Is short hair more hassle than I think it's going to be?

[AngelDelightIsIndeedDelightful]

Hi all,

I currently have long hair and have been toying for months with the idea of going short. I have a professional job and being well groomed is an unwritten requirement, but I am the epitome of laziness and it only happens if I have a meeting. At the moment I don't even bother drying it if it's just a day in the office It takes ages to dry and only really looks any good if I then follow up with straighteners, which all adds to the time.

I have recently bought the Babyliss Big Hair thing, which I'm liking, but because my hair is so long and thick I have to hairdry first and again it's all time that I can't be bothered with.

It's years since I had short hair and I can't really remember what my routine was, but seem to remember that bobs etc. didn't really work because one side would curl under and the other would do the exact opposite so I probably spent ages styling anyway. I'm thinking I'd need to go 'proper short' to get round this, i.e. something like Victoria Beckham short.

So, if you have short hair, is it really styled in five minutes or am I being too simplistic?

I have very short hair and it only takes 5 mins in the morning
Quick wash, style when wet normally self dries
Mine is dead straight and cropped to an urchin cut like what's here name who played hermione granger had hers first cut short
Have it cut every 6-8 weeks

all depends on your hair type.

my hair is fine, lots of it but when i had short hair, it took alot of effort, and use of product to look good and stay put. Luckily I enjoyed doing it!!

i imagine urchin type cut to be easier than say three inches or so. With mine I had to towel dry, put in gel, dry with hairdryer, fiddle, bit of wax for the ends. windy days--a dab of hairspray.

I have long hair and I think, washing and drying time aside, it's a lot easier than short.

Short has to be washed every morning to avoid bed head and properly styled.

VB only has her hair cut off because she can afford a full head of the best quality extensions the second she gets tired of it.

I've pretty much always had shorthair & ordered easy. Yes I do need to wash it pretty much every day but it is easy to style & I think takes no time.

I shower every morning anyway so washing my hair no hassle. I don't need to dry or style it, just comb, tousle and go. It is in a short crop.

I have a short crop and it's very easy to style. I wash it every morning, style it whilst it's wet and then leave it to dry. It takes a couple of minutes (if that). I have no need for conditioner, a hairdryer or even a hairbrush.

When I had a bob I had the same issue as you - that one side would curl under and one would flick out, and my hair when it's long is quite big and wavy, and always took forever to style!

One thing though, every few years I consider growing it out, and even tried for about 9 months once (bullying boyfriend who wanted me to have long hair, I was young) and it's a complete nightmare. Once it's short it's likely to stay that way!

I have thickish wavy/curly hair and had it cut into a long bob recently to get rid of some of the damage done by a bad dye job. It is very difficult to manage tbh and I end up with it in a ponytail all the time (I asked for a bob long enough to get into a ponytail just in case). I had to do it really but would never choose to do it again and am growing it out now. Even when I straighten it it seems to take as long as when it was down to my bra strap.

short hair is FAB!
wash and towel dry. once breakfast is done it'll be dry enough for a bit of wax/ product. wax means i can restyle it as necessary through the day/ if i've had hat on etc.

only time commitment is getting it cut every 6 weeks, but i NEED to escape from the dc sometimes so it does me good. :)

I wash every day now anyway, so that's not an issue. Might save me a few pennies as I need loads of conditioner!

afishcalledmummy has summed up my main worry really - I know what a pita growing it out would be if I get it wrong...

I've just got to take the plunge haven't I. It's got to be really short or I won't achieve anything - AngryFeet's long bob experience proves that. Not sure if the pixie cut might be a bit too drastic - you need a really beautiful head shape for that don't you.

Am loving the 'bit of wax and off you go' stories

Mine is longer than urchin-length (features not elfin enough for that!). Just long enough to tuck behind my ears at the sides and taken in quite short and tight at the back. I do wash it every day and then rough-dry with a hair dryer. On a work day I also straighten but, whilst it sounds like a faff, the whole styling process takes between 5-10 mins because there's so little hair to deal with at each stage.

