Bald Englishman - Growing My Fringe Out

Little Bit In Love with Scrunchies!

2012-03-10T13:51:00.002-08:00

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!

2012-02-23T21:11:00.000-08:00

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 ...

2012-02-19T10:23:00.000-08:00

... 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!!

2012-02-14T10:41:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2012-02-06T21:42:00.000-08:00

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!

2012-01-29T12:45:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

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

2012-01-21T18:55:00.000-08:00

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?

2012-01-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

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..

2012-01-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

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!)

Growth Check ...

2012-01-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

OK, so I started this about 10 days ago and it's been a few days since I dried my hair in the normal "bob" style, so I thought I would see if there is a noticeable difference ...

Here's day 1:

And here's what the hair looks like today:

Defo and increase in growth - NO EYEBROWS!!!! about half and inch by my reckoning (probably closer to 1/4 inch in reality!) ... not quite at the shaggy dog stage, but on the way :)

Am feeling very motivated - it definitely helps to take photos periodically - I would recommend this to anyone embarking on this challenge ...

I can't find my tape measure this morning, so will check back later with the ACTUAL growth ...

The Dreaded Benders!

2012-01-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

So.....

Today I have tried out the "benders" (bendy rollers) ... Kim keeps saying, "I told you you should try it with a curl..." Yes, alright ...here's the result!

Step 1:
Putting them in was actually quite easy - I used John Frieda "Take Change" mousse, combed each section and then wound them around - in no particular direction ...

....and went about my business for a couple of hours.

Step 2:
Unwinding them was a bit tricky - for some reason they have a velcro type end (I have NO idea what this is for - other than to totally frustrate you when you come to take them out!) I got one piece well and truly knotted in the back of my hair - probably because I just yanked when it got stuck - so Kimbo to the rescue.

Once all of the rollers were out, I had this very annoying bit that hadn't really curled (maybe I forgot to add mousse?) and I was not at ALL convinced (as seen below!!!)

Step 3:
Using just my fingers, I teased the curls out - boy there's a lot of body in there. The resulting style was not what I had in mind, as I had to tame the lion's mane, however I am not unhappy with it. The main objective of these styles is to grow my fringe out - this style makes it easy to pin my fringe up as the mousse and the curl add oomph thereby making for a better "scraped off the face" look!

I think this style is a definite keeper!!!! ... not sure I can do it for work though unless I get up REALLY early - maybe a hairdryer would speed up the process..... :)

Getting the Hang Of It

2012-01-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

I'm starting to get the hang of my side parting - not bad... only taken a week and I have been DELIGHTED by the comments from work colleagues (hopefully they're not just "being nice"!!)

It's becoming easier to style - my fringe is "behaving" and laying flat, so this is defo the "go to" growing out style of the moment.

If you didn't know otherwise, I reckon this would pass for a girl (or old woman!) with no fringe!! YEH!!!!

SO, this weekend I will:

Try out the Bendy Rollers with the Boost It Mousse
Experiment with "scrunch drying" using John Frieda's mousse especially for curls (Kim reckons if I squeeze REALLY hard whilst drying with a diffuser it will work - not sure about that, but prepared to give it a go ..

Watch this space for the results :)

Hopefully I wont end up like Worzel Gummage!!

Boost It

2012-01-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

I had to think long and hard... how long ago WAS it that I'd used mousse?

I ask this because I came across some Toni & Guy "Boost It" mousse yesterday (put in a box with other hair bands and hairbrushes) - I defo don't remember buying it, so it's probably about 8 years old... thank goodness it doesn't go off!

So, I decided to see whether the mousse would make any difference to my hair.

I started with my fringe. Just a small amount, finger dried and pulled upwards, created a cows-lick that could win an oscar - very "Something About Mary" !!! ... and it was STILL the same when I got up this morning! Pretty cool - I think I'll test this out all over my head at the weekend and see where it leads :)

Unfortunately this is not a style that I can wear to work and be taken seriously, so I've clipped it down.... hitting upon the fact that the clips grab the hair better so are less likely to slip out :)

Have bought some bendy rollers from the local chemist for hair trials at the weekend (just like these ones) - I'm looking for a curly bob effect ... looks easy enough ... watch this space!

