Trying to grow out short hair - tips please

[HildaZelda]

As the title says I'm attempting to grow out my hair and quite frankly it's driving me insane. I'm about five months in and just feel that it looks terrible.
It was a pixie style cut, but a bit shorter at one side due to parting etc, so now one side is longer but completely uneven while the other side is a more even length but less full compared to the thicker side (again because of the parting)
Don't even get me started on the fringe. It's currently pinned back and I've pulled the sides down as much as I can so it looks like an uneven bob (ish)

I feel like a cross between a 7 year old and a 70 year old.
I'm not entirely sure what I want to do with it, but the plan at the moment is to get it all to one length (I'm aiming for chin length) and then have it cut properly into a short bob and see how it goes from there.
Has anyone grown out short hair and do you have any tips or hints for me.

Am in the middle of growing out the exact same style. Have had it levelled into a short bob with full forward fringe which looks ok when newly blow dried. In between I do head bands of various patterns and loosely back comb.

I started growing my short hair out nearly 2 years ago, I now have a shoulder length bob (my hair grows REALLY slowly, and I'm not convinced it will actually grow much longer than its current length, but we'll see...). I continued having regular trims at my hairdresser (who herself grew out a v short crop a few years before me), so at pretty much every stage my hair looked like a deliberate style rather than growing something out. It made it a totally pain-free experience.

Pin it up with little claw clips or spin pins. Keep trimming the back so it stays even. Grit your teeth.

Been there more than once!

Hair accessories - clips, bands, pins, -any kind of shit really - are your friend. Pin bits back, up, sideways. And I found it beneficial to actually keep the back fairly short until the sides had grown out - so it may be worth considering a cut? May take longer over-all to grow out but the pain will be less.....

Yes, pins are definitely my friend at the moment. I have terrible hard water where I live too so my hair looks limp and flat. I stayed at my friends recently for nearly a week. She lives a few hours away in a soft water area and my hair looked SO much better while I was there.

I had a super short pixie cut like Michelle Williams. 10 months on, I have a very short bob shape that I’m continuing to grow.
I found headbands very helpful for the in between stages.

Same stage here..and mine looks bloody awful! Even though I had a tiny trim in October it is now random lengths with a touch of mullet and heavy on top but doesn't look much longer :( I look absolutely daft with headbands and it's so wiry clips don't stay.

Oh how I wish I'd never had it cut short!! I'm hoping to get the back trimmed this week but it's going to be a long time before I like my hair!

Honestly there is nothing you can do except persevere.

Been there many times. There isn’t much you can do but be patient. It will look naf for a while but then you suddenly find it gets a bit better.
I’ve recently grown out a very short pixie cut - it’s worth it but you have to ride out the bad bits.

Have a haircut, I've gone from long to short and back again so many times and if you keep getting it cut while you grow it it looks fine because the hairdresser will restyle it each time. Takes longer but far less pain.