How to Deal with a Choppy Haircut

Choppy hair can be fun but it's not for everyone.

When you asked for subtle layers in your hair, your stylist must have thought you said very steep steps and now you’re stuck with a choppy haircut. While some folks may love the choppy look, it takes a certain style to even want to pull it off. But don’t worry, short of donning a wig or shaving your head, you can deal with a choppy haircut in creative ways with a few simple steps.

Things You'll Need

• Hair accessories
• Hair gel or paste
• Dye (optional)

Instructions

1. Slick it back. You can hide choppy layers by using a dollop of gel on damp hair and slicking the whole hairdo back. If you have long hair, accompany the slicked back look with a low, knotted pony tail. If your hair is short, slick it straight back or, make a cute side part and slick the hair back from there. You’ll look glamorous and worldly with your slick, cool look.

2. Play it forward. Choppiness can be turned into dashing, sweeping look if you pull the layers forward. Use a thickening hair paste on damp hair at the roots and pull the layers down towards your shoulders and forward towards your face with your fingertips. You’ll get a groovy shag look that can be toned down even further with slight use of a curling iron to curl the ends under.

3. Try hair accessories. A colorful headband will hide the entire middle of you head. You can use a scarf, thick cotton band or even a colorful ribbon. The more eye-catching the headband is, the less attention will be focused on your choppy locks.

4. Get a dye job. To really get the attention away from your hair’s choppiness, get it dyed a very attention-grabbing color. You can choose contrasting highlights or go wild with blonde, red or deep cherry brown. Choose any color you usually don’t have, so no one will even notice the haircut.

5. Go with the flow. Throw in the towel and embrace the choppy locks. Choppy hair can easily be gelled into spikes, twisted into curious dreadlock-type sections and even blown all out into a mane. Try embracing your choppy do for a day or two and you may find you actually enjoy its funky versatility.

Tips & Warnings

• Another option is to go to a different stylist to tone down the choppiness by giving you a feathered cut. This will help cut down the dramatic length difference in the choppy layers but you may end up looking like Farrah Fawcett.

• Cry if you must, but only for an hour or so. Don’t let a haircut, no matter how choppy it may be, ruin your life. Hair grows back, you know.