Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I have an appointment with the hairstylist in just an hour and a half, and no matter what I do, I can't seem to find a haircut I want. I know you're not me, and blah blah, but still, you can try to give suggestions regarding what you like, can't you?

I'm really confused, however I -think- I -might- want bangs. What kind, how, where? No idea! Also, I'm not SURE I want bangs. I just THINK I might like them. But that might just be from watching too much anime. So don't let it keep you from suggesting a haircut without bangs.

I've never posted a picture on this website, but I'm sorta desperate right now, so! If you are willing to help me find a haircut, either with a picture of someone else or with a hairstyle applied to mine, feel free!

If you're willing to help me out, please PM me quickly to be sent some pictures of me: one with hair up to experiment, and a couple of others to show my face and hair length.

(Since I've never posted pictures here, you might have guessed, but: I would definitely not appreciate it if you threw these pictures somewhere people might see them or use them for something else!)

Actually, I guess you can just post here to request the pictures. I'll PM them to you.

Also, you could take a look here.

https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,140969.0.html (https://www.susans.org/forums/index.php/topic,140969.0.html)

I posted this a little while ago. I've sort of said a bit about what I think I might like, but it's not hugely helpful.

Off for a rush shower. I'll send the pictures to people as quickly as I can when I come out.

I'm out. No one is helping, eh? :/

I've read/used both of these before, but I'm still not quite sure. The article gives some general guidelines, and the website looks so artificial it doesn't help me. Maybe it's me who sucks at that. :/

Also: My phone broken and my bad memory have combined to make me think the appointment was at 15:30, but it was at 14:00. They gave me another at 18:30 tonight. So you still have time to help!

Why don't you ask the hairdresser what she thinks would look good?

Or ask her if she thinks bangs will work on you?

Pictures sent.

And yeah, I know, no straight bangs. I've never been the biggest fan of straight bangs anyway, no matter the facial features.

Seras: Well, I've been traumatized before as I did that and ended up with pretty bad results. I'm going to a new salon, so there's probably nothing to fear, but I want to be cautious and have at least some idea of what I want when I go there, because I'm still scared.

Quote from: JulieR on June 06, 2013, 02:18:49 PM
A, try this:   www.taaz.com (http://www.taaz.com)

You can try out a ton of styles on your own pic.

Oh. It is a funny site. I just tried it. It is amazing!

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi943.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad278%2Fbarbie_pictures%2Fbeauty%2Ftaaz_zpsaccb203d.jpg&hash=4b52e5d6db759eec07d5089f20025e97ec2612f2)

By the way, I do not want to change my hair style. Just polishing photo.

barbie~~

I'm leaning towards this  http://pophaircuts.com/carla-gugino-long-hairstyles-with-side-bangs (http://pophaircuts.com/carla-gugino-long-hairstyles-with-side-bangs) Its a nice cut with side swept bangs and hair parted off to the side and with the hair a bit wavy. A big concern for you should be how easy it is to maintain and reproduce quickly yourself. Too many women get hairstyles that take too much time and effort to keep up or redo once they are out of the stylists hands.


*warning: unsolicited comments*    And just to say, you are quite cute in your pictures, I think you'll do great with transition as far as your face is concerned. And I'm jealous as hell of your hair.

Yeah, that one looks like one that's hard to reproduce, doesn't it? I don't think I have the slightest idea of how to do it.

(Why is everyone so jealous of my hair? Is it just because I haven't lost it?)

Quote from: A on June 06, 2013, 03:26:01 PM
Yeah, that one looks like one that's hard to reproduce, doesn't it? I don't think I have the slightest idea of how to do it.

(Why is everyone so jealous of my hair? Is it just because I haven't lost it?)

Actually, I think that sort of cut is fairly easy to keep up with for the most part.

And I have plenty of hair, its just fine and being naturally curly, dries out very quickly, I have to keep enough product in it like mouse and some hairspray to keep it from frizzing out really bad.

And whatever cut you get, the stylist should be happy to show you how to reproduce it quite easily.

I use to try to keep my hair from curling, but after going to this one really good stylist, he showed me how to get the most out of it while staying as natural as possible. I probably spend about 5 minutes a day maintaining it and never take a blow dryer to it. Even if its completely wet, it dries by the time I have to open the store after arriving there about an hour and a half earlier to do paperwork and prep stuff.

Ah. I guess the blow dryer might be the reason my hair is so damaged. I can't really help it though. If my scalp remains moist for even just a little bit too long, the following day (or even the same day!) it'll get infected-looking crusts and/or painful pimples. I think my thick hair is a big barrier to evaporation.

Anyway thanks for the suggestion. I probably won't get precisely that, but it's giving me some ideas.

I think side bangs may work well for you.  You don't need to get bangs, but I can see you looking good with them.  Personally, I'm a fan of wispy bangs, but I'm not certain how it'd work.  But you don't seem to NEED bangs, so that is a good thing.  You have more options available to you.

Have you considered highlights? 

Sort of, sort of, but I'm poor, and any kind of colouring sort of dooms me to re-colouring them periodically. Even just one colouring isn't cheap. (I just got my phone killed by a bus, and I had to buy another. Phones are expensive. It was a big hit in my savings.) Plus my hair is damaged, so. I'd rather it be healthy before I hit it with dye.

So since I don't dislike my current colour, I think I'm going to go with it, and keep the option of a colour in mind for later.

Edit: What are wispy bangs? Google search returns half straight bangs, half such a big variety of bangs I can't figure out what "wispy" is.

It's sort of hard to explain.  It has to do with how it's cut and angled.  There are many different kinds of wispy bangs.  So, it can look very different.  It depends on what you are going for. 

This page did a decent job explaining it.  Better than I can,lol

http://helensstyle.com/2012/02/wispy-bangs/ (http://helensstyle.com/2012/02/wispy-bangs/)

I see! They look great on her, but I don't know if it's just because it's her.

(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fhelensstyle.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F02%2Fhilary-duff-33.jpeg&hash=17d6835cda2fa65213da6d62f49803817df01aa8)

I think it could work for you too, but I would try and use one of those hairstyle image sites if you could. That way you see before you do anything.

Mmmh, straight bangs, I've never been a fan, no matter how they would suit me, so.

Also! I'm leaving in just a few minutes, so last minute recommendations are pretty much now.

Quote from: girl you look fierce on June 06, 2013, 05:18:26 PM
Side swept is a safe bet then :)

I'm in agreement with this.  Judging from your photos that'll look good.   Though, it's up to you whether you like that look. 

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.)

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.

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.

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.

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)

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!!

Quote from: A on June 06, 2013, 11:31:13 PM
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.
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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.

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.

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.

Quote from: A on June 07, 2013, 11:40:17 AM
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.

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,  :laugh:.

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.

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!