Grrr… I wish I would have brought in pictures for my and Riley’s haircuts last night! I thought I knew what to ask for, and thought I was communicating it correctly. Turns out I was communicating it correctly, the gal just didn’t get it. This morning I learned some keywords that I could have used (but didn’t remember at the time) to explain it better. So I’m typing this story up for future reference. And next time I’ll bring in pictures I guess.
Riley’s story first.
Riley’s hair was almost shoulder length and the ends were getting scraggly. It had been months since her last cut. I thought she was growing out her hair so she would just want a trim, but no, she says she wants to go short. Like just below the chin! That would be nearly 2 inches cut off her hair! I’m good with that. She’s had it short like that before…very cute on her. So I’m thinking we’ll do a bob, keeping the front below the chin, but cutting the back shorter than the front like we’ve done in the past. Here’s a picture of Riley from 2008, with the cut I was going for.
Let me back up a second though….about 3 months ago Riley was taking an interest in the short stacked a-line bobs kinda like how my hair is. I’m not ready for her to have that kind of style because I think it looks better on kids who have a bit of wave to their hair, her hair is so thick and straight. Plus I know how much maintenance my hair needs and I didn’t want to have to spend time on her hair every morning.
So I figure we’ll just do the short bob again, so I say to the gal specifically, “We’d like an a-line bob, shorter in the back, longer in the front.” She starts talking about layers. I tell her, “No, no layers, except at the very ends/tips. Not high up on the head like mine is in the back.” She says, “Well then it’s not an a-line. You just want a regular bob.” I say, “yes, a bob that is shorter in the back and longer in the front.” She tells me that would look funny. I re-iterate, “I can’t remember if it’s called an angled bob or a-line bob, but there’s no obvious layering and it’s shorter in the back, longer on the sides.” She tells me it can’t be done. (But Riley HAS had that haircut twice before! I didn’t want to argue with her. Clearly she didn’t want to cut that style in Riley’s hair).
So I tell her do whatever Riley wants, thinking if Riley really wants a “stacked” bob (THAT is one of the key words- stacked) then she can get it. Riley tells her she doesn’t want the back super short. I tell her it won’t be short like mine, it would only be a little layering. The gal says, “no, it’ll be like yours”. Riley says no. So I say, “Fine- we’ll do a regular straight bob, just below the chin. Take it up a couple inches.”
The outcome: we did not get a straight bob. Instead, her hair is shorter in the front and longer in the back, which is the exact opposite of what I wanted. Riley isn’t totally thrilled with her new ‘do either, so I think I’ll talk to her after school and see if she wants to go in and get it fixed. I just dislike boring haircuts on kids.
My story.
I’ve decided I’m ready to grow out my hair. To a longer a-line bob, similar to this style:
My sides are finally the length I want them to be. The back is overgrown and there’s no more shape, so it’s time for a cut. Since Heidi has cut my hair the past several times, she knows the style I usually get. She knows I like it piecey, I like it razored, I like it to have a bit of funk to it.
She asks me if we’re just going for a trim or what we’re doing, and I tell her I’m ready to grow it out. She asks me what style I’m trying to grow it out to, I tell her a shoulder-length bob…maybe a little shorter than that, but not much. (I wasn’t about to say longer in the front and shorter in the back!) But it will need to have some layering for volume and lift. I’m visualizing the hairstyle I want, but I can’t think of any famous people who have that style. It wasn’t until this morning that I figured out it was Victoria Beckham, or Nicole Richie, or Jenny McCarthy. At the time, all I could think of was the girl on American Idol with the partially paralyzed face….I want HER hairstyle. I ask Heidi if she watches the show and she says no.
So back to trying to figure out what cut I want right now. I tell her to keep my front long, I don’t want much cut off there. I reiterate that I like it pointy and piecey. I tell her that I’m trying to grow out the back layers, so don’t re-do those, but I also realize they need to be trimmed so do what she needs. I still want the back shorter than the sides and front.
I don’t think I ended up with a haircut that will grow out to become a bob. I think I got another one of those haircuts that will require me to go back in every 6 weeks! I like the haircut, it’s just not what I was visualizing. I love the texture in the back. But I was trying to get away from the short hair. I’m a little bummed as I was hoping to have the longer style this summer. Oh well.
So after doing a bit of research online this morning, here are the terms I need to start using:
“Stacked”- I do not want the back of my hair to be stacked.
“Nape”- I want a crisp line that starts at the nape of my neck and continues to the front, at a slight angle so the front is longer than the back.
“Tapered Bob”- sometimes used interchangeably with a-line bob. Basically means the hair tapers down into the neck and is usually a bit longer in the front than in the back. Has a natural curl-under effect. That is what I will ask for Riley tonight!
If you can think of any others, please let me know!
Anyway,
Hair. It grows, right?
Elisa's Ramblings 