Hair Woes

One of the things I'm really determined to learn this year is to be more "girly."

Now, obviously I'm a big lover of dresses and skirts and don't shy away from that side of the girly atmosphere, but I've always felt like a big dumbo when it come to hair and make-up. I know nothing.

This past fall I did get brave and cut it shorter than I ever have (yes, shoulder length is the shortest it's ever been - I've had mega-long hair 80% of my life). I'm really happy with the length that it is now, but it's still a fairly big sorce of frustration for me every morning. It's baby-soft and super fine. Now, you wonder, who complains about having soft hair? Well, when it's so soft and fine that it's nearly impossible to get to stay with bobby pins, and teasing of any kind is absolutely worthless, things can get hairy - hardeeharhar! (that's my old man laugh, in case you were wondering).

So I'm reaching out to all you other girlies who have or have had what is essetially long baby hair (kind of creepy image there, sorry). How do you deal with it and get it to do, well, anything? I've never dyed my hair and part of me wonders that if "damaging" it a little by dying would help at all - but like I said, I know nothing so this is most likely a crazy girl's idea.

 

Any other "late bloomers" out there who didn't get the girly make-up and hair gene?

 

Comments

[Anna]

I feel the same way. I don't know anything about make-up. I wear mascara and lip stain and gloss. If I'm going out, I'll curl my lashes and haphazardly apply eyeliner and shadow. My hair is the opposite of yours, but it leads to similar results--I don't know how to tame it, so I just wear it down and keep it long. Learning about make-up and hair styling has always been on my to-do list, but my inner hippie always wins.

[Scout]

I'm half tryin to make mysef style my hair, too, now that it's finally long enough. Usually I just don't wash my hair except a couple times a week, and that helps it stick some. I've also heard people talk about dry shampoo, but I've never tried it. Next, I would suggest getting your hair slightly damp when styling it, that way it holds long enough for you to pin it securely - which might take a ton of bobby pins :P
As far as curls go, my hair is fine and does not hold curl - unless I use no heat methods. I can find some for you, if you are interested :)
Good luck!

[Erika Reid]

i'm not the only one? thank goodness! :)

[Susie]

I'm like you in this regard! I like dresses and skirts, flowery things, and the occasional ruffles and bows: but I am USELESS when it comes to hair and makeup. I can't do *anything*. My problem is that my hair is so puffy that everything I do to it (other than a ponytail, or wearing it down with nothing done to it) makes it look weird. I can't even wear hats! Headbands are about as interesting as I can get...:-/

[Kelly]

Don’t intentionally damage it!!!! I dye my hair every now and then and I always hate the way it feels afterwards – very dry and frizzier, and actually harder to style. While I don’t have your problem, I do have fine hair as well, only lots of it and it has texture to it which makes it easier to pin up. I still need to use hairspray though to make sure it stays up the whole day. So my suggestion to you is to just use hairspray. Only use it before you begin putting it up as well as after. Using hairspray before will make your hair less “slippery”. Also, maybe only try putting it up the next day after washing (or however long it takes for your hair to get a little greasy) and use hairspray. If you don’t like the idea of aerosol hairsprays (like me), there are lots of good non-aerosol hairsprays. Clinique makes a good one (the hold is very light though) that is the closest to scent-free that I have been able to find. Also, you should be proud that you have undamaged hair! I bet it’s a breeze to style down.

[Ecbmurphy]

you need hair powder! (also known as dry shampoo, but with your lovely dark hair you should try to find one that's pigmented for dark hair. bumble and bumble makes one.) it will absorb oil, but it will also make your hair stiff enough for back combing. this is mostly for your day two (three...four...) styling, or if you want to put your hair up all special.

the other thing that i would recommend for when you're styling your hair from clean is a really good, lightweight mousse. (my favourite in the world is kevin murphy bodybuilder.) you don't need much and you only need it in the roots/top layer of your hair. it will give you way more traction for when you're blowdrying, especially for when you're roundbrushing (oh yeah, roundbrush for volume).

we have super similar hair: i have tonnes of it but it's baby fine. the only difference is that mine can be quite curly, whereas yours seems to be straight. i hope this works for you!