Actual hairstyle

[Shia]

I've grown my hair long again. I like it long but now I'm knocking on a bit i need something that looks like an actual hairstyle rather than just hair growing our of my head!

I've just lopped off a few inches off the bottom and it now is mid length and from the front looks like two big spaniel ears at the sides!

I have a fringe and have to wear my hair up for work. I use a gripper clamp similar to a large bulldog clip that I twist my hair up and have the ends splayed out and hair sprayed to stay in place and give height. It looks nice like that but outside of work I don't want to wear my hair up all of the time.

I used to have thin hair but as I've aged it's got thicker and thicker.

I hate doing anything with it. I just like to wash, quick spurt with the hairdryer, brush and go out!

I have every device and gadget known to woman for styling my hair but just do not have the inclination and am cack handed!

A few years ago I cut it all off and had a graduated bob that I used to use Babyliss big hair on but I didn't really like it and hated faffing with it.

Any hairstyles that look like an actual hairstyle that require minimum effort?

I've googled but all I get is celebrity hairstyles where they have been straightened by a small army of hairdressers!

Would you consider posting a picture of yourself? Then we could have a look

So without seeing your hair, what about some highlights/lowlights to add interest or a few layers to rough it up a bit so those spaniel ears disappear.

I like this but it looks like an awful lot of strIghtening every day?

I'm also concerned it would look a bit boring or mumsy on me.

Depends if you want to keep your hair long or not. If you do, these hair tutorials are good. They look like you've made an effort, but still look casual in that New Yorky kind of way.

I've done this one quite a lot too. Would look really nice if you have a fringe.

This photo is before I've lopped off the ends, so now it comes down to just above my boobs, about a couple of inches below my shoulder. It is also fairly flat in that picture, it is often much more coarse/ flared out at the sides! In that photo I have used Vaseline to smooth it.

It was black and my daughter bleached it out and I now have brown dyes over the top which haven't helped the condition which is another reason I took off the length.

I'm nearly fifty and want to look more sophisticated without looking older!

CountBapula, thank you, I like the look of the last one but I'm aiming to look more groomed as I'm finding that a casual look is fabulous on younger women but is doing nothing for me. :(

I think it looks nice, although I am trying to imagine it just above boob length but it cant be too different. You look great for nearly 50 (a lot younger) Im early 50s and have a fringe and am in the process of growing my hair out of a very short bob. I think a fringe knocks a good 10 years off.

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FWIW I think you look great and much younger than you are :)

The spaniel's ears thing is probably just down to a dodgy cut. Maybe go back to the hairdresser and get them to put some layers in to take the bulk out of the sides? My hair (long, thick, wavy and a bit frizzy) tends to get a bit like that if it's cut wrong.

I'm desperately growing out my hair, so I am very jealous of your long locks!

I think you might be better off focussing on figuring out styles which don't involve things like straightening/curling/whatever. It takes so much time (especially when you're not used to it), and it's fairly soul destroying!

I think you need to grow out the layers in the front - they look too blunt, which results in the dog ear effect.

For easy day to day styles, try getting a small or medium sized sock bun. They are extremely easy to use, so you will get the hang of it quickly, they don't take very long, and they look very elegant. Your fringe will prevent it looking too dated

HERE is a mini tutorial on how to use them.

Aside from that, learn how to do plaits. They make hair look so different, and are super versatile, but it does take a little practise. It's one of those things that only people with sufficiently long hair can do, so worth doing! There are about a million tutorials on youtube, so have a look and see if you can find something you like. As I said, it DOES take practise, but once you have it down, it will take you just a few minutes to do, so very fast in the long run. Plus, it's a good way of keeping thick hair out of the way, and providing you use hair friendly elastics and don't pull them too tight, it's a good way of protecting your hair from damage.

High ponytails are another thing which look good and are quick styles to do. It looks best if you curl sections of you hair to begin with - but it's quicker than normal as you only have to do the lengths - not the whole lot.

Something like THIS to give you an idea.

Aside from that, do you have ceramic heated rollers? On a day to day basis they might take too much time, but if you have a spare few minutes on occasion, they look great, and the curls should last you two days. So you could have curled hair down one day, and then do the high ponytail the next.