How to Style a Spontaneous Haircut

I was fifteen years old and in the thick of a long and wiry rebellious stage the first time I chopped all my hair off. These locks of mine have been through every phase you can imagine: mermaid-long to pixie cut, pink stripes to completely blue underneath, straight bangs to side bangs to no bangs, and yes, even the dreaded bleached bangs period. I was doing really well leaving my hair alone, letting it grow and be free, and then… 2020 hit.

Enough said.

Last week I texted my hair stylist, begging her to cut all my hair off, and she obliged. It didn’t hit me until I got home that I haven’t had hair above my shoulders in two years. I went from being an every-day messy-bun person to a person who could barely muster a half-inch ponytail overnight, and I had no idea what to do with it.

This post is the fruits of hours spent toiling in the bathroom, mostly in vain, and it’s all for you, the slightly regretful person walking around six inches lighter. Here’s how you style your new short hair!

#1: The Half French Braid

As a fresh member of the short-hair people club, let me remind you: never estimate the power of a half-up, half-down situation. One of my favorite new ways to get those little hairs out of my face is this easy half french braid. I work with small pieces up toward my forehead and add small chunks as I go back toward the cowlicks I didn’t know I had until I couldn’t hide them with a messy bun. Tug on the braid gently to flesh it out a little, pick out a few pieces around your face, curl the bottom half, and you’re set to go for a sweet little style.

#2: Clipped Back

Do yourself a favor and invest in some accessories. Think of it as investing in your future self, who woke up late three days in a row and is mourning the loss of a carefree ponytail. Clipping the sides of my hair back with my new best friends- these tortoise-shell clips from Target- has been a life saver. All I do is gather a little handful of hair on one side of my face, push it forward so it’s not so severe, and put that clip in place. Repeat on the other side and you’re ready to run out the door!

#3: Tiny Messy Bun

This is an ode to Tiny Messy Bun’s older sister, Big Messy Bun. Another accessory I invested in after waving goodbye to six inches of hair is a package of these mini elastics, also from Target. They are way easier to use on smaller chunks of hair like what I’m working with now, and make tiny messy buns much easier to manage. Gather the top half of your hair back and make a bun like you would normally (for me, this means starting off like a ponytail and tucking in the ends).

#4: Twisted Crown

Another half-up, half-down coming at ya- this easy twisted crown. True to the name, all you’ll do here is start twisting hair from the top of your forehead all the way back to your neck and pin it in place with a bobby pin or two. Repeat the same process on the other side.

#5: Headband

When I first pictured using a headband with this hair, my imagination immediately went to Princess Diaries. For a week after I refused to even entertain the idea, but eventually I ended up caving and picking up this braided chambray headband from Kohl’s. The vibe is much less Princess Diaries than expected and I’m pretty pleased with it! For this look, I make a twisted ponytail. Pull back a small amount of hair to make a loose half-down ponytail. Take the end of the ponytail and push it through the section of hair right above the elastic and pull through to make a little twist. Push a headband on and this style is ready to go!

If you’re suffering through a similar situation where your past self sabotaged your future self with a hair-chop, I hope this post will help. Here’s to hoping that when we say, “this is the last time, I swear”, we’re actually telling the truth!!