Are You (Really) Ready for Show Stopping Hairstyles for Short Hair? Here’s How to Tell…

So you want a short haircut, huh?

Understandable. And you could have any number of reasons for eyeing a cropped cut.

Summer’s coming. That alone could explain your getting caught up in short(er) hair fever.

A ponytail has become your go-to “hairstyle” of choice more often than not and how much style is that?

Maybe you’re just sick of devoting so much time to blow drying and styling your longer locks?

Given any of that is your reality, perhaps you’ve already warned your stylist to get ready to break out the scissors for your next appointment.

Okay I get it. You think you want to sport one of the short and simple hairstyles.

No doubt short hair can be very liberating. Especially if you have had long hair for a while. Yet it’s a change that should be approached with eyes wide open. Because it’s a drastic step. One that should be embraced only after careful thought, consideration and consultation.

So as exciting as the whole new you can look that emerges from behind the curtain of long locks, it might not be a bad idea to take a deep breath, and ask yourself if you would look good with short hair.

Getting a second (honest) opinion from your stylist can’t hurt either. Because obviously the way a woman wears her hair depends on various things. The list would include her hair type, how thick it is, and how much time she can devote to styling it. In addition her facial features, fashion sense and overall level of confidence also come into play too.

Most agree short hairstyles can be cute, sensuous and all. But “for her and perhaps not me” because again going short can be a big step. One that creates uncertainty. Uncertainty that basically comes from being unsure if you would look good in short hair.

Truth be told, almost every woman can pull off some shorter hairstyle. Problem is you won’t really know if you can pull off the one you settle on until you go under the scissors and see your long locks lying on the floor surrounding the salon chair you’re sitting in.

To help you work through any issues you may have with going short, we’re going to look at the short hair from all angles. Starting with things to consider or what I’ve termed Fending off a Cut-tastrophe. From there you’ll find there are short hair tips as well as styling tips galore. We’ll quickly look at some of the more popular shorter styles. Plus reveal a few other thinkabouts for short hairstyles.

All to help you begin to decide if you would look good in short hair. Because that’s the burning question here isn’t it?

Fending Off a Cut-tastrophe

So you still think you want a short haircut, huh? In fact you’ve almost convinced yourself that you want to join the nearly 11% of women in this country sporting short locks.

Yet you don’t want to end up with a salon disaster. Always good to avoid those. So while you don’t need the even facial features many fashion models possess to find a flattering shorter style, still not everyone is cut out for short hair. But how do you know if you are? Well, one simple thing you can do is try on a wig or two of the style you think might work to see.

Hair Type
Then the type of hair you have plays a big role. Is your hair fine or coarse? Thick or thin? Stick straight, wavy or curly?

Thicker hair will almost always have plenty of body and volume regardless of length. Fine hair may need to be coaxed into fullness with products and styling techniques.

Curly hair requires extra thought. Reason being shorter cuts may actually not be for girls with curls since the shorter the cut the tighter the resulting curl. The strands once cut will lack the weight needed to keep them from springing up which can result in the dreaded mushroom head. And no need to remind you that’s not the desired effect.

Another thing to think about is how much time you are willing to invest in styling and upkeep. You may be looking for something that requires little more than waking up, washing up, and then walking out the door. Yet not all short styles are exactly wash and wear ready.

So you should try to get an idea of how much styling time would be involved with a particular cut.

Then there is upkeep and maintenance. Hair growth will show much quicker with short hair. Depending on the cut it’s not out of the question to need to get a trim every three or four weeks. Do you have the time and money for that?

Show and Tell
Tearing out lots photos from magazines is another great idea. Having a collection of cuts you like to go over with your hairdresser is smart since describing what you want can be risky. While showing what you want works nearly every time. It tends to cut down on miscommunication between you and the person doing the cutting. Because as you know a picture’s worth a thousand words!

Tip: In addition to the style, check out the person’s cheekbones and facial features in the photographs. The question to ask is “How closely do yours match theirs?”. Such a comparison can help you decide if the cut would work for your face.

Let’s Face It
Speaking of which the final point here is about your face. Short hair almost always works great for those with delicate features. Meaning a petite mouth and smallish nose. Also since there is nothing to hide behind your eyes will be brought more into focus. In fact the bone structure of your face, your neckline and smile will be more visible than before.

Tip: Eyeliner may well become your new best friend. Playing up your eyes is always foxy and smart if you’re going with a short cut.

