Curly and Short: will it work???

Hello fellow curly haired friends,

I am trying once again in my life to shorten (and theoretically simplify) my hairstyle. Right now I wear it in a ponytail at the neck every day. The reason for this is that my job requires that I do NOT use ANY hair styling products. The reason for THAT is that we work in a "particle free" environment and are not allowed to introduce any unnecessary particulate (ie bits of dried gel or hairspray) into critical areas. The rest of you might imagine how difficult it is to live with curly hair and NO hair styling products!

I have gone from long to short before...and I think I went TOO short last time, because it was absolutely necessary for me to use styling products. When I think about it though...I was using pomade, so that stuff didn`t harden, so it may be OK.

Anyway -- do you think I should just stick with the ponytail or should I go short again...and if I do go short, anyone have any links to some great easy short styles for curlyheads?

Also, I fervently agree with Pink Dreams... Right On leave in conditioner is a WONDER for curls. It also works very well with a diffuser...if you have time to do some blow drying.

I will attach an image of me with "too short" hair so you can get an idea of my face shape.

Thanks in advance!!!

Well, like most people, the amount of curl in my hair varies randomly according to temperature, wind and humidity, among other things. I have about a 6 in level of curl on a scale of 1 to 10. If I sleep in huge curlers all night (or not sleep, as the case may be), and the weather is perfect the following day, it can actually look straight. Then there`s the new growth at my temples which curls up and looks like "devil`s horns" which also prompts me to go short again.

I guess in my case the real challenge is the limitation in styling products I`m allowed to use. If I use pomade I`m going to have to start washing my hair much more frequently -- and you know how stressful that gets on hair. And then there`s the temptation to go red...but coloring totally changes the texture of the hair...

Anyway -- when I cut my hair the first time, it was like becoming free... and it really brought out my eyes (I think). It was wierd at first -- took less shampoo, took less time to style/dry etc etc. I think it`s relatively easy to get it cut TOO short because the stylist will not compensate for the curl. I really liked mine about 4 months after I got it cut...it was the perfect length then.

If you look at the URL below, that is the style I took to my hair stylist. The second picture is my haircut after 4 months of growing out. The cut I got was a "Razor cut" so the hairs were all different lengths... and it was very "dynamic." The girl did a great job cutting my hair, but she cut it too short...so I guess be very careful of that.

Otherwise...look at all sorts of style magazines, style sites, everything you can get your hands on (even bridal mags have some great ideas in them) Best of luck!

Dear Shantel

Many apologies for the length of my message, but I thought it might help.

I have been giving your message some thought and your quandary reminds me of a situation my wife used to have.

Just like you she has curly hair and for a long time wore it just past her shoulders. For convenience she wore her hair tied back, but from time to time she would wear it loose and it did look very pretty. The only problem with wearing it loose was that it used to take ages to style; either to straighten her hair or to tone down her curls and then if the weather was not kind, she’d feel that her hard styling efforts had gone to waste as she’d feel all “fuzzie”.

For a long time she’d thought about going short but at the end of the day found it so hard to rid herself of her long flowing locks. The changing point came when she was placed under considerable family pressure to have a short “neat and tidy” hairstyle for an important family occasion. Although she wasn’t too happy with this idea, she decided to go with it, visited the hairdresser who looked after her mothers hair and ended up with a very simple short style that in length was very similar to yours when it was short.

I was really surprised for lot’s of reasons, initially that she’d had it done in the first place and secondly because I really liked it, I thought that although she looked very pretty and attractive with long hair, that she would look rather plain and dowdy with short and curly hair. I was wrong, yes she had short curly hair and yes she looked very neat, tidy and respectable (her family were thrilled) but she still looked very pretty and most definitely very attractive.

My wife on the other hand felt differently. Her initial reaction was to mourn the loss of her long hair together with the different styling options that long hair afforded her and she desperately wanted to grow out her hair again.

After several months of growing out, she found herself having to have to spend time styling and controlling her hair. She was slowly beginning to realise that maybe short curly was a good bet after all and that the thought of long hair was no longer such an attractive proposition. As time went by she became less happy with her hair and eventually came to what I think was a life changing decision.

About 5 months later we visited her grandparents for the weekend and this time, without family pressure she decided to visit the traditional hairdresser again. She explained to the hairdresser that she wanted her hair short, but she didn’t want to have to spend hours styling it or to have to need lot’s of products and therefore wanted something plain and simple. The hairdresser went to task and cut her hair into a very short simple style that needed absolutely no styling at all. Her hair was cut in order for it to be left to dry naturally into a controlled mass of short tight curls which loosely resembles and afro (she’s white). I never believed that my wife (who’s a bit wild at times) would adopt such a “sensible” style, but she loves it to bits and has kept her hair regularly trimmed ever since (this happened nearly 3 years ago).

Her hair now looks the same at all times, but it hasn’t held her back or made her feel plain in any way. What she now does is experiment with clothes and makeup. If we’re going out, she wears trendy clothes and with matching makeup looks chic and happening, she still gets loads of admiring looks. When at work she wears a suit and looks very professional her with non offensive hairstyle, when playing squash (racket ball) she looks dead sporty with her zany curls and when she’s with her grandparents, she tones down the makeup, dresses conservatively with the result being that her family thinks she looks nice and respectable.

What I’m trying to say is that if you have curly hair, you are not necessarily trapped. Why not exploit the advantages of your curls, cut you hair short into a simple style and let your curls flourish. Just like my wife, you won’t be stuck with one look but you will have solved a huge problem and turned your curls into an advantage.

I’m hoping that I haven’t bored you stupid and was wondering if you would share with me the following:-

Why do you think that maybe your hair was cut too short?

Although you look pretty in the longer haired picture, it seems likely that your hair had taken some effort to style and your look was further enhanced because you were dressed in a glamorous dress with matching makeup. The picture with your hair short and curly was with you dressed more casually so it’s hard to compare, but I for one think you looked just as pretty (if not more so) with your hair cut into the more simple short and curly style. Do you really feel that it’s worth the effort to put up with the long hair or was the hair cut too short after all?

Would it be fair to assume that deep down you must have liked your hair being short and curly because otherwise would you be considering taking it short again?

You say that the longer haired picture was after 4 months growth, how long is it now and how long was it before it was originally cut?

I hope the above has been of some help. I’m sorry the message is so long and hope I haven’t bored you. Good luck with whatever you do and please let me know what the final outcome is.

Hi Shantel

Thanks for replying to my message.

The picture you posted looks good and certainly seems to satisfy the requirements of both yourself and your husband, I`m sure it will look and feel dead good! I really hope that you find the right stylist, something tells me that you probably will.

As a very curious person, it would be great to see a picture of your hair when it was long, I hope you will feel able to satisfy this curiosity!

Good luck with whatever you do and take care

Salsaking

hello your absaloutally right

OK -- here are the results...


Drum roll please.............................................

Not the best picture but the best I can do on such short notice.