Do you think it's too raggedy?

[ladyveg]

I would love some input on my hair. My hairdresser cut some weird layers in it last time I went (pre-LHC) and I'm trying to decide if I should take off that last layer of fringey hair, or get a blunt hemline done, or leave it alone until it gets longer. If I get rid of all the layers, though, I'll only be a little longer than shoulder length and I don't think I'd be happy with that.

But I am not happy with the way the back of my hair looks. My profile pic was taken after a co-wash and air dry, and it's brushed out. I think it looks stringy and ragged. I have extremely thin hair. Any ideas for me? Thank you so much in advance!

[Cupofmilk]

It's a hard one to answer. I have just trimmed a good cm + off some of my ends as I just felt they were not in great condition. I hate loosing length - however I don't think it will have any real change to visual impact of my hair. What I mean is if you look at my hair it won't be noticeably shorter.
So I wonder if you were to trim a little of the bottom layer off at a time - it wouldn't have any great impact on the visual appearance of you hair it terms of length and the layers might catch up - all the time working towards a neater hemline.
Or if you can cope with the loss of length - you could trim/cut a good hemline in now and get those blunt ends now.
Two approaches. Nothing wrong with either.

[MonaLisa]

What i did was when i had 'wrong layers' and ends too thin...was have them cut twice...2 x 2,3 inches, 2nd cut after 3 months. I did lose length but it wasnt so dramatic, and right now I'm glad i did it, looks waaaaay better than it did several months ago.

I think you shouldn't cute it to length that will make you feel unhappy. Try with a bit first, maybe it will already look better :o

[FluffSpider]

You could work on two fronts: maintain for 3-4 months, trimming your growth each month. So you won't have a huge shock , just the added benefit of thickening the ends while not losing the length. Damage CAN travel up the hair shaft, and it's unwise to start growing with damaged ends. It'll start being a drag, becoming annoying, and lead to stalling. I've had people with 15 cms difference catch up with me because of a former ED which left my hair breakage-prone, something I further increased by my routine of heavy shampooings. Even at waist length, I still have some ends which are a bit too wispy for my taste.

[Aud200]

No matter what you choose to do, you can always use the "put it up and leave it alone" approach...you won't be bothered by the straggly ends but won't have to cut it and lose length. Protective hairstyles should also promote less breakage and help your hemline thicken and lower. If that makes sense?

[spidermom]

For me personally, yes - too raggedy. I'd start trimming about 1/4 inch per month or 1/2 inch every other month to get the hem thicker. Between times, I'd wear my hair up as much as possible.

If you don't trim yourself, look for a new hair stylist. The type who will listen and do only what you ask does exist. I've had several. You have to be very specific what you ask for (for example - "trim only 1/2 inch from the longest hairs; that's ALL." Then you have to watch that they do it. If you see a stylist pulling the hair out at an angle, stop him or her. Hair that is only being trimmed at the bottom should be combed straight down, not pulled out at an angle. Don't be afraid to say no and stand up if he/she persists, even with a reasonable-sounding explanation "oh, I'm only going to blend the layers blah-blah-blah". Your hair; your decision. Stand up for it.

[ooo]

Do you really wear your hair down brushed out like that? If yes, I'd get it fixed.

[cindy58]

I would trim it. Either take off the fringey layer, or begin moving toward a more blunt hemline, if that's what you like. It doesn't have to happen all at once, but I think you would enjoy a fresh look.

[HintOfMint]

I, too, would trim away the stringy layer. I've had to do that before and I was so much happier when it was gone even though I had lost length. After all, why have the length if it's not going to make you happy?

[torrilin]

Looks to me like you're not a 1a/1b. On your length hair, I'd expect maaaaaybe 1 visible wave. Not the 5-7 you've got. I'd guess you're somewhere in the 2s.

I agree your hair looks a little stringy in your picture. I suspect if you did your best to encourage your natural curls and waves, it'd look decent. I suspect that the only reason you're measuring as a i thickness right now is due to the layers, and as they grow out, you should shift into a ii.

