Coreen



Hair Styling For Beginners

Part I: Getting Started

By Coreen Clark

Subscribers can also read Part one | Part two| Part three | Part four |Part five |Part six |

Last summer, I decided to see if I could put aside wigs for awhile and grow my own hair to use en femme. I had been inspired, as well as impressed, by many of you gals, here on the Forum , and others I'd seen in person. More motivation was provided by experiencing a few "close calls", in almost having a wig come off in public! More over, the heat from wearing a wig was getting the best of me that summer! The resulting perspiration was always threatening to ruin one's foundation, especially if a careless hand was wiped over the brow, in a natural reaction. Look out if you'd been dancing!

Along with pierced ears, men having ponytails appear to be quite common these days. If you are able to grow one, it may be acceptable at work, while allowing you to use your own hair when presenting en femme. Keeping the hair tied back when in drab enhances the difference in your appearance, when changed from male to female styles. This helps you from being recognized by those you don't want to! Short styles can be suitable on some, but you won't be as incognito, so I will focus on longer hair.

Learning to style your own hair can be fun, and great results can be achieved with the practise of a few techniques. Of course, if you are balding or too thin in certain areas, you may have to stick with wigs, but you still might be able to grow the ponytail anyway, to wear as a guy! You'll have to be your own judge as to whether you can use it as a girl or not.

I came from knowing absolutely nothing about hair styling ...being mystified by it in fact, to learning to create a few basic styles. The learning process is definitely an on going one. The more you practise and experiment, the better you get at it. It doesn't take long before you come up with your own variations and tricks that help in your particular situation! Don't be discouraged at first! Before the first time I went out in public with natural hair, I practised every night for two weeks! It can feel awkward at first, but your muscles will adapt to the new, crazy contortions that you'll find yourself in!

It helps the learning process a lot to read a few hairstyle magazines. The better ones have tons of styles in them, each with an associated "how to do it". "Sophisticate" and " Celebrity Hairstyles", for instance, do a fine job. I hate to admit it, but another good source to see lots of hair (as well as makeup) styles are certain naughty magazines that are packed with 1-900 number ads! Pick a couple of styles you think might work for you and then, as usual, it's practice, practice, practice.

Growth

I'm not sure when I really started growing my hair long. It was well past needing a haircut before I decided to just let it continue to grow. Not long after that I was able to start using a style for shorter hair. Total growth time to date is probably just over a year now. It's generally accepted that you can count on hair growing about a 1/2" per month, or 6" a year. I'd like to let mine grow as long as possible, but in reality, will settle on a compromise final length... I'll know when it gets there!

Cuts

Once you have a ponytail of decent length, you will want to get it trimmed, and possibly layered. In my case, I waited until the tough "growing out" stage was finally over, and was able to pull all my hair back into the ponytail.. Going for my first "girl cut" was a real thrill though very little cutting was involved! The ends were evened up making it feel thicker at the bottom, and the all important layers were put in. Be warned, though, that any trimming or layers cut above the elastic's line on the ponytail will cause those hairs to become danglers. It pays to keep them all below that, though it does limit the number of styles you can use. Fear not! There are plenty of others!

Layers

Layers are just that... a number of layers of hair cut (to blend in) at certain levels down and around the head. There may be a lot of them, or just 3 or 4 rows. This cutting tends to lighten the weight of the hair in the area where done, which helps lift heavy manes. Fine hair is limited to fewer layers because it can become too light and fly-away if over done.

The most satisfying aspect of the layers is there are more free ends that can be rolled up into luscious curls (sigh*)! The layers help create those voluminous locks we see on models. They can be distributed all over the head, or, as another example, just the sides and back, depending on where the layers were added. Wherever they are, that's where curls can be created!

On the other hand, you may not want many curls at all. You might prefer your hair straight all the way down, with perhaps just the ends lightly curled, or flipped up... no problem. In that case, you most likely won't need much layering, if any.

Shampooing

Ok, ok, I know we all know how to wash our hair! I'll only add a note for those who have hair like mine that seems to adapt to shampoos. This is when the product works great the first time of two, but quickly looses it's effect thereafter. A solution that worked for me was to keep two different sets of shampoo and conditioner handy. For instance, I use one brand that builds body one time, then a brand that deep conditions styling damage the next. No matter what you use, it is always best to start any hairstyling with freshly washed hair.

Stay tuned! Subsequent articles, will cover some of the basic products that are available out there, and will illustrate complete "how to's" in creating a few basic styles! In the mean time start checking out some styles to find one that you like, and you think will be feasible for you.


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