Growing out a pixie cut: in between hair styles

Anyone who's grown out there hair- whether its from a pixie cut, a short bob or even bangs, knows the growing out process is not fun. You spend 50% your time trying to figure out how to get your hair to grow faster, and then the other 50% trying to camouflage the awkward in-between stages while you wait to reach your goal.
Whether you realize it or not, there is a lot you can do with your hair while its growing to help with the painful process.  From headbands to braids, styling your hair in the growing out phase is essential to sticking to your guns and braving through the gawky stages. Here are some inspiration for styles you can try while growing out your hair from a pixie cut. Obviously I'm not a hair authority, so there are a million more things you could try. But these are just a few that worked for me.

1. Headbands 

Keeping my hair off my face

Where it all started

I started growing out my hair in Feb. 2010. It was very short and incredibly damaged, and there wasnt much I could do with it besides style it the way it was cut. So I started throwing headbands in my hair every chance I got. Plain ones, decorated ones, whatever matched my outfits and mood. It didnt change the fact that my hair was short, but it helped me feel like I was able to have a few options besides my plain pixie. 

2. Embracing your natural texture

Over the course of growing out my hair, one of the easiest ways to change my look was to go back to basics and let my curly hair be curly. It was hard, especially when you're hair is very short, curly hair can feel like you're walking into Golden Girls territory. I felt like the secret for me was to diffuse my hair with a blow dryer to add lift, while keeping my hair smooth with gel. It helped keep my hair bouncy and shiny without looking like a poodle.

3. Pull your hair back.

butterfly clips for a baby poof

Bobby pin central

Curly and pulled back

Whittle bitty ponytail

 

Slightly longer pony and a headband

Even if your hair is to short for a ponytail (like mine was in the first picture), you can play with pulling it back. Pull back your bangs, or create a poof at your crown with butterfly clips. Experiment with what works for your hair. Once my hair was long enough I pulled it into baby ponytails a lot. Maybe it looked silly, but I was proud that it had finally grown long enough!

Another option is to use bobby pins, and lots of them. When your hair is short it can be hard to get a bobby pin to hold anything back, but with a little practice, you can create some cute styles. A little hairspray and texturizing spray can help keep pieces that are to short under control.

4. Change your part. 

  

Its a simple thing, but makes a big difference. Changing your part can add body and lift if your hair is a little flat, plus it can help hide awkward layers as they grow.

5. Try some braids

My meager braiding attempt

Admittedly, I'm not very good at braids. Now that my hair is longer I'm getting better- but when my hair was short I was rubbish. I wish I had played with braiding more when my hair was short- its such an easy way to spice up your bangs or create a pretty half up do. Use some bobby pins to pin short hairs in place if they arent long enough to stay in your braid.


6. Learn how to pin curl. Seriously. 

My first failed pin curl attempt

After finally getting the hang of it!

Pin curls seem intimidating, but they actually are quite easy. I learned from watching youtube turtorials (a good place to start is here and here.) Once I knew the basics, I did pin curls all the time on my short hair. Pin curls dont have to give you a super vintage feel either- you can really use the basis of pin curls to create volume, soft curl or full on Shirley Temple head.

Obviously the longer your hair grows, the more you can do- but dont let the length keep you from having fun. If you like wearing hats or scarfs, rock those on days you feel like your hair needs a little help. Dont focus to much on your desperate struggle for long hair and enjoy the time you have left with short hair. Play with it. Do things you always wanted to do but never had the guts to do before. This is your chance- so go for it!

Read my other posts on growing out your hair!

Growing out a pixie- Two years later!
Growing out a pixie- update
In-between hair styles and update
Growing out a pixie cut

Growing out a pixie: Two years later!

 It's been two whole years since I decided to grow out my pixie cut, and its safe to say I've reached the other side. In fact, I've gone through at least 3 cycles of cutting my hair in a pixie, and growing it back out over the past 10 years or so. They say hindsight is 20/20, and after looking back through pictures of my hair during this last transition, I thought I'd impart some wisdom for those who are thinking about or in the throws of growing out their pixie cut. 

