I’ve had quite a few requests to post more about short hairstyles. Like everyone says, getting your hair cut short can be addicting. When I chopped my long hair short over the summer, it was more of an almost-pixie cut. Since then, I’ve cut it even shorter into a full-on pixie with a soft undercut. So I feel I’ve mastered what it takes to keep various lengths of short hair looking great with the least amount of time and effort.
I’ve rounded up my top essentials for keeping hair that’s ear length or shorter in check.
1) Trusted Hairstylist
Since you can’t resort to tying your hair up, having a bespoke haircut is the most important thing! The shorter you go, the fewer mistakes you can hide. While a picture is worth a thousand words, the hairstylist should never be simply replicating the visual reference that you bring. Good short hair depends first and foremost on the cut — it should always tailor to best suit you! Not just in hair texture, growth pattern, and face/head shape, but also your overall style, figure, and lifestyle.
It’s vital to find “the one” — a hairstylist with skills and advice that you trust (and personality that you like!) so that s/he can steer you in the right direction.
2) Make Yourself A Regular
People often very mistakenly view short (i.e. ear-length and above) hair as low-maintenance. While day-to-day care (washing and styling) is significantly quicker, there’s no ponytail or bun to fall back on. You always need to do something, even if it’s just spraying some water to tame unruly sections!
It also requires frequent trims to keep its shape and style — overgrown short hair is worse than most other hairstyles when it’s no longer fresh. Shaggier, softer styles can get away with a trim about once a month but shorter crops with clean lines will need to be cut even more often if you want to maintain the look, especially if your hair grows quickly. I visit the salon now every 3-4 weeks for a trim and reshape.
If a monthly haircut is too much of a commitment (or it isn’t financially feasible), I’d honestly suggest keeping hair on the longer side.
3) Professional Hair Dryer
A powerful, professional hairdryer with ceramic heating elements and has features like ion generators and/or tourmaline is more efficient at drying and a lot less damaging. It would also have more durable motor, sturdier build quality, and longer, thicker power cords — cheaper dryers cut costs in these areas. Mine is the cheery yellow Drybar’s Buttercup Blow Dryer, which I got about 3 years ago. It works fine in both North America and Japan.
4) Water is my Friend
Since I wash my hair at night, I always need to fix my bed hair in the morning. The quickest and most effective method for me is thoroughly dampening the problematic section(s) concentrating on the roots and brushing through, followed by a quick blast with a blow dryer.
You could use any spritzer bottle but I personally prefer Aivil’s Airy Mist Spray, which is a Japanese professional hairdressing continuous sprayer that has been around for well over a decade. It’s made in Japan and it’s virtually indestructible!
5) Flat Iron
I find it far easier, quicker, and safer to style short hair using a slim flat iron than with a small brush and dryer or curling iron/wand. I use it on the lowest heat setting to add volume and a little bit of texture to my naturally straight hair. Mine is from T3 and it works fine in North America and Japan.
6) Waxes
Between swept-back, tousled texture, and everything in between, short hair actually has tons of styling options. It all comes down to styling products. I switch between a lot of different ones but I reach for Arimino’s Peace Pro Design Wet Oil Wax and Hard Wax (Chocolate) the most often.
Long hair, short bob, and gamine short crop are three entirely different animals — you don’t style or fix each the same way. Before you make a major hairstyle change, I highly recommend picking up some tips and techniques on how to style your desired new cut first. If you’re styling a new drastic short hair on your own for the first time and you’re completely unprepared, there’s a good chance that you’re going to end up not liking your new cut.
