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Hair help

CK

Hi all. I have only had time to lurk lately, but I hope you will excuse me if I pop in with a question, because I need some advice. I don't know if we still have any hair stylists active on the forum, but anyone is welcome to comment.

I recently grew out my pixie cut of 3 or 4 years into a short bob. However, I'm finding that the front and sides of my hair are super wispy and thin, to the point where it won't hold the style, if you know what I mean. I've attached a photo. You can see that while the back looks pretty good, the sides are so thin you can see through them to my ears, and there is no nice sharp line that a bob should have (even though it is cut that way). It is actually cut bluntly on a very slight angle so the front is a bit longer than the back, but you wouldn't know that by looking at it. I also have light bangs, but you can see how thin the hair is at my temples as well. My hair has always been baby fine, but as I get older it just seems to get thinner, of course.

My husband told me the other day that I should cut it back into the pixie, which I am sure I will do some day. However, I've spent so much time growing it out that I don't want to give up on that quite yet. Obviously, this doesn't look good, though (as he so nicely pointed out to me, LOL! He's the one that wanted me to grow it out in the first place, of course. *g*)

I am already taking supplements for hair, have a good diet, and use volumizing products which do help a lot. I do use a semi-permanent color close to my natural color, but I'm not
willing to do other color at this time because my hair seems so fragile,
especially in the front/sides. I'm not sure what else to do. There are still a few layers in the sides which have not met the bottom of my hair yet, so I'm hopeful that when they do it will look somewhat thicker. Also, this length is not my final goal - I hope to grow it a couple of inches longer but stay above shoulder length.

Any advice on how to make it look better in the meantime is welcome. I am trying to be patient but it's difficult. I spend a lot of time with my hair tucked behind my ears and that is getting tiresome.

Some days I really miss my pixie. :-/

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General

15 replies

Latest reply was from texstyle

Caro in Oz

Veteran

Hair can be so frustrating. Do you have a good hairdresser you can talk to about this? Sometimes the cut we want just doesn't work for our hair or face shape & I think the right hairdresser will let us know what will & won't work for us Sorry I can't be more helpful

Anonymous

I used to be a hairdresser. To me the front hair looks like it needs trimming to blunt it up. As hair grows it the ends get thin, just cutting the ends off would add more fullness. It helps to get fullness in a bob cut if the under layers are cut shorter then the top layers. Hair at the temple sides doesn't have as many under layers so it is harder to get that fullness. I added some photos. I don't think your hair looks bad.
I hope it's ok that I re-posted your photo, if you want me to hide them just say so. The lines are #1 how your hair looks to me #2 how you could get more fullness in front. You could also just go straight across but I always like the bobs with longer front.

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Deborah

Veteran

CK i am not a hair stylist:) I would discuss this with your hairdresser and get some input from him/her first. I also have a bob and have worn my hair in various versions of a bob for years I think I understand exactly what you are striving for. Sometimes the correct texturising can make the difference. I have very fine hair but I do have a lot of it but when my hair gets too long it tends do the wispy thing at the ends and I like my hair to looks sharp and full. My stylist point cuts my hair for a bit of texture and and so I can create a more choppy look when I want. Simply cutting with scissors into a blunt cut is not the only way to create a sharp bob. And while I know you want to go longer, a shorter cut can also create more volume. Also do you have your hair coloured? Colouring my hair tends to add a bit of volume to my hair also. Just as a point of interest this is my most recent cut from a week ago.

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CK

Thank you for the support, Caro. I do like my hair stylist very much, but she's quite young, and I have been pretty adamant about what I want (don't cut too much!) as I grow it out, so I can't really blame her for not making suggestions. And I very well may be striving for a style that will just not work for me. (I've had it longer in the past and liked it, but that was several years ago). I will say that when she styles it, it looks a lot better!

