Hair accesories for short hair?

[Blue Mermaid]

Help a girl out!! My hair is creeping up on shoulder length with very short layers, lots of texturizing/thinning done because growing out a pixie left my sides sticking straight out! What were some of the things you ladies could use at shorter lengths? If anyone could give me an order for length and tools I would be much appreciated!

For example, "I could use a ficcare at shoulder length, thin hair" "couldn't use sticks til i was bsl, thick hair.. " type of thing would be sooo appreciated!!

I want to start my collection to keep me on the growing track, If i invest some cash in toys, how will I be able to cave and go to a pixie again, and never get to use the pretties? :eek:

My hair is a bit shorter around my face than the back, still so the front parts won't make it into a ponytail. They're about 2 inches past my chin.
Last time my hair was long enough to type, it was 2-c/coarse/III but that was 8 years ago and I'm an adult now so it might be a little thinner/less curly/more curly. In the past very few hair elastics could stand up to the strength/weight of my hair, and the one sorry pair of hair sticks I tried from clairs snapped in two the second I let go of my bun. My hair spit out hair forks faster than a kid spits out broccoli.

I was thinking a ficarrisimo for a tails up, but no idea what size I'll need? I don't mind something I can grow into, but maybe something that I can wear within the next year/year and a half?

At the moment I have 2 medium flexi's and a small flexi, small is for my bangs, and a medium can BARELY do a half up, it really struggles!

I love the look of chinese buns but I know my hair won't be that long for a very long time, I also like half ups/tails up. Also if you have pictures you'd like to share please do so!

I got a lovely bead for a braid end from Dwarvendom, but unfortuantely my layers are a bit too pokey to do a proper braid just yet. Maybe in a few more months I can do a half up french braid.

[two_wheels]

If a medium flexi is too small for your half up, your hair is probably too thick to do a bun before at least BSL so I think sticks / forks are out for the foreseeable future.

I think ficcares are lovely and you could use them right now for tails up, but will leave sizing to the experts!

[sapphire-o]

I would just enjoy loose hair until you can do a French twist (probably a couple more inches). Shoulder length is great for wearing it loose, outdoors, in the wind, or shake it like a Musician does. :D I didn't even comb my hair at that length. You can start a collection of hairtoys of course. Judging by your thickness I would not buy anything in small or even medium size. You can probably go straight to large Ficcares.

[Hedera]

Hi Blue Mermaid!

Do you have any pictures of the back of your head?
It would help to see how much hair you have exactly.

I'm growing out a short bob myself and I still have all my lovely hairtoys from the last time it was long, which I am looking forward to wearing again!
Plus, buying some new ones probably... ;)

I agree, if your hair is that thick you will probably need a large Ficcare for a tails up - though a medium might work too, if some layers aren't able to make it yet.
Let's see, France Luxe has some lovely barrettes that might work for a half up for you; not cheap but they look SO much better than department store stuff and they last really well.

I am looking forward to buying my first Jeterfork (there is a whole thread on them) from Etsy soon; somehow, even though it's only 16" at the moment, I am (sometimes) able to put my hair up in a sort of bun/twist with a 3-prong fork.
Your hair is very thick though, so you'd probably need a few more inches before that works.
Although Loviathar's hair is thick too, and she has just managed to make a cinnabun held with a hairstick!
She's posted a thread on that yesterday.

Oh, thinking of hairsticks; Ketylos are great and you might already be able to use one for a half-up mini bun.

If I think of any more I'll come back and add them.
I know how difficult the growing out can be, and seeing all the lovely hairstyle here that are still possibly years away can be frustrating. Hang in there! :)

[browneyedsusan]

At that length, I used bobbypins, little hair ties, or jawclips every day. Try not to look at your hair, just pin it up and forget about it for a couple of months (or 3 or 4 if you can stand it!) I made little French braids out of my bangs--pinning every few inches to keep them from sliding out; twistbacks, accent braids, and anything I could think of to keep the front "up", and out of my eyes..
I used variations of this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCQJ7aenX1U). When the front is "up", the rest of the world has no idea how bad it really is under there, and they don't need to. When I finally got brave enough to wear my hair down, a friend asked it I'd gotten extensions! :rollin:

[luluj]

Hello, Blue Mermaid, nice to meet you.:flower:

I had my hair cut back to chin this past January (actually it was New Years Eve day) and now I am at shoulder length. My hair is very wavy/wurly and sometimes very curly and although it can appear to be thick it is actually quite fine. There is some very light layering in the back, hardly noticeable, but there nevertheless. I am able to use a small ficcare for a twist and a ponytail and I can also use my small and medium size flexis for peacock twists. Forks just won't hold yet, although my 4 prong 5 inch Amie from 60th St. is almost workable. I have 4 five inch Ketylo sticks and I can almost manage a "wrapped hairstick bun" using them, far too many hair escapees to make it look nice enough.

Feel free to have a look at my album, all of the photos are very recent except for one. I keep a photo of my BSL hair in my album for encouragement and also to remind me of where I want to be.

Wrapped Hairstick Bun Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZI3rM6WvKo

[jeanniet]

If your hair is truly iii (4+" ponytail), don't even consider anything less than a large Ficcare, and bear in mind that Ficcarissimos are smaller than Maximas. My hair is about SL, 5+" pony, and a Maximus will work fine but doesn't close anywhere near completely. I think a Ficcare would be nice. The other thing you might consider is France Luxe claw clips. I like the couture clips, and at your length a large would work. They're pricey, though, so if you want one you might want to spring for a jumbo, which will hold a lot of hair. I'm pretty sure I could've used one at waist and maybe even longer. I also like the mini couture clips, which can hold quite a bit if you use them in multiples.

