If you have thick hair, come and talk to me about your short to mid-length haircuts...

[MackerelOfFact]

I had to have professional photos taken at work recently and was horrified at how utterly drab my hair actually looks. I have very thick mousy brown hair with a natural kink/wave. About once or twice a year I get it cut to just below my shoulders in kind of choppy layers with a long, sweeping side fringe and then let it grow out. It's currently almost halfway down my back and the fringe is non-existent. It never looks great even after a cut, but it looks horrendous at the moment.

I'd love a shorter cut, above shoulder length or shorter. Problem is, because it is so very thick (hairdressers always comment that it is probably the thickest hair they have even seen and it has been known for it to take up to 2 hours to blow dry in a salon when they try and dry it in silly little segments) the shorter it is, the more absolutely unruly it is, because there's nothing to weigh down the millions of strands. It also gets greasy quickly and needs daily washing, so I'm loathe to use much product - I use serum on the ends and always try to leave conditioner on for 5 minutes or so, and although it does look shiny, feel soft and largely do as it's told, I know from experience that's only because it's so long.

So anyway, what kind of haircut do the thick-haired ladies have? I have a round face with quite an expansive forehead, I'm 5ft 2in, quite pale and lardy 'curvy'. I'm still in my 20s just, I want to look modern and fresh, I don't want to go back to he hairdressers and get another 90s haircut.

I have very thick hair. I have recently had it cut into a long undercut bob. So underneath my hair is really short but then the long hair goes over the top. It really reduces the bulk and make the hair hang much more nicely. If you don't put your hair up then this could work really well for you.

I also use Moroccan oil which has really helped the condition of my hair and are it much less coarse.

Another thick haired person here! (personally I think we are the lucky ones).

I have mine in a not too short bob, with some layers cut into it, and it is one of the best styles I have had. I sometimes straighten just the top layer, as mine has a bit of a kink too, and that seems to be enough. (If I did it all it would take ages).

I have very very thick hair, with a bit of a natural wave. It is just past shoulder-length and very, very layered with a fringe. It is probably in a 90's cut, but having thick hair is a bit limiting! I also have to have mine longish to weigh it down, plus then I can tie it up for the gym/when it's hot.

It looks fantastic when it has just been cut, blow-dried and straightened by my lovely hairdresser, and OK when I have washed, blow-dried and sort-of straightened it. My hairdresser also complains says it is the thickest she's ever seen. Serum on the ends helps a bit to make it a bit more sleek.
I only wash it every 3 days or so - it doesn't get greasy any more!

I think you also need to get it trimmed fairly often - I aim for every couple of months....

My hair is very thick, course and quite wavy. You need to keep some length to it to weigh it down - I've had short hair and it's been disastrous, wild and mad. My hairdresser said this type of hair needs to have some product on it every day to keep under control. At the moment mine is just at shoulder level - it has layers cut into it to cut out the bulk and .. here's the thing ... last time I had it cut she razored the top layers. Thinned it out marvellously it did, and for two weeks or so it looked sleek. It has quickly rebelled, mind you, and re-asserted its wild ways, even though hairdresser said it would probably only need razoring twice a year or so (ha!), so I'm going back to get it thinned out next week. Might be worth a try for you?

I have very, very short hair now. There is a pic on my profile from a year ago, it's even shorter now ( Ihave a Michelle Williams crop now).

My hair is very thick, but generally it doesn't look it. I think it's because I try to get it cut regularly, and get them to really go at it with the thinning scissors! My hair is wavy when it's longer, more of a horrible kink thatn waves that curl! But at this short length it's so easy to care for! Just wash it, waft over the hairdryer, run the straighteners over the fringe, and put a bit of wax on. Takes 10 minutes from shower to out of the door.

The problem I found with the razoring, Techno, was that it ruined the condition of my hair. I thought it gave me loads of split ends, and I couldn't make it look sleek as the razored edges were all different lengths and hard to control. This is when I has longer hair, obviously!

I have also had an undercut bob, as Marrow has, and agree that was quite a nice cut. It stopped that "blunt" look that can happen with thick hair in bobs.

before you go cutting it all off, try getting to the salon a bit more? with a shorter style you'd be looking at 6-8 weeks between visits anyway. get that fringe cut reguarly - it'll make such a difference.

i have really thick hair, quite frizzy quite a bit of a curly. long or short have always been the best way forward for me. like you, mid length is just too much work to style and never looks that good.

with long hair a fringe make such a difference. i can just blow dry the fringe and i look so much neater and smoother. i too have a bit of a forehead and a fringe most flattering on me. I ALWAYS wear hair up when it's long.

A good hair dresser should be able to take a lot of the weight out of your hair, but you will need to go back every couple of months.

SO - i would say, don't chop it all off yet! Get going to hairdressers more often, find a style of fringe to keep it looking more groomed. Google different types of fringes to get a clearer idea of what you like I've never used moroccan oil, but maybe give that a go too??

do you go the the same hairdressers everytime? cause if you're not happy then it's time to change. there are some brilliant hairdressers out there.

Thanks everyone for your excellent replies. I am somewhat heartened that others keep their thick hair long to get it to weigh itself down - when I've tried to explain this to people before they look at me as though I have three eyes.

I think the reason I am gravitating towards a shorter cut is because usually when I've got the choppy lengths and the long fringe framing my face, I tend to just to just tie the rest of it up so the only bit you can see are the shorter bits hanging down IYSWIM. But you're right, longer hair does give more options, and the hangy down bits probably wouldn't look as nice if it was with my entire hair because then they would be so much thicker.

