So if you have shoulder length, straight, fine hair...

[GetYourSocksOff]

...and a couple of kids and minus minutes to spend on it, what do you do with it?

I'm fed up with my hair looking rubbish, can't seem to find a way to put it up without looking scruffy or like a teenager (closer to 40), at the moment it just looks lank and it's driving me crazy.

I don't really want to go shorter again but I need a better style or some good putting-it-up ideas or a way to get some life back into it or maybe just a magic wand.

Can anyone help?

long layers and babylis big hair

Get it cut a bit shorter into a bob?

I keep spotting babyliss big hair recs on here... are they really that good? Doesn't it take ages?

Hmm off to google long bob pics, quite like the idea of that.

*babylis

I changed my hairdryer to a salon strength one - much more powerful. The effect was instantaneous!

Really? What did you do with it? Do you use a brush or just blast it?

yes, it's great, having layers gives it more volume and the bbh is really quick to use. my hair is really fine but is easy to style and lasts now

2nd what lucid lady says.

also is it coloured/highlighted (like mine is)

I have long layers and growing out a fringe which kicks out about jaw length one side but looks good (don't ask how). A regular trim has helped it lately. Also - Aussome Volume works well on it and spray wax (redken do one) at roots on side. I use the Aveda leave in stuff (forget name) on hair when damp and their finishing lotion (also forget name but light blue bottle) afterwards. Another thing is Redken outshine great if hair is highlighted.

Got new dryer too - Babyliss and it works very well. I DO HAVE the Big Hair but unless for special occasions I can't be faffed with it for everyday but that's me. Good conditioner (I use a Boots Botanics one now) is also a godsend.

Agree,
layers and babyliss big hair. I won't go back to a hairdryer now.Also I'm better with kerastase volumising shampoo and spray.

Ooh thanks for the product recommendations... didn't even know spray wax existed.

Mine's highlighted too.

I'll try some of those, I'm going to stock up tomorrow as I'm running low on just about everything at the moment anyway.

(Bought some timotei for a pound in ASDA the other day, following my theory that as long as you have decent conditioner the shampoo isn't so important. It's not a theory I recommend. My hair looks baaaad)

I wish there was a cheaper spray wax (some Boots stuff I just find is dire) I liked but sadly not.... schwarzkopf osis do one too.

do you have fine hair but a lot of it? I do. Bloody hair....!

still it's behaving itself right now.

Strange that - I used an old bottle (full) of Christmas Cookie (Philosophy) but you can use as shampoo, bubble bath etc - hair seems to LURVE that right now. but yeah use anything. Timotei is nice.

if I put too many non sudsy organic shampoos etc near it hair doesn't seem to like it. no idea why!

OP I just got my hair cut into a graduated bob and love love love it. Also started using Wella stuff from the salon, and Sebastian Mitchell Thickefy Foam. So much better!

I have similar hair / child issues - my top tip for avoiding lankness in ponytails is dry shampoo. Squoosh some into roots, shake fingers through roots, scrape back with fingers into ponytail or messy half loop thing. It makes my hair look a) clean, b) a bit thicker, c) like I spent more than ten seconds doing it, and d) gives it a bit of hold too. It's my fail safe look for day 3 after washing

Velcro rollers on semi dry hair.

I find that unless you get some kind of crop (and admittedly I never have) the shorter your hair, the more hassle it is.

My hair is v fine, vaguely wavy (but not in a way that you would call nice) and it's currently half way between shoulder and bra strap. I stupidly had it cut in a bob a couple of years ago and spent way too long trying to tame it.

My advice...grow it, and get some GHDs. Bingo.

DrinkFeck - yeah love velcro rollers but faff for everyday. nice for night/special occasions.

ohhh revoltingpeasant (should you change your user name now you have new hair? ) just googled graduated bob and now thinking that might get me down to the hairdresser. I really like some of the images. Some of them are very short though, bit scared about losing the length (have only just grown it again).

HelloBoys I used to have fine hair but lots of it, that was how it was always described by hairdressers, pre-babies. I'm not sure the 'lots of it' bit applies any more.

It definitely needs a cut, I think.

How did it take me nearly 10 minutes to write that?!

Velcro rollers don't seem to help mine a great deal, it looks good for about a minute and a half then flops back to where it started. Time is also an issue.

I use GHDs all the time to tame the frizz (I'm making my hair sound lovely :) ) and I wonder if that's part of the reason why it's so tired at the moment.

Dry shampoo... that's something else I've not tried yet.

You also need Kerastase shampoo and leave in spray conditioner. My hair looks like I've just been to the hairdressers, even if I do it a day before!

I really like this style:

www.pinterest.com/pin/471259548479376087/

I have a shopping list for tomorrow!

Oh try again

style www.pinterest.com/pin/471259548479376087/

grr sorry

It's basically a long graduated bob

One more try:

www.pinterest.com/pin/471259548479376087/

Is your hair as thin and rubbish as mine sandiacre ? I can't get away with blow drying alone as it just looks a bit crazy and frizzy, so if you had to do a bit more styling anyway would that make a difference?