CHOPPED IT OFF!!!!

I know, I'm a lightweight but I just couldn't bear it any longer ...

You see, "The Fringe" had taken on a life of it's own - it was like "The Donald" only worse!  I had started talking about it like it was it's own person ... that would have been fine if I actually LIKED it!!

Friday at work:  I had convinced myself that "The Fringe" was behaving and that I was liking it - by mid-morning, I was well and truly OVER IT - I HATED IT!  So much so that, 10 minutes prior to a meeting,  I was found neurotically rummaging my handbag and desk for a hair clip / kirby grip - none to be found... SO I used a paperclip - Yes, that was the Rock Bottom of my fringe growing episode!!!

Saturday morning:  As I was cursing under my breathe and trying to "do" my hair (feeling close to tears actually - I know, pathetic really!)... Kim teased me - You know you want to cut it off - think of all those people following your blog though"  ... "I'm fine" I said - "I know you" says Kim ... "you CAN cut it you know ....."

Well, that was it - someone else to "give me permission" ... sod the blog ... I had my sanity to think of...

So, later Saturday morning, kid's in tow, I turn up at the Bald Englishman Hair salon in Bethlehem (www.baldenglishman.co.nz) as they prepared for the launch of their Beauty services (Kim was trialling one of the facials) .... no relaxing for him though ... the minute he was done I said, "CHOP IT OFF"  .... a grin appeared on his face - he knows me so well.  I tried to ignore the "I told you so" expression on his face - afterall, I wanted a good job done :)

So, this is where I am now:

 (Feeling a happy chappy today!)

 (a smug look at the Salon on Saturday!)

The relief - aghhhhhhhhh....  I just know I'm going to have a great day today :)


If you've liked my blog - please check out my new one Trials and Tribulations of a Hairdresser's Wife :
http://baldenglishmanhairdressers.blogspot.co.nz/

See you there

OMG - I'm getting there!!!

I can hardly believe it myself, but I think my fringe is finally growing out!!!

Just over a week ago - I was going CRAZY - I could hardly cope ... SO I asked my husband, the Bald Englishman Hairdresser, to cut me a diagonal fringe so that I could do something more than clip it up.

I had to admit, I wasn't convinced after the cut.  The fringe would NOT behave!! All those months of pinning it back had led to a bit of a cows lick - OMG ... that was SO bad!  I so nearly cut the lot off - forget the blog - who cares .. I was ready to call it quits BIG time...

But, one week later I can really tell the difference - finally, it's laying flat and I guess I've got used to handling it - and YES it's actually growing out - YAY!!!!!

So I guess I need to keep it going - there's no doubt about it - it's really hard...but I'm starting to see the rewards :)

I'm actually quite excited looking at the photos now - I have given myself a goal of Christmas - that's a whole 8 months away ... think how long it will be by then!!!!

Come on girls - keep up the good work.  If you, like me, are growing those bangs out - keep going ...it does get better - TRUST ME!!!!!!

AGHHHHHH......

If it wasn't for the fact that I was writing this blog, I can tell you now I wouldn't be continuing on this crazy quest for one length hair...

Most of the week has been fine - I've been away on business and so the scrunchy and the clip in pony tail have served me well .... that's not the problem...the problem is:

1.  I'm tired of pulling it back of my face
2.  I can no longer to anything else with it unless it's pinned back in some fashion...

So, at the moment I can:

1.  Put my scrunchy in
2. Wear my clip in pony
3. Part my hair to the side and pin the fringe back

I NEEEEED it to be longer!!!!

This is where I am in the growing stakes - 3 months on:

Before (3rd Jan)

Now: (1st April)

Ok, it looks REALLY bad here (just out of the shower) but you get the picture ... it's definitely growing ... just not fast enough!

Thankfully I AM writing the blog or else ....chop, chop, chop!!!!  :)

Polished & Professional

It's been a great week in the hair department (if not in the work one!!)

I'm finding my hair piece SO helpful with the darker mornings  - you know, I'm having those "it can't POSSIBLY be time to get up" moments on a regular basis - and the thought of blowdrying my hair makes me want to pull the duvet over my head and refuse to get up!!!

