome! Read about what to wear and how to wear it on the YLF Blog. Join the YLF Forum to ask specific questions or just chat about fashion and personal style. Or check out the curated list of things we love in YLF Finds.

Outfits Ensembles Trends Advice

Short Hair!

Deborah

Veteran

Hi Ladies,

This is not a conversation purely for those of us with short hair I am sure some of our fabbers with longer locks have fast growing hair too!!

I cut my hair short, I think, close to three years ago. And I love it short. It has taken quite a long time and a lot of tweaking to get to what I now feel is "my short cut".

For the most part is has been what I think you would call a long pixie. Long at the front and short at the back. We have varied the back and sides, having cropped it, layered it, cut it so it sweeps forward etc. The greatest challenge I have had with short hair is that my hair grows SO quickly that some shorter styles just don't work because within a week or two my hair is too long to maintain the style:(

So I am wondering if this has been a factor in short style choice for any other Fabbers? It has taken me a while to accept my fast growing hair limits what I can do, and of course we would all choose a style that we feel is flattering to us but does practicality have a place too?

I have finally realised that a 'pixie bob' with the lower back section clippered, is the best style for me because I can generally get a good 6 weeks out of it before it starts to loose it's style. This is important to me because I am a bit of a neat freak and if all is good with my hair then all is good in my world (sad but true).

I'm posing some photos from most recent cut back to when I first went short to demonstrate my journey lol. What has your short hair, or long hair journey been? How often do you have to get it cut, and coloured, if you do colour. How's your tolerance once is starts to loose its shape/style?

xxx Deborah

This post has 8 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

General

32 replies

Latest reply was from citygirldc

carolbee

Veteran

I do think you look fab with short hair and I am loving your latest style.

I have exactly the same problem. Unless I go real short when its cut I will need it recut at 3 weeks. I usually aim for 4 weeks, after that point I start to go crazy because although lots of friends bemoan that its looking good at that point, it is in fact out of shape and thick (my hairdresser is constantly amazed at how much hair is on the floor after thinning as well as cutting).

Occasionally I will not get it cut so short but I always revert within a few months. Just recently my hairdresser was - oops, I think I've cut it too short - but I reassured her it can never be too short as far as I'm concerned. If some friends (and hubby sometimes) think its too short and butch looking, well tough!!

Sally

Veteran

Your hair looks great. I like the longer layers in the front and the texturing at the back.
I have a mid length bob. I have had short short hair but never longer than just past my shoulders. I have quite a big face and heavy jaw and if I have short hair I have to give it height and blow dry it etc. I am not into daily hair maintenance and because my hair is so fine just find it easier to keep in a pageboy style. I only cut it every 3 months because I spend quite a bit of money highlighting it at a colour specialist where they do not cut hair. I colour my hair every 6 weeks....with highlights.

Saying that, I admire short hair on women when it is well kept or very edgy depending on their style.

Summer

Veteran

I think you have found the perfect cut and the best solution, Deborah. Keeping your hair ultra short in the nape of your neck gives your cut much more mileage.
My hair has been short for most of my adult life - long just doesn't suit me. At present, I have a short, inverted bob which needs cutting every six weeks or so. When I had a pixie cut It would start to look out of shape after around four to five weeks, and the change from tidy and manageable to "driving me mad" seemed to happen overnight.
Like you, I have found that short at the back seems to work best of all.

Staysfit

Veteran

I have had short hair for years. It's hard to maintain, especially with color. Hair grows faster in the summer, so it's even harder then! I have found that I have to get my hair cut every three weeks in order for it to look the way I like it. If I go four, it starts to lose its shape, and by five it's out of control. With color, I needed a touch up every four to five weeks, but because my hair was cut every three I colored it in cycles which I didn't understand but my hairdresser did. Something different was done every three weeks.

Im happy now that I no longer color my hair. My haircut takes 15-20 minutes! It's so fast!

Anonymous

I have had short hair for nearly 20 years and my hair also grows quickly. I used to get my hair trimmed every 6 weeks (it probably needed a trim at 4 weeks), but a few years ago I found a genius who cuts my hair to perfection and my hair still looks great after 8 to 10 weeks. Though I pay $80 a cut, in the long run it costs me much less since I do not go as often. But what I love the most of my cut is that it is so easy to maintain and always looks great even after being out in windy conditions or sleeping on it all night. It fits my lifestyle perfectly.