Before you read on, know that I'm not a hairstylist, nor have I received any professional training. All of these tips are ones I learned through the school of hard knocks and lots of research on the good ol'internet. If you have any reservations about applying these tips, go to your hairstylist and ask them first! Also, there is no sure fire steps you can take to make your hair grow faster. Genetics and your overall health are huge factors when growing your hair, and everyone's hair will grow at a difference pace. Once again, ask your hairstylist if you have any reservations! That being said, here are a few tips!

1. As I stated back 2 years ago in my original post about growing out my pixie cut, there were several steps I had to take in order to get my hair healthy enough to grow past the length it was. Looking back, the main thing that made a world of difference was putting down the bleach. As much as I loved the bleach blonde color, it was destroying my naturally dark blonde hair. It was breaking off every time I washed it and felt like straw. Dying it a darker blonde and applying protein treatments every few weeks stopped the breakage and allowed my hair to finally grow.

The start- Feb 2012: bleach blonde and DAMAGED!

March 2012: Darker and on the road to health!

2. It took quite awhile to get to the point I was comfortable with it, but putting down the flat iron made a big difference. Take it from me- my natural curl is frizzy, flat, and all around not cute. But, after some experimenting, I was able to find ways to bring out my curl without looking like a poodle. Part of that was learning how to do a classic wet set pin curl (which sounds harder then it really is). I watched a few great videos (watch some of my favorites here and here) that gave me the basics to start setting my hair and it did wonders.
Now that my hair is grown out, I still only heat style on special occasions. I think its been over 6 months since I last blow dried or flat ironed my hair.  One day when I have the time I might pull out my flat iron just to see what my hair looks like totally straight, but for now I'm having a lot of fun finding new styles that are easy and healthy for my hair.

October 2012- Straightening every day

November 2012- Embracing heat free curls

3. To be completely honest, part of the reason my hair grew fairly well was because I got pregnant in November of 2012. From my understanding, pregnancy hormones can cause some women's hair to  grow faster and stop falling out. This is exactly what happened for me. My hair became thick and grew like a weed. Taking prenatal vitamins also helped my hair tremendously.

That being said, obviously you aren't going to get pregnant just to grow your hair out. So, how can you help your hair grow faster?

• Take you vitamins! Obviously you need to consult with your doctor before taking new vitamins, but prenatal vitamins and biotin can help your hair grow in healthy and strong.
• Eat healthy! Your hair is directly effected by what you put into your body, so take care of yourself!
• Stop getting so many trims. Trimming your hair every 6-8 weeks just continually cuts off the length you've obtain. I know, every hairstylist and their Mom says differently, but its a myth that trims help your hair grow. Your hair grows from the top of your head, not the ends, therefore trims will not promote hair growth. What trims do it cut off any split ends, which helps avoid the split ends from going up the hair shaft and potentially breaking the hair. So, if you are diligently taking care of your hair (avoiding heat and excessive styling, eating healthy, taking vitamins, etc), you shouldn't have as many split ends.
  That being said, obviously, get a trim if you notice damage or need your hair shaped. Nobody wants fried. split ends or a mullet while growing out a pixie! As a rule, I usually get my hair trimmed every 4-5 months now that my hair is grown out.

April 2013- deep in the throws of pregnancy

September 2013- 1 month after giving birth

4. Stop stressing and enjoy the ride! Growing out your hair is frustrating and often feels like it will be a million years before you can get your hair into a ponytail, let alone past your collar bone. But, with the caveat of a medical condition, your hair should eventually grow. So enjoy playing and experimenting with your hair in the mean time. Buy some fun accessories, clips and bobby pins and go to town. You can do a lot more then you realize!
I plan on doing a post about in-between hairstyles later, but until then, here are a few pictures for inspiration!

May 2012- little baby ponytail!