Long term... most wavy hair isn't going to do a super blunt hemline. Even if it gets cut to be pretty blunt, the texture will cause the hemline to appear more ragged than on straight hair. Not as ragged as what you have now, but perfectly smooth just isn't gonna be on the agenda.

[Firefox7275]

It's a personal decision - is length or a thick appearance more important to you or is there a compromise? I had perhaps four inches of damage at the start of March and have chosen a blunt hemline over length; two inches gone and the other two on the hit list! :p This is based on knowing what happened every other time I failed to grow my hair - once it looks a mess I cave and have it chopped off. But other LHCers will get disheartened if they aren't gaining length so will, say, trim one of every two inches growth.

[RitaPG]

I have thin hair too, layers never look good on us, no matter what your stylist tells. It just makes us look like we have even less hair.
If you are unhappy with the look of your ends, but afraid to lose the length, you can try micro trims (5mm or even 1cm). I've seen several posts showing before and after trims, and it always looks much better, without having a drastic change in length :)
I would trim just a little bit.

[BrightEyes]

I agree with others who have suggested beginning small trims. You could trim 1/4 to 1/2 inch every other month or so. You will still be gaining length (albeit slowly) and thickening up your hemline at the same time. It will take longer to gain length, but the ends will be thick and even.

I've learned (when my own hair was longer) that my fine hair just needs to be trimmed regularly. Otherwise my ends begin looking very thin and scraggly. I wish I could just not bother and let it grow, but with my hair type it would not be good.

Good luck!:)

[spidermom]

Looks to me like you're not a 1a/1b. On your length hair, I'd expect maaaaaybe 1 visible wave. Not the 5-7 you've got. I'd guess you're somewhere in the 2s.

I agree your hair looks a little stringy in your picture. I suspect if you did your best to encourage your natural curls and waves, it'd look decent. I suspect that the only reason you're measuring as a i thickness right now is due to the layers, and as they grow out, you should shift into a ii.

Long term... most wavy hair isn't going to do a super blunt hemline. Even if it gets cut to be pretty blunt, the texture will cause the hemline to appear more ragged than on straight hair. Not as ragged as what you have now, but perfectly smooth just isn't gonna be on the agenda.

Oh my! This post made me look back, and it's true. You are not a 1 type. Try washing your hair, combing conditioner through in the shower, gently squeezing the extra water out, then letting your hair air dry without messing with it again at all. I think you might even have some curls in there! Post a picture if you can.

[knoxkatie]

I also have fine hair, and encouraging the wave and curl I have really helps my hair to look more full. Also, micro-trims really make me feel a lot better about my hair if I'm in a rut. For me it's a nice way to make my hair feel better without losing much length.

[ladyveg]

Thank you all so much for taking time to give me input. Yes, I really do wear my hair like that. I didn't realize how it looked until I had the pic taken for my avatar. I can wear it up, but that really emphasizes how little hair I really have...you can see my scalp and I get a lot of hair cleavage, and a teeny tiny scraggly bun.

About the 1a/b vs. 2, I'm just not sure about that because those waves are the result of a perm I am growing out, from last August, before I knew better. How can I tell?

I am seriously considering just having that weird U-shape cut off in one fell swoop, get a straighter hemline to grow with. I'm a patient person and I have nothing but time to grow it, really. I would be unhappy with really short hair but I'm thinking, maybe cutting it back to APL? Maybe print out that picture and show the stylist exactly what I want taken off?

[spidermom]

I think the U-shape is a very pretty and natural-looking hem. If the stylist followed the U-shape that is already there but took about 1/2 inch off, it would be a bit thicker and you wouldn't have to lose much length.

A straight-across hem tends to look rather abrupt, especialy at that length.

[ooo]

proteine treatments might also help with the "damage" from the perm.

[MonaLisa]

I think the U-shape is a very pretty and natural-looking hem. If the stylist followed the U-shape that is already there but took about 1/2 inch off, it would be a bit thicker and you wouldn't have to lose much length.

A straight-across hem tends to look rather abrupt, especialy at that length.

I completely agree with this :)
Straight will take off more length as well and will look unnatural.