Aquamarine

Veteran

I have let my hair and layers get long for me....below chin length. I now have to color every 4 weeks, but can wait up to 8 weeks to cut my hair. So, it's essentially every other appointment that I get it cut. I needed to get to a schedule that didn't have me running to the hair salon every few weeks for something. I have found a shorter haircut needed more frequent trims, which was driving me batty, coupled with the coloring.

Your hair looks great and suits you. I agree that I feel less and less fab as my hair grows in and my roots show. There is a certain point where we become high-maintenance whether we want to or not.

Anonymous

Yes! I have just learned this and agree with you on the clippered back, Deborah. I went short in October and have the same issue of fast growth, especially with my straight-across, on-the-eyebrow bangs. My stylist is more particular than I am about keeping the look, though: At my last visit, he told me I should think of switching to a less structured cut if I can't make the commitment to this one (3 weeks in summer, weirdly my hair seems to grow faster then). I want the stay-cool factor of short in summer so am considering a looser, more layered cut.

I absolutely love this cut on you, Deborah. Since I didn't know you before, I think of it as part of your unique style statement.

Ginger

Veteran

My hair grows fast as well! I have to trim my bangs regularly, because they annoy me when they attack my eyebrows. I tend to train them to sweep to the side instead of falling straight down; otherwise I'd be trimming them every ten days.

Of course the rest of my hair isn't long; but it's difficult to remember to go in regularly. I've had a lot of split ends in the past. Now I can usually tell it's getting long when it gets harder to set it in pincurls.

Elizabeth P

Veteran

My hair also grows quickly, and is thick so needs a lot of thinning. This is the reason I kept it long for all my colouring years... keeping up with colour AND cuts was too costly. I have NO problem going for cuts every 6 weeks or so now, in fact I love it. It's still much less hassle than dealing with root maintenance every two weeks. I love that the cut changes slightly each time, as we learn about my hair, and my whims change.

I love your hair. You know that

Helena

Veteran

Deborah, your hair is always as beautiful as you are

Runcarla

Veteran

If I wore my hair straight all the time, I would need it cut more frequently. I loose half the length, or more, when humidity rises and it curls up. I am getting it undercut, and letting the top grow (goal pics below). The bang is longer than the tip of my nose, and yet when it curls, the bang if above my eyebrows!

I can go 3-4 months between cuts, but because I like a tight back at the nape, and a sharp line around the ear, I go every 2 months.

This post has 2 photos. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Dee

Veteran

I've had short hair for years, but changed from a short angled bob to a pixie four or so years ago. My hair is thick and heavy, so I've taken to having it cut very short on the sides back to buy myself an extra week between cuts. Because of the heaviness, I can wear it up for the first three weeks, then it weighs itself down into a more traditional pixie.

I admit, I'm not as good at maintaining it as I should be. I probably need a trim every four weeks and I tend to go every six.

I love your cut. I joined the forum around three years ago, so I definitely think of your hair as part of your signature look.

Anonymous

I have an extremely short, salt & pepper pixie. I gave in to the fast-growth cycle some time ago and just get it cut every 3 weeks. I've tried 4-week cycles in the past but I'm ready to shave it off myself by the end of that, so 3 weeks works better for my sanity. I do not color it (never have) and my stylist gets me in and out of the chair in around 30 minutes, so even though I have a higher frequency of visits, I still feel it's low-maintenance because of the low time commitment. For a couple months this spring I will be going every 2 weeks to accommodate a vacation schedule, and I'm afraid it will spoil me terribly....

Your hairstyle is *gorgeous* Deborah; if I had a bit more volume to my hair (I have lots of it but it's rather fine) I would aim to copy it in a heartbeat!

Anonymous

I too love your hair just as it is right now. I have done the longer top length version a few times - as you have yours - but I do find it doesn't work as well when I'm outside, in windy conditions, or when I'm working out etc and the front bangs were always blowing up like a bad Donald Trump combover I always think of my mother, who could never drive with the car window open lest it blow her hair around. I won't be that person.

