Hair Update

short layered haircut for fine hair

While I really liked last year’s pixie cut, I’ve been wanting something a little softer and with some movement. I’ve been letting the layers grow out a little bit. My hair is very thin and baby fine, and aging probably hasn’t helped that. So long hair isn’t an option; it just goes very flat and lank.

In a perfect world, I’d go for something like this…

short shag haircut

…but my hair has neither the volume or texture to achieve this look without a lot of “product” and a stylist to follow me around all day and fluff it back up.

So Brian went for a version of this cut that works with my hair, and I’m really pleased! We snapped a couple of quick iPhone photos in the backyard once he was done.

short layered haircut for fine hair

He cut my hair dry, and then added some lift and texture with my favorite texturizing spray. Love this stuff…it’s one of the few styling products I’ve found that doesn’t weigh down and flatten my fine hair over time.

Yes, I’m still coloring and probably will for the foreseeable future. It’s not because of the grey, but rather because my natural color is very drab. When there’s more “silver” than “dishwater,” I’ll consider taking the plunge.

To maintain my color, I use Pureology Hydrate Shampoo and Conditioner (I only use the conditioner once a week, though, as my hair goes too flat otherwise.) And after washing I usually comb through a little bit of this styling treatment, which I find also adds a bit of volume and texture without weighing my hair down.

While I’ve learned over the years what does and doesn’t work for my hair, I do like to update my style from time to time. It’s so important to find a stylist who doesn’t pigeonhole us by age, and helps us look current and up-to-date. I found Brian many years ago by asking someone with a fabulous cut (whose hair type was similar to mine) where she had it done. With a new stylist, it’s a good idea to bring along pictures, and be realistic about how much day-to-day maintenance you’re willing to do. Be open to their expertise, ideas and suggestions, but also be honest about your preferences. I’ve found that the best stylists want to work in partnership with you and want you to feel fabulous when you step out of the chair.

Do you change your hairstyle periodically? How did you find your current stylist?

Meg Ryan image via.

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60 Comments

  1. The cut is fabulous and a lovely colour. My hair looks similar in texture and thickness, so this post has got me thinking thinking thinking …..

  2. I love your haircut (and also Meg Ryan’s). Something that looks good messy is always a great idea–more natural and not “ruined” by wind and activity.
    Personally, I have a sort-of Anna Wintour bob that I cut myself.

  3. I really like your hair! I think its natural texture is beautiful, and the cut is flattering. I believe that while every style is not achievable for every head of hair, every head of hair can be beautiful in their own way. I wish you didn’t feel the need to talk about the qualities of your hair negatively…

    As for your question, I have worn my hair very long and almost always in an updo since I was 25 and do not feel the need to change that. I don’t color, but when I feel I want something different, I learn a new hairstyle and wear that for a while (I always seem to revert to my trusty bun though) or wear different hair accessories instead of my usual favorites. I don’t think my hair has seen a stylist besides my husband during this millennium…again, something that I’m in no hurry to change.

  4. I’m not changing my hair style very often. Just have a cut every 3 months, a very good one.
    I’m very lucky because my hair are strong and healthy. For about 5 years I choosed to color in blond, because the “salt and pepper” mix wasn’t flattering at all.
    next step : leave them white…. in a couple of years !

  5. My hair is like yours, very thin and baby fine. I don’t color it – I’m just embracing the grey/white hairs as highlights, lol. I found a great stylist the same way you did by asking someone with similar hair who had a great cut. He usually cuts my hair wet first, then cuts it dry if needed. My hair rarely strays from an inverted bob but I do vary the length of it from time to time. I used to use the PHD 5 in 1 product but found something I like even better from Pureology. http://bit.ly/2kLHABX

  6. I have been playing around with my hair for my entire life- I did Big Hair in the 80s , a bob in the 90s, and these days I have a shorter tousled cut that is layered all over, sort of like yours !!
    My stylist is my oldest daughter who after a career epiphany, moved from teaching special ed to cutting hair. She is always up for what ever I am feeling and she has a great talent for color. We keep my roots touched up , and I go about 2 shades lighter than what used to be my hair color. So I go from a light brown to a medium neutral blonde. And occasionally, she will put in a few foils to pop up the contrast a bit and show off the layers.
    For the record, I am always on the lookout for a good conditioner for color treated hair. I LOVED the Nice and Easy CC cream for blondes, but am now having trouble finding it. For volume, I am a foamy mousse gal, and the the one I like is from Paul Mitchell, a volumizer mousse.

  7. Aah Meg Ryan always my role model for hair styles. I have saved the image maybe my St. Tropez stylist can do something similar. I think Brian has done an excellent job. The style looks great on you.

