Hi ladies!

I used to sport a pixie cut. For three years, in fact, since 2008. I loved how low maintenance it is (6 week intervals on cuts aside), and I love how it focuses on my face, which is what I feel is my best feature. The pixie is gone now as I spent all of 2011 growing my hair to 2 inches past shoulder length and it's annoying me: maintenance, more obvious oiliness, length, hair getting in the way of ANYTHING... Strange because before 2008, I've mainly worn my hair long and always felt sexy in it. But now as I grow it, I just don't feel that way anymore. In fact, I feel almost too "restricted" because my hair gets in the way all the time! (even ponytails get in the way!)

I only had TWO reasons why I grew my hair:

1) My short neck is making me feel incredibly self-conscious.
Remember how I told you about my camera-phobia? Every picture I've seen makes me look unbelievably bigger than I normally am - because of the short neck and the unusual back fat at the base of the neck (not a dowager's curve though).

2) I never quite figured out how to style my pixie.
A bad hair day is a REALLY BAD hair day. Most of the time, my hair is neat. Sometimes, it's just a mess! I like getting creative and spiking it up sometimes (because my style is a bit more rough around the edges as opposed to polished), but it looks like I just woke up - and not in a good way!

I would really really love to go back but I fear that I probably will run into the same mess again. I haven't felt beautiful/sexy in AGES, so I want to make a conscious effort to do this by selecting a haircut that suits my lifestyle (on-the-go)/personality (lazy/low maintenance) and my best features.

I have pics in the bottom to show what I looked like with a pixie (1 - notice the weird back curve at the base of my neck?) - and my most recent haircut (2 - it's longer now though). I'm wondering if I should change my look or maintain what I have but find lower maintenance alternatives.

Thanks so much!