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I went to the salon last Friday thinking I'd have my shoulder length hair cut into a bob. A really short bob; Amalie style. But, with no bangs. Probably. And my hairstylist (my friend Michele who has been cutting my hair since we were both about seventeen) tossed me a Short Hair Styles book while she finished up with the client before me. "See if there's something you like in there," she said, "I'll be done in a couple minutes." Partway through the book I found The Cut. It was so stinkin cute; much shorter than I have ever worn my hair, but, you know, SO many women I know have really great short hair (Hi Susan and Karen and Eden), and so I said What the heck, threw all caution and inhibitions to the wind, and went for it.
Partway through, but too late to go back, I had second thoughts. "You're freaking out, aren't you?" Michele asked me. "Uh, yeah, I totally am," I said.
When I left, I actually liked it. A lot! Now, though, I am having a big bad case of cutter's remorse.
The cut is cute, but I'm not crazy about how it looks on me. More importantly, I have no earthly idea how to style it. The fanciest I've done for a long time is pigtails. Michele told me to put some volumizing stuff on my hair when it's still wet, blow it dry (maybe upside down a little) and then finish it off with more stuff to get it to go where I want it to. She may have used different terms.
The first day I did this, it was kind of a disaster. I took to heart the upside down part, and ended up looking like Yu gi oh. Sigh. My hair stuck straight out from my head, especially around my ears, which was just awesome. So, the Redken traction stuff totally works. Okay, then! I didn't have time to redo the do, so I just put a bunch of the other stuff - Davines Mat Pliable Stucco, for Wizards (hey, I only use and do not name the stuff) - on my hands, rubbed it around and sort of patted and fondled my head. Then I used my fingers to try and guide my hair back toward earth. I'm not sure, but I think part of the secret may be to stand sideways to the mirror and move quickly, because if you act like you know what you are doing, sometimes things work out!
The second day was a little better: I started out with my head upside down, but only focused on drying the roots near the top and in back. Then I flipped rightside up, grabbed the counter because, whoooo, was I lightheaded! and blowdried the part around my ears down in a more reasonable looking manner, using my fingers instead of a brush. Next I did the finishing stucco stuff, and it wasn't terrible when I finally gave up, but I still couldn't really look in the mirror for too long of a time.
Cute bobby pins are helping me feel better, and I was stoked to find a great selection of them on Etsy. They come in vintage, steampunk, creepy, nature-inspired, glass, and fun, and that's only a handful of what's available. You can even buy a PDF on how to make your own recycled poppy hair pins. (I have an orange one from her shop that I love.)
I wrote to Susan, begging for tips and tricks, and she echoed my stylist's recommendations, and also suggested that I not wash it every day, letting it get a little crazy between shampoo days. I haven't tried that yet, but I do have a couple of work from home days toward the end of the week.
So, internets, besides asking friends for advice, using a metric ton of product, getting great earrings and fabulous bobby pins, what's your remedy for a too-short hair cut? (Magical hair-growing spells totally welcome, btw!)