  8. I too try to keep my hair updated. I do think it’s especially important be man or woman s one ages to keep updating, hair, makeup and clothing styles around one’s natural style. Often my hair is a little different each time I get out of the chair. From time to time I’ll let it stay, in a general way, one look for awhile. Then I get bored and we change something major. I’ve always loved Meg Ryan’s hair, but mine can’t achieve her look without a ton of product in it and then it just goes flat. Like your’s mine is fine. However, even though there isn’t as much of it as there used to be (I’ll be 70 this May), I have a fair amount, but it will go flat easily. In my 50’s I developed allergies to many hair products, nail polish (and other environmental things) — it got me right in the ego! I sadly gave up on nail acrylics and polish but I was determined not to give up on my hair! For many years I was able to stave the affects off by taking antihistamines befor the hair color.

    First we went to highlights. For many years that worked well. As my hangout always color faded to white I’ve tried a base color with highlights and antihistamines. I finally had to give up on it. I was fairly distraught at the idea of all that white…it’s not an even color all over yet so it doesn’t look as good naked as I would like. Wiith my stylist we worked out a coloring option that works so well I no longer need the antihistamines. It’s been quite the adventure. I did some internet reasearch to come up with the concept. We are putting in higher contrast low lights and letting my natural white be the rest of the color. The color stays off my scalp. It’s a bit higher maintenance in the fact that the stylist has to be careful. One can’t lay the color in quite the same way as a normal high or lowlight…if my stylist makes a mistake with the lowlight it shows immediately and can’t be overlooked. All in all I’m pretty sanguine about my hair. What has truly amazed me is that this color decision has, right from the first moment, garnered constant and frequent compliments! I’ve never received so many in app Lo my life! I hardly go a day without someone saying something nice! Which is rather fun at my age.

    The only time i cried in all the years I’ve been going to salons occurred because of a huge miscues between me and the stylist. It ended up so short I couldn’t do much with it until it grew a little. Ironically I had quite a few compliments from that style. But from then on I made sure to be on the same page as the stylist. Pictures certainly help…as long as one realizes one’s hair is the ultimate arbitrator, one has to work with its natural inclinations. I have two spots that have a mind of their own and we have to work around them. At the moment I couldn’t be happier with the overall look.

    1. Apologies for the typos and a little too much typing assist.
      Corrections
      First pp: …especially important, as we age, be we man or woman, to keep updating…

      Second pp: As my hair color started to fade to white…
      …it doesn’t look as good in its naked form as I would like.
      …I’ve never received so many in all my life…

  9. I have hair much like yours. I didn’t always: it used to be fine and thick, but it is now fine and thin…and straight. My dermatologist tells me that 30% of women experience thinning hair with aging, and that it is mostly a matter of genes. My styling problems are made worse by the fact that 10 years ago I developed eczema on my scalp and forehead which is triggered by the majority of styling products, especially sprays, and I am pretty much limited to a brand called Free and Clear ( product line developed by Mayo Clinic dermatologists and pharmacists to be as free as possible of all known allergens) which is serviceable, but thats about the most that can be said for it.

    My hairdresser has worked with me to develop a style that works for my hair and its natural inclinations, and it is not unlike yours, I don’t color my hair as that is just more potential allergens, and it is silver now. I am fine with that. Living in the north, our winters are very dry and that does me no favors in terms of volume. Once I imagined that i would move into old age with a thick and beautiful updo, but we learn to live with what we have.

    1. Me too. For the past few years I’ve had problems with acne-like bumps on my scalp and around my hairline at the front. I’ve been to two dermatologists and tried every prescription and over-the-counter product under the sun. Even went to a naturopath and eliminated certain food deemed sensitivities. Potatoes seem to aggravate the problem. I related to your eczema issues. I should try the Free & Clear products. Can you recommend styling/volumizing products or do you stick with Free & Clear only. Would love to hear from you. I also have a blog – boomerbroadcast.net.

  10. Beautiful style – I have exactly the same problem with my hair – fine and not too much of it 🙁 so this cut is perfect – I have a variation of it at the moment and it works well. What I would give for long thick hair!!

  11. I noticed your new style yesterday in the post and thought it looked really great. I think the pixie cut was a little too short for you. I too have fine and thin hair and try to change it up frequently. I always take several or more pictures usually from Pinterest and my stylist and I figure out which one will work! I’m going to try the products you mentioned. I find that there is such a fine line between not enough and too much product. I have been with my stylist and my colorist for over 10 years! I am very particular about my hair and with it being fine and thin every hair shows and has to be perfect . I dream of beautiful natural blond hair pulled up in a bouncy pony tail, but that is not to be!! Great post!

