Since my Ouidad Carve And Slice Cut in early April, I have been getting a lot of questions. Going from really long hair to shorter, above the shoulder hair, required some re-learning and changes in my washing, styling and caring routine. In this article I will share what I learned, and still am trying to figure out, with all of you.
The Amount of Products Used
This probably seems like a no brainer. I am usually heavy handed with product, especially because my hair is uber dry and soaks products up. More often then I should admit, recently I styled my hair and realized I applied way more products then needed. On top of my hair being shorter now, a lot of the bleached damage is gone too and healthier hair requires less product. So I’ve become more mindful of using less. The added benefit is my products now last longer and I don’t have to re-buy as often – yay saving money!
Plopping
When my hair was really long I would ALWAYS plop after the shower. Not only would it enhance my curl definition but it would soak up some of the water to help speed along drying time. This also has to do with the fact it is not the dead cold winter, but I haven’t plopped since cutting my hair. I just apply my products (more on that in a minute”> gentle towel scrunch out some of the excess with my Curly Tee and let it air dry. My apologies I don’t have any shorter hair plopping advice for you right now.
Styling
I probably mentioned this in other articles and/or blog posts but I find the best results I get when applying products to my hair now that it is shorter is using Ouidad’s “Rake & Shake” technique going in section by section for seven sections (low back left, low back right, left side, right side, top of back of the head, left hairline, right hairline”> The only thing I add to this technique is I do scrunch out some of the excess water as mentioned earlier to get it to dry a tad bit quicker.
Sleeping
This is my biggest challenge with shorter hair now. Aside from missing my length like crazy (I really do. I can’t wait for it to regrow. Anyway…”> I really miss being able to pineapple while I sleep to wake up with consistently good second and third day hair. I still sleep on a satin pillowcase or in a satin bonnet but my hair is just wild and free and it does it’s thing. I toss and turn like crazy at night fighting epic battles in my dreams so some mornings I wake up and nothing in the world will save it from wearing it down without completely re-wetting. It’s frustrating. I notice I am clipping or pinning parts of my hair back a lot more since it is shorter.
Q-Redew
With the above being said, I have been reaching for my Q-Redew a lot more since it is shorter. If one thing can revive my shorter waves after a night battle sleep, it’s this. It also helped to re-form my wonky waves into better looking shapes after work outs too.
Exercise
Speaking of working out, having shorter waves while exercising is….annoying. When My hair was longer I tied it in a low ponytail or braid, worked out and was fine. Now because some damaged pieces are so short, it all doesn’t go in a ponytail just yet. So on top of needing the ponytail, I also need a headband to keep it off my face AND I use clips because some of the hair flops around and annoys me behind the headband. Working out is important to me, so I do what I have to do to keep my hair off my face in the process.
Messy Buns
This is another thing I miss. So quickly throwing my hair in a cute messy bun when a good hair day isn’t happening, if I am running late or if I don’t want to be bothered. I can tie maybe about 75%-ish of my hair back now but the “ponytail” in a nub and a bun I simply can not make. There have been a few things I have been doing now that my hair is shorter that I didn’t do as much when it was longer.
Headbands and accessories
I’ve been wearing a lot of headbands for fashion and different clips and barrettes to help hide some awkward length pieces and such. When I wear headbands, it is usually on day 3 hair so my hair is stretched out a bit and it gives off this 1960s mod-look vibe that I like!
Wearing my hair half up
I did this when my hair was longer too but I go to this style A LOT more since my hair is shorter. I clip some of my hair half up, take out a few face framing pieces and I’m good to go. It looks pretty put together and like I tried- meanwhile it took me less than 5 minutes.
I look forward to re-growing it out and if you haven’t already, you can read my article about everything I am doing to re-grow out my hair here.
