Growing out an undershave / undercut

[florenonite]

Who else is growing out an undershave?

About seven months ago, I cut my hip-ish hair to shoulder and got a nape undershave. This was great for the hot summer, because my fine, thick hair is HOT.

Of course, I regretted it. The rest of my hair is below my shoulder blades now, and it's fine. I can braid it to work out or leave it loose and it's an okay length. It's about 6 months from BSL and under a year from waist, so it's not long until it's in the sweet spot for me of "long enough to be long, short enough to not feel like all I am is hair".

But the undershave is another story. It's about 5-8cm (2-2.5") long. It's fine when my hair is loose, but I can't incorporate it into a braid, or even a low ponytail. I've tried doing side twists and braids into a ponytail (like Belle from Beauty and the Beast), but the rest of my hair is so thick that those twists are too fat to keep the short strands contained. I'm not keen about using oil or gel to tame them as my hair is fine and has low porosity so those things just sit on it and make it greasy. I've been doing half-ups, but they don't work for everything. The undershave is even getting long enough it's uncomfortable when I exercise.

tl;dr: I'm growing out an undershave that's too long to just leave out of buns/braids, but too short to incorporate into anything. Anyone with thoughts/experience/commiseration to share? TIA.

[lapushka]

You are at a "pixie" grow out stage with that undercut, and a pixie in and of itself is a terrible thing to have to grow out. I think as long as you can keep it covered it's fine. Maybe keep your longer hair at a "standstill" / maintain, until the shorter bits have caught up a bit. Is that an idea?

[Hasse]

I grew out my sideshave while also having to look put together at work. I used a LOT of bobby pins and mini braids. Good luck!

[Bri-Chan]

I had a sidecut. It's growing since october 2017,but honestly I never had troubles with it, the hair just shades with others.
I had a slowly growth for almost an year, and now it is about shoulder length
click! (https://i.imgur.com/Xx9Ua0Mr.jpg)

But a friend of mine has with a 1b C iii had some problems with her growing sidecuts... What helped her was layering them

[florenonite]

You are at a "pixie" grow out stage with that undercut, and a pixie in and of itself is a terrible thing to have to grow out. I think as long as you can keep it covered it's fine. Maybe keep your longer hair at a "standstill" / maintain, until the shorter bits have caught up a bit. Is that an idea?

Hmm, I've been thinking once I hit BSL/waist I'll probably maintain for a bit, but I'm at an awkward length right now where I do need to tie my hair up a lot (like when I'm eating!). If I maintain to let it catch up I'd probably be cutting back to shoulder length, as it's such a problem now because I can't leave the rest of my hair down.


I grew out my sideshave while also having to look put together at work. I used a LOT of bobby pins and mini braids. Good luck!

Thanks! I still can't quite do mini braids, but I might be able to do a higher bun and bobby pin the ends out of the way.


I had a sidecut. It's growing since october 2017,but honestly I never had troubles with it, the hair just shades with others.
I had a slowly growth for almost an year, and now it is about shoulder length
click! (https://i.imgur.com/Xx9Ua0Mr.jpg)

But a friend of mine has with a 1b C iii had some problems with her growing sidecuts... What helped her was layering them

Hmm, maybe it's more of an issue with straight, thick hair? I'm 1c/F/iii.

I think once it gets past shoulder it shouldn't be so bad, as it'll be long enough to fit into braids, or at least braided ponytails.

[florenonite]