July 2012- curly and pulled back

September 2012- braided sides and pinned back

So, after all is said and done, would I cut my hair into a pixie cut again? Yes! Like I said in the beginning of this post, I've cut it into a pixie several times over the years. I LOVE pixie cuts, and think if you want to try one, you absolutely should! Right now I'm so glad to have long hair. I love being able to pull it up into a ponytail, braid it, experiment with different types of buns, or just wear it down. I'm sure sometime down the road I'll cut it all off again, and when I do, I've got the tools to know how to grow it out gracefully!

April 2014- my current length in heat free curls

April 2014- my current length in heat free curls

Are you growing our your hair, or have you grown it out in the past? Do you have any tips that helped you get past the awkward stages? Comment below and tell me!

Find my Pinterest hair inspiration board to see some of my current and past hair loves!

Growing out a pixie- Update!

Obviously I'm horrible at keeping this blog updated. FAIL. But, I wanted to try to give you a hair update- because I know a lot of ladies out there go through the awkward grow out phase and would like to see someone else’s progress.

I officially started growing out my hair in February, and it is now October. That’s 8 months of growth thus far. There are days I feel like I've gained a good amount of length, and other days when I feel like I'm at a stand still. I've had some major hiccups along the way that kept my hair from obtaining good growth (like trims that went to far and major breakage). But, all in all- after looking at before and after photos- its obviously I'm getting somewhere. I guess you just cant rush these things.

Starting point: February 2012 (Blonde and Orange)

Present day: October 2012 (Dark Copper Red)

As you can see, I went red and I love it. I get bored easily, but a copper red is a perfect color to add some spice without going crazy! Red is hard upkeep, but it forces me to treat my hair better- which is what I needed from the get go.

One of the best things is I can now pull my hair into a pony tail- although it looks a little silly. I can also braid my bangs and side pieces if I'm feeling fancy. I can do it curly- although there are days where the curl ends up looking more Golden Girls then Beachy goddess.

Beyond what I can do with my hair- the biggest difference is the health of my hair between when I started and now. I have a long way to go, but it’s SO much better than it was. I still suffer from mild breakage, but that will happen until I'm able to cut off all of the hair that was tortured by bleach (about 2 inches more). My hair is much more naturally shiny, manageable, and soft. It basically feels like normal hair when its wet- and not like rubbery, spongy disgustingness. Doing the Protein treatments (I'm using Color Professional Protein Filler- which you can buy in clear (for all hair colors) or in your specific hair tone), and not bleaching has worked wonders to help the integrity of my hair. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll have all the damaged hair trimmed off, and be working with totally healthy hair!

According to this grow out chart- I'm just about to #3. I guess that’s pretty good considering I started right at #1!

I'm confident that at the end of the year, I'll be able to reach my goal of this:

Another couple inches on my top layers, and I'm there (!!!)

I just read this wonderful blog about another lady who grew out her pixie cut and is now on the other side! Give it a look. I was really encouraged to keep pressing on!

In-between hair styles and update

Its been a little under two months since I started officially locking down and growing out my hair. Ive definitely obtained some good length, but I'm in that "MY HAIR LOOKS DISGUSTING NO MATTER WHAT I DO!" phase. This is the hardest phase to get through, because its so tempting jut to go get a hair cut for instant relief. But, I cant. I must stay strong!

Here is the process I've made in the last 8 weeks.

As you can see, I decided to dye my hair a dark brown. My natural hair color is dirty dish water blonde, and I regularly bleached it to obtain the pearl blonde color I had before. Bleaching was causing breakage, so I decided getting into a darker color range would be much healthier for my hair as I grow it out. The color is a little darker then I had originally planned, but its washed out a lot since it was first dyed.

Some days it feels like my hair has grown a lot, and other days it feels like it hasnt grown a bit. I think a lot of it depends on how I style it. As you can see, I've gained a fair amount of growth, but I have a long way to go.

In order to keep myself going on the grow out path, I find myself looking through chin length pictures a lot. Inspiration can be essential in keeping yourself chugging ahead instead of digressing back into pixie territory. Here are some of my favorites;