Adult hair styles....

**raingirl** · August 28th, 2012, 10:46 AM

How do I make my hair styles look more adult and professional? I'm almost in my mid-thirties and every says I have hair styled like a grade school girl.....

Today I have two sparkly barrettes about one inch long (with rhinestones on them), I parted my hair to one side, and pinned up each side. How can I make that look more professional/adult? The rest of my hair is currently down.

This is a constant issue I have. I never know how to style my hair so that it looks professional.

**Madora** · August 28th, 2012, 10:49 AM

Perhaps you might like to peruse the Articles section for hairstyling ideas.

Torrin Paige has quite a few hairstyling videos on You Tube.

**raingirl** · August 28th, 2012, 11:06 AM

Any recommendations for ideas NOT on YouTube? I avoid YouTube like the plague....

Actually, anything that's not a video as I have limited internet bandwidth at home and videos take up way too much to watch.

Found the articles. I will browse and take a look.

I think I'm having trouble because I can't bun, braid or even sock bun. My hair is just too thin for any of that.

**browneyedsusan** · August 28th, 2012, 11:42 AM

"Articles" is on the gray bar near the top of your screen.

It's a shame you can't get youtube. There are a bunch of neat tutorials on there--especially Torrin Paige.

Princesshairstyles.com has some that would probably work. They're shown on a young girl, but would be appropriate for an adult.

Regarding your current hairstyle:
I think it's the little barrettes that are causing the trouble. They're too small and out-of-scale for an adult head. I would remove the barrettes, and twist back the sections of hair that you want to pin back. Then open a bobby pin, straddle the opening right over the twist, and push the pin in. It should be over the twist with the open end of the pin pointing toward your face, and the entire pin should be hidden when you get it pushed in. I learned from a youtube video for how to finesse the bobby pin...

Hope that helps!

**raingirl** · August 28th, 2012, 12:42 PM

I think it's also my style....I really need a new wardrobe. I guess that it is good we are moving from casual to business casual at work in the next two months.

I'm considering switching to showering in the evenings. I've noticed that henna/darker hair doesn't show the oily-ness as much as my blond hair showed. I think I would have more time to style in the morning that way.

**ravenreed** · August 28th, 2012, 12:55 PM

Do you have enough hair for a Gibson Tuck? It is a lovely style and quite sophisticated looking, IMO. You can even use a sparkly barrette to finish it and it doesn't look too little girly. One of the sadnesses of my hair journey is that by the time I discovered that style, I had way too much hair for it.

**Maybe** · August 28th, 2012, 01:18 PM

Raingirl, I have a similar issue. My hair has to look very professional at work.

Today it is down because I can't put it up and look professional. With all my layers and thickness, buns just look sloppy on me at this point.

Tomorrow, if my braid waves don't look good in the morning, I am going to wear a Gibson Tuck.

There is a tutorial on it in the Articles section but basically you just put your hair in a low pony and then split the hair above the elastic, as if you were going to do a topsy tail, and instead of pushing it all the way through, just stuff the pony into the space you have created. Some people add a sock or some other kind of filler in there to make it look fuller. I have lots of hair so I don't do that.

There may be a gap to cover with a barette or a flower etc.

Ditch the girly barrettes at work. I have/am acquiring hair toys for work (not that I have worn them yet) and hair toys for home/weekend. My work ones are very professional. Plain, understated sticks and forks, Ficcares etc. At home or on the weeknd, I can wear more whimsical ones.

I do the same with earrings and jewelry. Mostly post earrings/studs at work, nothing whimsical at all, I save that for non-working hours.

A topsy tail might be "professional enough" for your office environment, come to think of it. Half-ups with a less girly barette. etc etc.

If you really want to be taken seriously at work, think about adding a blazer. It can be cotton or some other more casual material if your office is "business casual". I almost never come to work without one. Usually I wear a suit but sometimes a dress with a blazer. My office is very corporate and there are very few women at my level. I learnt early on that I get treated with more respect if I wear a blazer.

Good luck!

ETA: Adding a couple of blazers in neutral colours may spare you the expense of a whole new wardrobe. I have black, grey and white that I wear over dresses that I woul dnot normally deem apporpriate for my office (sleeveless etc). I don't really do earth tones but if you do, beige, cream, brown might wrk with a lot of your current wardrobe.

**battle_angel** · August 28th, 2012, 01:45 PM

Hello raingirl, you seem such a nice and sweet woman, would love to meet you in person!

The ideas above are excellent, and definitely worth trying! I would have just one note. As a thin hair, I've already tried several times the Gibson tuck and it does not work well, or look good at all.
Also, I had zero succes with the sock bun, but I bought a Hair sponge bun maker and that turned out quite ok: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Hair-Bun.../dp/B004WDV2XA

A simple hairstyle that I do from time to time is the half-up with a twist. Very easy to do and ads a bit the sensation of volume at the top:
http://beautyhigh.com/1-3-ways-twist...straight-hair/

Another hair style that I like to do is the French twist:
http://www.wikihow.com/French-Twist-Hair

Good luck and happy growing! Thin hair can be beautiful too!

- Laetitia

**hermosamendoza** · August 28th, 2012, 09:08 PM

My favorite grown up hairstyle (hence my avatar pic) is to start a freanch brain and then not finish and make a bun. Quick, easy, and lasts all day long

**Kaelee** · August 28th, 2012, 09:47 PM

Originally Posted by battle_angel

Another hair style that I like to do is the French twist:
http://www.wikihow.com/French-Twist-Hair

Ugh! Oh my, bobby pins, and brushing AFTER hairspray?

There are much more hair friendly ways to achieve this style. Better looking, too. (The finished product in that article doesn't look very good at all I don't think..)

Try these: French Twist and Chignon (careful with those bobby pins!)

Good luck! some great ideas here so far.