You want to carefully consider your facial features and pick a style that compliments your face shape. Certain cuts will flatter certain face shapes better than others. For example ultra-short cuts tend to come off best for those with heart shaped, square or oval faces.

Then this may not be new news but you want to look at your face both front on and from the side. How do your nose, neck and jaw line stack up? And don’t be too hard on yourself if you aren’t ecstatic about what you see. Your stylist can cut your hair in such a way to balance out the features you may not exactly be wild about. Leaving you with a flattering cut that highlights your best features.

Finally don’t give up if your first or even second cut doesn’t produce the overnight sensation you might have been hoping for It may take a bit of experimentation to find the exact cut and ways to style it that is most flattering for you. But when you do find the right hair cut it can literally transform your face. Letting you present a radiant you to the world.

8 Tricks Make Shorn Locks Simple and Oh So Sexy

Shorty hair can look spiky, soft, piecey, sleek or like a wild child even. Just depends on how it is cut and what you do with it once it is.

To help with that, here are eight shortcuts to a sleek, hot, chic mane.

You know, tips and tricks you can apply to make shorn locks simply stunning.

Or ideas you might want to read carefully since you’re seriously thinking about a short haircut!

• Trick #1: Styling products count. They are very important if you want to avoid helmet hair which is what things can end up looking like if you shortchange the product application step. It can also happen if layers or texture was in short supply at the salon, but that’s another issue.

• Trick #2: Consider highlights. They can bring a short cut to life by brightening and enlivening the look. Or they can be combined with lowlights to add depth and dimension to your locks.

• Trick #3: You may discover that shorter hair has the ability to bring out hidden features as well as the natural texture of your hair.

Tip: Remember color fade is less of an issue here since you’re working with short hair and getting maintenance cuts regularly. So why not unleash your inner hair diva and freely embrace color experimentation? Being short really gives you more styling and coloring options that naturally come with the ability to change your look more often.

• Trick #4: Taking a razor to your mane can result in a choppy or feathery look.

• Trick #5: Don’t think short hair has to lack movement and definition. Cut right will also leave you with plenty of styling options. The trick? Your stylist wants to leave the top part around the crown a few inches longer so you have something to work with. And don’t be shy about asking them for styling ideas. As the video shows below there are plenty to go around. But only if you know about them.

• Trick #6: If you’ve got hair that’s on the finer side, you’ll probably want longer not shorter layers. This will work to create fullness and give your look more body. Here, color can be used to make things appear thicker and fuller. Layers and fine hair go together like hand and glove. And that still holds even with short fine hair.

• Trick #7: As with any other style you’ll get the best results by remembering three points: suds up using a shampoo for your hair type, use an appropriate conditioner and as always the less you use hot styling tools the better.

• Trick #8: While on the topic of products, you’ll be able to save money because less is required. Less shampoo, less conditioner and less just about everything. Because there is less hair to attend to.

Little Styling Moves That Can Make Short Hair Totally Hot

Okay so you think you want a short haircut, huh? In that case you may need to update the styling moves you put on your hair. Luckily short hair gives you quite a few styling options. You can create a look that is soft and feminine, one that is tousled and all sexy, or glam it up by slicking it back for a classic and elegant look.

For one you can bring out the shine by applying a light gel.

Then did you know that wax is one of the best styling products going for short hair? Given your locks are cropped, you only need a bit. Yet even in limited doses, and you only want to use it sparingly, it can do three things for you add shine, texture and hold to your style.

Now just because your hair is short, well that doesn’t mean you can ignore the conditioner. You’ll want to use a light weight product to keep from weighing your hair down.

And headbands work with everything from a short bob to a closely cropped pixie. They make for a great way to change up your look and hold your hair back.

While not exactly a styling move, short hair is tailor made for longer earrings. They make for a great compliment, or a great way to set off your style.

Okay but say you’re suffering from brain freeze and are stuck for cute styling ideas.

OMG.

If you want to see crazy simple little styling ideas for short hairstyles, you won’t want to miss this video. It’s received more likes than some videos get views.

You’ll get all sorts of ideas to try by investing less than nine minutes of your life.

This girl is fast and makes the 10 cute looks seem so easy. All the while showing off the power of the sexy, short hairstyles.

So I would seriously encourage you to watch this whole thing. I mean it’s only 9 minutes. All the more if you struggle with short hair styling ideas that are both cute and quick and easy. The ones shown here are that in spades.

But…I have also noted where each of the 10 styles begins so you can hop there if you prefer.