[ilovelonghair]

No matter what you choose to do, you can always use the "put it up and leave it alone" approach...you won't be bothered by the straggly ends but won't have to cut it and lose length. Protective hairstyles should also promote less breakage and help your hemline thicken and lower. If that makes sense?

I agree, unless you want to get rid of the ends. The rest of your hair looks thick enough :)

[Mesmerise]

When it comes to getting rid of annoying layers, I'm usually of the opinion of "cut off one layer at a time", which may mean chopping off a couple of inches to get the bottom layer gone. Then your hair should look better, you can grow it for another few months, and then chop off the next.

I think your biggest challenge though, will be cutting out the perm, because I think having hair that's half straight and half curly is a challenge all of its own! I always chopped my hair short after perming (so yeah...definitely no more perms for me!) and I wouldn't advocate doing that, but I wouldn't keep trying to grow it too long while the perm's there either (especially if you wear it out... although if you wear it back I guess you won't notice as much).

[torrilin]

Thank you all so much for taking time to give me input. Yes, I really do wear my hair like that. I didn't realize how it looked until I had the pic taken for my avatar. I can wear it up, but that really emphasizes how little hair I really have...you can see my scalp and I get a lot of hair cleavage, and a teeny tiny scraggly bun.

Well...

At your length I can't even put my hair up in a bun, so I guess that's something arguing for a i thickness. But at the same time, perms can be very damaging, and the layers really are going to have a serious impact on your thickness. I don't really think "scalp cleavage" is a useful term, since that's just the way straighter hair acts. All hair tends to form clumps, and the straighter your hair is the more easily you can convince it to clump in elaborate geometrical designs. And if you don't get it to clump in a planned way, it tends to look rather like you're going bald. Even for me! And there are LHC members who are 1 something, F, and a iii thickness... even there, looking bald can happen.

With my hair... I'd chop off the perm. I just can't cope with the level of damage perming causes to my hair. Since I'm also left wanting to claw my face off for 12-18 months as part of growing out a pixie, this gives you an idea of how damaged my hair gets.

You're the one living with what's on your head tho, and we definitely don't have the same hair :D. Right now, it's going to be almost impossible to tell what your hair really is like anyway. So it's up to you to make the call on what you want.

[PeacenQuietGal]

I think the U shape is very pretty and that you should definately keep it. And I agree about trimming the the wispy ends. Gradual is fine, but if you have a stylist that you trust - then more taken off would be fine since you tend to wear it down anyway. I'm a beleiver of "fresh look/fresh start".

Also believe in "look good/feel good" for that matter!

But don't be dissin your hair!!! It's pretty and you want to enjoy your journey. Try not to use unflattering self talk about your locks! :p

[ladyveg]

Thanks to all your recommendations. I went to the salon and got a stylist who seemed unresponsive at first, but she did exactly what I asked her to--combed it straight down and cut it into a U shape with no layers, getting rid of that last inch or so of wispy strands. Here is the result. Better, no? I'm very happy with it even though I wish I had more length. I hope this pic works.

Pic didn't work. I'm going to change my profile picture.

[MonaLisa]

Oh, now I see what you did! It is really really good, as i commented on your picture! I didnt think you had it trimmed, as it actually looks longer somewhat! :D

[ladyveg]

Thank you, MonaLisa! In fact I went from 24" to 22.5" but I keep reminding myself it's better to have it a little shorter and neater than longer and stringier. If that is a word.

[Rocket22]

honestly I don't think it looks shorter just better and thicker! I think the trim was the way to go.

[RitaPG]

Oh my! That cut is awesome. You hair looks much fuller now and it really doesn't seem that shorter. Your stylist did a fine job :D

[jojo]

I agree with trying CO washing and also have you tried self trims? maybe dusting to allow the layers to catch up, say every 6 weeks would help. I have the thin ends too, which is why i refuse to layer but CO washing will definatelly thicken and plump it up. Also my thickness is coming back from using daktarin (monistat) 3x a week.

[spidermom]

Nice new cut! It sounds like the stylist might be a keeper.