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August 2, 2011 5:10 PM Subscribe
An... accident happened to my hair. Help me find a short haircut!
There's a chunk of hair a few inches in length missing from the side of my current cut, which is boring and chin-length. It's... a fairly obvious missing chunk, but I have enough hair left over all round that a decent stylist could make something good out of. (What happened to create that chunk, I'm not so sure I'd want immortalised on the internet. Sorry.)
So I'm looking for pictures of something short and more styled that would cover the gap the most, except googling for 'short women's haircuts' gives me a whole lot of hits for Emma Watson's hair, bobs or super-fancy styled hair, which is nice but are too short/don't have enough hair left for/fussy for me. The ideal cut would be something short in the back but kind of messy/choppy in front. I'm fine with something a bit punky/asymmetrical (Noomi Rapace's hair as Lisbeth Salander is nice, if extreme), but nothing that would raise eyebrows at work. I've an oval face and thick, fine straight hair. Bangs = awesome. Bonus points for being low-maintenance.
I can't believe I'm wasting an Ask on this, but - help me not look like a rogue possessed lawnmower attacked my head. Thank you all.
There's a chunk of hair a few inches in length missing from the side of my current cut, which is boring and chin-length. It's... a fairly obvious missing chunk, but I have enough hair left over all round that a decent stylist could make something good out of. (What happened to create that chunk, I'm not so sure I'd want immortalised on the internet. Sorry.)
So I'm looking for pictures of something short and more styled that would cover the gap the most, except googling for 'short women's haircuts' gives me a whole lot of hits for Emma Watson's hair, bobs or super-fancy styled hair, which is nice but are too short/don't have enough hair left for/fussy for me. The ideal cut would be something short in the back but kind of messy/choppy in front. I'm fine with something a bit punky/asymmetrical (Noomi Rapace's hair as Lisbeth Salander is nice, if extreme), but nothing that would raise eyebrows at work. I've an oval face and thick, fine straight hair. Bangs = awesome. Bonus points for being low-maintenance.
I can't believe I'm wasting an Ask on this, but - help me not look like a rogue possessed lawnmower attacked my head. Thank you all.
Ginnifer Goodwin. Modify for length, however you like.
posted by oflinkey at 5:15 PM on August 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by oflinkey at 5:15 PM on August 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The ideal cut would be something short in the back but kind of messy/choppy in front.
I just got that haircut! I almost wasted my AskMe question on it but instead I brought in a few photos from the internet [this one and this one notably] and said "do your best to give me a haircut that doesn't require a lot of product". My haircut is short, almost clipped in the back and has a layered angle cut that is only a few inches in the back and comes down to almost chin length in front. Here's a not very useful pic, but it's a decent haircut and seems to meet your criteria.
posted by jessamyn at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2011
I just got that haircut! I almost wasted my AskMe question on it but instead I brought in a few photos from the internet [this one and this one notably] and said "do your best to give me a haircut that doesn't require a lot of product". My haircut is short, almost clipped in the back and has a layered angle cut that is only a few inches in the back and comes down to almost chin length in front. Here's a not very useful pic, but it's a decent haircut and seems to meet your criteria.
posted by jessamyn at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2011
Honestly, if you have a stylist that you trust, it may just be worth going in and asking her to do her thing. OR go into the salon and take a look at their hairstyle books, I'm sure you'll find tons of ideas there. OR go to the bookstore and look at hairstyle magazines - they usually have a few in Barnes & Noble.
posted by echo0720 at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2011
posted by echo0720 at 5:19 PM on August 2, 2011
You're going to think I'm nuts, but have you thought of a crew cut? If you have the right face (and ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT FACE), they're actually kinda sexy. Otherwise, take a pass on the clippers.
posted by John of Michigan at 5:34 PM on August 2, 2011
posted by John of Michigan at 5:34 PM on August 2, 2011
Best answer: jessamyn's style can easily have sideswept bangs added in. I have something similar every summer, and I generally go in to the salon, and say something really technical like, "I want it above the nape in the back, please, and long enough to tuck behind my ears in the front. I will use product, but will not blow dry." It works well with my fine, thick, wavy hair. A good stylist should be able to handle it, no problem.
