new thread
Hello all.
I've been going over something in my mind for awhile now, and I'm not sure what to do exactly or how to go about it.
First, my ultimate goal in having longhair is to have it all one length. I've known this for awhile. The problem is, I'm scared to have it evened up.
I haven't had any cuts/trims for 20 months now. Since my hair isn't straight, the bangs look a good 1 inch below chin, but are probably about 2 inches. The rest of the hair, the sides backward, are a good two inches lower. So my hair looks very uneven from the side view, and I'm forced to wear a ponytail all the time.
What I'm thinking is maybe just going from the lowest point on the bangs and going all the way around with that length. My concern is that this will make it look like a short bob, and that's quite a bit of length to be loosing from the back. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to tie it back!
So my question is what you guys think is good, and how to go about explaining this to a stylist or whoever. I'm incredibly nervous about any cut on my hair, but I know this has to be done at some point. I'm just not sure yet.
Any tips/advice?
- Brian
Hi Brian,
I can't blame you in the slighest for being nervous about it. Yikes! (Growing Long Hair takes so long.)
When in doubt, give it at least 2 weeks thought process which I believe comes from the greatest advice of all: Bill Choisser. It is amazing what 2 weeks does to just "think" on a concern. Most likely, after that you will have made up your mind exactly what to do and no longer be unsure. But for now, I DO believe you are being as cautious as possible and using your brains rather than a sudden whim or making a rash decision that may result afterwards with regrets.
Good luck to you. I think you are being very smart about posting this concern.
Justin
Guitarist in my band did the same thing. He had been growing alittle less time then I had at that point. He cut from the bangs all around and hates it. It doesnt look remotly long anymore and he cant tie it back.
He has a more straight type of hair though so i dont know.
I think the best thing to do would be to do what I did (and am almost done doing :)) Mine was also very uneven but slowly (like every 6 months) i have been getting it trimmed closer to even. This made the ends look great and I got it evened out in the process. I'm still about 1 inch uneven, but next time I go in the summer, it will be all even :)
drek has the right idea, Brian. Get your stylist to comb all your hair back and then TRIM an inch or less off the bottom in the back ONLY. Repeat every three to six months. This method GRADUALLY shortens the back while the sides and front lengthen--until, when parted in the middle and combed down, your hair is even all around. Good luck in finding that right stylist.
Don't Blame you for being nervous, I'd be scared to death! :-)
If you want it all one length, I'd add my agreement to what Drek & BRGallagher suggest. Don't trim your hair up to meet your bangs, let your bangs get longer first. At your present length, if cut everything level to your bangs you risk ending up with a "Big" Bob.
Another suggestion would be to keep the difference between the bangs and the back, just have the ends cut blunter so they look sharp, this will give you the neater look from the side. And it will also help with the back to front proportions so you never risk looking like you have a bob.
...Brian. I actually also want my hair all one length. I've been growing for almost as much as you, 21 months. My hair in the front, as you described, sounds exactly like yours...one inch below the chin when not pulled down. My hair in the back is only about 1 inch longer, so there's not as big of a discrepency as yours. When my hair is down, it looks as if it's all one length.
Personally, I think you're at a great length to even it out. I don't think you'd have much of a probelm with the hair in back not going in a tail. But, if you wear it up for work or some other reason where it would be burdensome to not have it all go in a tail, I would wait a few more months. After all, you've come a long way, where another few months isn't really much now! However, if you wouldn't mind the possibility of it not going completely in tail, I say go for it since that's a nice milestone to be able to say it's all one length. Best of luck to you! Keep us posted.
Hi Brian,
I've got the same dilemma as you at the moment, but I think my hair is probably longer. Been growing mine now for about 5 years, getting sporadic trims every 6 months or so when it got hard to comb without getting knotted when wet.
The end result is my hair is currently mid-back but uneven and thin-ish on the ends, lacking a blunt, tidy look that you see many longhaired women have who get regular trims. I'm probably going to get about 2 inches off this weekend to get rid of some damage and then have regular small trims every couple of months after that.
Its a bit of a catch-22 I've found after getting my hair to the length I wanted. If you forgo regular trims and just concentrate on growing your hair all the time then it ends up looking uneven due to natural hair loss over time. Of course if you get regular trims then it takes that much longer for your hair to get anywhere.
I know what the hairdressers will say but it's hard to tell who's interest they have in mind. Reading some female longhaired boards, they have as much trouble with hairdressers and longhair as us guys.
If I was going to do it again then I'd probably get a regular 1cm trim every 3rd or 4th month, just to keep it slightly tidy looking.
Best of luck.