Going short and dark--make me suggestions! - YouLookFab Forum

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Going short and dark--make me suggestions!

Ariadne

Veteran

I think I've made up my mind--at my hair appointment on Thursday I'm going to chop it all off and go dark(er). Right now I have chin-length light blonde hair. My natural colour is a neutral medium to dark blonde. It's a strange blonde--almost colourless. I'm thinking of going at least a couple of shades darker than that.

I had short hair for years and have been half-heartedly growing it out for the past 6. I think my hair is just too fine and thin to look good long, and I miss the edginess and ease of a short cut.

I would love it if you guys could make me some suggestions, especially if you could share images of short hair cuts and colours that are fab, creative, and edgy. I'm thinking of some kind of a pixie variant, possibly with a bit more length around my face. Also, do you think my colouring is warm or cool? I can never decide. My eyes are greyish green.

Here's a pic of me that's fairly accurate as to my colouring:
http://jouissance.ca/images/ylf/bri.jpg
And here's my photobucket for some more (albums are to the left of that page):
http://s380.photobucket.com/al.....annaleone/

ETA: Here's one style and colour I like:
http://beauty.about.com/od/hai.....hair_5.htm

General

24 replies

Latest reply was from dee2do

Laura

(website)

Veteran

This is not the direction you're going in at the moment, but have you ever considered a short, blunt, stick-straight bob with bangs?

With your hair type it could look fantastic and be easy for you to style as well.

Maya

Veteran

Brianna, I really like the cut you linked too. The color seems very dark though, almost black. I think it might look harsh on you if you go straight from being blonde to that color. I think I heard somewhere that if you want to make a dramatic change, it's best to do it in stages. Maybe it isn't necessary to go so dark all at once. Maybe something around the darkness level of Ana's hair would be better.

I am not great at trying to put faces and hairstyles together, so I'll refrain from commenting on that. My brain just can't process it and I have come out with hellishly bad haircuts as a result of my own poor judgment.

But, I think that style would look very well with your hair texture. Do you have a stylist that you really trust? I would bring in the picture and ask how that haircut can be tailored to your features and how the color can be adjusted to suit your coloring. Haircuts are a lot like clothes--many of them don't work off the rack and need to be altered to your unique features.

Anonymous

I think the style you linked to will give you the edge you want, but I agree with Maya that it looks too dark for your skin tone (I'm just guessing, but it looks warm to me). If you go back to your natural color or just a shade darker, that might be a good starting place.

Ariadne

Veteran

I agree that the shade in the picture is probably too dark (I'll ask my stylist). It's more the style that appeals to me.

Laura, I have thought about the style you describe and it really appeals to me, but there are three problems. My hair is not actually straight, so I'd have to flat-iron it daily (it's just wavy enough to look bad--not nicely wavy--when air-dried); my hair is oily and bangs look pretty bad by the end of the day, if not earlier; and I have a prominent widow's peak, which makes bangs unlikely to lie flat.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Wooohooo! I love drastic changes.

Love the cut you linked to and can totally see it working with your face shape, Brianna. I agree with the others that a dark shade of honey would be prettier than a very dark brown (especially with your lovely eyes).

I can commiserate. I have wavy hair too and it gets flat ironed daily. You’d rock a severe inverted bob as well, though. I can’t wait to see the new do!

shiny

Veteran

I really like the cut you linked to, though with a lighter color. I also have fine, thin wavy hair that refuses to grow longer than chin length. This "piecey" sort of cut works really well. Instead of flat-ironing get yourself some "goop" - I forget what it's called. Just a little bit, you work it into the ends for the peicey look. Or even rub it in (scrunching away) for a bed-head look. If your hair is very fine, you will probably need product, though hair color can change the texture too.

For color, how about matching your eyebrows? I'm no color expert, so I won't begin to guess what shade will work, but I'd ask to have lowlights and/or highlights added in for a multidimensional effect. I.e., you don't want to have it all one color. Have them put in multiple colors. Or they can dye it one color, then highlight a second color.

It does seem to me you are more golden .... the shade you have now looks ashy. So I'm going to guess you either want something golden, or you want something neutral. (yes, there is such a thing!)

I just watched a video (newsclip) last night on where they gave hair color advice for various age ranges. Are you in your 20s? If so, they advised that this is the decade where you should go rich as you can, with saturated hair color. As you enter your 30s and beyond, you're supposed to go lighter.

As for the inverted bob (which is what I have), can we see a pic of you without your hair flat-ironed? When I first get my hair cut my inverted bob is super-short, the bangs just barely tuck behind my ears. The back is super-layered, which adds tons of volume and crown height. I don't need to flat iron at all for about a month. It's been two-and-a-half months since my last cut, and the bangs are just below my chin now, and now I have to flat iron it every day to get it to lay right. Time to get it cut!

shiny

Veteran

The goop is called pomade - it just came to me as I hit the send button!

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Shiny brings up a good point about eyebrows--if you go darker than your eyebrows, I suggest getting some tinted eyebrow gel, to match your eyebrows and your hair a little bit better. It's kind of a dead giveaway if someone has dark/light eyebrows and their hair is the opposite color. I got some and use it now that my hair is pretty dark, and it works well. Other than that, have fun! I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Violet

Brianna, I love the picture of the style you have linked. I think it would look great on you. I know nothing of color, since my hair is black and has never been colored, but the other ladies have given you some great advice. I can't wait to see pictures!

I too am a wavy haired girl using a flat iron. Before this latest cut, I kept it wavy but then I got bored and went with a style that requires a flat iron. I may go back to wavy in the hot summer months.