It's been great!

2 minutes after I pick up my hairbrush, my hair is looking polished and professional. The fringe is hidden by clipping it back and is now growing well - even if it seems to be taking AGES!! (look out for the photos later)

Hair's looking great - face not so much!!!

Well, it is only 7am!!!!

Little Bit In Love with Scrunchies!

Well, I've finally found a brilliant hairpiece to help with the growing out phase.

One of the problems with growing out your fringe when you hair is my length (medium inverted bob) is that it's not that easy to put into an "up do" without copious amounts of hair sprouting out at the back.  What I needed was a hair piece that would cover them ... and how in love with my scrunchie am I?

Day 3 of the wash cycle (day one and two were great - just parted my hair on the side and clipped my fringe under - perfect) however, it's raining today, we're off bowling and I REALLY didn't want to wash my hair.  Trouble is, there's no way I could have gone a third day without trying it back.

Am LOVING the easy and elegance of this.  As you may have gathered, I am not one for scruffy hair, so growing out my fringe is a real challenge!



Front - fringe twisted around and then using a bobby pin, have simply pinned pointing the clip towards my forehead - this gives extra grip:

And the back looks awesome too !!

I can definitely wear this to work and still feel "put together" ... ...   LOVING IT!!!!!

No Honeymoon!

Yeh - I've made it to Friday with not too much grief!

My fringe is now officially too long to blow dry under - I tried last night and it was a disaster, so I'm no longer in the honeymoon phase - this is real!  Crappy fringe, driving me nuts and the only way I can deal with it is to pin it back.

I've had lots of positive comments this week - apparently I look younger and the kids seem to like it - I worry that my nose looks beaky, but there's not much I can do about that!

So a bit of a success I think - I've made it to the 2 month mark and am seeing considerable growth.  It helps to see the day one picture:

and the 2 month mark:

So CHEERS!!! Here's to the next 2 months :)

Finally Given In ...

... and realised that I can no longer continue to blow-dry my fringe forwards.

Every day last week, I needed up looking "scruffy" by morning tea time which meant that I spent all week feeling less than chuffed with my hair!  Not good and left me sorely tempted to get my fringe cut.

The problem is that it's now too long and so needs to be blow-dryed with a large brush but then the wave drops.

SO, this is the new every day style for now:

I've clipped it back at the top with 2 large slider type clips (one from each side so that the ends don't fall out)

I think I can cope with this - let's see if I make it till Friday without changing my mind!!

Quick update:

Yesterday I was hating the fact that my fringe was breaking up and looking like "rat's tails"... you know, all stringy and clingy - probably the humid weather.

However this was easily solved by a fresh wash and blow wave this morning - so I'm feeling much more human.

Anyway, it's definitely growing.  I've had the back trimmed a bit to keep it in shape and the layering through the ends has definitely helped...

It's naturally breaking in the middle more now, and still looks ok.


PS, last week I was in a shop in Auckland.   A shop assistant commented, "I love your hair cut" ... I explained I married to a hairdresser, was growing my fringe out (as you do to complete strangers in shops) and that I felt a bit scruffy.  "Oh well," she said, "it looks great from the back!"

"Maybe I should walk around backwards then?" I retorted ..... confused look and nervous giggle from said assistant ..... LOL!!!

Note to self:  Not everyone shares your weird sense of humour!

Have a great day everyone :)

Officially a Shaggy Dog!!!

hmmm .... the hair is resembling a wig!!

In fact, I think I am starting to resemble the Dulux dog  ....

Can you see the resemblance!! Thank goodness I don't have grey hair :)

So, Kim The Bald Englishman (www.baldenglishman.co.nz) to the rescue.  I wanted to keep the length, after all it's taken a lot of pain to get this far, so I was paranoid about "going for a trim".... but true to his word, Kimbo kept the length and layered the ends.

He reckons that it will be easier to grow out , "you'll end up with a blunt shelf traveling down your face unless I layer it" ... OK, not the look I was after, so trim away.