80's Slick Back

2012-01-08T10:20:00.000-08:00

It's raining, again, and I can't be bothered to blow dry my hair only to look like Worzel Gummage by the time I get to work .... so, I have taken inspiration today from 80's singer, Robert Palmer, and have slicked my hair back :)

This was dead easy - straight out of the shower, slick gel or other fixing paste through your hair - get it into a small pony tail (mine's very stubby but in!). Grip and loose ends and then use a strong hair spray - Use your palms to smooth it all down (it will go hard in the end but this is what keeps it all in). Hair spray is your friend for this style! (I've added a hair band, but you don't need to)

This look really shows your face, so concentrate on getting your make-up right - red lips does work exceptionally well, infact, any strong colour..

Here's one of the girls form the video:

I clearly need to work on the red lips!!

Watch Robert Palmer's videos on the left hand side of this blog!

UPDATE: This style stayed in ALL day - even through a fast paced hour of aerobic exercise!! This is definitely a style for those days when you have no space time or the weather is YUK - as it is here at the moment! Just remember to use that STRONG hairspray ....

So, another 80's day today:

Doing the VB Shag!

2012-01-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

"I've been looking through images of short hair on google and have decided to take inspiration from the Victoria Beckham's shag do as seen below:

Obviously, her hair is longer than mine especially the fringe so my take on it includes pinning my fringe back ... next time I think I might leave it down:

It looks a bit messy - definitely need more practice on this - but I think this has merit especially when I don't need to look too polished. My hair is notoriously difficult in keeping a curl so perhaps I need a curl product (which will also help to keep it smooth) - will need to speak to Kim the Bald Englishman!!(www.baldenglishman.co.nz)

Anyway, to achieve this look all I did was take small sections of hair, wound them around my finger and then clamped them for a couple of seconds with the GHD (minus the finger of course!) ... let cool for 5 secs, let go and voila!!! All of the sections look different, so quite a natural look is achieved!

New Look - Side Part with No Fringe

2012-01-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Today I've gone for something quite unusual for me - I've had my hair in a centre parting for about 10 years, so this feels weird! It feels heavy on one side, which of course is nonsense!! It also feels quite girlie glam!

So this is how it's done:

Once you've thoroughly dried your hair with a side parting, blow dry your fringe over to the heaviest side.

Hold on tight about half way across and blast with hot air, followed by cool for about 5 seconds. Keep holding for 10 seconds for it to set (this will make it easier to pin)

Take your trusted bobby pin and clip just before the shortest end (placement of the first pin will depend on how wide your fringe is and how long it is)

Take another pin and clip about 1 cm past the first, crossing it over the first one (this makes it much more secure as newly blow dried hair can be too shiny and clean to grip well - also, sometimes the clips are not very strong to are just a bit knackered from over-use!)

Take care not to let the ends poke out through the top of your hair (it might take a couple of goes to get it right). The heavy side of your hair should fall forward a bit to cover the clips....

This is the look that I'm aiming for - it will take a bit of practice and need to grow down a bit at the back, but it's not bad considering the fact that my fringe is still very short - give it a couple of months and I think it might look a closer to Keira's!!

According to my teenage daughter, and my hairdresser husband, I look so much younger with my fringe off my face!! That's enough to keep me going strong ...... LOL!

Measuring Success

2012-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

OK, today I've simply straightened my bob but have decided to use a measuring tape on my fringe to work out just how long it's going to take (and give me something else to measure success by - thus keep me on track!).

As you can see, it's a bit tricky (and I look like I've got giant hands!), but by my reckoning we're on about 11 cm ...

They (and that means Kim!) reckon the average person has hair growth of half and inch a month (that's about 1.3 cms) ... however, I am convinced mine grows faster (and I think my sister-in-law would agree!) .... we shall see!

