Saturday, June 19, 2010

New Look for My Young Lady

A while back, my daughter asked me to cut her hair real short for the summer.  I am very impressed with her, that she will take chances with new looks and trying new things.  I am also glad that she still has confidence in my ability, to ask me to try it.  I have never had any training in hair cutting.  I've never really been one to fuss with or style my hair, it's pretty much tied in a ponytail and that's that.  But ever since I can remember, I've always cut my own hair (my mother in law trims the back now that it's too long for me to reach), and since we got married, have cut my husband's, and the kids' too.

I guess I just take the approach that in the worst case, hair will always grow back.  That takes off the pressure, and allows me to experiment without too much fear. And so far, I've done a pretty decent job, I think.  But this one was a bit of a challenge for me, since I don't have any experience with short hair styles for ladies, and didn't want to cut it to match the two men in the house!  So it took a bit of thinking, and searching the internet for inspiration.  I think this Meg Ryan photo on right was my main inspiration (no, I was not specifically looking for any "stars", but that's who seemed to show up in my searches for hair styles).

At 11 years old, my daughter April is already becoming quite a little lady.  Smart, determined, concerned, responsible...  I think the short hair will suit her personality.  Not to mention that we are always annoying her by asking her to brush her hair - again! - since it still looks messy.  Here is her "before" photo tonight:

The bangs have become too long to be bangs (she wants to grow them out again), and the curls go wherever they wish. (I love curls, since my hair is completely straight, but now I also appreciate the challenge they present.)

Here she is "after".  The aim for the new style is that she will no longer need to brush it, just brush the back straight, and push the top with her fingers, maybe add a bit of gel if necessary (a bit more height on it may look even better):

We'll find out tomorrow and in the next few weeks whether the decision was a good one. But for now, I'm pretty happy with the new look.

3 comments:

Byddi - We didn't come here for the grass... said...

I have mad, frizzy, curly hair and as a kid my mum always kept it really short because she just did not know what to do with it! Eventually, in my twenties I discovered a trick to tame the frizz that worked for me - after towel drying the hair, rub a dollop of conditioner through it with your fingers or if you comb it section the hair into small parts and twirl it around the fingers to encourage a curl. Mine goes into spirals now that it is longer - like Nellie Olsen! Any conditioner will do, it doesn't have to be the special leave in Kind - just what ever you use in the shower! I use the cheapest I can find as it's usually more runny - It softens the frizz and clumps the hair into curls that don't go rock hard as the product hardens - like it does with gel. Fortunately for your daughter, her hair looks much healthier than mine, but for her short style this trick may give her that tousled Meg Ryan look! She looks great in the photos. I commend her bravery for cutting it all off!

Garden Lily said...

Byddi - Thanks for visiting, and for the hair styling tips for my daughter.

Garden Lily said...

Our family and friends all love the new look, but sadly a few strangers have mistaken her for a boy. It happened at the Mall again today. The clerk referred to her as a boy, and then, noticing her (new!) pierced earrings, apologized for the error. It's a shame, since I think the look really suits her, and makes her look about 14 instead of 11.

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