Hairstyles when growing out a nape undercut?

[ynne]

Hi! So the title kind of says it all, but to specify my situation: I have about chin-length hair, a high nape undercut to grow out,* and very limited ideas as to how I might hide it when it gets to awkward lengths! I'm interested in ideas or even experience, if someone went through it (or is going through it!). It is already a bit frustrating as the short hair sticks out.

*Right now I think I will just let all of my hair grow (& trim if necessary), but I would rather leave it alone until at least past shoulder length. I don't want to go all short, so I guess I might have to wait for a length I like where I let the rest of my hair catch up and trim it accordingly; but that's far in future.

When my hair gets much longer, I think a low ponytail might cover it. And of course, wearing hair loose, but that's not an option for me on most days.

[HaMalka]

I am not sure this will work at your length (I did it on someone with hair a bit longer than you) but you can try and do a lace crown braid with your longer hair but instead of keeping the braid close to the scalp where you are adding hair at the back you can turn it into a perimeter braid over the nape.

[lapushka]

Hi! So the title kind of says it all, but to specify my situation: I have about chin-length hair, a high nape undercut to grow out,* and very limited ideas as to how I might hide it when it gets to awkward lengths! I'm interested in ideas or even experience, if someone went through it (or is going through it!). It is already a bit frustrating as the short hair sticks out.

*Right now I think I will just let all of my hair grow (& trim if necessary), but I would rather leave it alone until at least past shoulder length. I don't want to go all short, so I guess I might have to wait for a length I like where I let the rest of my hair catch up and trim it accordingly; but that's far in future.

When my hair gets much longer, I think a low ponytail might cover it. And of course, wearing hair loose, but that's not an option for me on most days.

I think the top layer of your hair will hide it pretty well, no?

I have had one undercut in my life, and it was "botched" (as good as bald underneath) (I was 19), but back then I just kept growing it because it was too hard to live with it for too long, I just needed it to grow and grow.

[ynne]

I am not sure this will work at your length (I did it on someone with hair a bit longer than you) but you can try and do a lace crown braid with your longer hair but instead of keeping the braid close to the scalp where you are adding hair at the back you can turn it into a perimeter braid over the nape.

My hair keeps on slipping out when I try to do a braided crown, but maybe it needs just a little bit of an extra length! I will keep it in mind and see if it works a bit later. c: Thank you!

[ynne]

I think the top layer of your hair will hide it pretty well, no?

I have had one undercut in my life, and it was "botched" (as good as bald underneath) (I was 19), but back then I just kept growing it because it was too hard to live with it for too long, I just needed it to grow and grow.

I'm not entirely sure how you mean that? I would have to have my hair loose all the time for it to hide it, so I'm looking for updo/half updo/... solutions. :)
I had an undercut for quite a while, it's great in reducing the amount of hair I have to deal with, so it's been hard to resist the temptation to trim it again!

[enting]

Are you interested in using wraps or scarves or headbands? A bun or ponytail with your longer hair and something wrapped around your head should contain and hide the growout, but if that's not your style then never mind.

If your hair needs more grab for a braided crown, you may wish to try some aloe or glycerin gel to give it some holding power.

I agree that a low ponytail should do when your hair is long enough for that. Would a french braid work? I know that they are possible to do on pretty short lengths.

[lapushka]

I'm not entirely sure how you mean that? I would have to have my hair loose all the time for it to hide it, so I'm looking for updo/half updo/... solutions. :)
I had an undercut for quite a while, it's great in reducing the amount of hair I have to deal with, so it's been hard to resist the temptation to trim it again!

Just keep it down all the time, or is that not an option for you? :)

You mean wash day with iii hair? If you don't want to or can't dilute your shampoo, this is how I do it. I wash bent over. I put a glob on the back of my head, a glob on the top of my head, and a glob divided into 2 for the 2 sides. Then work each glob into a lather, then rub/massage my head all over lathering it all up. It works for me. I rinse it out a tiny bit, then the remainder I suds up again, to get a good wash and to make sure it got everywhere. HTH! :flower:

[spidermom]

If the hair involved in the undercut isn't very thick, it shouldn't be too long before you'll be able to braid (maybe twin braids) and/or pin it up. Hopefully. Milabu has a lot of short hairstyles on her YouTube channel. She isn't dealing with an undercut, but you might be able to get some style ideas there.

