My second-grade teacher Mrs. Kelly had long, straight hair down to her butt which I thought was the coolest thing ever. I told my mom I wanted to grow my hair out too, but I never made it all the way to my butt. I have moderately curly hair, which is kind of high maintenance, so when you grow it long you’re taking on a lot of responsibility. It’s almost like adopting a pet. A pet that lives on your head. That you have to groom constantly.
My hair got halfway down my back in middle school, but that’s about as long as I’ve ever worn it before I got sick of managing it. It takes hours to dry when it’s that long, and it can generate quite the frizz halo if you don’t figure out what products to use. Actually, it can frizz even when you do use products. In addition to that, I shed a lot. Both of my college roommates commented on how much hair accumulated on our rarely-vacuumed carpet. There is always hair to be found in my bathroom sink and on the tile floor no matter how often I clean. So, I’ve generally kept my hair shoulder length which is long enough to keep my neck warm in the winter and simple enough to manage.
In the past year I’ve decided to grow my hair out again. I don’t really have a reason. I know my hair is one of my best features, so I’d like to mix things up see what I can do with it. I’m curious to see how long it can get before I decide it’s not worth the trouble, or until the drain gets so clogged that I can’t shower without filling up the tub. I’d also like to learn lots of different and fun ways to wear it, but I think I may be too incompetent to do this. I’ve braided it a few times and it always looks like I got a two-year-old to do it. I’m not attempting a complex Game of Thrones style either. I just need to braid it! I suppose this is the kind of thing other girls were learning when they read those silly girly magazines. Is there a book or a web page or a video tutorial anyone can recommend so I can figure this out? Also, do your arms get tired mid-braid or do I need to lift weights more often?
Ever since I’ve started growing out my hair I find myself hyper-observant of other women’s hairdos. I saw the movie Sleepwalk with Me recently and felt guilty that Lauren Ambrose’s hair distracted me throughout the film. I wanted to take the character aside and ask her how she learned to braid her hair in all those interesting ways. I complimented my barista on a braid she’d done that started at the top of her forehead and wrapped around the side; she told me she got ideas on Pinterest, but one search for the word “braid” reveals styles with Escher-like complexity and impossibility. I don’t think a lot of those styles can be accomplished by one person working on their own hair. I always feel self-conscious when I wear my hair differently anyway, concerned that bits have slipped out of place or that it looks like a squirrel is nesting in it.
Oh well, I’ll probably get sick of it soon enough and get half of it chopped off. Until then I’ll try to make my braids look like they were done at the very least by a six-year-old.
Debbi says
October 18, 2012 at 7:42 amI was going to suggest Pinterest, too, but your barista beat me to it. My hair is long again, but you’d never know it. I end up pulling it back into a pony bun unless I’m going “out.” Which happens, um, rarely.
blue says
October 18, 2012 at 8:02 amhttp://www.youtube.com/user/torrinpaige
torrin makes hair stuff much easier. her french braid tutorial for your own head is the way i learned… and even her complicated stuff is broken down to simple steps.
the tips i would give for a basic braid:
start with a ponytail.. its a lot easier to start when all of your hair is already trapped together. if you arent starting with a ponytail, then section your head so each third is coming from the same general area (i usually go from ear to ear like i’m going to do a half-up for one, then split the back down the middle for the other two)
make sure your thirds are pretty even… they dont have to be exact, but starting with one bigger or smaller makes it look more lopsided even if it wasnt.
and as far as the arms… if you hair is long enough, when you get past the base of your neck, put all of your strands between different pairs of fingers on the same hand, and pull it over your shoulder to continue in a better arm position. (you may have to unbraid one round to re-figure out which direction you were going at first).
or with french braids, i will lay on my side and use my pillows to prop my lower shoulder area and arm so my head is still mostly upright but the arm has some support, and i can rest my other elbow on my side when needed.
and basically, just keep doing them over and over and they will look better. do them when you are going to bed, or just hanging around the house… and eventually they will look more like something you want to leave the house with.
shauna says
October 18, 2012 at 8:11 amI love Hairdresser on Fire. She is the best! I spent a day on my butt watching every single one of her tutorials then declared the next day I was growing out my hair (it was a chin-length bob at a time). 10 months on it got to collarbone length but it is starting to bug me again. Hehe! 🙂
http://www.hdofblog.com/category/tutorial/
PS Soooo enjoying your regular updates and the variety of thoughts and topics!
shauna says
October 18, 2012 at 8:12 amI should add that despite growing all the hair I still haven’t got around to trying any of the hairstyles!
Amy says
October 18, 2012 at 8:26 amJennette,
You could have describing my hair own hair journey. I have very thick, wavy hair that frizzes at the first hint of moisture. I’ve never figured out how to braid it or make any fancy hairstyles, either. I think it’s something that just takes practice, though. Lately, I’ve discovered that I can cut down the amount of time I spend conditioning in the shower by putting a small amount of the same conditioner in my hair after the shower and just leaving it in. I thought that would end in disaster, but my hair ends up more conditioned, less frizzy, and I use a fraction of the product (which is a huge money saver). I don’t want my comment to seem like an ad, so I won’t tell you exactly which products I use, but let me know if you want to know.
