Awhile back I promised my readers (you) I would share the steps I used to find my easy, go-to, low maintenance, get out of bed with rockin hairstyle so that you too can design your best hairstyle in 4 steps. I chose the word “Design” on purpose, because that is exactly what I had to do to discover these steps and find my best hair and it took over a year. Thankfully, now that I’ve discovered these steps and am sharing them today hopefully you won’t have to wait that long to find your perfect hairstyle!
Before I share the story and steps, I have to tell you that recently I tried growing my hair long again. I kept seeing long, beautiful boho inspired hair everywhere and I really wanted to have long hair again. Alas, hashimoto’s hypothyroidism and beautiful long hair don’t typically go hand in hand, and I found that it took a considerable amount of styling, time spent and product to get my hair to look just okay.
After a year and a half or so I knew it was time to give up which saddened me, but the good news is I knew just what to do and I returned to the signature style I developed for myself a few years ago.
It’s amazing what a good style can do for a person. For me, once I returned to my signature style I felt 20 years younger, like I dropped 20 lbs, like I grew 2 inches, and even like I had gotten a “lift” in a couple places! It may sound silly, but when I looked in the mirror and saw myself I literally laughed out loud and squealed, “I’m BACK!”
Disclaimer
I’m going to pause for a moment and put a little disclaimer; I’m not a stylist, and I actually know VERY little about hair styling! Also, I’m not sharing with you how to get MY signature style. I’m specifically sharing the specific steps I used to find the best style for myself because they are tips everybody can use to understand their hair and develop their best hairstyle. I do believe based on my experience and the research I’ve done that everyone has a perfect style waiting for them-maybe some people are even lucky enough to have more than one perfect style!
A Frizzy Story
I don’t know about you, but for me I feel like my hair is the tipping point that either makes or breaks my look.
The process of discovering my signature hairstyle began after our fourth child was born. I had always had long hair my whole life and I never liked it. Unless I did a bunch of stuff to it to make it look good then it would be a little frizzy, and when I moved to the Midwest at age 25 the frizz factor took on a whole new (frustrating) level. In order to keep from looking like a poodle I would wear it up pretty much all the time.
Around six months after my fourth child was born I fell very ill. I was in and out of the hospital, put through test after test and bedridden for an entire summer. Finally it was discovered that I had gallstones, and the reason they were not showing up on tests was because they were soft. Once we figured out what was wrong I was able to take steps in the right direction for healing.
But later that year, as summer was closing and I was starting to feel better I began loosing so much hair! In addition to this I had lost so much weight that my oblong shaped face together with the long thin hair made me look even more sickly than I had been. That was the year it started. I started out with baby steps by having a few inches trimmed and adding layers to make my hair look less straggly.
At one point I played around with the hairstyle websites where you can actually try hairstyles on. I had trouble finding any until….just for fun…I tried some shorter styles. The results were startling because they looked good (I didn’t think they would). I had never had short hair though and that was a drastic idea to me.
A couple more years passed, and my hair never again returned to it’s normal thickness. When I would wear it down it didn’t look very healthy and made me look older and the frizz just looked “frumpy” and so I would always keep it tied up. Having it up was equally frustrating because I was constantly having to redo it as my babies were always running their little fingers in it and pulling strands out. Some people look good with wispy buns, but I did not. Since my wispies were partly curly and partly wavy mine just looked frump, unkept and did I mention frizzy? One day I had HAD it. That’s when I discovered step 1
Design YOUR Best Hairstyle in 4 Steps
Step 1, Consider Face Shape
Knowing I had an oblong and every so slightly rectangle face I hit Pinterest. Years before this I had always heard about how face shape makes a difference when it comes to finding the right hairstyle and I knew that the long strands next to my oblong face probably weren’t my best look. When I was younger I could pull it off but not anymore.
So I started looking for celebrities that had the same face shape as me. From there I studied which hairstyles they looked the best in and began saving pins to my hairstyle board. Paying attention to my face shape was definitely the first step for me in finding my signature style. You can discover your face shape easily HERE.
Many people mistakenly think face shape is all there is to finding the perfect style and they stop there. It is actually only half the battle though! I’ll share more on this in step 2 and 3 but for now let’s just finish talking about face shape for a second.
