Give Your Layers Some Love thread

[GlennaGirl]

Okay, so...who LIKES layers? I love mine. I have bangs and sort of a graduated thingie along each side. (Face-framing, I guess you'd call that.) I think it's fun and "swingy".

If you have any particular hairstyles that work well with your layers--either to tuck them neatly back or to show them off; or if you enjoy other styles, check in here and we can swap ideas!

When I wear my hair up I usually put my bangs to the side and let the wispies either frame my face, or I tuck them back behind my ears so that they show that way (hope that makes sense).

[demitasse]

I like my layers too. They make my hair manageable but they also give it a more interesting shape.

Last time I hit waist length, I grew out the layers and chopped them off but it made my hair feel too heavy. When I get there again next year, I'm keeping them. I found a great stylist who respects my length while maintaining them.

They can sometimes make certain styles challenging but adjustments are easy enough. I wear my cinnabun a little higher on my head to compensate for the layers around my face. The only thing I get frustrated with are braids. If I braid while my hair is damp, it's fine, but if I braid while it's dry, I get these little twigs sticking out from the braid.

[bakertwins2004]

I have them and I love them as well. I have face framing pieces in the front and long layers in the back.

[Tabitha]

I have a love-hate relationship with my layers.

I really love them :inlove: when my hair is down, and I wear it down a lot more since chopping from waist and having the front layers shorter.

However, when it's hot, or rainy/windy and I want to put my hair up, the layers escape from updos and I get the twiggy braids like demitasse describes. :evil:

Overall the love far outweighs the hate, but I'll be checking back here to learn some strategies for updos that less resemble a rooks' nest.

[GlennaGirl]

demitasse, "little twigs"...LOL. I get twigs too. I try to think of them as fashionable! OTOH, if I'm going for a really sleek braid, I just use an eensy bit of non-alcohol gel.

bakertwins, that sounds so pretty. I can't do the in-the-back ones because I have not very much hair to begin with so I try to keep a blunt hemline. But I love that look.

Tabitha, how about a half-up for the shortest layers, then the rest in your updo?

[amaiaisabella]

I love my layers, or rather I did, when I had them. They've grown out, and I'm waiting until I reach my goal (BSL) before I add more in. My hair, being so fine, hangs limp otherwise, so I really like the layers to add some shape and bounce. My goal is angles in front, long layers (starting APL) in back, and ending in a V-shape :)

[Arctic]

I guess I could say I have layers, I have bangs that I have been growing out and they are now like face framing layers, and I like them. I have cut them in an angle. I also have cut my hemline into U-shape, which I love! I'm not sure if that can be counted as layers though? Then I have some "natural layering" from my quite liberal S&D sessions, that I have been given a bit more defined/even look when I trimmed, so they would look like intentional long layers. I have learned to like them and probably will continue to have some long layers.

[Babyfine]

I also have a love-hate relationship with layers.!! My standard long hair haircut before I found the boards was shoulder-armpit length that was
cut blunt around the back with graduated layers and bangs/fringe in front.
I just look soooooo much better with a fringe or at least face framing layers-or at least a poof- when my hair is up and pulled back.
But on the other hand-when I decided to grow my hair really long(to waist length blunt), as a fine-thinney- well ,I need all the hair I can get at longer lengths!!It makes a difference when your pony circumference is only 2 to 2.5"
Right now I'm just at BSL (a little longer than my avatar) and I have a natural taper at the ends, which I'm working on thickening up. Plus I was trying out the GM theory(didn't have it all one length long enough to test it) But I so hated the way I looked with my hair pulled back and up w/o bangs or layers- I went and had them cut in again!! I just felt so frumpy since I ALWAYS have my hair up every day with no softening around the face.
Plus- my hair is still too short for my buns to be very big or-my updos to be very intricate -so I just look "blah" with no fringe/layers, with all pulled back hair-although I am experimenting with the faux bangs, victory rolls- so now I'm growing them out again....................................Next chapter...........

[Merewen]

I loved my layers. I use the past tense, not because of layers not being cut in, but rather because when I don't trim for a while, they get kinda lost in the rest of my hair, and lately I have been avoiding the hairdresser like my brother avoids tomatoes. When my hair reaches my goal, I might look into some layer touch-up, but I am loving my hair as it is right now, and I know if I go in to get it "trimmed" like I used to do every so often, my hair will be APL forever.

[smerrie]

I LOVE layers, but I don't have any at the moment! At shoulder-length, my hair looks longer without them, plus, during one of my last haircuts, the stylist used texturizing scissors, and I am desperately trying to grow out these uneven, choppy hairs!

But once my hair is long, this is what I am shooting for!

http://i40.tinypic.com/2potjqf.jpg

[Wanderer09]

I love love love my face-framing layers. They make updos look so much better on me. My other layers just get on my nerves. I'm growing them out to see if I prefer my hair better without them.

[Roseate]

I like my layers! I have long layers in the back and I'm growing out bangs in the front, which are on their way to being face-framing layers instead.

