Help me get a good curly haircut.

May 11, 2006 8:59 AM

I want a great short curly female haircut. Any recommendations?

Here's how my hair looked as of a month ago:

front
right
left
back
Here's a photo of myself with a good haircut a year ago.
The kind of look that I'm going for is this. I'm so jealous of people with cool indie haircuts and I'm starting to loathe my curls again.

Any recommendations for a salon in London or ways to accomplish this haircut? Any other good short curly styles out there?

posted by k8t to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

Response by poster: my hairstyle currently feels too wide and not fun or interesting. My haircut a year ago was interesting, but I'd still like some input.
posted by k8t at 9:01 AM on May 11, 2006

I know someone with very thick, coarse curly hair who had a great haircut she modelled after this. There were short pieces that blended into the cut, or she could pull them down and straighten them with a small iron if she wanted bangs.
posted by pinky at 9:07 AM on May 11, 2006

Best answer: Miranda July has a nice curly style which may also be considered "cool indie."
posted by fire&wings at 9:30 AM on May 11, 2006 [1 favorite]

would you consider having your hair straightened?
posted by TheLibrarian at 9:35 AM on May 11, 2006

My hair is a little bit shorter and curlier than that Meg Ryan picture. I have very thick curly hair and the trick is to have your hair-dresser texture your hair with those funky scissors. This thins out the bulk while keeping the body. Then when you style your hair, use something like frizz-ease or another "serum" for curly hair.
posted by Biblio at 11:16 AM on May 11, 2006

my curly hair is not short, but one thing i have learned that the regular old layers do not cut it.

the girl i go to now cuts my layers at an angle, meaning the top layer of my hair is not the same length all the way around. it is actually shorter towards the back, taking away some of the bushyness.

other things i have learned. razors are very very bad. curls rock cream product is very very good.

that miranda july cut is cute.
posted by domino at 11:27 AM on May 11, 2006

Response by poster: Thanks everyone. No permanent straightening for me.

Miranda July wins. Thanks!
posted by k8t at 11:59 AM on May 11, 2006

Ask your stylist to finish texturizing with a straight razor. It loosens up and smooths the curls and allows them to gather into larger waves. "Finger curls" might be what you're after.

The technique you want to use (on this kind of hair, anyway) with a straight razor is to "comb" lightly across the hair at a shallow angle, not chop into it. Imagin you're using a butter knife on a stick of butter, and you're shearing off a paper thin rolls of butter and leaving behind lines from the serrated edge.

Good luck ...
posted by Araucaria at 12:29 PM on May 11, 2006

Wow. I hate it when haircutters use a razor, or do any thinning. It makes my thick, wavy/curly hair poufy. I like it very well layered. I try to look for a haircutters with curly hair - they've given me the best cuts. Love that MJuly cut. You'd look great with that.
posted by theora55 at 6:18 AM on May 12, 2006

I am a bit late on this, but check to see if you can find a Ouidad or Ouidad Certified Salon in your area -- Ouidad is known for having a special way of cutting curly hair and they make products for curly hair, too. Here in DC, a salon called Elie.Elie is known for this special cut that is done with like $900 scissors and I have a friend who got GREAT results from it. Expensive, but probably worth it to have a haircut made just for curly hair (personally, I straighten my curly hair every day, but your curls are beautiful and much more consistent than mine)
posted by echo0720 at 8:03 AM on May 12, 2006