Hair Inspiration for the Grown-up Goth

October 31, 2019 2:56 PM

I'm an aging goth who has had the same long hair + baby bangs look for the past decade. As I approach 30, I'm looking for something...new? Different? Less severe? But I have no idea where to start. Any ideas of sites/blogs etc. with hair inspiration for grown up alternative types?

I'm not sharing a picture of myself as I prefer not to do that online. I'm mostly looking for inspiration at this point or ideas to bring to my hairdresser. I've had my hair in many different colours and am mostly looking for cut ideas.

But for what it's worth I have thick fine straight hair and a round face. I dress kind of grown-up/minimal goth these days, a lot of plain black basics, drapey shit and silver jewelry.

I don't want to lose my "edge", but I also don't want to be 40 and wearing the same style as I was at 19, you know? And I feel the tiny bangs don't look as good as me as they did when I was younger and skinnier.

posted by noxperpetua to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

My middle-aged wife and my middle-aged sister, both of which have had 'alt' vibes all their lives, have a cut sort of like a wide mohawk sort of bouffantish, not spikey (although my sis does put up her mohawk once in a while) - reminiscent of Macklemore and the guy on Vikings.
posted by AzraelBrown at 3:06 PM on October 31, 2019

Ask around to friends whose cuts you like for recommendations for a stylist and then schedule a consultation and ask them this question, that you’re looking for a new look for the long run. I went through a bad dye job and wanted someone to work with over the long term to fix it rather than throwing a bunch more color and whatnot at my head at once, and going through consultations gave me a good sense of them (as opposed to just scheduling a full appointment).
posted by sallybrown at 3:17 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

So those big books of hairstyles that used to be in salons? They were salon product advertising (for marketing to the professionals), which is now on Instagram and has more obvious consumer product placement. Sassoon salons (Chicago Beverly Hills Toronto) tend to have good Instagrams where you can actually browse haircuts but the pictures are nowhere as good as those books were.

Look up the local cool salon's Instagram and you might get lucky that their media person is on it!
posted by crush at 3:24 PM on October 31, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I'd check out the long shags and updated mullet-like styles that the stylists at edosalonandgallery and Goodbye Horse Girl specialize in.
posted by vivzan at 3:26 PM on October 31, 2019 [7 favorites]

What if you grew out your bangs and did something like a bob with a deep side part? Think Samantha Mathis in Pump Up the Volume.
posted by cakelite at 3:28 PM on October 31, 2019

Best answer: Was coming in to suggest the two IG accounts vivzan linked to! They consistently feature cuts and styles that perfectly bridge the gap between soft and edgy (and both specifically make their cuts to maximize grow-out and still look good months afterwards).
posted by stellaluna at 3:49 PM on October 31, 2019 [1 favorite]

If I were a woman and a Goth, I would want my hair to look like the one with grey in these pictures. I ran across these awhile ago and have always liked the iron grey hair parted down the middle look she has going.
posted by Fukiyama at 4:24 PM on October 31, 2019

I'd take my inspiration from the dramatic bobs of the flappers of the 20s. Because it's always modern and chic, never goes out of style, is dramatic, feminine, strong and just generally perfect.

like Louise Brooks
posted by Dressed to Kill at 5:17 AM on November 1, 2019

Mullets are definitely "in" to signal to other people that you are cool and alternative, but might not be the adult look you're going for. I also came in to suggest a super short bob thats not stacked, and has an androgynous/masculine shaved neckline
posted by FirstMateKate at 8:41 AM on November 1, 2019

Response by poster: All great ideas here but I have to say that I am instantly obsessed with the choppy shag cuts that vivzan posted. Turns out my hairdresser likes to do shags as well, so I'm going to bring some pics and see what they can do with my hair. :)
posted by noxperpetua at 12:46 PM on November 9, 2019 [3 favorites]