The side of my bob is 23 cm (or there abouts), so that means I've got just over 12 cms to grow to catch up with the sides .... thats a whole year! No wonder people give up! Still, I am determined to give it a go ... the tricky thing is I also want to grow the length of my bob a bit, probably by about 7 cms ... so:

1. Do I leave the length of the bob the same and grow my fringe out?
2. Do I grow both together?
3. Grow the back of my bob down to make it less "inverted" and thus allow for a pony tail?

Option 1: possible...

Option 2: could mean I will be in the "growing out phase" for way longer that I really want (about 2 years!!! OMG, I really don't think I have the patience for that!)

Option 3: This makes the most sense for the following reasons:

I won't really notice that I am growing 2 things at once!
I will be able to use my clip in hair extensions with a longer back to get a ponytail or bun - many more options available.
It will look and feel WAY less messy... an I am therefore more likely to keep going!
I can grow the rest down after the fringe catches up

So, Pption 3 it is then. Better let Kim know :)

I swear it's growing already!

2012-01-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

OK, so yesterday's hair result - the bobby pin lasted, but I DID end up with the edge bit of my fringe coming down and looking rather like a little Superman curl - cute ... I think not! Verdict? That's a style for when my fringe is a bit longer - it works well and doesn't make me look too much of a weirdo - next time I think I might straighten my hair at the same time :)

So, today I am back to the bob - I swear my fringe has grown in the past few days - I can only just see my eyebrows pocking out now AND I didn't straighten by fringe - RESULT. Maybe I should be measuring it?

Anyway, this is today's look. No messing, just letting the fringe hang there and do it's thing ...

2012-01-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

Keeping It Simple:

I've decided to "do something" with my fringe today as I'm cycling down to the beach. OK, it's not exactly in my eyes, but I need to practice before I go back to work ...

All I've done here is use a good old fashion Kirby Grip (Bobby Pin) - I've taken the width of my fringe and twisted it a couple of times. To secure, I placed the grip from behind and pushed forwards; doing it this way will make it more secure and hide the grip!

Bobby Pins / Kirby Grips are cheap and cheerful grips that most of us can find lurking in the bottom of our makeup bags or hiding in the corner of a draw somewhere. If you're not lucky to find one like this, or, like me, have a teenage daughter who "borrows" them, they're readily available in Chemists or from the beauty department of your local Department store :)

Now, let's see if it will stay in!

Finding Bits and Bobs to Help Out

2012-01-02T17:56:00.001-08:00

Well, I've sorted through all of my cupboards and draws - I've discovered quite a few long lost clips and hair slides (they'll come in handy) some of them are a bit weird - what WAS I thinking when I bought those? But on the whole, not a bad selection....

As it's pouring down outside, I've also been checking out Trade Me for some (ethically sourced European) clip in hair extension type things - biggest issue I have come across is deciding which colour to choose.... they all look quite similar - am I Dark Brown #2 or Chocolate #4?

These ones seem to look OK I console myself with the fact that as they are made from natural hair (the nylon ones just look SO unnatural) and so I can get one of the girls to colour match them to my (current!) hair colour which Kim calls a number 5 Mocha - I think that means a dark chocolate ... hmmmm ... I think I'm Dark Brown #2 then!

The best by far seem to be the ones available at www.superiorhair.co.nz

Day 1

2012-01-02T13:56:00.000-08:00

2 weeks ago I had my fringe trimmed in time for the festive season .... and then a couple of days later I decided I was a bit over it actually, so have decided to see if I can grow it out. I've tried before (miserably!) ... I've always got annoyed with it, felt like an ugly duckling, hated the hassle of it, the untidiness of it .. or some other excuse that's prevented me from continuing...

SO, this time I'm going to give it a go with the help of hair clips, clip in hair bits, changing the parting etc - all those things that you read about when you're told it's EASY to grow it out - you just need patience .... well let's see about that!

Day 1 - this is what it looks like today - not hating it - YET