what to do about sideburns? (women)

[Neoma]

My sideburns are making me crazy.

They are oddly curly. They are not long enough to stay neatly tucked behind my ears, and experience tells me that they never will be.

They come untucked and stick out and make my updos look imperfect. No, they don't make my updos look "softer." They just look stupid and wrong.

I have tried using gel, hairspray, aloe gel...

A few months ago, I hated them so much that I shaved them off. That looked rather odd. It was one of those things that probably would have made people say, "There's something off about that woman's appearance, but I don't know what."

If you have the same problem, please tell me how you handle it. I am ready to take the sissors to them.

Please help me.

[iluvmy67cuda]

I wish i was help, i just wanted to add i have the same problem, sideburns and the back of my neck. Shaving just makes it look odd on me. Maybe trimming and bleach? its worth a try.

[Xandergrammy]

I have absolutely no advice because I have the same problem. Sometimes gel works. Sometimes I use bobby pins or barrettes or combs. Sometimes I just pretend it doesn't exist. :lala: It's a condition I've learned to live with. I don't think shaving is a good solution. :flowers:

[spidermom]

Get some face-framing layering.

[Sofoulee]

When I try to pull my hair back in a slick updo, those dreaded baby hairs poke out and I just about want to kill myself.

I find that these are few tricks that really help with this:

1. After a hot shower, slick back those hairs in the direction that you want them to go. I recommend using a brush with the most bristles your hair with stand, or a fine tooth comb. (A BBB would probably work for your hair, but I can't use them in mine... haha)

2. Gel, cream, fix in some way that will make them stay after you've set them back.

3. Lastly, wait for your hair to dry like this and then take it down, style... do whatever! If I let the hair dry in that direction, it'll lay pretty much flat like that until I wash it again.

I really hope this works for you! I wouldn't recommend shaving or bleaching. I think that they both look too unnatural.

If all else fails... just go with it! You never know... it might work! :D

[Neoma]

Sometimes I just pretend it doesn't exist. :lala: It's a condition I've learned to live with. I don't think shaving is a good solution. :flowers:Denial is my favorite coping mechanism, Xandergrammy. :flower:



I find that these are few tricks that really help with this:

1. After a hot shower, slick back those hairs in the direction that you want them to go. I recommend using a brush with the most bristles your hair with stand, or a fine tooth comb. (A BBB would probably work for your hair, but I can't use them in mine... haha)

2. Gel, cream, fix in some way that will make them stay after you've set them back.

3. Lastly, wait for your hair to dry like this and then take it down, style... do whatever! If I let the hair dry in that direction, it'll lay pretty much flat like that until I wash it again.


Sofoulee, maybe that's the solution. I have been gelling, spraying and setting after my hair is dry, not before. Tomorrow, I'll try that. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you, everyone. :flowers:

[Gumball]

Sofoulee's idea of starting from washed hair works for me. A little aloe after and it really will lie in that direction for a while. I get the baby hairs near my temples and when left to their own devices start wandering around in the breeze making my head look just a little odd. Haha. That's the definite perk of the first day or two after washing. Other than that I'm just used to it happening so as much as it might frustrate me I try not to pay it too much negative mind.

[amaiaisabella]

I actually used that tiny electric razor meant for the bikini line (I think it's sold for like $10 at Walgreens) on the hairs, and that has thinned them out quite a bit.

Up to you whether you want to cut, but they have definitely gotten better in my case :)

[Tangles]

I have a thick sideburn on ONE side of my face, its really weird. I just trim it once a week and that keeps it looking normal.

[Neoma]

I took Sofoulee's suggestion this morning. After I towel dried, I misted my sideburns with rosewater to get them really damp, then I applied some aloe gel and combed them behind my ears.

I'm happy to report that they stayed almost completely in place all day.:cheese:

[Sofoulee]

YAY for NEOMA and GUMBALL!!!!

I'm so happy that one of my suggestions actually worked for someone on here! :D This time I really have a big toothy grin on my face!

Happy to save you some frustration! :)

[Katze]

I'm not sure if you're talking about frizzy, shorter head hairs growing at your sideburns, or actual facial hair...?

My nape hairs act the way you describe. Almost every updo just looks STUPID on me - it's not soft and feminine, it's messy and unkempt. These hairs are finally growing long enough that they fan out along the back of my neck, looking a lot like a lobster tail, and since they are coarser and curlier than the rest of my hair they give the overall look an extra 'oh, she's unkempt' look.