[Blue Mermaid]

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions. Here is a photo of the back of my head, brushed out (it was a very windy day!)

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll275/Darkshadow5156/f39d9ebb-28ff-409b-bc9a-9c28b9f7112c.jpg

And this is how much of my hair a medium flexi holds. Sorry you can't really see the flexi clip, it's pretty much sitting right on top of my head. You can almost see the pin on the right side if you look hard enough.


http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll275/Darkshadow5156/hairup.jpg (http://s290.photobucket.com/user/Darkshadow5156/media/hairup.jpg.html)

Also, the right side of my hair looks more turqoise, the left more of a seagreen because of the lighting. On my left side there was a very yellow toned artificial light, and a window to the right of me. Interesting to see the difference lighting can make! The photos don't show my natural texture too well, it's almost wash day and the curls have been brushed out pretty well, plus with all the bleach abuse they really aren't quite themselves any more!

Like I mentioned in the first post I'm not sure if I'm really a III thickness or not, it's hard to tell because my hair has been razored, thinned with thinning shears and lots of breakage from bleach (hopefully I"m past that point now) so if you ladies could point me in the right direction I would be ever so thankful!

I have no idea why the second photo is tipped. WHen I go to photobucket, it's not =/

[Hedera]

It's not tipped now!

Oh wow, I LOVE the colour of your hair!!!!
That is SO cool.

When I go completely (or mostly) white, I want to dye it that colour.

And it does look very thick to me - the bleaching and the dye might add to that, of course, but I suspect you are firmly in iii territory.

[lapushka]

I mainly used claw clips until I got to be around waist/hip, that was the time I could start to do buns with my iii hair, so then I abandoned my claw clip for forks and sticks and Flexi8s and Ficcares. There really was no need for me to get hair toys until I got to that point. I'm a iii and I use a L or XL Flexi8, depending on the bun. I also use S, M, and L Ficcares, depending on the bun. If you're less than a iii and are at a very short length like you are, there's no need for the bigger sizes. They will stress your hair and fall out more than anything!

[Blue Mermaid]

I mainly used claw clips until I got to be around waist/hip, that was the time I could start to do buns with my iii hair, so then I abandoned my claw clip for forks and sticks and Flexi8s and Ficcares. There really was no need for me to get hair toys until I got to that point. I'm a iii and I use a L or XL Flexi8, depending on the bun. I also use S, M, and L Ficcares, depending on the bun. If you're less than a iii and are at a very short length like you are, there's no need for the bigger sizes. They will stress your hair and fall out more than anything!

Thanks for the advice! I'm still unsure if I'm a III or just shy, and unfortunately I can't get more than 40% of my hair in a ponytail, so measuring my diameter would be pretty inaccurate. I'll just keep growing for now. My ponytail has thickened up in the last month though, It's almost doubled!! Some of the longer layers/ thin ends are finally just starting to make it back! My regrowth looks SO thick compared to the rest.. bleach really is my hair's worst enemy.

[Loviatar]

Hi there!

Thanks Hedera for mentioning me. :)

As you can see Blue Mermaid I'm around your length. I'm 17" now and have similar issues pony tail wise. None of the front of my hair from back-of-ears forward will go into a bun or ponytail. I posted a thread about being able to make a bun but it's not a bun I'd wear out of the house as it's so messy!

I have fine hair but tons of it. I think I can make a bun already because it compacts well due to it's fineness. Still it will be over 4" with the addition of the short front sections of hair (and I've grown to 23" long before as a III thickness, and it's thicker now than it was then as I've stopped bleaching etc.

Right now I can't use my Ficcares without also using my switch (clip in ponytail that I use to make fake buns). But from what I recall of my last grow out, I could use a medium Ficcare Maximas for a tails up at about 19", and a large Ficcare Maximas for cinnamon buns at 20-21".

Currently because the short front section drives me crazy I either just tuck the length back behind my ears and aloe gel the front back, or I use claw clips to secure as much of the back as possible and then gel the front. With another 1-2" on my bangs, I'll be able to clip them up in a "Nightshade pouf" to give me some height at the crown.

I only have two Flexis and they're both huge as I got them for covering whole cinnamon buns, I'm afraid.

I'd like to get a small Ficcare maxima and see what I can do with it as I've never tried one... When I got into Ficcares I went right to large. I bought a medium to do tails up and try log told. That works ok as my hair compacts down if I do a tight log roll. But I prefer my large Maximas.

Happy growing and your colour is very cool!

[Dreams_in_Pink]

wow i love your haircolor!

When i had your hair length, i used to french braid my hair, fold and tuck the pitiful ends inside and pin. Then i used little U pins with glued on flowers (I made them :) ) to decorate it. It looked incredibly gorgeous. :)

[picklepie]

At that length I used t-shirt segments (three or so inches cut from the bottom of a t-shirt, with hem cut off, making a large loop of fabric) doubled and worn as headbands, keeping my hair off my face. Making them thick or thin changed the look, as well as using different fabrics. I had a grey and black striped one that looked awesome. Comfy, cheap, versatile. I'm a iii, and I couldn't do a bun until BSL.