Anyways, I am so particular about my hair, as you are, and when it's not working, I don't feel myself at all. I have my hair cut and trimmed in stages, oddly, as the back of my neck and over my ears needs subtle trimming every two weeks. I can deal with the hair around my ears myself, but can't do the back , so I am popping in for a quick touch up at that 2 week mark pretty consistently. I fuss a lot over the back of my hair, and find it hard to get the shape and length perfect - too short, and it's too (as someone already said - lol ) " butch" looking, too long and it's not polished enough. Anyways - I seem to have settled into a style that works best - I take how it looks during and after working out /cycling/outside in inclement weather etc into consideration and this is the result. I need to not have to worry that every hair is in place - in fact I prefer it to have that messy look. Right now I highlight every couple of months - depending on my mood. I prefer a lot of dark roots for contrast, and don't colour the base anymore. I'm considering a colour change though towards a golder blonde.....fear I'm looking a little grey now I am constantly pinning pictures to a hair board on Pinterest, and consider myself a frustrated closet hairstylist !

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Debs, I love your new hairstyle and colour.

FWIW, I had your "very long on top" pixie style about 9 years ago - and it was hard to maintain. The style goes out of shape quite fast - and it was a mare in Seattle rain and wind. Other pixie styles have been easier to manage through the 6 weeks I leave to have my hair cut and coloured. You can go for 4 to 5 weeks intervals though.

Currently, I have a very long fringe, but it's much shorter than your cut everywhere else. The fringe waves and does its own thing - and it's SO MUCH easier to manage in our weather. 6 weeks works quite well too.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I definitely have the issue of fast-growing hair, and it is a factor in my choice to avoid short hairstyles. I stretch out my hair appointments as long as possible, because I'm a little lazy that way, but my main incentive to get back to the salon is that my color grows out and the grey at the roots becomes too apparent. My actual cut seems to grow out pretty nicely, considering -- I just usually let it go wavier as it grows out.

However, I also have wavy, unruly hair that is easier to style at mid-length, and I also have a small, not-necessarily-nicely-shaped head, so short cuts emphasize that. I had short hair many years ago, but even back then it worked best on me when there was some volume and length to it -- I can't see a super short pixie ever working on me.

rabbit

Veteran

I love your hair Deborah, in all it's iterations.

Hmm, my hair grows very fast, just about when I get a call from the colorist to ask how I'm liking my color is when I notice white roots at the back crown of my head. Because of this I've stayed with a bob so far which grows from chin-length to almost an inch below chin length in the time between cuts and colors (I try for 6 weeks but sometimes just throw in the towel and go in earlier), just because the length works either way.

Then I try about everything under the sun to temporarily dye or cover my roots along the part in the meantime with moderate success. It's frustrating because I started to go significantly gray on the back crown of my head back in my 20's, but lower down my hair still grows out naturally dark brown.

Aziraphale

Veteran

First off, your hairstyle is fab and suits you beautifully.

I have had mixed success with short hair. There are two main problems: one, my hair is thick, so pixie cuts take a lot of effort to style -- lots of work goes into "flattening it down", lol. (Like you, I do better when the front is longer and the back is short). Two, it grows fast, so it's constantly changing shape, and I'm always trying to keep up with figuring out how to style it. It is neither straight nor truly curly, so it looks different every day. Part of the reason I like my hairstylist so much is that she's good at cutting hair so that it grows out well. I often don't like it for the first two weeks after a cut, but then it looks good for the next two or three months, so I'm happy. I prefer tousled-looking hair anyway.

As for maintenance, I won't have a style that needs "fixing up" every three weeks. No way. I go in once every three months, max. Life's too short to spend half of it at the hairstylist's.

Diana

Veteran

I love your hair; I think the current cut is my favorite of all, actually.

My hair grows like a weed (maybe half an inch a month, and it's straight so no curl to take up length), but I also hate going to the hairdresser (because I find it soooo boring, plus all the fumes tend to make my head hurt. And I'm lazy.). This is a huge reason why I've never gone super short, because I know that it's not possible to maintain that with my every 4-6 months hairdresser schedule.