When people think of face shape they often forget to consider their profile. Your profile matters too when it comes to shape! For example, a small or medium nose and sharper chin/jawline can pull off more styles, but if you have a more prominent nose, styles with more body in the back of the head can help balance this out. If you have a softer jawline and/or maturing jowls styles with some layers around the chin line can really help soften the overall look.
For me, it didn’t take long to narrow my choices down to a few styles-one in particular stood out to me most. It was a wispy cross between a lob and a bob and it was the most drastic of all the cuts. Now was the hard part. I had to tell my hubby. He knew how unhappy I had been with my current look so he was sympathetic and agreed he would be okay with saying goodbye to the long hair as a trial. I showed him the several styles I was considering and asked him which one he thought would best suit my face shape. I was shocked when he pointed to the wispy lob!
We both agreed it was a little “too short” and we weren’t that brave, so I would get something done that was the same only longer to be safe. Next came step 2.
Step 2, Find The Right Hairdresser
This is a huge secret to hairstyle success! I very highly recommend asking around about who the best stylist is in your area, I also suggest looking at friends hair that you love and asking them who they go to.
When I was finding my signature style I was working as a photographer and knew several stylists, and they all had excellent reputations. I noticed, however, that some had reputations for being the best with certain lengths. My friend, Meg, had the reputation for being amazing with shorter cuts and I noticed that everyone who went to her for shorter cuts had amazing hair.
So I made my appointment with her and as I sat in the chair showing her the longer lob I asked her if she thought it would look good and if my hair would be like in the picture. She played around with my hair for a few seconds and I didn’t realize when she was doing that she was getting to know the texture, wave and fineness, which is a major key-I’ll talk more on that in a minute. She agreed almost immediately that the style I chose would be a great cut for my face shape. She even mentioned that she though I could pull off having it as short as in the picture but I was too nervous to go that short at that time!
Once she finished and showed me the style I almost cried. It looked so much better! In fact, I posted my new do on Facebook and after that a FEW of my friends (and even a frenemy) saw it and they went to her to get the same cut!
Step 3, Consider Your Hair Type & Trust the Professional
This part took me the longest to understand. A lot of times we see a style, love it, and never give steps one or two a thought, let alone this step! Essentially this step is what will determine if your hair will do what you are wanting it to do. This step encompasses hair texture-is your hair straight, wavy, curly, a mix? It also includes how much hair you have, and how thick the individual hairs have and how your hair falls, and where your cowlicks are. All of these things make a difference and they are all things a really good hairdresser can navigate.
This is the part where you really want to know and trust your hairdresser. It’s always a good idea to bring the picture of what you love to them and ask their professional opinion. Ask them if your hair is the type to pull off the look? Ask if there is a variation that will create a similar but better look for you too.
Another great question to ask is how much styling, time, and product will the style you are considering take? It’s important to realize that some hairstyles don’t require much effort while others may require a quite a bit of time to make look good.
Personally, I wanted a zero to low fuss style that required minimal products. I HATE doing my hair. I got really lucky because the style I and my hairdresser curated for myself is one that can be very low maintenance and look good, yet with just a little styling (less than 15 minutes) can be awesome.
Step 4, Perfect The Style
As good my first major cut was, I didn’t know it for sure yet but I still didn’t feel like I had the absolute perfect style for my face shape. It still was a little elongating.
Over the course of the next year and a half, not only did I start discovering the other steps but each time I got my hair done I would become a little braver and we would make a few changes.
After about the fourth (and my bravest) trip, I knew I could completely trust my my hairdresser with my hair. That’s when I showed her the brave style I wanted but was unsure (which is my current style). I asked her opinion and she emphatically announced that she thought it would be perfect on me. So we went for it. Best. Style Ever.
That day, after I left my hairdressers I went shopping. I was actually stopped in the store by a woman wanting to know where I got my hair done. The best part was that when I would go to do my hair the style was so effortless to keep up, and for the first time EVER I would consistently get compliments on my hair! I had never had that before in my life!
One time I even had an early morning appointment, and pretty much woke up and headed straight out the door. I didn’t do anything to my hair but I STILL got compliments!
Moral of the story? If you find the perfect style for you your BEDHEAD might even look amazing! Eventually we moved far away from my hairdresser but the exciting thing is that when you find your perfect style you know exactly what to ask for if you need to find a new stylist!
Friends I hope you enjoyed Design YOUR Best Hairstyle in 4 Steps! Be sure to check out all the posts in my Beauty & Style series!
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