Jamie says
October 18, 2012 at 8:37 amThere is a book called Curly Girl. I read about it here: http://peasandthankyou.com/2012/02/07/curly-girls/. I’ve only tried a teeny few of the tips and I can notice a huge difference. I have a daughter with curly hair (which also feels like a major responsibility- now I have TWO heads of hair to care for) and this book made a huge difference in her hair. Well the blog post about the book since I have not actually read the book. Ah well. I bought the book for my mom and she’s having great results too! Good luck!
Dawn says
October 18, 2012 at 11:06 amWould love to know what produces you do use on your hair as I think they could help me help my daughter tame hers. At 11 her hair always looks unbrushed lol.
colleenzo says
October 18, 2012 at 11:12 amWant to know something cool? I edited that image that you’re holding up there. 🙂 Want to know something not cool? Stumbling upon your work when you’re trying to read blogs and avoid work! 😉
Maureen says
October 18, 2012 at 12:56 pmHave you heard of sock buns? I found that on Pinterest and it works pretty slick!
Kelly says
October 18, 2012 at 12:57 pmI absolutely love this book: http://www.amazon.com/Hair-A-Book-Braiding-Styles/dp/1570540187/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350579227&sr=8-1&keywords=klutz+braid
I taught myself to french braid from it and have used several other hair styles, too. Very easy to follow.
As for tired arms, yes, they are a hazard, as are numb hands and or fingers from time to time.
blue says
October 18, 2012 at 2:31 pmoh, and if you are searching for basic braid tutorials, they are actually officially called an “english braid”… which will weed out most of the fancy braid stuff on a search on youtube. (doesnt actually help much on pinterest searches though… still pulls up the complicated stuff anyway)
Amanda says
October 18, 2012 at 2:39 pmOthers have given great “how to” recommendations; all I can add is practice, practice, practice. I was sick much of the time when I was small, and since my mother believed that sick children should only watch PBS on a black-and-white TV if they were missing school, I opted instead for braiding my hair. I also had long-haired Barbie dolls I worked on.
I got pretty good at it. Naturally, I only produced short-haired preferring male children and the lone long-ish haired cat in the house refuses to sit still and let me braid him. So I only get to use my talent with my very tiny once-removed cousins or when my niece visits.
And yes, the arms get tired. I just keep ahold of the hair, let my elbows sag for a few, then soldier on.
Good luck!!
El says
October 18, 2012 at 4:21 pmI am growing out my hair too. And my hair is also wavy and annoying. This youtube channel is awesome. I love that she does a bunch of styles that look so complicated and then she shows you how to do them and it turns out its so easy. This is a tutorial she did for wet hairstyles under 10 mins. I used these all the time this summer when it was too hot to blow dry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb1jh-Wv2wg&feature=relmfu
Debby says
October 18, 2012 at 8:12 pmAnd this is why I wear my hair short. 🙂 I’ve had long hair, past my butt. I also have very thick hair with a mind of its own. When it’s not short, it takes more care and time than I want to give. I have better things to do than mess with my hair for an hour trying to get it to behave. Okay, I’ll tell the truth…..I’m just too darn lazy! LOL!
Sarah says
October 18, 2012 at 9:29 pmI am actually growing out mine too. I usually have my hair cut as short as they can be with scissors. I started last November. This week I am almost long enough that I can get it in a small pony tail. My hair is like yours. Thick and moderately wavy/curly. I saw this on Pintrest recently even though you do not need to know how to make your hair curly.
http://ducksinarowevents.blogspot.com/2012/03/hair-tutorial-get-curly-hair-using-old.html
Ellen says
October 19, 2012 at 2:07 amI am so in the same boat — wavy though, not curly. But the frizz, yes. And I either wear it down, in a pony bun or a ponytail. I totally want to be skilled at simple awesome hair styles…but I would like to skip the practice and learning part 😛
Melissa says
October 19, 2012 at 3:16 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/user/davenmayeda?feature=g-u-u
This guy is awesomely funny and informational
Stephanie says
October 25, 2012 at 8:11 pmI actually taught a braiding class when I was younger so I’m pretty good at it on myself and others. When people ask me about braiding, I always recommend the following website. It’s geared more towards young girls, but the video tutorials are really good. Also, some of the hairstyles are just fun to look at.
http://www.princesshairstyles.com/
P.S. Glad you’re sticking with the daily blog posts in October. I’ve enjoyed them!
Elizabeth says
November 12, 2012 at 7:43 pmI have similar hair — moderately curly/wavy, so that sometimes it looks great and other times you’re like, “dude, what gives?” And I can definitely tell a difference in how it looks at different lengths.
I’m always trying new products and techniques and always getting the same dang hair. Over the past few years, I’ve actively made an effort to love it — plenty of people would kill for our hair type!
A good blog for hair tutorials is “The Small Things Blog” (no, I didn’t name it). She’s a hair stylist and does easy-to-copy styles (TRUST me, I am a hair dunce). A lot of them are too “done” for my taste, but they are interesting to watch at the very least for ideas, and she also gives great product recommendations. http://www.thesmallthingsblog.com/
Be strong with the long hair grow out! I never seem to get much further than my shoulders, either.