  12. New style is lovely. I must say that I truly love the short style as featured in your Paris photo shoot and captured on your right rail/bio. Everything about that look is my favorite – the makeup, your hair, glasses, etc. I totally understand the need to change things up but the short cut is tres chic!

  13. Hi Susan, LOVE your blog! A few years ago, I discovered TheHairStyler.com. You can upload a picture of yourself and try on different hairstyles and hair colors. The descriptions of each style give you tips as to the type of hair the cut works best with, styling tips, etc. You can then print out the picture to give your stylist ideas. The best part is that its free!

  14. Great cut! I have your same fine, delicate hair and continue to color to add body and because the gray is not pretty yet nor am I ready to be gray ; ) thanks for sharing the products you use. I am always interested in what others are using for fine hair. It’s a challenge for sure!

  15. It looks great, as did your pixie. No need to apologize or explain that you’re not going gray, I’m sort of tired of that pressure.

    1. Ignore that pressure. So silly that other women feel the need to apply any. It’s your hair! I say please yourself!

  16. Who is your hair stylist? I think your hair looks great. I also have fine thin hair, but use a bit more product. Have you tried a mousse? Great for adding body. I use Volumea.

  17. Susan your new pixie cut looks fabulous! Love the color — keep it as long as you can! I’ve had silver hair ever since 2004 and I’m already tired of it! Anyway my hair is the opposite problem–it’s thick and grows fast and is coarse and wiry (not curly) and grows in 6-8 different cowlicks! So my hair is very short and very textured. I have a fantastic stylist but (ironically) she’s gone this week and I have to have my hair cut by someone else in the salon! She does an ok job but not great–fingers crossed. You look wonderful!

    1. Sarah, this is me, too. I think I’d actually love to have fine, “flat” hair, for mine is endlessly unruly. I have a cowlick on one side at the nape-of-neck hairline that messes with every hairstyle I’ve ever had. Susan, your new cut is beautiful, as was the pixie–I’m envious! You always look lovely.

  18. Last winter I took the plunge and went platinum to cover the dark hair at the back of my head, the grey in the middle and the white at the front. It actually requires less visits to maintain as roots showing looks pretty cool, but…I don’t like the idea of such powerful colouring gunk on my scalp. Even though my thick and sort of wavy hair (with two big cowlicks!) looks great (usually), I will soon have to change something up as my poor scalp is pretty tender for a few days after colour.
    I do have a great woman who cuts/colours my strands who works from home right now and I love being able to show up in any state at times that suit my schedule. She has shown be the beautiful Meg Ryan look a few times and modified it to suit me.
    Susan, your hair looks great and does really suit you. I would call it a “gently relaxed” polished look.

  19. Very becoming and I love the color, but your hair always looks great. I second your opinion on the Oribe spray. I horde the travel sizes when I find them. Another product I’ve found that works really well for me (fine thick hair) is Style Sexy Hairspray Clay Texturizing Spray Clay. Ridiculous name but this stuff is amazing! Be warned, it takes practice to dispense the right amount; otherwise you wind up with very stiff unstylable hair.

  20. I too would love to wear my hair like Meg Ryan. BUT, like you I have my own issues. Thinking, curly, wirery, fuzzy. It’s really hard. I too love the Oribe texture spray and love the travel sizes. In fact I love their shampoo for grey hair. Just can’t use it every week. It drys my hair. Hair., a never ending quest for the perfect cut.

  21. This is such a coincidence Susan… I was writing about my pixie grow-out too!
    It is hard HARD work and definitely not helped by ageing.
    You are lucky to have found a great stylist.
    XXX
    Samantha

  22. Susan, My hair is like yours in the back, with a sort of “cowlick” that only lets my hair fall towards my face. I have always fought with it, but I’m considering a cut like yours that would allow my hair to do what it naturally wants to do. I can only hope mine would look as lovely as yours, since my hair texture is different. Thanks for the inspiration!~Ann

  23. I hate hair. LOL. I hate thinking about it, messing with it, the constant maintenance. I also have thick, wavy, very fast growing hair that requires a visit to the salon once a month. I currently have a pixie because of the easy maintenance, but that is offset by the frequent salon visits. I am doing the highlights to hide the gray, but I wish I were gray enough to go totally white. Some days I think I should just put on a hat and keep it on forever.

    Your new do is very flattering.

  24. Fab, Brian did good, you look gorgeous with that cut, Susan. I do envy you being able to have short hair. Mine goes as flat as a pancake when short as it’s fine and grey. So it’s usually hovering around the shoulders and either bobbed or layered. Found my hairdresser around the corner from my home. Maybe if I was more adventurous and found one further afield, my hairstyles would become more adventurous too!