My solution? Either TONS of bobby pins to hold the worst of it in place, twisting before I pin for extra hold, or - I just wear my hair down. I'm not willing to slick my hair down with gel and oil to the point that it stays smooth, just to wear an updo that I'm not really crazy about anyway.

The only thing I can hope is that this 'different' kind of hair eventually grows strong and long enough to contain it in an updo...

[Nizhoni]

On the days that I don't wear glasses I just ignore my sideburns but with glasses they drive me crazy! Before I started COing I used lots of hair spray to hold them in place and that worked very well, I applyed the spray with my hand and not by spraying directly onto the hair. Now I just use some hair gel and it actually works quite well, I just apply the gel on dry hair and form the sideburn the way I want them. :)

[ilovelonghair]

Never cut them off, I had a friend who did that and it made her look really weird. I think when they get longer they will look normal.

[Ranee]

Tweezers! I don't have side burns, but a do have a litlle mustache. I always use tweezers on the litlle pesters. Might work for you as well!

[Aronomy]

You can seperate your head hair from facial hair and wax the facial hair. It's very easy and effective.

[Shell]

You can seperate your head hair from facial hair and wax the facial hair. It's very easy and effective.


Yep, I had a friend who used to wax her "sideburns."

[Neoma]

Yep, I had a friend who used to wax her "sideburns."
But I guess that goes back to my original post... Does it look odd to have no hair at all in front of one's ears?

I'm not making a judgement, I'm just asking. I shaved mine off a few months ago, and it looked really odd IMHO. Or maybe I was just self conscious.

[robinm]

I wonder the same thing, Neoma. Would it look weird if I got rid of them totally?

[Delenn]

Sometimes I just pretend it doesn't exist. :lala: It's a condition I've learned to live with. I don't think shaving is a good solution. :flowers:

Ditto, ditto. I'm not much help because I've just accepted that I'll never have a super sleek updo. I have little tendrils in the back and my sideburns never grow to the length of my hair so I just ignore them. Occasionally I'll even get a compliment from someone who thinks the whispy bits are "cute." :o

Right after college I was "inspired" to shave mine off and it turns out that a lady at work was a former hair stylist and she quite loudly asked me why I "cut out" my ears. So I kind of got a complex about it thinking they must be really noticeable now and I just decided to ignore those little bits.

[Neoma]

I wonder the same thing, Neoma. Would it look weird if I got rid of them totally?
In my opinion, it looks weird, robinm. It did on me, anyway.

[rubyredslippers]

My nape hair is pretty unruly, so I generally wind it around my finger a few times and release it. The new little corkscrew curls look more intentional and romantic than leaving the loose strands to their own devices. I don't know about using gels or lotions to help this stay. but this is a trick that kinda works for me. Improves things, at least.

[Adrienne]

I shave mine off. :blushing:

[lapushka]

Neoma, I'd stop shaving them. That may look more odd than the soft tendrils you had there.

[x0h_bother]

I'm bumping this thread because this is my issue. I get these whispy short pieces at the triangle between my hairline and ear that won't stay back. They eventually grow out but randomly reappear again. So lately they are reappearing. I've been 'slicking' them back with a fine eyebrow brush but I'm not really sure what else to do. They're annoying!

[Ludde]

Denial. And not looking in a mirror helps.

At times I have tried to pull the curliest of them by the roots with my fingers, but nowadays my fingers are too lame to get a grip. So back to denial.

[lillylonghair]

I also wanted to say that I am woman with crazy curly sideburns and those weird hairs behind my ears/nape of neck. My brother always made fun of me as a kid but I don't care! They don't really bother me.

[Neoma]

I plucked all mine out. I can't stand the texture of them. I've had them this way for a while -- six months or more. I don't miss them.

[TwilightBloom]

I have them to, i don't think i can pluck them though.. ouch, i do denial.. lol:thumbsup:

[Neoma]

I have them to, i don't think i can pluck them though.. ouch, i do denial.. lol:thumbsup:Denial is far less painful! :flower:

[TrudieCat]

I pull my hair back loosely so that the front pieces fall over top of my crazy sideburns and hold them down. This means that my hair covers the tops of my ears, rather than be tucked behind them. Then if there is still some craziness I put pretty clips in the hair to hold everything together.

[banglaminerva]

Elvis would be jealous of my sideburns. I get them waxed/threaded and shave in between. I feel my face is better "framed" without them.