I think I just did something stupid

[Desidera]

My hair has grown to past tailbone length now, almost classic. I keep it braided or bunned 90% of the time.

The problem is these short hairs around the face. Little tiny short hairs that grow to about 3-4 inches long and then stick straight out, or hang straight down, or something else unattractive like that. It's been growing for 7 years and they still haven't grown any longer than those few inches. I've even had my manager at work comment on how "fuzzy" my hair is sometimes (when I don't oil it and put it into a slick bun -- when I do that, they think I don't wash it!).

So the... for lack of a better word, "sideburns" were driving me crazy because no matter how tidy the bun, the sideburns just stick straight out and blow every which way, especially when I'm outside, blowing into my eyes and everything. I decided to stop fighting nature with the wispies around my face, and trimmed them tonight into a very fine, light fringe that I can still slick back very easily, but can also pull down over my forehead for a softer look.

Then...

With the scissors in my hands...

I made what I suspect might have been a Big Error in Judgment.

I trimmed the sideburns as well. I used my glasses as a guide, and only trimmed the little hairs that stick down below the bows in front of my ears... but I trimmed them short. Like, man's sideburns kind of short.

My husband assures me it looks okay, but considering he loves my hair no matter WHAT it looks like, I am still dubious.

Does anyone else ever do that? Does it look okay? Is it a style that a woman can wear?

There really isn't anything else I can do with those little wisps of hair -- they don't grow long enough to go into the bun, and they're too fine to stay in the bobby pins if I try to pin them back.

Any thoughts? Suggestions of what I can do next time, after they grow out?

Having almost reached my goal since growing it out from a pixie in 2003, I'm horrified to think I may have done something stupid that will take months to grow out from. Help!

[Heavenly Locks]

I personally think that a trimmed sideburn looks masculine...on myself, I twist the wisps so that they are curled and more soft looking. I KNOW what you mean about them sticking straight out and looking ridiculous. I have these pieces up higher near my hairline that stick out like buffalo horns... :rolleyes:

If the section you trimmed is fairly narrow, I don't think it will seem too masculine. If you trim it again perhaps try at a downward angle so it's not blunt?

[marikamt]

I did the same thing a couple months ago... am growing them out now. I can finally "almost" tuck that part behind my ears..... everyone else says they don't notice, but I know it's there and drives me nuts.

My new mantra is "I will not pick up scissors, I will not pick up scissors".. repeat as needed.

[lundmir]

I did that once when I was about 14. The teasing at school made sure I won't ever attempt it again...

[spidermom]

Well, it might work out for you. I've seen some haircuts around that looked like somebody did "sideburns" intentionally - called a Kime cut, I think (could be wrong). I don't know if this is true of your hair, but I notice that I've got short hairs near my face that kind of bend around and make strange formations, like horns. I don't think it's the same hairs; what I think I'm noticing is the new hairs that grow in, and eventually they blend in, but by then I've got a few new ones growing in, so I've constantly got short little sticky-ups as well as l o n g hairs. Other people say that the hairs around the face never grow very long, though, so I don't know. I'd probably have to dye the hairs I've got right now to know whether or not they eventually get long enough to blend in - too much trouble for so few hairs.

My DH once cut a chunk of hair above his forehead because the wave pattern wanted to flip that strand of hair into his face. That was pretty funny looking as it grew back in, but only for a couple of months, at which point he got a very short haircut to make it all flow together.

[heatherdazy]

There really isn't anything else I can do with those little wisps of hair -- they don't grow long enough to go into the bun, and they're too fine to stay in the bobby pins if I try to pin them back.

Any thoughts? Suggestions of what I can do next time, after they grow out?
I can't see your wispies over the internet, but I'd probably suggest getting some product (gel or hairspray will work, but if you don't want it to look like anything, American Crew Fiber is kind of an 'invisible product') and using it to slick the hairs into place.

I mean, they're not long hairs so you don't have to feel as though you have to keep them as natural and highly cared for as the rest of your hair.... especially if it's between spraying and chopping!

[Aunteater]

I know exactly what you mean-- those things drive me nuts! They refuse to stay tucked behind my ears, and they like to do this wacky imitation of puppy ears or water-buffalo horns. Ngh! On a good day, I can twist them back into the longer hair before I make a bun or a braid. Sometimes it holds them ok, sometimes they escape and look messy. I'll be watching this thread for someone to post a magic solution...

