tora kokoro: Transition from short hair to long hair tips

Normally, hair grows about 1.5 centimetres a month. If that's the case, I think maybe I'm abnormal, because my hair grows fast. That's a reason why it's quite hard for me to make my pixie cut stay a pixie cut. It takes effort, but I love short hair. Short hair makes me feel more confident and fun. It also saves me time and effort, especially when I was still studying in the university. I just have to wake up, shower, towel dry my hair, go in front of an electric fan and my hair is dry in 3 minutes tops. I style it by running my fingers through it only, because it looks great messy.

Recently however, I haven't been getting my supposed-to-be every few months trim. So my hair is now in the dreaded transitional stage. At this stage, the hair is neither cute and short, nor is it long. *dun dun dun* I hear most people dread this stage....including myself before I started researching how to go through it. I'm actually just going to grow my hair out up to my shoulders, because I want to try a different hairstyle aside from my normal pixie. I will cut my hair short again after growing it out to a stage where it is not so layered anymore. I promise to post before and after photos after the process! :D

So how do you go through the transition stage?

1. Health. You have to keep your hair healthy. We want to grow out beautiful and shiny hair.

Go to the salon to get your regular trim. Yes that sounds weird since the goal is growing out hair, but trust me you need to get regular trims. This is to make sure the ends are healthy and that we're not growing out inches of split ends.
You have got to avoid those blowers, hair irons, etcetera, etcetera, for a while. You know they will cause heat damage to your hair. Heat damage at the transition stage is a big no no.

2. Say hello to Mr. Gel and Mrs. Mousse. Instead of looking wild because of your unruly awkward stage hair, why not try looking neat and sleek? Personally I don't really use these, because I have a huge forehead I'm hiding behind all my bangs. haha! :D But honestly, if I didn't have a forehead that could be used as a table, I would definitely try this! It's a great way to tame those nasty flyaways. It's either mousse, or those bobby pins.

3. Wigs, Clip ons, and the likes. Ok, wigs aren't exactly cheap, especially when they're the great kind. Wigs are great because you can hide your transition hair until they get past that awkward stage. But, if you can't afford the wigs, there are awesome substitutes like hair extensions, clamp on ponytails and clip ons! My personal favorite! Yay! :D Since I don't like showing off my forehead because a helicopter might think it's a helipad, I love using clamp on ponytails like the one I used in my blog post before this. (See "Stars in the Night Sky").

4. Be patient and accept the fact that you have to go through this stage. There is nothing better than accepting the fact and being positive it still. You just have to be a bit patient. Soon enough your hair will grow to the length you like.

5. Use the power of the internet. There are soooooooooo many photos of great hairstyles you could have for your transition hair. Google images is always there for us. :D Here are a few of my favorites: