Cut and Balayage
*these were taken in the shade. Scroll down to see a couple taken in the sun so you can see how light it really is!
I want to start by thanking you for the overwhelming response to my new hair. You guys are seriously the sweetest! I am so obsessed with it!
I also want to make sure to tell you I will be doing a tutorial on how I style and curl it. This will be loaded to Instagram on Tuesday 1/28 and you will always be able to find it saved to my HAIR highlights on my Instagram Stories once it is live.
Stylist
Funny story. I have been going to Tangerine Salon in Dallas off Walnut Hill for 4-5 years and have always either seen Marshall or Troy. I had to call and make an appt to do the cut and color with Marshall for two months out (he always books up and it is so hard to get in with him!) Well, he had to cancel two weeks before because he is a foster parent and was placed with his first little baby!!
They called me to reschedule and the only person available to do it before I left for Belize was Tobie Huff. I was super hesitant. This was a huge project and I wanted someone I trusted. I just hadn’t heard anything about her and had never seen her work. They assured me she was great so I ended up booking it.
I AM NEVER GOING TO ANYONE ELSE NOW for my cut & coloring! Seriously she killed it guys. I can’t believe I ever doubted her. And she was so confident too like she had done it a million times.
Inspo
I showed her these photos:
*the first, second, and fourth photos are all Sincerely Jules from Instagram or Pinterest. I pulled the third photo from Pinterest and not sure what the original source is since it has been repinned so many times!
Tobie asked if I wanted that same kind of dimension with the color and I said yes!
She asked how far I wanted the balayage to go up to my roots and I said I wanted just a few pieces here and there to make it up that far.
She asked where I parted my hair so I made sure to tell her the middle and side so that when she colored it I could still do both.
The girl in the third photo has a lob (a little longer in the front than in the back.) She asked if I wanted that too and I said yes, but a faint one- not too drastic!
She asked how light I wanted it and I pointed to the last photo above.
*I do want it a little lighter on some of the pieces in the front, but we wanted to wait to see how light it got once the toner wore off a little before re-booking. Now I will probably wait until after my Belize trip to also see how much it lightens in the sun.
Things to Know Before You Book:
-This specific style is balayage.
-if you have color treated hair (not just the roots) it will take completely differently and you may have to go in a few times to get it to where you want it. I had only had root touch ups for the past couple of years so my hair took the color very well and we only had to do it once!
-Don’t leave the salon until you have it exactly how you want it. Tobie checked with me a million times (after the color, after the wash, after the blowout, and then before I left. She wanted to triple check and make sure I loved it before I left. Don’t be afraid to speak up to your stylist if you want more layers or you want it lighter or darker!
-If you get home and decide you want it a little lighter or shorter, book your appt for about two weeks out. Give your hair some more time before you decide. It will get lighter as the toner wears off and after a couple of washes and may also get lighter in the sun.
Pros to Having Short Hair:
1. It’s fun. It is always fun to do something extreme to our hair. Makes me feel like a new woman! We all get bored. Sometimes we spend tons of money and do tiny changes every now and then. I wanted to chop it off knowing that it will always grow back.
2. It’s easier. It takes me about 30 min LESS to do my hair now. My hair is also naturally curly, so with long hair it would take forever to blow out straight and style. It blow dries super quick now and I can style it in 5 min! I also get Brazilian blowout on it (going for my next one in a week), which cuts that time down even shorter and eliminates the frizz. I go to Julius Holder (who I have been going to for 10 years!)
3. You can donate it. I couldn’t donate mine though. I could barely hold my hair it was so gross.. which brings me to…
4. Your ends are probably completely dead anyway. It is time to start fresh and grow out some healthy locks!
5. It’s in style. The lob is in right now.. so if you have been putting it off NOW is the time to act!
6. It will stay curled up to four days without me even having to touch it up. I literally curl it on Sunday and it is still curled on Wednesday when I wash it again! Long hair is heavy so it pulls the curls out faster. *scroll to the bottom to see which products I use.
7. IT GROWS. Guys, you will have your old hair back in no time if you don’t like it! This isn’t like a tattoo!
8. You never know how it will look on you until you try it. You could chop it off and wonder what in the world took you so long. This style could be made for you and you don’t even know it! Since cutting mine I have gotten tons of messages saying ‘you look way younger now’ or ‘I thought your dark hair washed you out, you look much better with lighter hair’! Haha you may think these are mean, but at least they are being honest!
Cons to Having Short Hair.
1.Your boyfriend/husband may not like it. Troy begged me not to cut it. BEGGED. But guess what? He loves it and thinks it’s sexy!
2.It isn’t cheap. This cut and color costs around $300 at a really good salon (like the one I go to.) You could just chop and add the color later to cut paying that full amount all at once. You will also need to budget for maintenance. Tobie said I need to come in every 6 weeks to touch the color up.
TIPS:
Make sure you let them know you still want it to pull up into a pony or bun! You don’t want to have to bobby pin your hair everywhere when you go to the gym (unless you are going for a much shorter look of course!)
Products I Use to Style:
Babyliss Straightener: I use this first once over to give it a sleeker look before curling. This will also help get more of the beach wave. Any straightener will work! I have just had this one for 5 years and love it!
T3 wand: They used a curling iron a the salon and it took like 30 min! With this wand it takes me 5! If you get the T3 Interchangeable wand you can change out the barrels to give you different sized curls!
Oribe Texturizing Spray: This will give you some dimension with your style. It also helps to spruce up your curls on the second or third day without actually having to re-curl again! Oh and you can use it if you tease your hair before putting it up!
Oribe Beautiful Color Conditioner
Aveda Smooth Infusion: My hair is naturally curly so this helps with the frizz.
Aveda Styling Foam: This helps my hair hold it’s curl longer! I rub a small squirt of this and the smooth infusion together and apply it to my damp hair (a little goes a long way!)
Oribe Nourishing Oil: Apply this to your ends at the end to give it some serious shine! You only need the small bottle.
I HAD to show you guys these old photos because they crack me up. They are from 2015 when I cut 8 inches off my hair and decided I wanted to full on bleach the bottoms haha!
Please comment below with any questions!
xox Amanda
Comments
Your hair looks great. I’ve been getting Balayage for years and LOVE it. So much better than the old style foil highlights.
Your post came at perfect time!!! I’m cutting mine off tomorrow. In mid 40’s and feel like a change. Plus I have long thick hair that takes forever to wash dry and style. You look great!!! Love it!!!
[…] read all of the pros and cons on short hair at http://www.themilleraffe… […]
Hi. So I am considering cutting my hair shoulder length like yours, and your post was really helpful! But I am still unsure about taking the plunge because I have really long hair and I LOVE it but I also LOVED it when I had it shoulder length last summer, and my hair grows out really fast, but I still am unsure. My dad loves long hair and I think he’d be a little sad if I cut it off, but I still like the idea of changing it up like you said. But I also really like the idea of growing it longer. Which would you say is better, having it long or chopping it off? 🤨
I prefer mine short but my husband loves it long :/. It will grow back whichever you decide!! It is always nice to change it up!
xox Amanda
>You can’t put every piece up in your ponytail
Oh man, I would’ve made this the #1 con, it’s so annoying!
[…] read all of the pros and cons on short hair at http://www.themilleraffe… […]
[…] read all of the pros and cons on short hair at http://www.themilleraffe… […]
[…] read all of the pros and cons on short hair at http://www.themilleraffe… […]
[…] read all of the pros and cons on short hair at http://www.themilleraffe… […]
I just chopped off about 4″ of my hair – post wedding chop as I’m calling it! I love the style but, am having a HECK of a time figuring out how to curl my hair so it is the look I want. How do you curl your hair? My hair is now hitting my collar bone and it hasn’t been this short for me since like 2010 so I don’t even know what to do with it! I used a 3/4″ curling iron and it looked to ringlet. I used my 1 3/4″ iron and those curls were almost too big. HELP? Suggestions? Thanks!!
Vicki
Vicki, I split my hair in two sections top and bottom. I use a 1″ wand and always make sure the wand is facing down. I also start the curl at my ear level, not above! I hope this helps!
xoxo A
Got it – a wand! Thanks for the tip! I’ll have to check it out!
You call that short? lol. That’s mid length for lots of people who’ve never grown their hair out. I’m working on purposing growing my hair to a long length but it’s been tough. I get irritable doing my hair and don’t like taking all that time on it. Because my hair is naturally curly and prone to dryness, I have to do stuff to it. Eventually, I think once it gets longer, daily hair care will be easier. I actually miss my super short/bald head but I’m about 2 years into this so… gotta keep going!
Have courage,
Elle | http://www.elleword.com
I have had short hair for 3 years now and I think the number one thing that I hate is not being able to get it all up in a high pony tail…and I’m SO jealous your curls will last for 3 days…mine barely holds curl! Love that you addressed short hair..I can related to all of this!
Great post, except I have to say I disagree about short hair not being as sexy – when I grew my hair out, my husband was begging me to cut it off again lol! Products DEFINITELY get pricey and I feel like it takes a while to get a product regimen down (or maybe that’s just me). I’ve thrown away SO many half empty bottles, but i guess the good part is you don’t have to use as much! Super informative post, especially for girls who are scared to take the plunge! 🙂
Valery Brennan
Sorry love I wasn’t meaning to say your hair wasn’t sexy :/. That is why I inserted ‘this is relative’. It definitely is different for everyone! I love your hair and have been wanting to dye mine purple forever!!!
xoxo Amanda
I LOVE your hair! I always think short hair also looks so much better on tall girls than shorties like me! And can I say, this outfit is amazing! I cannot believe how affordable it is too- great post!
xo Rachel
To Hell In A Handbag
I completely know how you feel about missing long hair – I donated mine for the second time in November and it’s slowly but surely growing back! Thanks for sharing your hair secrets, your ‘do is always perfect!
xx, Victoria
memphismadeblog.com
Love your hair and wish I had the courage to do something different…I love my long hair so it probably won’t happen anytime soon but I do adore your cut! Absolutely love this dress on you too!
xo,
Brooke | KBStyled
After seeing your short hair on Instagram, I came straight to your blog to see how you styled it and this post was at the top of the page! Too funny! I recently chopped my hair short too, but I have naturally straight hair. Just wondering – how do you straighten your hair? Blow dryer or straightener? I’m trying to tame my layers and keep my hair from flipping upwards in this humidity. Great post, by the way!
After I put those two products in I actually blow it out with a round brush EVERY TIME and then go back through with my Babyliss Nano (you can find it at Ulta). I get the really thin ones (1″) and it does wonder to straighten AND curl! I think the straightening balm really helps me though.
Love your short hair and that dress!
http://www.hiteastyle.com
thanks love!!!! <3 <3 <3
We love your short hair! It’s amazing on you! I want to take the plunge, but Whit wants long hair. Since we are twins, it’s even harder to take the plunge without your sis!
xo
L&W
PS love your blog Amanda!
I love your blog as well and find myself getting the best deals on there! I love that you guys don’t want to do something without the other one doing it haha! Tell Whitney to chop it off! It is so fun and refreshing!! It will grow 🙂 Or you should just try it Lindsay and then she will want to too :):)
xoxo A
I love your short hair! I chopped mine after my first baby and regretted it.. Mine is also curly and I can never tame it when it’s that short. At least I can throw it in a mom bun haha but you’re ROCKING it.
You are so cute with your hair and I love that you took pics by the A! I totally feel you- My hair is high maintenance, but usually I can just sleep on it wet and it is fine. I probably get my hair cut 2 or 3 times a year, no color, so I don’t truly know that pain!
Elle
Southern Elle Style
I freaked when I read that the sunglasses were only $12 because I was definitely eyeing them!
I have medium length hair so it’s so hard for me to find a happy medium, but I think I want to grow mine out!
My hair takes FOREVER to grow, so it’s been short-medium length for the past like 5 years!
I loveee your short hair! I think they look so cute, but I don’t want to have to actually do my hair every day haha… top knots and braids for me!
http://www.amemoryofus.com
Ok, first of all, this is THE CUTEST DRESS on you! I adore it. Second of all, you rock short hair like no one’s business! It looks so so cute on you! I don’t think I have the face shape for it…I wish I did!! Love that it takes you 30 minutes less in the morning and that your curls last so long!!
Beautiful as always!!
Christina
Fitness & Frills
I LOVE your hairstyle!! The length and color go together perfectly. It would be so hard to let go of my long locks but it’s so tempting when I see a great short style like yours!
xo Ivette
I honestly LOVE this post!! Your outfit is killer and your hair looks fabulous! P.s. Loving those sunglasses!!
xx Bri
http://www.neutral2neon.com/