Tracina, thank you so much! I probably should have mentioned that I just had my hair trimmed a week ago, so it actually looks a lot better than it did, LOL! And I have actually had that cut similar to Ellen Barkin's, several years ago and you are so right - it works very well on my hair type. Unfortunately it doesn't work so well on my face shape. My hairstylist did the best she could given the fact that I'm still trying to keep as much length as possible. While it definitely looks jagged from the side (as per your drawings), it is not cut that way at all, if you know what I mean. It is cut very evenly, but it doesn't have enough weight to fall forward the way it's supposed to. I don't know, maybe I should try the more angled cut again and see if I feel differently about it now. My face shape has probably changed as well.

Deborah, now I have hair envy! Your hair may be fine, but you have a lot more of it than I do. Yours looks fantastic. I am jealous. See my above response to Tracina about why I don't think I want to go shorter with the bob, though. I wish it looked good on me. I do use semi-permanent color on my hair, but I don't want to do anything else to it right now as it was quite damaged from some previous highlights which I'm still trying to grow out.

I guess if I have to go shorter to have it look good, then I would rather go the pixie route...but I just spent months growing it out! Sigh.

Gigi

Veteran

I'm in the same boat--fine hair. And it's especially limp on the sides. I also have a long face, which doesn't help matters, as the limp sides just make my face look drawn. Argh!

As far as ways to deal with it as you grow it out, I've had luck with side combs and headbands. The side combs are nice because you don't have to pull the hair back super tight with them but can kind of do it a bit more loosely, which allows the hair to kind of "pouf" out a bit. When you use the headband, you don't have to keep the hair tight under that either. After I put the headband on, I push it forward a bit to "pouf" out the hair a tad in front of the headband. This seems to create the illusion of more volume.

I actually found that I had a lot more volume in my hair once I stopped washing it. I used to wash it every day. Now I wash it maybe once a month, if that (usually only in the summer). I discovered that the natural oils and sebum that build up in my hair act somewhat as a thickening agent and give my hair body. Every morning, I brush my hair very well with a boar bristle hairbrush to distribute the oils evenly down the hair shaft. Then I wash my hair just with very warm water, then finish with cool water. It does take some time for the oil production to stabilize, so if you try this, you may find that your hair is overly oily at first. I didn't go cold turkey but just slowly cut back on how often I washed my hair (every other day, twice a week, once a week, etc.).

My biggest surprise when I stopped washing my hair was to find that my hair actually has quite a bit of wave! It had used to be completely straight.

CK

Thanks, Gigi! It's always nice to hear from someone who can relate to my fine hair woes. And thank you for the suggestions - I will have to try some combs or I was even thinking those pretty little decorated bobby pins might be nice for the holidays.

I think one of the problems I have is that I'm just not good with hair. I was never very good at doing my daughter's hair, either. It always used to fall out of it's bun when I tried to put it up for dance class! Now she does her own and is great at it. My hair tends to poof out at the bottom and become very rounded, which I hate. And I'm not good with a flat iron, either. Tapering it would solve that problem, but would defeat the purpose of growing it out. Perhaps I am just meant for short hair!

That's really interesting about your hair care routine! I have tried going conditioner only, but that didn't really work for me. I do find that my hair behaves better when it's a little bit "dirty", but that soon turns to greasy and limp. I don't know that I could make it through the adjustment period! I know a lot of people are going "no poo" these days, though.

Anonymous

CK, what about leaving the length in the back but layering it a bit and taper the sided into the bang and then brushing them back. One of the fun things now is that if you are thinking about going back to a pixie anyway is you can try out some longer styles first. Wedge haircuts add a lot of volume to fine thin hair.

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Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

I bet that as the layers 'catch up' and grow out you will have some more volume. But, along Tracina's suggestion, what about a cut like Jennifer Lawrence just got - short but not a pixie, sort of a short wedge?