And voila!!

Trust me...  I've measured it (Yes, I'm pretty anal! - poor old Kim :) )  it's still the same length, but altogether lighter and more manageable!

I think I can cope with the next couple of weeks now :)

Thank's Kimbo!!

I've Officially Got To That ANNOYING Stage!

One day it was fine, the next day ANNOYING!

Kim warned me it was about to happen - and this week has been a challenge.  The thing is, I can blow dry it under (ish) and it's fine, but by the end of the day the curl has dropped and it's driving me nuts...

One evening this week (granted it was hot and so I was feeling all hot and bothered and over my hair full stop!) ... I even resorted to using the first thing that came to hand:

Not a look for outside of the home, me thinks!!

Yesterday was another hot day, and as my hair is growing all over now, I was able to squeeze it into a small (very small!) pony tail and dig out one of my many hair bands.

I chose a double all round band (like giant elastics really) and this helped not only the look of my fringe but also helped with those odd bits at the back that would quite go into the pony tail - bit of a result all round then!!

SO, to today ....

Well, I've just blow dryed it - I can no longer have a blunt fringe .... partly because it's a bit long for that now, but because due to erratic growth, the fringe is no longer straight :)  So blow drying with a large round brush and pushing to either side ...

As at 9.45am on Monday morning, I'm liking my hair ..... ask me tomorrow!!!

Growth Check

Day 1

After 3 weeks (2 days ago):

Significant growth - I can now feel and see growth all over ... it's definitely spurring me on writing this blog.

I think in another month, my fringe will start to part more in the middle as I push it to the sides to see out!


Like this without the side length:

Using a Hair Band

OK, so hairbands organised - plenty to choose from and others kicking around somewhere...

Basically, there are a few options:

1.  The traditional hairbands - these come in skinny, about and inch wide or 2/3 inches for that super 60's look.

2.  Those that are on a circular stretchy band - material, sequined, crochet etc - these are great for combining with a bun or pony tail, although they can sometimes slip and ping off backwards (kirby grips advised on shiny straight hair!)

They can also be worn in a more boho fashion:

Personally, I have never mastered this look without feeling like a total fashion victim!  Maybe I just need more confidence or to grow my hair super long for this one?  

So, next week I will be trying some of the styles seen below:

I particularly like Sandra Bullock's triple hair band.  I DO have one of those in a plastic, faux leather look but I think I need to wait until the rest of my hair is a bit longer ...

3. The band/scarf combo:

You can tie your own - like this:

Defo one I will be trying ....

How Do The Stars Do It?

So who else has tried to grow their fringe out?  I decided to check out celebs who have tried, and succeeded ....

Alyssa Milano

Apparently it took TWO years ....

Katie Holmes

3 years later ...... HOW LONG??????

The Lovely Heidi Klum

Rachel Bilson ...

SO, it CAN be done .... but how do stars style their hair whilst they grow their fringe out?

Jessica Alba gets to that too long stage and sweeps to either side - I quite like this!

We all know that when Nicole Richie embraces a style, it looks good!

She has chosen to follow Jessica Alba's example (or maybe it was the other way around!)

I think I will try this  in a couple of months as it gets to that tricky stage and when I'm fed up with kirby grips!!

I haven't ventured down the hairband route yet - maybe next week...

I know I have loads of them in the attic, in most colours, and even a funky PUCCI one - now that could look good for summer!!!  I'll be sorting them out later at the weekend so watch this space :)

Coming along nicely..

Having side parted my hair yesterday, I have simply run the GHDs through this morning (as I had quite bad "bed hair" and a brush just wasn't cutting it!).

What I've found, is that to do this style well, you need to avoid taking the parting too far to the side - in doing so you create too much weight on top which flops forwards through out the day - drove me nuts on Friday!!

So, best to do a slight side parting and put the fringe across - it still looks fine but is easier to cope with :)

Excuse the bags - I have hay fever this morning!!

Keeping my eyes on the prize ..... I wonder how long until my hair looks like this?

Defo by Christmas ..... (fingers crossed!)