Wedding hair questions...

plunkybug

So, my brother is getting married in a month-ish. I know I need to do some hair things before hand...I'm hoping for a cut at least in the next few weeks, and potentially colour.

For refresher, here is the dress I will be wearing:





At my present length, if I take the shrug off, my hair will completely (or mostly completely) obscure the o-ring detail in the back. My longest layers are BSL when stretched (just a few inches above, when curly). The difference in my longest to shortest layers in the back looks to be about 5" or so, but oddly, I think my front layers are actually a little longer...I could be totally wrong. She cut the front dry and back wet, so I think the front layers are cut specifically to frame my face. Now, I could try to wear my hair up, or half up, and then the problem is half solved, but I am horrible at styling my hair other than leaving it down...and plus, my best curls are at the front, and while I sometimes get great spirals underneath, they're often right next to a straight-ish bit. :crybaby:

I don't know if there will be someone there to style it or how much it will cost (though I don't have a lot of money anyway)...but I know I need a cut, so I might as well try to kill two birds with one stone, as they say. It's been about 3 months since my last one, and this guy in the retail front of the salon I am planning on going to said that he thought my hair was at least 2" too long (he held up my hair and noted how and where it tapered off) and honestly, I think it is a little too long too. I've been slowly chopping damage away. My ends are not as bad as they were last time, but I know the damage went up pretty high, higher than the 3" she cut was last time.

So I guess what I am wondering is, do you think I should just keep the same shape, including it being more oval in the back, but bring it up a few inches all over, or do you think I should go a bit more straight across the bottom and keep the rest about the same, minus dead ends? I was thinking of going to APL or somewhere between shoulder and APL. But part of me thinks maybe I should go a bit shorter. Thoughts? I'm not really sure how I should go with the next cut.

Here's a few pics from a few summers ago with my hair shoulder-ish length:





Slightly longer:



Clearly, they're all pre-CG...pretty much wash and go, no real styling. But they give some ideas I think. Take in consideration how my hair has improved since Feb when I joined. I don't think I want my shortest layers any shorter than chin length, but that's an extreme I think. I'm not totally sure how short I want to go, but I know I don't want to go too short. I'm not ready for a curly bob...I do hold some level of security in the length.

Second problem is colour. My natural colour is medium ash blonde. I dyed it red (various shades) for about 15 years, and then I switched to dark blonde (golden, then natural) because I was getting too brassy. I also found it MUCH easier to keep up...I was able to go lots longer between colour. Then I went to medium ash blonde to try to bridge the roots and remaining colour, and I used semi permanent instead of permanent, so I could try to grow it out to my natural colour. Um, it's taking WAY LONGER than expected. For the most part, I can deal with the demarcation...I haven't coloured in about a year, give or take, now. But in photos, well, that's a whole different ball of wax. Especially if you're in all sorts of wedding pictures.

This picture from yesterday shows a bit more of the natural vs coloured:



You can see my roots here:





What do you think I should do? Colour the shaft to make more neutral to match the roots or something to colour the roots to match the rest of my hair? I'll be using temporary at any rate. I still aim to grow my natural colour out. I might hate it once it is all grown out, but I want to give my hair a rest for a while. I know the medium ash blonde is boring, and everyone loves the golden in it, and I do too, but it does become a pain to maintain.

Sorry for this post being so random and picture heavy.

TIA!

aislin

Honestly your hair looks GORGEOUS at the length you have it in the first two pics! If I were you I'd just keep it and maybe trim it up a bit- I'd keep the oval shape and just bring up the layers a little bit on the bottom. I love that dress too! Nice choice! :thumbup:


As for color, your demarcation line isn't bad. I am experiencing something similar right now. I have been trying to grow out my natural color. I was really dark for awhile, so I had it corrected and the color was too red but eventually faded into this darkish blond I now have. The ends are much lighter than the roots (like yours) and it bugs me sometimes too. In that last pic, the demarcation line looks a bit more obvious, I can't tell if it's just the lighting in the pic or that's a more accurate picture of what's going on. It still doesn't look overtly obvious. Since you want to grow out your natural color, I'd try to dye the shaft to match the roots rather than recolor your virgin hair.

plunkybug

aislin wrote: »

Honestly your hair looks GORGEOUS at the length you have it in the first two pics! If I were you I'd just keep it and maybe trim it up a bit- I'd keep the oval shape and just bring up the layers a little bit on the bottom. I love that dress too! Nice choice! :thumbup:

If I plan to wear my hair down, or mostly down, I will have to bring it up some, and since my curls show best when my hair is down, there's a very good chance it will be down, or mostly down. :P I might clip the sides(or a side) back with a pretty barrette. But I want my curls to really show, so I don't want to hide them in an updo. Why do you think I should keep it oval shaped as opposed to straight across?

Thanks...I love the dress. It was a great deal, and I found it right away. It seems to fit me in all the right places...accentuate the good, hide the bad.:thumbup: It came with the shrug which is great, as I really don't know how hot Nashville will be in September.

aislin wrote: »

As for color, your demarcation line isn't bad. I am experiencing something similar right now. I have been trying to grow out my natural color. I was really dark for awhile, so I had it corrected and the color was too red but eventually faded into this darkish blond I now have. The ends are much lighter than the roots (like yours) and it bugs me sometimes too. In that last pic, the demarcation line looks a bit more obvious, I can't tell if it's just the lighting in the pic or that's a more accurate picture of what's going on. It still doesn't look overtly obvious. Since you want to grow out your natural color, I'd try to dye the shaft to match the roots rather than recolor your virgin hair.

No, you're right, my demarcation isn't bad. It really depends on the lighting. And it is a little less light vs dark and more ashy vs golden. The golden colour is actually slightly darker, but it is more reflective so it ends up looking lighter. I also think the front might appear to be a bit lighter too. Sometimes, depending on the lighting, it does look all one colour.

I am going to the mall that the salon is at tomorrow, so maybe I'll pop in and ask a few questions...see when it is best to get an appointment. Wedding is just a little over a month away, so I don't want to cut too close to the date in case something is weird, but not too early in case it grows too much again.

CurlyPolkaDot

I thought it was your natural colour I didn't notice that you had dyed your hair Plunky I like your hair, maybe take it up a few inches to show the detail on the dress

pedaheh

My 2 cents. I wouldn't cut my hair for a dress. If you want to cut is shorter because you want it shorter then go for it.
If you want to grow out your natural color, I'd put something temporary on the roots. I don't think the roots are very noticeable, but you notice them. If you left them, you'll probably be self conscience when you are at the wedding and be checking the wedding pictures for roots.
I hope you and your lovely hair have fun at the wedding.

plunkybug

Thanks all! I stopped in at the salon and asked when the best time to come in for a cut would be, and I had my naked hair so I could show the stylist...she's seen me before when I've had curlier hair. I was going to wash and style last night but I didn't...I actually did this on purpose so she could compare and contrast for when I get the hair cut.

I don't think I will cut for the dress...I'll see what she thinks will be best and work with it. Maybe she'll have some ideas of how I can style it. I will also ask what she thinks I should do about the roots. For the most part, most people don't notice them, but it really depends on the lighting as to whether they'll show in the wedding pics.