  25. Love your new haircut, its perfect for your hair type. Mine is thin and fine too. It all comes down to a good cut, doesn’t it. You’ve inspired me – I’ve booked in next week.

  26. Love the haircut. It looks soft and not too “worked.” I quit coloring my hair over 20 years ago and I get compliments on the color pretty often. I found my stylist on the internet about 10 years ago. My cut is very simple, all one length from a longish bob to a bit below the shoulders. Being able to do a pony tail helps when travelling or hiking. I use the same shampoo, Pureology hydrate, sometimes conditioner, not every time. My favorite new thing is a Mason Pearson brush I got for Christmas. Even my husband can see a difference.

  27. Really like your new cut / hairstyle. A lot. 🙂

    Keeping our hairstyles current makes a big difference in our presentations and the “effectiveness” of our clothing styles. After losing 100 pounds during the last few years, I left the “church lady” hairstyle in the rear view mirror. Surprisingly (to myself and a few others) I’ve gone long. Happily, I have the hair thickness and texture that tolerates that style.

    I am so over dressing and styling myself in ways that others find appropriate for themselves. At 71, I dress to please myself. What other standards need we have? 🙂

  28. I love your hair!! I have the same type of baby fine hair and you have given me a great idea for my next haircut. Thanks. I really love your blog. You have class and style!

  29. What a great haircut! Kudos to Brian.

    My own hair and a search for the perfect stylist is my current struggle, but if that’s the only struggle I have, I’m lucky.

  30. Your hair looks great! I noticed it reading your last post. It looks stylish and effortless (whether it actual is or not!)

    I stopped coloring my hair several years ago. My hair grows quite fast, and was originally medium brown. It became so gray at the front that the contrast between the color and my roots was noticeable after just a couple of weeks. I like the way it’s turned out. I use a purple shampoo on my hair, giving it bluish-lavender highlights, and wear it about shoulder length in a blunt cut, usually straightened. I’m lucky enough to still have quite a lot of it. I do get lots of compliments.

    Although I’ve worn it this way for several years, I do get bored and have a tendency to make drastic changes every three years or so. I not quite ready to change yet, but it will happen….

  31. I returned to acting a few years ago so I often get to see how truly dreadful I can look with different hairstyles! It’s also fascinating to see how easily you can be “aged” by 10-15 years by a hairstyle. So I stick with minor variations on the basic model that works for me and update my look with clothes and make up.

  32. Susan, how is the texturizing spray used? On wet hair before you blow dry? as a hair spray after you blow dry?

  33. When your hair turns gray or silver the texture will be more coarse making it feel thicker and fuller. So, see, there are benefits to aging. ☺

  34. Your new haircut is lovely! I also drooled over that Meg Ryan cut, but I know my thick, fine hair won’t do that willingly. Sigh.

  35. I too have had very fine, baby hair now thinning with age. I have embraced who I am and what I can do and go with the flow! Thanks for the product recommendations.

    BTW—cut is very CUTE and flattering on you.

  36. Pleased to have discovered your blog 🙂 I love your hair cut – very chic. I have had mine in a short bob and highlighted blonde for the last two years. I’ve decided to grow it a bit and maybe get rid of the highlights and have a warm brown (which was my natural colour). Time will tell, highlights are very addictive.

    Gail
    http://www.isthismutton.com

  37. Your hair always looks so good–stylish and flattering–from the slightly longer red of a few years ago, to your recent pixie, to the lovely ‘do you have now. I, too, am growing out a pixie, but mine does not look as chic as yours!

  38. I love your haircut…bangs terrify me…my hair is so slow to grow out…Thanks for the heads up on the Oribe spray…love it. Just wanted to pass on something that has helped my baby fine hair….coconut oil…I slather it on and leave for an hour and then wash it out…my hair has been much thicker and shiner. Cheap and effective!!!

  39. Brian did a splendid job, you look very good. And I so know what you are talking about as my hair is the same. Even though I would love to update the style from time to time, this bob is what suits me best. And my hair stylist is terrific, knows how to make this look as if I have lovely hair,

  40. Love your new style! Looks great on you and it’s nice to have a change. I keep mine short and also let layers grow out and then cut! Thank goodness for the great hair products today as they can really make a difference in the styles we can wear. Keep up the great blog!

  41. I was catching up on some older posts and came across this. Love the haircut on you. I too am always struggling with my hair. I have the opposite problem. I have thick, coarse, wavy gray hair. Too wavy to be straight and not wavy enought to be curly…just unruly. I go back and forth between short and chin length. It is always a struggle!!