7 Tips for Managing Short Hair ...

1. Make Sure It’s Dry before You Go to Bed

One of many experiments I did on my hair was, of course, a short cut. And one of the first tips for managing short hair I had to adopt was to never go to bed before making sure it’s completely dry. It’s a must for any hair type and any short cut. Furthermore, if you’re sporting anything longer than a buzz cut, you will discover that any type of pillow on wet hair action is bound to flatten it and mess it up beyond the help of any styling tool known to mankind. Same can be said for hats – if your hair is still wet, like you’re returning from the beach/pool or you’re sweating because it’s really hot outside, you’re better off without head covers or, if you really insist wearing them, either don’t take them off at all, or do it frequently so that your hair doesn’t dry in the shape of a hat.

2. Say Yes to Natural Volume

Another side effect of sleeping with wet hair is the obvious lack of volume the morning usually brings. So, if messy, flattened, bent at odd angles tresses weren’t enough to convince you to let it dry first, the fact that you’re losing precious, luscious volume might! You can use a volumizer, of course, but stylists actually advise against it, pointing out that too much volume can be a bad thing for short hair. A short cut maximizes your natural volume and all you have to do to keep it beautiful is to give it some time to dry naturally before you proceed to styling short hair into a desired look.

3. Let It Air Dry

Speaking about that air drying, here’s another pro tip for managing short hair you’ll want to remember. I’ve mentioned it in the previous point but it happens to be so useful that it would be a shame to leave it at that. So…a blow-dryer…a great tool indeed. But you don’t want to bring it into the game too soon or you might end up with hair that’s too frizzy and too fluffy to work with. Allow your hair enough time to dry naturally, waiting until it’s about 90% dry before you bring in the heat. Finger-style in the meanwhile, blow-dry for a sleek finishing touch and voila!

4. A Small round Brush is a Must-Have

It might be the smallest in diameter but it definitely does magic for short hair! In fact, this might easily be the only tool you’ll ever need to style your short tresses. It will help you grab even the shortest of hairs, allowing you to straighten your cut to perfection without burns or those bad-looking creases standard size flat irons can produce. And it’s way cheaper than a specialized, narrow iron, so there you go, another problem solved. But that’s not all! Experiment with it some more and you’ll notice that it can curl hair too, thus enabling you to create many red carpet worthy styles seen on Pink and Rihanna!

5. Texturize and De-Frizz!

But wait, there’s this one extra step that will help make styling short hair much easier for you, even if you have fine, soft, frizzy, puffy or simply put, extremely unruly hair. Wait until your hair is almost completely dry, just like we discussed previously, then apply a texturizing product or an anti-frizz lotion of choice. Curly haired ladies might want to consider throwing in a hot oil treatment once in a while, just to help keep the frizz minimal and easier to control; ladies with fine, can’t-hold-a-shape hair should opt for a light-weight conditioner in order to get the maximum out of their texturizer and keep a style longer; and the ones with XXL volume and all the fluffiness that comes with it would feel better with a choppy, layered cut that allows heavier products able to control an occasional burst of fluffiness.

6. Heavy Styling Products Must Be Used Carefully

Unless you’re going for that deep part and sleeked Emma Watson ‘do, you should take note of this particular tip for managing short hair. Even bed-headed or coiffed celebrity-style hair needs to have that natural appearance! And no, gravity-defying doesn’t necessarily mean caked with heavy styling gels…not visibly at least! You’ll want to use your styling skills as well as products mentioned above to get the basic shape, then finish it off by applying styling pomade here and there, just to give the look a bit more texture. Feel free to reach for a flexible hold hairspray if you’re worried your ‘do might not be able to make it through the night unchanged and voila – all done.

7. If You Can’t Beat It, Join It

Don’t start rolling your eyes just yet, thinking this is the weirdest of all short hair styling tips you’ve heard so far! What I meant to say is that you can’t just pack your hair type in a bag, mail it to a random address in Alaska and just run off all carefree to choose your cut based on what looks best on a hair model. Sure, curly hair can be straightened from time to time, just as fine hair can be curled, bed-headed or styled into a gravity-defying Mohawk… but do you really see yourself doing that every day? A cut based on wishful thinking is a wrong one, so choose something that’s versatile but also easy to manage on daily basis. Feathered Gamine hairstyles are perfect for both straight, fine hair and thicker, slightly wavy tresses while curly ladies have a choice amongst many interesting styles, such as short bobs, asymmetric, free-hand cuts, classic cuts and even undercuts. Consult your stylist, have fun styling your cut for special occasions and even feel free to get lazy from time to time! Because a cut that doesn’t go against your hair type and texture can be styled in a matter of minutes!

Would you like to add some more short hair styling tips? Go ahead, don’t be shy! And let’s not forget – a stylish scarf is always a great way out of the bad-hair situation! It’s a universal solution that works for all hair lengths but, let’s face it, short-haired ladies do get to benefit from it the most. If for nothing else, then at least for the fact that they don’t have to work extra hard to either work the rest of the length into the style or conceal it under the scarf without any weird lumps showing through.