[pradabacon]

I think almost everyone gets these. I certainly do. And I have trimmed them before. I agree that an angled cut probably looks more natural, or maybe you can try thinning them down quite a bit with a razor-cut technique? That might make them short enough not to stick out all over, but keep them looking more natural.

It's such a common thing, I don't even bother worrying about them anymore. I know they're going to do that, so I just smooth them back behind my ears as I go about my business.

I'm thinking of doing some very light fringe (like you mentioned) myself to deal better with the wispies at the forehead. Those are much more annoying to me than the ones in front of my ears.

[Juneii]

LOL


... it's okay, it wasn't as bad as what I did in middle school. I just shaved off all the sideburns. but my hair grew freakishly fast so it looked HORRIBLE. no, short sideburns are not pretty or feminine.
what I did was keep my hair down and over my ears to cover it until it grew to a normal length.
don't worry about the fuzz, it makes your face and hairstyle look softer. I have a ton of those too, they stick straight up and looks like whiskers sprouting out of my temple.

[Desidera]

I personally think that a trimmed sideburn looks masculine...on myself, I twist the wisps so that they are curled and more soft looking. I KNOW what you mean about them sticking straight out and looking ridiculous. I have these pieces up higher near my hairline that stick out like buffalo horns... :rolleyes:

If the section you trimmed is fairly narrow, I don't think it will seem too masculine. If you trim it again perhaps try at a downward angle so it's not blunt?

I did trim at a downward angle -- from about the middle of the ear, angled sharply toward the top of the ear. My new sideburns look rather... pointed, really. I think when they grow out a little more, I'll just try to angle them forward, like a 60's movie star or something. Think Nichelle Nichols from Star Trek. Only with classic length. Heh.

I've tried twisting the wisps, and it only made them stick out more. They just do not curl, alas. Woe is me, to have such uncooperative wisps! :)

[Desidera]

Well, it might work out for you. I've seen some haircuts around that looked like somebody did "sideburns" intentionally - called a Kime cut, I think (could be wrong). I don't know if this is true of your hair, but I notice that I've got short hairs near my face that kind of bend around and make strange formations, like horns. I don't think it's the same hairs; what I think I'm noticing is the new hairs that grow in, and eventually they blend in, but by then I've got a few new ones growing in, so I've constantly got short little sticky-ups as well as l o n g hairs.

I think you mean a "hime cut," but from the images I've googled, my little wispy sideburns are nowhere near that look... which to me looks as if a long-haired person just wants to try out a bob on the front, and can't make up her mind! :)

But yeah, the short hairs around my face are too short to blend and too long to look good blowing around and sticking straight up. They tend to grow about 4 inches long and then curl just barely enough to stick out like horns all the time. So I'm happy with the superthin fringe that I cut, because now they're short enough to look good either blended or sticking up. I'm just not sure about the pointy little sideburns with my almost-classic length.

Ah, well. Too late now.

[frodolaughs]

I have major wispies, and have occasionally thought of chopping or shaving them (fortunately, I haven't). If I'm doing an updo and want a wisp-free day I do a set of tiny frenchbraids or a twist down each side of my face before putting all the hair together into a bun.

[Zombiekins]

Ugh, I feel your pain! Mine go straight for my eyes in the slightest of breezes. I've had them all my life and even though the longest of them can be tucked behind my ears, you know they don't stay long. Bobby pins don't hold them, water doesn't, gel just looks weird... I don't know what to do with them! It's an especially bad problem when I'm wearing my contacts and driving with the windows down. The wispies dive right for my eyes and try to wedge themselves in behind my contacts - yes, really. It's awful.

I'd love to see someone else's wispies pre and post trim to see if it's an option for me. My hair has taken a dive in growth over the last year, so I'm not quite brave enough to trim something that may take a year or more to grow out....*here's lookin' at you, bangs.

[systemaurora]

I shave or tweeze my sideburns. Fun hormone imbalance symptoms, lol. I also shave my chin. XD As for the little hairs, would a headband or bandana work with your dress code?

[embee]

I haven't done what you did, cutting the wispies, but I sure have wished them to behave other than they do. The only time they look halfway reasonable is when I'm working in my garden in summer and it's horribly hot and humid - then they curl up and look sorta soft. Otherwise they just dangle or stick out straight. Always have all my life. And they *love* my eyes. :(

I remind myself that I love my hair - I could be bald! ;)

[Kat]

Pic?