Ariadne

Veteran

Wow, so many great ideas! Shiny asked for a pic of me with my hair flat ironed. I added one to photobucket, along with two from my wedding when my hair was short (albeit curled, not my usual style!), and one with it longer but not flat-ironed (it is blow-dried). In that one, it's just a few minutes before I put in my dreadlocks, which I had for several months.

http://s380.photobucket.com/al.....eone/Hair/

For most of the years when my hair was short, it was extremely short--less than an inch long. I always used Aveda pomade to style it.

Ariadne

Veteran

Ana, do you mean an eyebrow gel I would apply daily, or an actual dye?

Shiny, yep, Im 27.

Ana

(website)

Veteran

I mean eyebrow gel you apply daily. You can dye your eyebrows at the same time if you want, but it'll only last a couple of weeks and then you'd have to redye them.

Ariadne

Veteran

I've never heard of eyebrow gel. Do you know of any brands? I usually use pencil or powder.

I added some photos of my hair today after flat ironing, with flash and without.
http://s380.photobucket.com/al.....G_6577.jpg

Anonymous

I love that widow's peak!! What ever you do I hope you do not hide that. You have such a beautiful face. Your widow's peak, eyes and smile work well together. Awesome. Your face is so bright and open. I like the spikey hair you linked to. I also agree with the others that a golden honey color would be striking on you.

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Brianna, I use Revlon Brow Fantasy gel in dark brown:

http://www.revlon.com/ProductC.....oductID=43

My eyebrows are already quite a bit darker than yours are, so I'm not sure how it would turn out for you. The Revlon gel is a good one to try it out, since it's pretty inexpensive. If you decide gel is really your thing and you love it, Anastasia makes one too, which, I have to admit, is quite a bit better at saturating your brows with color:

http://www.sephora.com/browse/.....inate=true

Ariadne

Veteran

Aw, san, thank you! You're sweet.

I'm definitely leaning towards a golden honey colour.

tarzy

Veteran

I think that cut you posted looks great! I have been going shorter and shorter myself. I just got a cut last week and she took off a LOT. I really like it, but it does take a little getting used to. (My hair is curly, so it's a completely different animal.) I wish I could get that piecy look, but my hair just doesn't do that. I can't wait to see it!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You have beautiful eyes and great eyebrows, Brianna! I love your wedding pics. Your curly hair do was extremely pretty and dressy. You sassy gal!

The spiky do is going to work if you can get it to stay like that. I have a friend with a similar hairstyle but she has insanely thick hair. You could rest a spoon in it. I say go honey, go spiky and see how the eyebrows need touching up afterwards.

Ariadne

Veteran

Thank you so much, everyone!

Ana, that brow gel at Sephora especially looks cool. I'll check into it and the Revlon one if I need it after the colour change.

Angie, I'm HOPING the Aveda pomade (my magic trick back in the day) will help me spike up. We'll see what they say at the salon tomorrow.

Shiny, if you see this, I misread your request and thought you wanted pics of my hair flat-ironed. I realized you wanted the opposite and uploaded a bunch of photos of my hair when not flat-ironed. You can see them at the same link that was in my original post.

Maya

Veteran

I'm surprised to hear so many fine-haired gals advocate using pomade. I used to use it in my short hair (well, for a few days). It made it so greasy and heavy. I can only tolerate a light spray and mousse. Well, your stylist will probably recommend the right products to you. I admire your apparent calmness about the issue at hand. I tend to panic when I get my hair cut, even when it isn't particularly dramatic. Anything besides a trim gets me all worked up.

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Sounds great, Brianna! If you're staying with a golden honey color though, you probably won't need it. Only if you're going much darker than your eyebrows would you need it. Of course, if you use an eyebrow pencil or something else like that, you might just want to give it a try, for thickening and stuff.

Can't wait to see your new hairstyle!

Maya, I don't use pomade, but I do use a texturizing cream. It's not as thick/stiff as pomade. Long haired gals probably wouldn't need it though.

Ariadne

Veteran

Maya, I've had pretty much every hairstyle I can imagine, from a terrible triangle chin-length poodle perm in midle school to 3/4 inch long hair to dreads to an extreme asymmetrical cut. I guess I've experimented enough to not be too worried--and I know I can wear very short hair.

Actually, I don't know if the product I used when I had extremely short hair was a pomade. I used Aveda's Self Control stick (the stuff that comes in a container that looks like it's deodorant), and I also used the Control Paste at other times. I'll see what they recommend tomorrow.

shiny

Veteran

Brianna, you have such gorgeous bone structure, you could be bald and still be beautiful.

I think going short is the right way to go for you. IMO, your current style is not quite as flattering as in your wedding pic with your hair pulled up and away from your face. So definetly go for it!

As for pomades, Maya, I never thought I could use one with my fine hair either. But there are pomades out there specially designed for fine hair. Also, you have to use it sparingly: I put a tiny dab between my two fingers, and apply just to the tips. It's only in the back that I use a bigger, and rub it in, scrunching as I go along, for the bed-head look.

I have also used texturizing cream. Wish I knew which brand - I ran out and discarded the bottle. Have been looking for it ever since, but I'm at the mercy of recognizing the bottle in a store someday.

Right now I'm actually using Goldwell Mousse Wax. Essentially, it's like pomade, but in a mousse formulation. Except you don't use as much as you would a mousse - just a dollop about the size of a marble. It's a great pomade for fine hair.

dee2do

Brianna,
I think the cut would look good on you. I have fine/thin hair but mine is beyond my shoulders...getting it cut tonight though.

I had a layered cut once that was cute but my hair looked too thin (to me). There just wasn't enough there to cut alot of layers. If you find that the layers make it too thin, you can always play with the color to give it depth. I like the idea of golden honey.
i can't wait to see the cut on you. You're adorable! I agree with shiny, you can be bald and you'll still be beautiful.