Rebel Stylist GR

You’ve ended your pixie era and are ready for your old-money trophy-wife mermaid hair. Prepare for a rough couple of months, friend, because that shit doesn’t happen overnight. Take it from someone who’s shaved their hair and grown it all back: You’re in for a couple of awkward looks. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t all bad. You get to experiment with all kinds of looks, you get pushed out of your comfort zone, and encouraged to play with your hair in ways that may even introduce you to new versions of yourself! Unfortunately, until you reach your goal, your hair is not going to look the way you want it to every day.

As someone who has coached quite a few people through the awkward phases of hair grow-out, here’s some of my best advice.

Embrace The Awkward

If you’re the impatient type, or growing your hair out on a deadline (i.e. a wedding, Pride, Halloween), then my very best advice is to Embrace The Awkward. Keep that hair healthy, but don’t expect perfection. If you’re a chronic hat, scarf, or wig wearer, this may be the method for you! If you’re comfortable hiding the awkwardness away for a few months, Embracing The Awkward won’t be a problem for you.

If this is the route you’re taking, you’re going to want to see your stylist as little as possible. Schedule 4 haircuts for the year (Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter). Tell your stylist that you’re growing out your hair, share with them your length goals, and let them know you want a little off the ends to keep it healthy and growing out quickly. Ask your stylist about treatments that they offer. Treatments will help keep the hair healthy and create the perfect conditions for speedy growth. For bonus points, see if there is an at-home masque that can extend the benefits of the treatment on your own between appointments.

If you’ve chosen this method, good luck and godspeed.

The Experimental Phase

If you want to skip the awkward phase, I don’t blame you. Unfortunately there is no such thing as skipping the awkward phase entirely, but you can have so much fun with your hair during the grow-out period by sampling different styles and shapes. Open up that pinterest board and start doing some research. What looks interesting? Get ready to really play with your hair! Gradually try longer styles out until you reach your length goals.

If this is the journey for you, you’re going to want to make an appointment for every 8-10 weeks to give your hair enough time to grow in between phases, but maintain shape and style.

The Half-Shave

This bold and sexy look is my favorite way to grow out my hair. Essentially, you’re growing out one side of your hair at a time. The hair on the top of your head starts the grow-out phase at a significant disadvantage, simply because it has a longer distance it needs to travel before touching your shoulders. Using the half-shave compensates for this and gives the hair on the top of your head a little head-start.

Starting with a traditional undercut wrapping all the way around the sides and back of your head, start growing the hair on the top of your head. Once that hair is long enough to cover one side of your head, start growing out the hair underneath that side, while maintaining a side shave on the other side. When you’ve grown the side of your hair out to match the top, flip your part over to the other side and repeat growing out the hair on that side. Depending on how short you like to keep the undercut, you might end up shaping that about once per month. Make sure your stylist knows your length goals and knows to keep the hair on top long, strong, and healthy. This is the smoothest way to grow out your hair, because it looks intentional at every stage, hiding the hair that’s at an awkward length.

Have you grown a pixie out before? What was the most awkward stage? How did you survive, and what methods did you use?

Remember, your hair will stop growing without regular trims, so make sure you’re still dragging yourself to the salon often enough to take care of split ends.