I do have my hair colored but since there is no bleach involved, it is more or less the same darkness as my natural color. When it grows out it tends to look more like highlights vs. a whole head of burgundy, but I'm OK with that. I know it's time to go to the hairdresser when the growout starts getting really obvious; this is also when the whole shebang starts to get a bit too heavy and warm (because it's when the back, which starts out essentially shaved off, starts to touch my back). I think my cut actually grows out pretty nicely so it still looks OK in that regard.

Anonymous

My hair needs every 5 weeks..Your hair is awesome.

This post has 1 photo. Photos uploaded by this member are only visible to other logged in members.

If you aren't a member, but would like to participate, please consider signing up. It only takes a minute and we'd love to have you.

Anonymous

Linder - is that a picture of you?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Your hair is beautiful on you, Deborah. I love it.

I also have quick growing, thick, fine hair. I usually go 5 weeks between cuts but occasionally can stretch it a bit. By the time I go in, though, I'll be feeling a mess. I still consider this low maintenance, however, because I have no styling issues between cuts. I really don't do much to it. A bit of product and air dry.

JAileen

Veteran

Your hair is beautiful.

I have very short hair. It didn't used to be, before I went grey. I had an inverse bob. I liked it a lot, but then it seemed like everyone had it. I was in line at Walmart when I noticed that. Anyway, now I'm very grey, nearly white in front. My stylist is trying to keep me out of little old lady territory. She makes it a little messy looking. (I'm in a non profit whose members are almost entirely retired ladies. Very few have messy hair.) The cut works for three weeks, then it's too long. Anyway, I go in every four weeks, or sooner if I have some kind of event.

Sal

Veteran

I love your haircut and colour at the moment Deborah. It suits you brilliantly.

I have had short hair on and off all my life. As a child I battled my Mum to let me have it short but she mostly refused until I was about 11, then I mostly had short hair until about 19 years of age, grew it long again until I was 24 (travel and home bleach jobs played havoc with my hair and short seemed the thing to do), then grew it again about 30, and over the last fifteen years it has mostly been short or mid length.

I have had a few undercuts and pixies and even once had a "rats tail". What was I thinking there?

While I do admire long hair, mine is kinky, unruly, and very thick. I struggled to keep it looking good and often had it in a ponytail.

I am considering short hair again, inspired by The Night Manager. I love Jed's hairstyle. But I am nervous about the colour (I prefer to be blonde but my hair when short, is very much mouse). I can get bad roots, and while I do have greys, they are not a major factor at the moment.

For the last ten years I have made a cut appointment every six weeks and every second cut I get a colour. This mostly works. I go to a stylist based in a purpose built salon in her home.

I think short hair is more of a commitment in terms of regular cuts, and sometimes one cut can be different to the next, despite asking for the same thing!

Anonymous

Speaking of short hair..... I have an appt tomorrow for a colour and cut (with the stylist I actually prefer but can't really go to unless it's on the down low) and I'm really sick of my hair right now. This is when the trouble starts with short hair - don't you find? At the very least, I am getting the colour changed ....

Style Fan

Veteran

I love your hair Deborah. I have only seen you with this style but it seems perfect for you. I have always had longer hair as an adult and adolescent. I did cut my hair to chin length once but hated it. My hair does grow fast. My bangs look great one day and then too long the next day. I really need to cut them about every 10 days. I have cut them myself but it doesn't always turn out so well.
I am going to get my hair cut next week. It is in bad shape. Way too long since I saw my stylist.
I don't colour my hair. I wouldn't even know where to begin with colouring hair.

CocoLion

(website)

Veteran

I love your hair Deborah. I admire all the work everyone puts in their hair!! Every once in a while I think about going short but reading this thread I realize I'm not ready for it.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

I particularly like your latest cut and color Deborah. My hair grows quite fast and when I was coloring it I was already bothered by the roots after 2 weeks. My current cut starts to look bushy, long around the ears and less intentional to me around 5 weeks and I usually have it trimmed around 6 weeks. In between it is no work at all - as Suz says a little product and air dry.

SusanHunter

Member

Short hair looks cool!

12