• #1 psn 0:25 Straightened messy or sleek with every hair perfectly in place
• #2 psn 1:12 Super cute French side braid
• #3 psn 2:34 Accessorize with a bow
• #4 psn 2:58 Space buns – yeah they do work with short hair
• #5 psn 3:44 Ponytail
• #6 psn 4:25 Adorable Messy Bun
• #7 psn 4:43 High Ponytail

We take a bit of a detour about 60% of the way through at psn 5:15. That’s because the final three styles are based off a foundation of soft beachy waves. So she does French braids on damp hair and then sleeps on them over night to get those.

• #8 psn 6:09 French Braid wavy hair
• #9 psn 7:00 Top knot wavy hair
• #10 psn 7:22 Subtle and loose curling iron curls

And if that isn’t enough inspo here’s 10 more ways. Each specifically focuses on how to do a short hair updo. Each includes a “how to” video to that we dug up just so you don’t run outta ideas.

Phew. After all this no one dares say they lack for shorter hair styles to try!

Styles That May Have Caught Your Eye

So you still think you want a short haircut? Then you’ll maybe need some ideas to get the ball rolling. Let’s briefly touch on some of the more popular short styles just to perhaps spark an idea more so than tell you everything there is to know about a specific cut. Okay?

The Bob
Almost any list of styles for short haircuts you see is certain to include mention of bob cuts of some sort or another. So we will too. Any of its variations and incarnations offer a stylish, smart, chic looking cut that is still trendy after all these years. Plus it’s not like you are going short short in length. It’s a safe landing point length wise after years of long hair. That might also serve as a jumping off point for something shorter.

Yet you still have to take face shape into account. If yours is round, a longer bob will elongate the appearance of your face more than a chin length one might. Otherwise bobs are fantastic cuts for any other face shape no ifs, ands, or buts. As I’m sure your stylist will tell you.

Styling Tip: Just a bit of hair powder can help keep any hair pins you use when styling your bob in place.

The nice thing is even though this versatile cut has been around seemingly forever, it will never fall totally out of fashion. It can’t. It works for too many woman. It’s constantly evolving. Plus it can be a way station if you are lopping off inches and don’t want to go too short.

Wedged A Line
Another cut you’ll see is a cute, wedged A-line. You might say this is a bob with more layers. Any length found in this cut culminates at the jawline. The back of your hair is quite tapered and much shorter starting from the nap of the neck. The rest of the hair is heavily layered to give you all sorts of movement. This look often includes a side swept fringe.

Boy Cuts
The boy cut also accentuates the face. In particular highlighting your mouth and your eyes. This is a low maintenance cut that’s about as close to wash and wear as one can get. Especially if you like it a bit on the messy side. Point cutting, texturizing, razoring, low maintenance yet sophisticated style will be terms you stylist might use. To make it easy care get it shorter on the sides with a taper in the back. You find that a bit of length at the crown that gets longer towards the front too gives you more styling options while keeping washing, drying and styling time to a minimum.

Styling Tip: A deep side part looks good with many shorter styles. And changing which side you part your hair on instantly changes things up.

Short Pixie
Speaking of boyish that is a reason some avoid the pixie. Yet they are anything but — if you have the face for it. Yes there is an ideal face for this style. Big eyes staring out from a narrow face are the perfect facial features for a pixie. And the cut can be on the wispy side if you like too.

With any of these bangs might work quite nicely. They add a bit of femininity to the cut. Which is always good.

Want more? Redbook has a gallery of 25 cute short hairstyles along with tips to help you pull them off.

And when the day comes that you’re tired of the upkeep and want to move on? We explore the stages of growing one out so you know what to expect to keep tears to a minimum.

But If You Hate Your Cut, Then What?

So you thought you wanted a short haircut, huh? But things didn’t turn out exactly as you planned. Sorry about that. And no, crying won’t help. But if it’s any solace your hair will grow back. And until it does this brief hair cut gone bad survival guide might come in handy.

Your first and best next move is to look into hair extensions. They are of higher quality and cost less than ever before.

If you have curly hair and it went BOING – think about straightening it a little or a lot. That will make it look longer.

Coloring it a single color can help it to appear longer than it is.

Remember too that you will likely hit a point where you can’t do anything with your hair as it’s growing out. This is when you want to talk to anyone who will listen. Your stylist. Your friends. The person behind the counter at the beauty supply store. No one will have the perfect solution. But all may be able to contribute bits and pieces that you can piece together into a workable plan.