A bob I worry about because my hair can never decide whether it wants to curl under or flick out. I think layers and choppy are still the way forward. I've had it razored before and yes it does take out a lot of the weight, but the overall style I end up with is still a bit bleh.

I've not visited the same haidresser twice for the last 2 or 3 years - mainly because I can't find one that really 'gets' the thick hair thing even if I explain it in depth. Can anyone recommend someone in the London area (preferably Central or South) who is good with thicker hair?

Mine is really thick quite coarse and curly. Not using shampoo and just conditioner has helped loads, as has getting it cut every four to six weeks (am lucky, my mate does mine). Mine is in a v short bob, longer at the front and really short at the back, with lots of thinning ....... it looks much better now than it has for years!! The curls are quite big i suppose, but in this style it is less curly than when longer.

I've added a (freakily obscured) photo of my hair as it looks right now, which has dried overnight without any styling. I like the tousled/wavy thing but it's always flatter on one side, and once I start trying to brush it it just turns to frizz. Hair isn't really course, there's just shitloads of it.

Thinking regular haircuts are probably going to be the way forward here

I think your hair looks lovely It doesn't look at all frizzy in the pic

Do you want it to look "smarter"? A proper fringe which, as tyaca says, you can blow dry, etc might help?

Mine is ridiculously thick and I can't go shorter than shoulders as it just refuses to sit unless it's a fabulous cut in which case it will for a couple of weeks and then forget it.

I'd embrace your waves to be honest, they are lovely!

I think you look great. Fantastic hair that doesn't need any styling.

If your hair has a tenancy to frizz, I wouldn't get a fringe. Just layer it very slightly at the front.

Agree with Tilly about washing less frequently too. I do mine about twice a week now which has really helped the condition/frizz.

I am the same OP and have found that mine is best with no hairdryer or straightners....a little serum and I run my fingers through it all night for a while after it's been washed...this seems to ton down the largeness of it.

I have tried short hair, short bobs, long bobs and have decided that the style you have is the best. I put it up a lot too.

I have now taken up a brutally short haircut every 8 weeks or so. I look terrifyingly thuggish for a week (and I work on a women's mag, ffs, imagine me among the lovely young swishy-haired colleagues), quite pixie-ish and attractive for the next five, and then have two weeks in which I look as if I am wearing a strange bushy hat before getting round to sorting out another haircut.

Mackerel, your hair is exactly how I try to get mine to look! I have very thick, wavy, unruly hair that I keep long to weigh it down. The shorter it is the wider it gets :( I'd love it to hang in soft waves like yours. I can't even get layers cut in to mine because it makes it so much harder to handle.

I think your hair looks lovely but being a fellow super-duper thick-haired-waver I feel your pain.

I used to have my hair long with long layers to weigh it down and a fringe that always poofed up. There are some very bad photos of this on my profile from when dd was little. Had it cut to a bob when she was about 15 months and it gets longer or shorter every now and again.

My hairdresser is fab, best I have ever had and just for a wash, cut and blow dry/straighten it takes 2hours. I tried to do the just straighten the top and ended up looking like a beach ball! I tried to have it razored to thin it out, great for about 2 weeks but hair grows v v quickly so looks like frizz.

I tried to embrace the 'curly girl' method and had corkscrew curls - not for someone my age! so back to GHD's for me.

There is a terrible pic on my profile just before I had ds (warning when I say I am really really pregnant I mean really really pregnant!!) have a sort of bob with few side layers and finge that sort of blends in.

Pics will give you a laugh and make you feel better about your lovely hair at the very least!!

I don't even think your hair is THAT thick *Mackrel Mine is twice that....it's like I have the hair of two people on one head. Yours is also shiny.

Verdict:: OP's hair is lovely. Stop moaning.

AwkwardMary, my hairdresser says I have the hair of three people on one head Poor DS does too!

Your hair sounds similar to mine. I've had hairdressers ask me not to come back because it took them so long. Every time I go to a new hairdresser we have to go through the whole 'ooh I've never seen someone with so much hair, Jackie come and see this, have you ever seen so much hair' rigmarole and it gets very wearing. The reality is that I have hair like a horse - a wild, untamed and sexy horse. Mine also gets greasy quickly.

Your hair looks wavier than mine, so I'm jealous. I have been trying to perfect the wavy look and have instead gone through various permutations of Shaun the Sheep.

I keep mine very long with a side fringe. The optimum length for me is what I refer to as 'nipple length'. A few extra inches doesn't really mean that much more work, tbh, as it takes ages to dry anyway. Any time I've had it cut shorter has been an unmitigated disaster and I've ended up with a head like a mop. I've decided to embrace big hair so I use a hair scrunch product to make it wavier and have it cut into layers. I've had it thinned out in the past and that made a big difference for a while.

Having said that my hair is often completely mental and when I put it up in a bun it looks like I should be receiving satellite signals. I suppose all I really have to add to this thread is some advice to grow it long and some sympathy.

Marking my place to read the thread later... My hair is so thick last time I went to the hairdressers, I had two of them blow drying it at the same time, to save time, whilst nonstop bitching commenting on how thick my hair was......
Not in a complimentary way, btw!

I have gone for the motherinferior solution with serious thinning. Last time I had it cut it took the hairdresser a good 30 minutes just to do the thinning. So much stuck to my face I had a decent beard there for a while.

your hair is just amazing. really very very nice. and that's having not been to a hair dresser for goodness knows how long?

i go to brooks and brooks in holborn. i'm not going to out myself by naming my reg stylist, but have had my hair cut by three of four dif hairdressers over the years and they are all fab. tis a great salon. take a chance!