Although maybe what you're after, more or less, is La Roux's hair, but without all the gravity-defying product. I swear I've seen a picture of her with her hair in a less extreme style so you can see the lines of the cut, but I can't find it right now.
posted by EvaDestruction at 5:48 PM on August 2, 2011
Although maybe what you're after, more or less, is La Roux's hair, but without all the gravity-defying product. I swear I've seen a picture of her with her hair in a less extreme style so you can see the lines of the cut, but I can't find it right now.
posted by EvaDestruction at 5:48 PM on August 2, 2011
I think Jessamyn's suggestions are good. You should know though, that spoken as a long-standing member of the short hair club, short hair cuts ALWAYS ALWAYS require product to look really good, but short hair dries so fast that it's really just dry, product and go, in less time than even a bob will take to dry. Sumotech is your friend, and a container will last you 6 months.
I've had this haircut several times, and it looks great in straight hair.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:59 PM on August 2, 2011
I've had this haircut several times, and it looks great in straight hair.
posted by ch1x0r at 5:59 PM on August 2, 2011
I don't know, I've had short hair for at least half of my adult life (cut it short, grow it out, lather, rinse, repeat). I am not a morning person and am extremely time challenged in the morning. I hardly ever dry my hair (seriously, I've literally had the same cheapo travel dryer for at least 15-20 years because I've probably used it all of 30 times since I've owned it) and I don't use a lot of products. I have a lot of coarse, relatively thick hair and I only need a small amount of product to control it. Right now I'm using a dime-sized amount of Morrocan Oil treatment on wet hair. Yeah, it ain't cheap, but I'm on the same bottle that I bought about 6 months ago. And I think that if my hair was less coarse or I had less of it, I could probably get away without anything.
See what the stylist uses (whether it be a gel or some sort of pomade) and you can probably find a cheaper alternative at the drugstore or Ulta.
posted by kaybdc at 6:31 PM on August 2, 2011
See what the stylist uses (whether it be a gel or some sort of pomade) and you can probably find a cheaper alternative at the drugstore or Ulta.
posted by kaybdc at 6:31 PM on August 2, 2011
How about a reverse bob like this? It's my current style and is pretty easy to care for.
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:31 PM on August 2, 2011
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:31 PM on August 2, 2011
Best answer: Flickr groups are my favorite places to shop for haircuts. This one and this one have lots of cute examples.
Very important: when you get your hair cut, when you describe the short-in-the-back-shaggier-in-the-front look, make sure you also say "But I do not want to look like the mom on Jon and Kate Plus 8." I cannot stress the importance of this enough.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:42 AM on August 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
Very important: when you get your hair cut, when you describe the short-in-the-back-shaggier-in-the-front look, make sure you also say "But I do not want to look like the mom on Jon and Kate Plus 8." I cannot stress the importance of this enough.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:42 AM on August 3, 2011 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: So met with the stylist, he said OH MY GOD WHAT HAPPENED and I said I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT and I ended up with something real short in the back (due to lack of hair, woe) with some long bang-y bits in the front. You guys are awesome, thanks - that flickr group in particular was really helpful!
posted by zennish at 1:13 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by zennish at 1:13 PM on August 3, 2011
Response by poster: Oh - and it kinda turned out looking like this but real short in the back. Huzzah!
posted by zennish at 1:17 PM on August 3, 2011
posted by zennish at 1:17 PM on August 3, 2011
All the cuts look really cute, and grats on getting a good fix! Had to pop in just to say I understand your situation, I once had a hair related accident myself that necessitated an emergency haircut. Never fun.
Also those headbands you can get in the hair accessories aisle of drugstores - the wide cloth ones - can hide a world of problems until hair grows longer. For future reference - not that I hope you'll need it!
posted by batgrlHG at 1:41 AM on August 4, 2011
Also those headbands you can get in the hair accessories aisle of drugstores - the wide cloth ones - can hide a world of problems until hair grows longer. For future reference - not that I hope you'll need it!
posted by batgrlHG at 1:41 AM on August 4, 2011
Well done! Not a wasted Ask at all if it results in good hair days. Those are invaluable.
posted by 8dot3 at 5:39 AM on August 4, 2011
posted by 8dot3 at 5:39 AM on August 4, 2011
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posted by MultiFaceted at 5:15 PM on August 2, 2011