Short? Long? In between?

[XcaliburGirl]

Hi All! Here's my (unfortunately) long introduction:

I used to have long hair that I would grow out to around classic length (basically whenever I started sitting on it), and then cut to BS length or a little shorter, and repeat.

The recently I cut it to armpit level and liked it, so after growing it out to waist again (growing my hair long has always been the default for me simply because I hate going to get it cut), I chopped it to about chin length and after a few different cuts at around that level, I finally got so aggravated with it that I've let it grow to shoulder/flip length. At chin length it would always end up in a weird shape because it's so thick and the waves would start in unfortunate places. I was always worried about what it was doing.

Now I have a dilemma:
I rather like it at this length in layers because it doesn't get in my way and I can put it in a ponytail. But a ponytail is all I do. For some reason I can't go a whole day with my hair down. Also it gets frizzy if I air dry it loose.

Part of me wants to cut it really short so I don't have to deal with it at all, but I'm worried it won't look good and I'll constantly have to get it trimmed. I liked the loose feeling of my hair without having it on my neck. Also, washing was so much easier.

Or I could grow it out to waist-length and then I can put it up in a bun with sticks (my favorite everyday style from the "old days"), or pony tail, or braid, etc. After drying in the stick bun, I can wear it down and it's not frizzy. Only trouble is that it can get annoying to deal with when it's long.

My guess is that most people here will vote for the latter.

I've been trying to do the Curly Girl method for the past month, but I feel like it's not really working out so well for me. I will probably go back to my old shampoo with sulfates and silicones when I run out of Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Threat.

[spidermom]

You could go to Taaz.com, upload a front-facing picture of yourself with your hair pulled back, and try on different hairstyles. That might give you more of an idea what you'd like. My hair fluffs out and gets very full at shorter lengths, so I'm happiest with it either very short (1-5 inches long and layered) or longer than APL.

[x0h_bother]

It sounds like you have curly/wavy hair. I do too and also found it hard (and aggrevating!) to keep short styles have good shape. I would recommend growing your hair longer, but you don't need to grow it all the way to waist to get it to look good and be able to put it in a bun ;-) Also, if it is frizzy you may want to try a leave in, maybe use some conditioner or oil. You will feel 10 times better about wearing hair down if you find something to tame the frizz! GL.

[XcaliburGirl]

I've tried leave-in, but that doesn't seem to help with my frizzies. I guess I need to keep trying different things. I hate having stuff in my hair that isn't washed out, though.

Yeah, I could get it up in a bun without it being waist length, but once it gets to BSL, I tend to put off getting it cut. Anyway, I really want to try all the cool complicated buns I've been seeing on this forum that require the longer hair! All I've ever tried was a plain bun(if there is such a thing, I've already learned that a "regular" braid is called an English braid) with hair sticks.

[XcaliburGirl]

You could go to Taaz.com, upload a front-facing picture of yourself with your hair pulled back, and try on different hairstyles. That might give you more of an idea what you'd like. My hair fluffs out and gets very full at shorter lengths, so I'm happiest with it either very short (1-5 inches long and layered) or longer than APL.

Thanks, Taaz.com looks better than the makeover sites I've tried. I usually give up and use photoshop instead.