I think you have to be prepared to spend a bit of time at the start but shouldn't take long once you have it sussed.

I'd say go for it. I used to have mine in a bob but wouldn't go back - mine definitely looks 'sharper' and more stylish this length than I ever managed with longer hair.

I've had both and would say that long hair for me was easier. I have thick hair that goes in mad wavy directions once cut. But when it's long, the weight keeps it in check. I would use the straighteners more when it's short and found I needed to pay for more regular cuts.

Also, I felt quite boyish with short hair, which I didn't like. Probably a carry over from my childhood when I had short hair and everyone thought I was a little boy [hgrin]

If you are in a relationship, you should ask your partner what they think. Turns out DH doesn't like short haired women - they scare him (probably some childhood thing going on there [hwink]. He was gutted when I cut my hair.

I'm back in mid-length, which I agree totally with angryfeet is even harder work! Have vowed never to cut it off again...3 years to grow it back [hsad]

I have short hair and I really much prefer it. It looks like it has a bit of style whereas when I grow it it's looks flat and uninteresting because it's so fine.

Mine does need to be washed and dried to look good so yes some effort involved but nothing too awful cos it doesn't take long. If I don't make an effort it tends to look a bit 'bed head' ie mad

I keep seeing threads referring unfavourably to short 'mum cuts'. I think that's a bit unfair. Short hair can look great and much more stylish than long.

Mines a bit like this I have had it much shorter than that but I find as I'm getting older that too short is too severe for me now.

I always had long hair, and then a few years ago cut it all off, I have very thick uncontrollable hair, and i suddenly for the first time in my life had hair I could wash brush and leave and it looked gorgeous.

Grew my hair out when I had DD just because I was too busy to get it cut every 6 weeks, but seriously considering going back to short hair (think blonde woman in Girls Aloud, Rhianna or VB for super easy to look after hair)

I had my hair cut in a very short pixie crop about 2 years ago, best thing I ever did. It's one less thing to worry about in the mornings, just wash it, (mine can get away with every 2 days or so) stick a bit of styling wax in it and thats it. Get mine cut every 4 to 6 weeks, my hairdresser comes to my home. Will NEVER grow my hair again.

I have a lot of hair, but it's fine (iyswim!) and short hair (above earlobe length) didn't suit me at all. It only ever looked good on the day I left the hairdressers. Otherwise it developed a weird wave and wouldn't sit right unless I used GHD's which then fried it and made the problem worse. Found an old photo today and winced.

I now have mine just above shoulder length, wash it every day and wear it up if I can't be bothered to blow dry it in the morning.

I have very thick hair that has been v v long and v v short (buzzcut!)

Imho, short hair is higher maintainence as if you are having a bad hair day you can't just tie it up in a pony tail and forget about it.

Doesn't take as long to blowdry/straighten/style mind you.

Thanks for all the comments. I've managed to book an appt for Thursday evening

I have printed off a picture of VB and Sarah Harding (thanks NewbeeMummy for SH suggestion).

Still time to chicken out though

You'll have to give us an update on Thurs/Fri Angel and let us know what you went for in the end!

I did it! Hairdresser was all for it and I trusted her to do what she thought best. It's more like the SH picture than VB. It looked great last night.

Bed hair was (as you all predicted) a bit frightful So I've washed and dried it this morning. It's not as good as last night (never is!) but it isn't at all bad for a first effort. I've had lots of lovely comments It took about 6/7 minutes altogether.

I'm really pleased and glad I went for it. Neck's a bit cold though

Fab!
You'll need a hat too- once its gets really chilly your ears will thank you for it! :)

Well done-sounds fab! You will quickly get used to doing it in next to no time!
I always had short hair and grew it last year-not only did it make me look years older but I couldnt believe how much work/time longer hair needs.Back to short for me-so quick and always looks good.[hwink]

Well done - I'm glad you went for it. Sleepytime is right about the hat but think how blissfully cool your head and neck will be next summer!

Don't forget the sun cream on your neck and ears in the sun! :)