Urgent(ish)! Hairstyle choosing help needed.

[A]

I'm home. And sorry for the delay; the site hasn't been working for me since I came home until now. Phew, it was so embarassing. I bet I must have looked so weird when I removed my coat - the person with more of a girly face and long hair but zero breasts, a guy's t-shirt and hairy arms... x_x Anyway!

The stylist recommended against bangs. She said they would look good, but since I'm zero skilled with hair, it would be a waste because they'd look weird unless properly styled. She said my hair isn't really THAT damaged once the split ends and such are off, and recommended to straighten it with a thermal spray (which I bought from there: Welle Professionals Thermal Image dry). She said it shouldn't be bad as long as I do it properly.

She also recommended a good shampoo and "mask" (which she said is sort of an intense conditioner that repairs hair), which I (costily considering the 300 and 250 mL bottles x_x) bought for 33.50 $ for the combo. They're Redken Interlock Protein Network Extreme shampoo and strength builder.

I don't dislike the cut - doesn't make a huge change but still feels much better to look at and wear - but I wish she'd been more verbose regarding ways to style it (as in, stuff that doesn't involve scissors). She told me there was no secret to it, that either I wear it down, either I make a pony tail (clips wouldn't do for me because my hair is way too thick and heavy, she says); at all times, straightened. She also showed me a method to tie my "bangs" (although at that length not sure it's called that) on the side that I still can't do properly, using several hairpins and a sort of inversion technique.

So, uhm, yeah. Basically she chopped off the broken ends, layered a little everywhere, and cut the front in bias. It's nothing impressive, but compared to my previous hairdressers, it very much does the job. I'm happy I can finally wear my hair down without looking like I'm out of the jungle.

Thanks for your help, everyone. It may not look like it, but you've all helped. I've sent those who helped through PM pictures of the new haircut as a bonus. About the clothes: I KNOW; my first girl clothes shopping session is next week.

Any comments on what she told me, the products I bought and the cut are welcome.

And any tips on how to style it otherwise and add some variety would be very welcome. Please keep in mind I'm below the beginner level on this front, if it exists. I can sorta straighten my hair, and I can sorta make a pony tail, and I can sorta tie stray hair with hair pins (SORTA; doesn't hold for long). That's all. And my dexterity is awful.

(You can still request pictures through PM if you'd like to help but I haven't sent them to you yet.)

[Ltl89]

I'm glad the cut went well  

I'm not a hair guru, but I an offer a few tips.   I'd recommend being careful if you straighten or blow dry your hair a lot.  The heat tends to damage hair.   The products that she recommended appear to be good, though I don't know everything all the ingredients.  One thing I would say is to avoid washing with shampoo on a daily basis.  While it makes your hair feel more clean, it strips the natural oils from you hair.  I find using shampoo constantly has only led to damaged, dry, curly, hair.  Split ends will occur regardless and should be trimmed every so often, but these are a few ways to help avoid it. 

I wish I could be more helpful on maintaining healthy hair and styling, but I'm still learning a bit myself.

[A]

I need to blow dry my hair every day, because if it stays even just a bit wet, my scalp really doesn't like it. Well, unless someone has another working way to avoid the problems. It's not like I wash my hair daily though. I only wash it weekly - at most twice a week. I try not to wet my hair in the shower and put it up as well as I can, but I always, always end up wetting it at least a little, accidentally.

Though combining this and the frequent straightening I've been advised to do might be a problem. I wonder if the thermic spray, shampoo and mask will counteract this properly.

Also, I still see just a few split ends in my hair. Is it advisable, when I see that, to take those individual hairs and cut off their tips myself?

And uhm... Is 38 $ unreasonable for a haircut? I was quite surprised since I'm used to paying with a 20-dollar bill and leaving some tip, but then again my hairdressers have never been exactly awesome.

Edit: Oh yeah. This is off-topic, but I want to say that. I really think I live in a region of dwarves. I'm 165 cm / 5'5", which is just a bit above the average height for women, yet I was BY FAR the tallest person in that salon. I literally towered over everyone, by as much as a head's worth of height for some. It felt so weird. I'm used to being tall-ish compared to girls, but since places usually have guys too, and at least one or two girls just a tiny bit shorter than me, it doesn't feel so bad. But that salon was filled with only women and none of them was tall. Poor tall people. It must be so hard. I know what you feel like now.

