Hair Shape Project to make my hair how I want it

[Shypii90]

Hi everyone!! Essay coming up!!

I haven't posted on the boards in a while. I've been really busy for the past 7 months for sure because I moved to the UK and have been working 2 jobs ever since. I'm about to move again in a few weeks so thankfully I'll have some time to myself for now.

In the meantime I come to the LHC because I don't like the shape of my hair. About a year and a half ago my hair was all one length and we all know how one-length curly hair doesn't look good (I'm a 3a/b). I was getting tired of it, so I asked my friend's mum to make my hair all layered and even throughout, which she actually did a very good job of! I was thrilled with the cut.

Fast forward about 9 months and my hair ends started to get scraggly and rough. I asked my friend's mum to take about an inch or 2 off my hair all around so that the damage on the ends is all cut off. What she did however was cut off about 4 or 5 inches off the back of my hair and forgot about the rest of it! She said it's because the back was much more damaged than the front. So my hair became almost one-length again and I must say I really wasn't amused because my hair turned into a frizzy collar-length pyramid every time it dried, and it looked so terribly short.

Another 7 months passed since then and my hair grew out another 3 - 4 inches thankfully, though I hate wearing it down because the shape looks completely off to me now. It's still a pyramid - just a longer and heavier one lol. I've been doing some research and to get the hair shape I want would just need me to comb all my hair vertically upwards and cut a line straight across.

If you look on this link you can see in greater detail what I'm talking about:
Photobucket Album (http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj306/Shypii90/Hair%20shape%20trim%20project/)

I'm going to use the help of my partner to gradually change the shape over a year to how I want it. I'm focusing around re-shaping my hair according to how long the back of my hair is as I want that part to ultimately be the longest.

I'd like to know what everyone thinks. Has anyone ever tried changing their own hair shape like this? People with curly hair - what do you suggest? Any tips would be greatly appreciated :)

Thanks in advance!!

Shypii90

[Nae]

Have you looked into Feye's self trim method? If you are wanting a v-shape or a u-shape hemline that might be the way to go. And you would have complete control over the process.

Here is the link. http://community.livejournal.com/feyeselftrim

[jaine]

I tried many compact haircutting methods including the one you are describing, for 10 years... but now I've sworn off home haircuts now and here's why ...

This is the best I could come up with after 10 years of practice cutting my hair:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6736&pictureid=92155

This is a professional haircut (just air-dried with no styling):

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=6736&pictureid=92150

I think there's a huuuuuuuge amount of skill and precision involved in getting layers to lay properly and have a nice shape ... I've given up hope of trying to duplicate it. My homegrown haircuts always look like a wonky mess and then I need to lose even more length getting it fixed!

[katienoonan]

This is a totally useless comment... that you won't agree with or listen to...

But your hair looks beautiful! It doesn't look oddlyshaped or trimmed or anything... just perfect!


I hope for your happiness you get to a point were you like it, but honestly, it looks great! :smooch:

[jaine]

PS. I remember the "pull straight up and cut straight across" cut you are describing and what it looked like when I tried it on myself ... it looked like a mushroom or a lollipop shape on me.

The hair growing out of the top of my head looked fine after cutting it like that ... nice and round. But unfortunately your head slopes sharply down and the hair that's not on top of your head has a lot farther to grow to get to the cutting line. So it left the bottom layers extremely long with a rounded top. It wasn't a good look.

I tried to solve the lollipop issue by having 2 cutting lines - one for the hair on the top of my head and another one closer to the scalp for the sides and nape - that was better than the lollipop shape and that's what I posted a picture of above. Still pretty wonky if I do say so myself. Cutting the sides and nape at a 90-degree elevation would probably be better if I could have done that evenly, but it was virtually impossible for me to do that evenly in the back (in spite of how creative I got, using my fists to grab each strand and measure fist lengths before cutting it, plenty of mirrors, etc ... it was all in vain).

[spidermom]

I agree with jaine. To have layers that give a nice shape to the hair requires skill. I'd leave it to the professionals. Look out for people who have hair that you would like and ask them who the stylist is. Most people are glad to tell you.

I also agree with katienoonan, though; your hair looks fine. I wouldn't worry too much about re-shaping. Just keep growing.

[Shypii90]

Thanks everyone, that was really helpful!

Jaine thank you for showing me how your attempts came out vs. a professional stylist's. There's a big difference in those photos and of course the stylist did an excellent job!

I've not had any good experiences with stylists in the past hence why I don't trust any of them with my hair right now.

I think some of you are right - it's not as terrible as I thought it was. It looked much worse when it was originally cut because it was much shorter but it sort of grew out of that original shape. Weird!

I've decided to get only the front bit of my hair trimmed but will not touch the rest of it. And then I'll continue growing.

Of course it doesn't look like those pics at all when it dries - It hardly lies flat on the sides but rather forms a bottom-heavy pyramid, unless I tie it up in a certain way overnight to give it lots of root-lift. Then it's big hair ftw :D

Again thank you guys I have now decided properly what to do with it. :)

[proo]

One of the LHC mantras: tie it back and fageddaboutit.