*bump*

I think I've found a winning solution for now: contour clips! They manage to keep the undershave pretty contained and let me bun the rest of my hair. Now if only I could find ginger-coloured ones :lol:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xRMcBa96pHzM1aC0h39exbs4zA7ps0GO04wgYEt_PkImHdenZo qb7D4RjdhxsAmOfJSj65Pf4mEBi5_n5K27vrz7bseiN0FWWVA7 83lWeYnzD2U7Sr99luo3KW1LLd-5ZMdh0piyd-sCVfAKNTUx-UudRFjPL6Vkm0O6AlSEj7KuE8EeZr9YyVTklBMEi1AdQF8DvJE O_FYvftsI3LaAcUZESVoSSjAivc03_a7rWw_Iw66p2ivNRM9R-5USGAYKJOO26iwQmtfrpfa_5wHOy4xWpTZa86MHvqUaz4dCeIm dw2McR4kYgqpKCodJuVg4d_KuQBvvJVQRrWW5kdWyP6rKsBliQ 1fr31tzjKrqihNA1iHvlbT_G9KaIvaAH0mMrx7QgHQEJHSY4In NSS895JeqrfJ389VL3H5sVEXpiiH8IUfTDkP9Bb6ivuJd1-ZN-bCH7rrrr83D_JBpxJpXGBJq8r8SEfKrTsZlPf-KcFmP5i87HFjX5fky7ewD76Am-W97NIdni3HKq35BRjqBzUvYy6Nd8E17LwH8DiXs2uydCyMEWws YqE-tRRY39gTsF2Xnk5h0uMKMhI191BS-EgonmbA-YmB9hFG7toCKSYFcyIplWekQ63ZIQcI8BfvLzuCSjBvEyT1biL i46CuDRKYiM0ECCLdFvSC0C6lfO46Pfhk_zj0ocXjc=w233-h327-no

[lapushka]

Is that a taupe/brown one above; that's pretty "close" to your hair color (it kind of disappears). At least it's better than the white ones. But whatever works, right? :) I'm just glad you found a way to deal with the undercut while it grows, and grows, and grows. :D

[florenonite]

Is that a taupe/brown one above; that's pretty "close" to your hair color (it kind of disappears). At least it's better than the white ones. But whatever works, right? :) I'm just glad you found a way to deal with the undercut while it grows, and grows, and grows. :D

Yeah, I could only find a pack with some blonde and some taupe/brown ones. They'd be fine with my natural colour (dark blonde/light brown) but with the henna there's not much around that's not either too dark or too light. Definitely better than leaving the undercut on its own, though!

[ynne]

Who else is growing out an undershave?
Me!
I recently updated the growth process, too (here (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=135211&page=156&p=3763524&viewfull=1#post3763524)), if you wanted some inspiration to keep on going. It's been about a year for me.
I did not personally regret the undercut and had it for a long time, but the first few months of growing it out were, admittedly, awful. Still, with your hair above waist, the difference is not so drastic and it'll fit into the low ponytail soon. :) I can honestly say that since you can already somewhat pin it up, the worst is behind you already – it only gets better from here. My hair is curly so the perceived growth is slower but chin length was already easier and now that it's touching shoulders I don't really need pins anymore. And that should be even faster for you!

When I asked people for hairstyle advice in the beginning, I was also recommended wraps/scarves or headbands to cover up that part; that sounds like it might work for exercise. If they are from light breathable fabric, at least, it could be more comfortable than a lot of pins.

[florenonite]

Me!
I recently updated the growth process, too (here (https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=135211&page=156&p=3763524&viewfull=1#post3763524)), if you wanted some inspiration to keep on going. It's been about a year for me.
I did not personally regret the undercut and had it for a long time, but the first few months of growing it out were, admittedly, awful. Still, with your hair above waist, the difference is not so drastic and it'll fit into the low ponytail soon. :) I can honestly say that since you can already somewhat pin it up, the worst is behind you already – it only gets better from here. My hair is curly so the perceived growth is slower but chin length was already easier and now that it's touching shoulders I don't really need pins anymore. And that should be even faster for you!

When I asked people for hairstyle advice in the beginning, I was also recommended wraps/scarves or headbands to cover up that part; that sounds like it might work for exercise. If they are from light breathable fabric, at least, it could be more comfortable than a lot of pins.


Thanks for sharing your pictures! I think once it gets to shoulder length it'll definitely be a lot easier to deal with, and I'll probably maintain at mid-back for a while to let it catch up.

I might try a headband for weightlifting. I'm not sure how well it'll work for karate, because there's grabbing and throwing. I actually don't pin it up for training; what I've been doing is a braided low ponytail, which catches enough of the undershave my hair isn't gross against the back of my neck. Doesn't look great, but that's fine for karate.