[Ltl89]

Protective sprays do a great job minimizing damage from hair straighteners.  They aren't full proof, but they work well enough.  If you are going to use a straighter, try to get one with ceramic plates.  These usually work better and aren't as bad for your hair. 

I wouldn't cut off any split ends myself, unless you know what you're doing.  You could make the situation worse.  I've tried doing that with poor results in the past.  If you know what your doing, have at it. 

I don't think that's a terrible price.  Most hairdressers are pretty pricey in general.  My sisters pay double that when they get their hair done.  However, they usually get highlights as well.   One thing I don't look forward to, once I further progress in my transition, is having to cough up the money to get my hair done.

[A]

But don't lump together haircuts and colour. They have very different prices. Women's (or, in less sexist salons, longer hair) haircuts are a bit more expensive (in the cheap salon I used to go, they usually charged me 15 $, and it was 18 $ when the hairdresser filling in for mine who was sick thought I was a girl), but not way over the top. But colour is much more expensive. I think 60 $ is even sort of a bare minimum to pay if you get your hair dyed.

(Also, I've added an off-topic edit to my previous post. o.o)

[so-kool]

I went to a place where I could try on many different wigs and change outfits. I really learned alot about how important it is to dress appropriate with your hair color/style. I am earth tones all the way!!

[Ltl89]

But don't lump together haircuts and colour. They have very different prices. Women's (or, in less sexist salons, longer hair) haircuts are a bit more expensive (in the cheap salon I used to go, they usually charged me 15 $, and it was 18 $ when the hairdresser filling in for mine who was sick thought I was a girl), but not way over the top. But colour is much more expensive. I think 60 $ is even sort of a bare minimum to pay if you get your hair dyed.

(Also, I've added an off-topic edit to my previous post. o.o)

Edit: Oh yeah. This is off-topic, but I want to say that. I really think I live in a region of dwarves. I'm 165 cm / 5'5", which is just a bit above the average height for women, yet I was BY FAR the tallest person in that salon. I literally towered over everyone, by as much as a head's worth of height for some. It felt so weird. I'm used to being tall-ish compared to girls, but since places usually have guys too, and at least one or two girls just a tiny bit shorter than me, it doesn't feel so bad. But that salon was filled with only women and none of them was tall. Poor tall people. It must be so hard. I know what you feel like now.
[/quote]

Thank you for your sympathies.  I'm around 5'11 and it haunts me that I can never wear heels like other girls.  I'm hoping the hrt shrinking phenomenon will work on me.

[Alainaluvsu]

There's usually a long hair surcharge. It's not a sexist thing.. It just takes a lot more time to part hair and cut in sections, rather than a mans cut where they don't usually need to part it into 4 or 5 sections and blend it in the same way as a womans cut. All that hair is a bit more time consuming to manage, trust me.

Color is expensive to get professional results. It's not as expensive if you just get an all over 1 color, but the more colors you put in, the higher it's gonna go (almost exponentially so). But if you make friends with a girl who gets it done on a regular, she may do it for you for free or for like $10 because it's really not hard at all. My sister does it to herself after I taught her how to do it.

[A]

leaningtolive: To be honest, if you're already tall, I doubt an additional inch or so from heels will change much. Tall and even taller are pretty much the same seen from below, no?

Alainaluvsu: What I meant is that instead of considering length, some salons charge more for women than men, even if the woman has short hair and the man has long hair. Many of them actually.

[Ltl89]

leaningtolive: To be honest, if you're already tall, I doubt an additional inch or so from heels will change much. Tall and even taller are pretty much the same seen from below, no?

Not really Really tall is much worse than being tall.  Whenever I pose for pictures with my sisters it makes me feel terrible.  I'd be grateful if I shrink 2 inches.  If that happens, I'll be a very happy girl.

[Nicolette]

I'm now waiting for the 6'7" girl to post. If you're insecure about being 5'5", you need to get out more,  .

[Ltl89]

I know being 5'11" isn't the end of the world, but it's something I'm insecure about.  Hell, I'm insecure about my entire body and appearance, so it's normal for me to worry,lol.

[A]

Youuuu'll be fiiiiine. You don't live in a land of dwarves, so 5'11" isn't "pretty tall for a guy", and I bet contrary to me, the girls that tall you've met are more than can be counted on the fingers of a single hand. :p Actually put in context it's likely that you're not much worse off than me!