Layers?

[hsdoodles]

My question for you all today is about layers. I'm trying to grow mine out, but am having trouble in the meantime. I have a lot of difficulty doing updos with all of them. I have to use so many bobby pins to tuck in all the little ends that poke out everywhere. I'm very picky about my buns, and I HATE anything messy looking or else it wouldn't really be a problem. Arrgggh!! :mad:

My shortest layers are a little bit past APL, and my longest are past BSL.

I have been seriously considering cutting up to my shortest layers, just because they're such a pain. Is this a good idea? Someone talk me out of this! I don't want to lose all that length, but it's so frustrating. Haaalp. :(

[jojo]

Layers are a pain! I last had layers in 2005, loads by the time I joined here I was just past shoulder and had 2 layers left. I did not cut at all for the 2 years prior to joining here. What I did was rather than trim to the shortest layers is dust on a monthly basis and I am talking ---> _ this much. Yes it will take longer to grow, but now I am at waist and my hair apart from my fringe is all one length.

Jaw clips are good for hiding layers too.

[RitaPG]

Maybe a bit of oil or aloe vera gel on your length can help with the pokey layers? Also, I find that wetting my hair a bit before bunning helps a lot.

ETA:
When I braid my hair, I always have to use a drop or two of oil, otherwise the ends stick right out.

[tinti]

I had to bite the bullet and chop from waist/hip to apl +. It sucked, and I still have some layers left (shortest at shoulder) but updos is better now (even though I love messy, I just don't like inch thick strands sticking out of buns and such :p And I'm super impatient as a person so...)

[RitaPG]

tinti
You are brave. I would've cried shudder:

[spidermom]

I had long layers put into my hair the last time I cut it, and there is very little difference in how my hair behaves. It's a good thing I prefer messy buns because I've always got 100,001shorter hairs poking out of them. Sometimes the whole thing twists and collapses. As long as nothing is pulling and causing me pain, I'm o.k. with it.

[dulce]

am growing out my layers and heavy bangs-sleek styles are out for me till my layers get longer -they range from shoulder length to almost waist..so 1 go for the messy twists and messy buns that let tendrils hang loose-a ficcarre clip or flexi 8 or african butterfly clip are my fav for updos for layers-the large horn fork [3 prongs ]is good but hair sticks are still tricky for me as the tight twisting/coiling for those styles leaves a lot of shorter stick out hairs-so to avoid cutting your hair practise with the messier dos that have a lot of loose tendrils..-layers look good loose -you just have to be careful of updos-go for the messier styles with lots of loose tendrils-

[hsdoodles]

jojo,
Hmm, I've thought of doing micro trims until it grows out. I might go for a few just to try out. :)

RitaPG
I tried a bit of coconut oil this morning and it seems to be helping! :cheese: I'll have to try that next time I braid.

tinti,
:ohmy:
You are so braaave! Oh dear, I couldn't do that!

[mustpannkook]

I have layers as well but my buns seem to be fine... Braids look a bit strange sometimes, though. I just let them grow.

[julliams]

I had the same issue as you when my hair was the length you describe. I posed the same question to the board and there was a resounding agreement that I should leave it and let it grow. I'm so glad that I did. Once my layers got a little longer they started to mingle more with my longer lengths and sometimes it doesn't even look like i have layers.

I do encourage you to leave it if length is your goal. I will eventually go for all one length at hip in a soft U-shape. I think the reason I have alot of curl at the bottom of my hair is because of my layers - that remains to be seen but I think it's the reason.

[celebriangel]

er...I'd love to talk you out of it (and feel free to ignore me), but...I chopped my hair from BSL to just below APL to get rid of layers which were damaged, tangly and so much trouble. *so* glad I did. My hair regained the few inches of length quite quickly, and I'm so glad that in a few more inches worlds of awesome styles will open up to me without poky layers.

(there are so many things I can *almost* do - the nautilus, for example, lazy wrap, infinity, braided bun - just managed a rope braid bun the other day!)