Pame

Why not add a few clip in pieces of 'hair' such as side pieces and side swept bangs. Christie Brinkley sells the side bangs clip in. Other pieces could be purchased and your stylist cuts them your hair length. You just clip them under your hair and brush over. Instant thickness. I've seen this many times. My older daughter does it all the time. The hair from Christie Brinkley is just beautiful!

E

Veteran

I don't have much actual advise, but from your verbal descriptions I was expecting something much worse then the pic. Just remember we're our own worst critics; I think it looks just fine as it is.

On the shampoo thing, I have fine, thin hair too and trying to go more than one day in between shampoos made it ridiculously greasey and limp. Until last month, I tried 'washing' with water; I go through the same motions I do when I use shampoo but just let the shower water do the work. I have to be very thorough, I imagine my hair's been drenched in oil and I have to get it clean, but it lets me go 4 days between shampooing easily & my hair gets more voluminous and easier to style with each day! I was so surprised it worked, as my hair's the kind that can be greasy by the end of the day, so it might be something for you to try. I do use a natural, sulfate free shampoo (Kiss My Face Whenever Shampoo) and don't bother with conditioner (as my hair isn't dyed and now that I've cut back on shampooing the natural oils keep it healthy), if that makes a difference.

Anonymous

Hmm, I can see what you mean, and I'm no stranger to the challenge of having fine hair while growing out a pixie. I think Tracina is onto something. If you can stand it, why not grow everything out another 1-2" THEN cut it into an angled bob? That way you have some extra length in front to play with, but it gives your hair more time to fill in on the sides, if that makes sense. When I grew mine out, I noticed I went through stages where my hair did the exact thing yours is doing. After awhile, it magically started looking better. My theory is that with pixie cuts, you end up with tons of teeny-tiny layers, and it takes time for all of them to grow out to a length where you can angle it off and everything looks full again. Does that make sense? I wouldn't go back to pixie yet -- I think you've hit an awkward spot, and the only way to make it better is to keep powering through.

I'm not sure about the shampooing advice. I think it's very tough to do the no-shampoo or even reduced washing when you have super fine hair because it gets weighed down really quickly. You may have better luck with reduced washing when your hair gets longer because there's more surface for the oil to spread out.

CK

Thank Tracina for all your ideas! I really appreciate them. Dorothy sure was cute with that style. I remember watching her skate - yes I am that old.

Laura, I think you are right that my layers will eventually grow in and it will look better. If I do get it cut, Jennifer's cut is adorable and one of the reasons I'm tempted to go short again!

Pame, clips in are a great idea! I will have to look into that.

E, thank you for your kind words, and I will have to try just water and see how it works!

Stacey, I think you are right about all the little layers in a pixie, and of course my sides were the shortest part of the cut. I will hang in there for a while and hope that they fill in a little more. As you say, when growing it out you just have to be patient and it will often look completely different in just a short time.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I will hang in there for a while. Plus, it's cold out so I don't really want to go short right now if I can help it.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

I know this is not directly hair style advice, but in my own experience thinning hair can be directly related to low thyroid levels and/or low ferritin (iron stores). From what I've read on the subject, it can make a tremendous difference. When my iron was at it's lowest (almost no stored iron) I had a lot more hair in my brush and was kind of wondering what was going on. Also, back when I first got diagnosed with hypothyroidism many years ago I had been having a similar issue and even my eyebrows seemed thin, esp. on the sides near the temples. Apparently many doctors use this symptom as part of their diagnosis.

Since I have been supplementing with natural thyroid for years my hair got much better until my iron stores got low, then I had to start taking a high iron supplement as well.

There are many other things that can cause hair thinning of course - but for me this combo was the solution.

CK

Thank you for mentioning that, Texstyle. I have thought about having my thyroid tested, but I didn't know about the link between thinning hair and iron. I will have to have those checked out.

texstyle

(website)

Veteran

Best wishes to you CK - an endocrinologist who is up to date with current info. would be best if you want a natural thyroid supplement (should you need it). I take Armour Thyroid (prescription) and use Poly-O Iron (over the counter).