Grow hair out for 30s 'do?

[SayCici]

Hello ladies. I need a little 30s hair advice and my searches of the forum didn't do much good as my question isn't about finger waves or pin curls.

I love having short hair and want to keep it, but I'm starting to crave a little change. I'm considering growing it out for something like this or whatever cut could help me achieve:

(Yanked off LJ because I'm a creep, but seriously, how cute is this?)

For length I'm thinking somewhere between my cheeks and my chin.

But, true to form, I know nothing about hair or what would look good on me, and I'm very low maintenance so I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'm aiming for something that would go well with mid-30s as that's been my main inspiration lately. A shingle or tapered back would be wonderful because I do not have the upper arm strength or will-power to curl the back of my head.

Pictures of me for reference.

Thank you!!

 

[C-dot]

I think that exact style would look amazingly cute on you, and it doesn't look like it takes much work! You'd need to grow your hair down to mid-neck, which isn't much. Keep your bangs long, perhaps to the tip of your nose, and taper the front a bit. The back is usually a little longer than the front.

 

[Inky]

ditto what C-dot said - and I agree, I think that bob would look adorable on you and be very versatile!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

To do mid 30s hair you're going to HAVE to put in the effort. Hair should be to the neck and layered. Bangs should be grown out. The best way to achieve mid 30s style curls is by wet setting it the night before, making a perfect part, leaving the crown flat, and pincurling and/or sponge curling the sides, back and bottom. Or you can just spray your hair, set it, wait a few hours, and then take it out.

The bangs should be curled into a wave (or waves on both sides if you do a center part.) Remove the curls, brush the frizz, and shape the style with your hand. Gel where needed and then spray.

I tried getting this look with lower-maintainence methods and it never worked. Wet setting is the best way for me. Heat sets usually just fall out of my hair within hours and the curls were never "authentic" looking so I gave up on them. Setting your hair isn't bad and it's not as achey on the arms as it's made out to be. It should take no longer than 30 minutes on neck-length hair and you can always stop and take a break if your arms do get too achey.

This probably isn't the advice you wanted, but I don't know of any mid-30s hairstyles that aren't curly, unless you do a Louise Brooks 'do. I had one for 7 years -- the entire back was stacked like a boy and the sides were on an angle towards my face. Very LOW maintenance, striking, and accurately vintage!

 

[SayCici]

Eek, I think I'll throw in the towel then, that's too much hair for me! I've had hair that length before and it wasn't pretty, haha. My hair is super straight, thin, and fine, so if I were to do nothing to it (which was/is/will be 90% of the time) it goes super flat.

Thank you guys so much though for your opinions and information!

 

[Amy Jeanne]

Yup. I have super thin, straight, fine hair, too. On days when I go nowhere and don't set it I look like an 80s Motley Crue groupie lol But I set it about 90% of the time so it's all good. Really -- it's not that difficult or time consuming!

 

[SayCici]

Oh I know I can do pin curls and that the result is definitely worth the time, I just really like having my short!

 

[C-dot]

Take a page from the book of Amy Jeanne! If you have the same hair type, you should pick that towel right up again, 'coz she looks fab.

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

Or there's the wig option. With your super short hair, there'd be no problem with throwing on a wig in a '30s style when the mood strikes.

 

[Hestia]

That curly bob is adorable and would look great on you! BUT, if you know your natural hair type would look bad unstyled in that cut, and you're not inclined to want to mess with your hair every day, you will be saving yourself a world of hurt by skipping it.

I had to learn this the hard way, (though with coarse wavy hair rather than fine straight), if a cut doesn't work both styled and unstyled, it's not for me. Some people can commit to mandatory styling, but I've had cuts that require it in the past and it just makes me depressed.

 

[SayCici]

Aww, thanks for the encouragement C-Dot! I just didn't think I'd have to let go of having short hair and realized how unwilling I am to do so!

Hestia, thank you! I'm the same. If I thought my hair took away from my clothing somehow, I might think differently but as it is I think it suits it fine! I have a lot of tattoos (with no plans on stopping) so I guess it's just another personal choice that attributes to my style.

 

[jetgirl]

I thought this might be cute and good for you, front is waved, but the back looks much shorter, like a long shingle cut. This is Joan Crawford, and it might be the 20's, but it definitely has a 30's wave vibe to it. Also parting it on the side would probably make it look more 30's. In the Sears books, there seems to be quite a lot of women with very short hair in the 30's. I think the silhouette is what makes it more than just the length. Unstyled, just stick some cute barrettes on the sides. Quick style, wave the front and put product in the back. Full style pin curl everything that is long enough. Show us if you change your hair!

 

[SayCici]

Wow, she looks so different! Thanks so much jetgirl - I had been wondering if I could just do waves or keep it straight sometimes - surely not all women had 100% kempt hair all the time!

 

[Miss Sis]

There were some pretty short 30s haircuts where the longest layer is to the nape of the neck. They tend to only look curled right at the ends and framing the face but you'd still need to do pincurls or a set for that.

I agree that a bob would be fine for you. Then you can have it straight or curled if you felt inclined. I *LOVE* when I do set my hair and wish I could have it like that 100% of the time as I feel it suits me sooooo much better but 1) it's not practical for my work and also 2) I'm a teeny weeny bit lazy to do it all the time, so ..... [huh]

Just thought I'd mention too that a perm made setting my fine hair much easier. I had it done very loosely so it didn't look too 80s throwback in it's unset state, just nice and wavy.

 

[SayCici]

Miss Sis, thanks!! I like looking at pattern envelopes for hair inspiration but they don't really show the backs of heads too often, haha.

 

[Lily Powers]

Although you probably won't see a lot of the backs of heads, another place I like to look for vintage inspiration is in old yearbooks. Our local library has some great collections from the late teens to mid 1940's, and not just local schools and universities. Fun way to spend a few hours on a rainy day.