PDA

View Full Version : Big chop coming - Wavy hair question - what might it do?



citylove
May 12th, 2014, 11:04 AM
Hey Hair Aficionados -

I am planning a significant chop, - waist/hip to chin - and wonder if anyone has any experience (personal or just observed) about how length changes might impact my level of curl.

I am basically a 2b, with some 2c tendencies that frame my face and just above the nape of my neck. Some of those whirlies around the edges certainly border 3a.

I highly suspect that a large chop will allow the rest of my hair to go curly too, where it's now just s waves. But who really knows?

So -- any ideas about this? or before/after photos of 2b/2c big chops?

I am trying to find pictures of what I want it to look like, but I want to honor my natural hair so it is kind of hard to plan, you know? Here's my pinterest board of what I am thinking about: http://www.pinterest.com/jesscitylove/hair-ideas/

I am considering cutting off the ponytail myself (like on a Friday right after work) and figuring out what it is like before going to get it properly cut on Sunday or something. Does this make sense or am I overthinking it?

Thanks for your ideas!!

queenovnight
May 12th, 2014, 11:12 AM
Well, I don't know with wavy hair. But with my curly hair, when it's short.. the curls are way tighter! At my current length, it's weighed down and the curls are stretched out a bit more. So I would imagine that with wavy hair, it would do the same. But I can't be sure XD Gosh, I'm not of much help Lol.

BrendaLoan
May 12th, 2014, 11:34 AM
I never had chin length hair, but I can definitely say that hair length affects the level of my curls. Now at TBL, my waves/ curls are stretched because of the weight, but at APL, I had tighter ones

Annibelle
May 12th, 2014, 11:40 AM
It really depends. Curlies tend to get tighter curls with reduced length, but wavies can go either way-- I'm 2b, and the longer my hair gets, the wavier it gets. I have a long wave pattern, which basically means that when my hair is shorter, I'm cutting off a lot of the wave-- I don't get curls bouncing up, because my waves aren't stretched from hair weight-- my waves are stretched because that's their natural pattern. If you have fairly straight roots, then you might have a long wave pattern, too. My waves don't really start til a few inches down, so my hair is perfectly straight at pixie. It's flippy at shoulder. It's wavy at BSL. It has spirals and even a couple of sausage curls at WL. I'm not sure what it will do beyond that!

citylove
May 12th, 2014, 12:03 PM
thanks so much for the experiences shared so far! I really appreciate it!!

patienceneeded
May 12th, 2014, 12:06 PM
I have wavy hair, 2b/2c if I treat it right. When my hair was chin I had much tighter curls, even 3a/3b, with many actual ringlets. I did use shampoo and conditioner for curlies, as well as a curly leave-in.

Nope
May 12th, 2014, 12:12 PM
I have wavy/wurly hair at shoulder and beyond, but when I first got my pixie it was forming some ringlets here and there and poofing pleasantly. That might have just been due to my not using conditioner at that length, though.

spidermom
May 12th, 2014, 12:16 PM
I agree with Annibelle. You have to pay attention to your personal wave pattern. My 2C pattern was pure pouf until about armpit length. That's where distinctive waves and a few spiral curls formed. Let me show you what I mean in air-dried hair at about chin length, then armpit length (which was slightly layered to avoid the pyramid effect):
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/BOONEW.jpg (http://s25.photobucket.com/user/spidermom/media/BOONEW.jpg.html)
Gotta love the makeup, right? My 13-year-old vampire wannabe niece did that for me. Now I could make this haircut look presentable by blow-drying it with a round brush and touching up with the curling iron or hot rollers, but it most definitely was not wash and wear.
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/spidermom/October2005.jpg (http://s25.photobucket.com/user/spidermom/media/October2005.jpg.html)
Ah, finally! Wash and wear hair.

I don't know what my hair would do if it were short now. It seems that I've lost most of my curl. I think I'll stick with long hair. At least I know what I'm dealing with.

spidermom
May 12th, 2014, 12:17 PM
Sorry; stupid double post.

citylove
May 12th, 2014, 12:19 PM
thanks so much for the experiences shared so far! I really appreciate it!!

spirals
May 12th, 2014, 03:19 PM
My hair's like yours. When it's significantly shorter, it's not curlier. It's pouffier. It stands out from my head a lot more and is harder to control.

hennalonghair
May 12th, 2014, 03:33 PM
It really depends. Curlies tend to get tighter curls with reduced length, but wavies can go either way-- I'm 2b, and the longer my hair gets, the wavier it gets. I have a long wave pattern, which basically means that when my hair is shorter, I'm cutting off a lot of the wave-- I don't get curls bouncing up, because my waves aren't stretched from hair weight-- my waves are stretched because that's their natural pattern. If you have fairly straight roots, then you might have a long wave pattern, too. My waves don't really start til a few inches down, so my hair is perfectly straight at pixie. It's flippy at shoulder. It's wavy at BSL. It has spirals and even a couple of sausage curls at WL. I'm not sure what it will do beyond that!

Yes! It CAN go either way. I have 2b/ 2c hair and it also has a l-o-n-g curl pattern so at chin length there isn't too much curl. At APL there's lots of curl( almost too much) but when it get to about WL the curls stretch out some.
I love my curls but if I go too short I ended losing them.
If you are going for a big chop it might be wise to take off a bit at a time so you can see it at different lengths. Remember it takes a while for hair to settle. Take your time.
I REALLy regretted letting a hairdresser cut all my hair off.