Last time I grew out my hair I grew out my layers at waist length, and that worked well for me. My thick wavy hair loves to form a chunky triangle until it's at least BSL, and layers make it fall in a nicer shape, plus enhance the wave. The long layers in back add fake taper, which actually makes updos easier for me; the less thick ends are easier to tuck in and pin.

I drank too much of the LHC kool-aid when I first got here and seriously considered cutting off all my layers, which would have me at just past shoulder length now, and blunt, and truly pyramidal. I came to my senses though. ;)

[bakertwins2004]

The only thing I don't like about my layers is when I braid it. I get those stickie outie pieces but I really love it down and the less than perfect look works well for me.

[LisaJaney]

Me Me ME! I love them. I enjoy my hair a LOT more now WITH layers, than I did withOUT. My hair's bad without layers and I cannot/do-not wear it down. With layers, it looks much better, I can wear it down more (Hubby likes it down) and I don't worry so much about tangling. It's a win-win, for me.

I am making a trip in a week, and have to do a trim on my hair before I go. I'm looking forward to it (the trim AND the trip!)

[inertia]

I have serious layers. The shortest of them are around neck/shoulder, and the longest part of my hair is nearly TB.

I had the heavy layers done last year when my hair was around WL. Layers are necessary for most of the styles which are fashionable in Japan. Also, I'm a rock fan and like to headbang, and it's much easier with layers. Furthermore, I have a tendency to get angry and frustrated with my hair when it's long and heavy and hasn't changed style in a while, and already 3 times before I've cut my WL or longer hair up to SL or shorter. I thought that by lightening it up with layers I might be able to delay the next Big Chop by a year or two.

The only problem is that although my hairdresser tries to be careful about my length, when she trims the layers, she has a tendency to cut off the stray long strands which have been caught up. It's never very much, just a hair or two in each handful, but it adds up. After the last trim the bottom was thinner than I wanted and I'm afraid that with a few more trims I'll end up with BSL. So for now I'm going to let the layers grow until the hemline is at least a little thicker.

I use the Japanese magazine Koakuma Ageha for style ideas. (warning: Ageha styles usually require hot tools and a ton of product. I'm experimenting with ways to fake that look with foam rollers to minimize damage but there's no escaping the need for hairspray.) Just about all the models in there have similar long layered hair, although most of them wear extensions. I usually wear loose or half-up styles, or a cinnabun if I'm in a rush. I don't like wearing braids or full updos anyway, so I don't really care whether I can do them or not.

[Fractalsofhair]

I hate my current "layers". They aren't real layers, but more my hair decided to start turning into a mullet due to damage! XD I am looking forward to getting wispy bangs/long layers this summer to get rid of damage. I'm not a big fan of how my stylists always try to thin my hair, which generally means tons of layers. I also hate how stylists in my area seem to cut them to flip under, which they just tell me to flat iron and curl it, when my hair naturally flips out! XD I think layers are very pretty in general though, and I love face framing layers and a blunt cut for the rest of the hair!

[Sheltie_Momma]

Love/hate them. Back when I blow dried my hair, then flat ironed it and then set it on huge rollers and put in a bunch of coney stuff - yeah, I loved my layers. Now, if I let my hair dry in a bun or twist and the layers are smooth and the wave is defined they look nice. Just left to airdry without any product or guidance, they frizz up and don't look nice at all. I am not aggressively shortening my hair to grow them out, just not getting new ones.

[Tap Dancer]

I don't have layers right now, but I've had them off and on for years. Layers can look very nice. :)

[Fillette]

I love my layers. Layers give my curly hair an awesome shape and help me avoid the "triangle" effect that some curlies suffer from. ;)
As my hair grows, I plan on keeping some layers (most likely fewer than the ones I have now). Otherwise, my hair tends to completely overpower me (I am pretty short!) :)

[zen_oven]

I'm TRYING to like my layers. They are a bit frustrating right now, but overall they make my hair look a bit better. I've been saying for months that I need to even them up, but I'm just not willing to cut yet. Once my top layer reaches a length I'm happy with, I'll start on that.

[pixiechick]

When I had them cut in I loved them, but now they are all scraggly from pre-LHC damage and it is hard to wait for them to grow out so I can trim.

[Heavenly Locks]

I have them and love them :) I will always have some long layers. It makes my hair more dimensional and less like a hair curtain/cape. I like a little movement when it's down. I just wear my tassel longer so that I don't have too many braid sprouts.

[jessie58]

I have been fighting with all one length hair for about a year now. About 5 or 6 weeks ago, I got my hair thinned and layered and now I love it. The curls have come back, I have bounce and life and most of the damaged and frizzy canopy has been cut off. I am still at BSL, where it was at all one length but now it has some life.

[nayver]

I love my face framing layers! I learn how to do it myself, and I think I'm doing a good job. The layers I try to avoid are those which make you look like a Christmas tree :D My last big chop was caused by a tree layered haircut.

[Bluebell]

Have them and love them!!!
I have shorter layers around my face and longer layers on my length.
I cut them myself, head upside down and cut the long layers by snipping the end straight off.
For the face framing layers I also have my head upside down, take the hanging front hair between my fingers like a mohawk and cut them in an angle, shorter in front and longer to the back. Works great for me!