What Makes Short Hair Chic And Not Mumsy?
Posted by: Nina Carbone
Filed in:
style
10:00AM, Friday November 27th 2009
Love Heidi‘s new-ish short cut. .. L-O-V-E. A little while back I was inspired to chop off my hair to about the same length—I wanted a chic, modern ‘do and what I got was a total soccer-mom-inspired look. Ick. For some reason, I just couldn’t get my slightly-above-the-shoulder-length hair to look anything but ho-hum. Every single freaking day, I see loads of women on the street with these gorgeous, Heidi-esque bobs and they look uber-sophisticated—why the hell couldn’t I pull that off? Well, as I realized (as I started to furiously grow my hair back), chic short hair takes some work…
Just because your hair is short doesn’t mean that it’s easier to style and take care of. Sure, blow-drying time may be cut in half, but you also spend loads more time on other hair maintenance to-dos. First up: Part of what makes short hair so damn alluring and chic is the cut—you have to have an amazing cut (and those don’t come cheap!). The best and most chic short cuts are the ones where the woman really went for it—meaning, she didn’t sit down in the stylist’s chair and say, I’d love to cut it really short, but I’m scared so, lets just see what “this-length” looks like. Go for it, yo. Layers are also key, depending on your face shape your stylist may cut longer or shorter layers for added movement. See Heidi’s freakishly full and almost wispy hair? That’s because she’s all layered up. And once you’ve taken the plunge, you have to keep it up—trims are key. Now, styling it: If you are up in the air about how to wear your newly chopped hair, the easy way to guarantee chicness is to go sleek. Throw a little heat-protectant styling balm in there (I like L’Oreal Studio Line Heat Seeker), blow-dry and flat-iron! What do you guys do to make sure your short hair veers more on the side of chic?
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cardboardcastle
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 10:09 am: [report]
After washing, I like to separate my hair into sections and hit it with a little root lifting spray. I style the top with the blow dryer to make it sit correctly, then blow the rest out upside down to give it more volume. I flat iron the ends, tease the crown a little, and it’s good to go! This sounds like a lot of work, but it only takes about ten minutes.
lewomack
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 10:19 am: [report]
My hair’s naturally wavy, so when I had it uber short, I just kind of let it be. It was a lovely tousled mess.
alfredgina
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 10:27 am: [report]
i love her short hair! it looks so great on her!
Al D
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 10:44 am: [report]
I wish you would have picked a photo where we can actually see her haircut, though. All I see is her hair tucked into a coat collar with a few shorter pieces flying out the front. Not exactly inspiring.
msu.umich
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 11:10 am: [report]
My hair is super curly - like Andie McDowell or Juiliana Marguiles (sp?) back when they wore it curly. I’m thinking about chopping it way short but I don’t want to look like Mr. Kotter….suggestions?
powplz
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 11:48 am: [report]
I’ve had my hair about chin-length for a while now, and blow drying/straightening it is a lot less hassle/time consuming than dealing with full-on long hair. I just let it air dry, then blowdry it after it’s mostly dry. Then I straighten it and go. Sometimes I’ll throw a little product in if it needs it (excessive flyaways, static, whatever). Still easier than longlonghair.
Also, finding a good stylist is key. I definitely pay more now than I used to, but my girl is very good and charges totally reasonable rates ($40!).
wonderfultonight
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 02:09 pm: [report]
I would love to get my hair cut since it is long and curly, but my bf loves it the way it long and wants me to keep it this way. Anybody else run into this dilemma?
Seems guys prefer the long hair - even saw an article a few months back that stated men “hate” short hair. Why? There seem to be an awful lot of women with short hair these day.
impoddity
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 03:20 pm: [report]
@wonderfultonight: Maybe he grew up with messages that “longer hair equals more feminine female”.
Or else it’s just personal preference.
dizzy
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 03:35 pm: [report]
My hair is short and spunky. I flip it at the edges when I blow-dry it, and then I pull it out with KMS hairplay molding paste. Alterna Hair Concrete works too. I have very fine hair, but a lot of it, and anything waxy just falls flat and greasy. My hair is super easy and everytime I glance in the mirror and it looks a little boring I just muss it up with a flick of my hands.
powplz
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 04:56 pm: [report]
@wonderfultonight - my bf also likes my hair longer. But. It’s my hair. If you want to cut it, cut it. He’ll still love you even if he doesn’t like your haircut. And if he doesn’t - over a haircut, good riddance.
wonderfultonight
wrote on November 27 2009 @ 07:01 pm: [report]
@impoddity You are right - his mother and sister both have gorgeous long hair and are Spanish-French beauties to boot.
@ dizzy and joyy My hair is even more curly when it’s short, but so easy to take care of - almost “wash and wear hair.” Not as many ways to wear it, though. My bf has never seen me with short hair, but I guess he can get used to it. I know he won’t be leaving me over it. Thanks.
bogart4017
wrote on November 28 2009 @ 09:05 am: [report]
If short hair is so much work why be bothered. I’m not sure what “mumsy” means but i’ll assume it means most women wait til they get past 35 and want short hair so they cut it, creating more work for themselves and some of us men don’t even notice unless we have to be some place on time and women are still fussing with the curler/brush/hairdryer….
christinax4
wrote on November 28 2009 @ 06:04 pm: [report]
i had to cut mine short after it started falling out because of a medicine im on. after all the haircoloring was cut out, i went from what used to be blonde to red, and now im brunette…AND I LOVE IT. my hair is so much shinier and healthy compared to how it was when it was long and bleached