Like the above poster claims: my hair went poofy and hard to manage when it was shorter. I couldn't wait for some length to tame the texture some

jeanniet
May 12th, 2014, 03:35 PM
Echoing what everyone is saying about it being an individual thing. You might actually want to have it cut a few inches below chin, see how you feel about it and how the wave is, and then cut it shorter if you want. Sometimes just a couple more inches makes a big difference, and you can't put it back once it's off.

breezefaerie
May 12th, 2014, 03:39 PM
I just chopped!
I was at waist length, chopped to shoulder length last week.

Oddly enough, I realize that my wave patten is very long. My hair at this length is virtually straight which was a surprise.

door72067
May 12th, 2014, 04:34 PM
I've done that chop twice and both times, it makes my curls much curlier (they stretch as my hair grows)

in fact, if I had to pick a length where my hair seems it's happiest, it's in the chin to shoulder range (just to account for how much more defined the curls are at that length, I won't be *happy* until I hit tailbone! lol)

two_wheels
May 12th, 2014, 05:04 PM
I am similar to Annibelle I guess. Pin straight until about ear length, then flippy between ear and shoulder, then confused frizz from shoulder to BSL, then finds a fairly strong wave pattern at BSL+. At least, it used to.

edit: my curl pattern is nothing like Annibelle's... but experience of being straighter at shorter lengths

memeow
May 12th, 2014, 05:09 PM
I would be really careful cutting yourself. When I cut my bangs I thought I was leaving lots of extra hair to chop off--instead they actually ended up too short! My hair isn't even that wavy, I just really didn't account for how much it would spring up. I would start at what looks like shoulder and see how it goes...

citylove
May 12th, 2014, 07:20 PM
This is great, thanks!! Just to clarify, I would do a significant chop at home, maybe to shoulder to see what my hair does. Then go in to get it properly cut! I guess there is no way to know. I was hoping to chop at least 12" so I can donate it, but now I am wondering if I should do 3-4" at a time. I have 28 or so inches from scalp to tips.

citylove
May 12th, 2014, 07:41 PM
This is great, thanks!! Just to clarify, I would do a significant chop at home, maybe to shoulder to see what my hair does. Then go in to get it properly cut! I guess there is no way to know. I was hoping to chop at least 12" so I can donate it, but now I am wondering if I should do 3-4" at a time. I have 28 or so inches from scalp to tips.

restless
May 13th, 2014, 02:49 AM
I would be really careful cutting yourself. When I cut my bangs I thought I was leaving lots of extra hair to chop off--instead they actually ended up too short! My hair isn't even that wavy, I just really didn't account for how much it would spring up. I would start at what looks like shoulder and see how it goes...

I can only echo this post. My 2b/2c hair gets more and more wurly the shorter it is and those wurls eat up a lot of length, so yes, Id be very careful too if I was you. Id prefer to go shorter little by little rather than just chopping it all in one go and then realise another 1 or 2 inches are lost due to waves/curls.

Good luck with your new hairstyle :)

butter52
May 13th, 2014, 05:58 AM
Im a 3a-ish curly and cuting it short has made all kinds of different things:

Like if I went from waist to armpit it curled more, but if I went to chin or shorter it just didnt curl and I just got waves because my pattern doesnt start doing ringlets until under chin.

So I think it really depends on how your pattern begins on the roots.

RingletedManiac
May 13th, 2014, 06:01 AM
The thing about curly hair is that, when cut to a shorter length, it's going to immediately shrink. Unless you want more of those bob-esque looks, I suggest cutting your hair to more of a medium length, maybe at your shoulders or a bit longer. But if you are looking for styles on that pinterest, then go ahead with it.

Beborani
May 13th, 2014, 06:57 AM
I found that some shorter styles flattened the curls completely to the point i had to flat iron to keep it looking neat and some enhanced it allowing me to wear it curly girl style. Ask for a stylist who likes to work with curly hair--in my opinion that is the most important thing.

torrilin
May 13th, 2014, 12:02 PM
What I'd do is use NaturallyCurly.com and other sites to find reviews of local salons that are curl friendly. Your pinterest board has a *lot* of celebrity hair that is heavily heat styled, and not a lot of stuff where the person is embracing and enhancing their natural texture. If you look at pictures of Emma Watson as a girl, her hair is a solid 2b/2c when heat styled for her movie role as Hermione. And the curl pattern varies widely from picture to picture, so the on set hair and makeup folks changed her hair up a *lot*. So with longer hair and a routine that focuses on being gentle, she might well be more of a 3a. Tough to tell. Her pixie cut is cute, and the length is probably chosen very carefully to minimize the need for heat styling while giving the illusion of straight hair. And well, most of the time when she appears for an event, she's had professionals do her hair and makeup... so getting a similar look on yourself as a wash and wear deal is perhaps not a reasonable goal.

The other thing I'd do if I planned to do a major chop on curly hair is plan so that the stylist was getting to see my hair as maximally curly as I could manage. It won't make things totally easy, but it can help the stylist and you filter out styles that are reasonable on your hair vs ones that aren't.

citylove
May 13th, 2014, 02:59 PM
Thanks for the thoughtful replies everyone.
@torrilin, thanks esp for these reminders. I'm thinking of doing a shoulder length chop myself and playing with it for a couple days to see what it does and if I am any better at scrunching shorter hair vs current length. Or maybe it will go back to 1b 1c like it was before. I did find a couple salons near me thru naturally curly, so it's nice to see that reinforced. If my hair still curls :p

citylove
May 15th, 2014, 10:03 AM
Noticed to day that my daughter, who is practically my clone in many ways, has a curl pattern that starts at her ears. We shall see what happens. Going to do stage 1 cut tonight!