Good luck!

[akurah]

I'm not entirely sure how you mean that? I would have to have my hair loose all the time for it to hide it, so I'm looking for updo/half updo/... solutions. :)
I had an undercut for quite a while, it's great in reducing the amount of hair I have to deal with, so it's been hard to resist the temptation to trim it again!

There aren't a whole lot of updo options at chin length with iii hair.

[lapushka]

There aren't a whole lot of updo options at chin length with iii hair.

Yes, exactly. :flower:

[ynne]

enting, thank you for so many ideas!! :o
I have never worn wraps/headbands but I am not against them. I will look at some short hairstyles/tutorials with them and see if something catches my attention! :)
The gel is a great idea, too, I don't use any styling/"holding" product before doing an updo/braid, I didn't realize it could make a difference.
Thanks again!

lapusha, oh, I see why it was easy to miss, but I mentioned it in my first post, I can't keep my hair down most of the time! Pretty much ever since it passed ear length and I could make the tiniest ponytail + pin the rest. (Which is also why I don't want to go all short; I would have to endure the time when it's no longer a pixie but it can't be put up yet.) It's just... really not doable with how my hair behaves rn. I am hoping for some improvement, but I can't rely on it, unfortunately!
And it's more in general sense, it was overwhelming to have so much hair to deal with, especially when it was longer, it used to break elastics (I didn't know they are damaging back) and combs. Plus when it's in the mood to be especially frizzy/poofy, the extra layers did not help! But thank you. :)

spidermom, Milabu is great. :) And she does make hairstyles look so effortless! Hm, I could look for some inspiration there. It will take a little longer to get there, but hopefully my hair will grow reasonably fast. Thank you for the idea! c:

akurah, the length I get, but is the iii part specifically an issue? (And I'm not sure if my hair counts as iii when I have the undercut.)

[akurah]

iii hair needs significantly more length to do most updos. My hair is on the low end of iii or high end of ii depending on how you count it and I couldn't even do the most basic of buns till well past apl

[blesseddamozel]

When I was growing out my undercut I mainly wore the long part of my hair (which was shoulder length at the time) in a high pony/messy bun and then either let the undercut hair stick out or I'd twist it and pin it up with a barrette or bobby pin. I'd also use wide bandanas to hide that part of my hair like this (https://i.pinimg.com/736x/29/bc/41/29bc41f87f320b177a5b013908806a94--bandana-updo-bandanas.jpg).

I'll admit I wasn't very creative at the time, but what I did worked for practical purposes.

[Obsidian]

What about a headband like this? It will keep your hair off your face while still being down to hide the back.

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1rO9clRmWBuNkSndVq6AsApXao/Headbands-Plastic-Hairbands-Ladies-Girls-Kids-Simple-Style-Hair-Hoops-Teeth-Candy-Color-3PCS.jpg_640x640q70.jpg

[ynne]

When I was growing out my undercut I mainly wore the long part of my hair (which was shoulder length at the time) in a high pony/messy bun and then either let the undercut hair stick out or I'd twist it and pin it up with a barrette or bobby pin. I'd also use wide bandanas to hide that part of my hair like this.

I'll admit I wasn't very creative at the time, but what I did worked for practical purposes.

Thank you! I like that bandana placement. :) And I'm definitely looking forward to when I can pin up the shorter parts!


What about a headband like this? It will keep your hair off your face while still being down to hide the back.

https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1rO9clRmWBuNkSndVq6AsApXao/Headbands-Plastic-Hairbands-Ladies-Girls-Kids-Simple-Style-Hair-Hoops-Teeth-Candy-Color-3PCS.jpg_640x640q70.jpg

Thank you for your idea! Unfortunately it wouldn't solve the way my hair unmanageable and flies off to the universe. :x