I hate those too. Only mine are about shoulder-length...when my hair is in a braid, they pull out and then my braid looks fuzzy and messy at the top. I can't figure out what to do with them. I put barrettes at the sides so they don't hang down in my face, but I can't keep them contained at back. I tried putting an elastic at the top of my braid, too, but they pull out of that as well. GRRR. I always look so unkempt!

[Lexibeth]

I have them right at my temples. The hair itself takes years and years to grow. This is the only part of my hair I will straighten so I don't have horns.

[pradabacon]

I love everyone referring to the ones on either side of the forehead as horns. http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll23/hootietoot/lol.gif

I'm going to run mousse mine up in a horn shape before my DH gets home and see his reaction! Gotta act natural, like, "Honey, I'm about to run to the store. Need anything?"

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll23/hootietoot/devil.gif

[freckles]

Personally, I think 'wispies' around the face look pretty and girly, and can 'soften' serious hairstyles. I like them. I guess it depends on what look you are going for though - I understand that sometimes people would rather look 'professional' and 'grown up' than 'pretty' and 'girly'. Is it possible just to bobby-pin the wispies back when they grow out, or are they at the wrong angle/too short/too thin etc?

[Nightshade]

I get the buffalo horn wispies, I just added some very light face-framing layers that these blend into. The layers keep the wispies in line without sacrificing more than a pencil-width amount of thickness of the rest of my hair :)

[Presto]

I trimmed my sideburns into points for years. Nobody said boo to me about em. Of course at the time I also kept the sides of my head at a 1/2 inch length, with pretty short hair overall.

Now they barely reach my shoulder, even though I quit trimming them at the same time as the rest of my hair, which is now waist. They just don't grow as long as the rest anymore. I think my natural curl entwines them when I do updos, I don't notice them as the ones that stick out like fuzz.
I do have curly horns though. I live in a headband, now that I found a comfy one.

[Desidera]

I get the buffalo horn wispies, I just added some very light face-framing layers that these blend into. The layers keep the wispies in line without sacrificing more than a pencil-width amount of thickness of the rest of my hair :)

Maybe this is what I need to do. Do you have a pic of what it looks like? My remaining wispies aren't long enough for anything neat, and are too thin to stay in a barrette or bobby pin. Here, I'll upload a few pics:

Here's my length, so you have a starting point:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Schrijver/Oct08012.jpg

And here's a (somewhat dark) picture of what the wisps do when I'm trying to look neat and tidy (although compared to what they usually look like, this actually WAS a neat-and-tidy hair day!):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Schrijver/nullfacewithwispies.jpg

And here's what the wispies look like when they're not tucked behind my ear, just hanging down there straight:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Schrijver/nullfacewispies1.jpg

And here's what they look like when they are tucked -- just kind of hanging down onto my neck (oh, and here's what the newly trimmed sideburns look like):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Schrijver/nullfacewispiesbehindear.jpg

And here is what my new wispy little fringe looks like:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v213/Schrijver/nullfacenewwispyfringe.jpg

So... what do you think? As an office supervisor, I can't really wear a bandana or an Alice-band, but I really hate looking as windswept as I usually do. Any suggestions, now that you've seen what I'm talking about?

[Nightshade]

Your buffalo horns look to be in the same place mine are (about halfway between the base of my ears and where a center part would be.

I don't have a picture of my layers from the front, but they look rather like this:


http://www.tanashabitat.com/images/librarian.jpg

and the actual inspiration for my layers:
http://www.waynescomics.com/images/Toys/shi%20metal%20one.jpg
(mine start at my lips and I have a second layer just under my chin).


There was a thread not long ago where someone detailed how to cut their face-framing layers, in pretty much the same way I do. It involved taking a bit of pencil-thickness hair and cutting it on an angle. I can't turn it up, but perhaps someone with better search skills than I will come by! :flowers:

[JessTheMess]

I don't think it looks bad at all. I have the same problem as you... I also have the whispys that grow along the hairline along the forehead. I HATE them as they make me look like I am balding in the front if I don't gel them back or wear a headband, and I have curly horns on the sides :( The hairs only grow about 2" and are too thin to be called bangs and are super fine. When I was younger I used to shave them all off:o It made my forehead huge and I instantly regretted it. Now I just let them be.

[merseaone]

When I was growing up in the 70's it was the in thing to have the side hair cut to mouth or chin level. I thought it looked good then and if done right it could look good now. Sometimes I will take a few strands of hair from close in front of my ears and trim them so they give a soft touch to the frame of the face.