But that worked for me. The loss of length was sad, but I know for me layers are just so hard to take care of decently, since if a layer splits it's so annoying...plus, my hair feels much thicker. Win!

Er. Don't feel you have to if you don't want to, though. Can I un-reccommend bobby pins, though? They did nothing but break and hurt my hair; I'm currently trying u-shaped pins, which seem to be awesome for times when hairsticks alone won't keep it up. :D

[Sheltie_Momma]

If your layers are such that there is a shorter canopy and a longer under section then I might suggest styling them separately. In other words separate the top section and bun it. Then do the botton section, bun it, pinning it up tightly underneath the top section. It will end up looking rather like an infinity bun. You can also bun the top section, then rope braid the bottom section and wind it around the top bun and it will look like all one bun. These are just things I did while growing out my layers.

[racrane]

I'm growing out layers and I so desperately would rather have my longest length be at waist with shorter areas throughout than all one length. They are annoying! My bangs drive me the craziest, though. But you're brave if you want to chop it off to one layer. I would be hysterical. My hair is my favorite feature about myself and I don't want to lose it.

[hsdoodles]

julliams,
At this point, I really am going for length more than anything so I guess I will hold off on any drastic cuts. :D

celebriangel,
I'm really curious about using pins different than bobby pins, but I don't really know much about them. Where did you buy yours, and how much did they cost? If I keep hearing such good things about them I might just have to bust out the cash for some. :P

Sheltie_Momma,
OOOH, THIS IS SMAAART! I really like the idea of a rope braid around a bun. I'm definitely going to try this out tomorrow. :cheese:

[KatiSasha]

Layers are a pain! I last had layers in 2005, loads by the time I joined here I was just past shoulder and had 2 layers left. I did not cut at all for the 2 years prior to joining here. What I did was rather than trim to the shortest layers is dust on a monthly basis and I am talking ---> _ this much. Yes it will take longer to grow, but now I am at waist and my hair apart from my fringe is all one length.

Jaw clips are good for hiding layers too.

Jojo, btw, I love your new fringe. Really brings your eyes out. About microtrims - did you do a regular trim on your lower layer and micro on top so that they would catch up? Or did you microtrim longer layers and did S&D on the rest?

[xcrunr2go]

Do what makes you happy. If you like the length & you don't want to sacrafice it, make it work. Try using gel instead of bobby pins. Experiment with different styling products, or try oiling your hair then putting it up damp/wet.:)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
:cheese:
"Finding a favorite thing means you've got to try new things!"

[braidedbeauty]

I only have a few small layers but whenever I air dry my hair it just adds to the frizz...lame...

[BrightEyes7]

If your layers are such that there is a shorter canopy and a longer under section then I might suggest styling them separately. In other words separate the top section and bun it. Then do the botton section, bun it, pinning it up tightly underneath the top section. It will end up looking rather like an infinity bun. You can also bun the top section, then rope braid the bottom section and wind it around the top bun and it will look like all one bun. These are just things I did while growing out my layers.

I like this idea... you could actually seperate the hair as SheltieMomma suggested, do a cinnabun with the first section and do another cinnabun around the first. It'll look like one big bun. This is what I did when my hair was shorter and didn't wrap into a bun very well, I imagine it'd work for dealing with layers.

Also Jojo's suggestion of microtrims is a good one. I did micro trims every week to every other week for a long time. It seemed like I was staying at the same length for a while, but I got rid of all my layers in no time without sacrificing any length.

[|Xei]

Since you're going more for length, I'd suggest for you to not go for the big chop. It isn't too difficult to grow from APL to BSL, so if you'll just wait it out, only do S&D on your layers, they'll soon catch up to the rest of your length.

I'm growing layers out as well, from a severely layered cut some years ago, and here's a picture showing the difference of one year:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/picture.php?albumid=7643&pictureid=100613

I mostly trimmed the shortest layers (where the red used to be), and the perimeter regularly. Anything in-between was only trimmed once (took off half an inch), and S&D'ed. While I didn't gain any extra length, the difference it made to my hair was well worth the time it took. I hope this has perhaps given you some encouragement :)