The Long and Short of It
QUICK NOTE: I’m giving away THREE COPIES of BORN TO BE WILDE over at Alison Kent’s Blog. Just so you know, If you do win the book, you do have to read and review it. It’s all part of the giveaway. 
And now, back to our regular Thursday blog!
After a good 12 years of wearing my hair extremely short-short, this past January I made the decision to grow it out. This wasn’t an easy decision to make, because I have naturally curly/wavy hair, and the only way to control it is with a super-short haircut. But with the decision made, and armed with a straightener (which they didn’t have back when I was growing up!), I took the plunge.
Now, for those of you who have had short hair with many layers, and have had to grow it out, you know it’s not an easy process. 
At least, it wasn’t for me. It was a long and frustrating process. There were so many times that I was so aggravated with that “in between” stage that I just wanted to cut it all off again. 
But, Don kept on telling me to calm down and give it time, (he doesn’t care if my hair is short or long, he just knew I really wanted to grow it out), and so I’d take a deep breath and keep struggling to do something with my funky hair in the meantime. Luckily I have a great hair stylist who always gave me a cut I could do something with. And considering all my short layers, she had to cut frequently to make sure it all matched up while it was growing out.
Oh, and let’s not mention all the hair products I’ve tried in my attempt to tame my curly/wavy/frizzy hair along the way. I know I’ve spent at least two hundred dollars on shampoos, mousses, gels, serums, etc, to find something that works for me. 
From low end brands (John Freida), to higher end brands (Steiner). I’ve taken suggestions from friends who have curly hair and I bought the products they use, but I discovered that everyone has individual needs when it comes to their hair. And what might work for one person, doesn’t necessary work for another. Though I do have to say that Carly has introduced me to some great products along the way that I do still use (believe it or not, we have the same hair type – dry, color-treated, curly, frizzy, course hair).
Eight months later, and I’ve somehow managed to grow my hair out almost to my shoulders. 
Now let’s go back to me having curly/wavy hair. As it’s been growing out, I’ve been blow drying it with a straightening brush (but as you can see by the picture below, my hair doesn’t straighten that easily!), then following up with my current favorite hair products (Jonathan), and a hot iron straightener, which does give it a much smoother, straighter look that I’m happy with. 
However, what once used to take me 10 minutes total to do my hair, now takes me a good 30-40 minutes! 
Funny story – when I was at the RWA conference and rooming with Carly this past July, I think she was stunned at how much work my hair took to get it all straight. In the past, I was the one who was in and out of the bathroom in record time since my hair only took 10 minutes to blow dry and style. This year, for once, she was the one that was ready FIRST, and was always waiting on me! 
First, I’d wash my hair, add straightening/defrizzing products, then I’d blow dry my hair and do my best to straighten what I could. Well, I still ended up with a frizzy head of hair, (thank you, Texas humidity! ) so I’d have to section it off with a bunch of clips and straighten it section by section by section. It was (and is) a lot of work!
But during my last haircut, my hair stylist said it was time to bring out my “natural curls and waves”, and attached a diffuser to her hair dryer. I said go for it. By the time she was done, I had a full head of natural, wavy, PRETTY curls! 
Ohmygod, who would have thought that I’d LOVE my curly hair!!! What I realized is that I now have a bunch of options in the way I wear and style my hair. I can go straight and sleek (if I have the time to spend 30-40 minutes on it), or I can go with my natural curls (which I can do in about 20 minutes). My hair is also now long enough that I can put it in a ponytail, and let me tell you, with our summer weather in the 105+ degrees, there are many times that I want all that hair off my neck!
So, all in all, I think the growing out process has been worth it, and now I’m having fun with my hair, even if it does take a lot more work now. On the plus side, my kids have told me that the longer hairstyles make me look “younger”. Okay, I’ll take that with a smile! 
Just for fun, I took some pictures of my growing out process:
This first picture was taken in December 2006, just before I decided to grow my hair out. It’s short all over, there’s layers all over, and the sides are SUPER short!
This is what my hair looks like after I’ve tried to blow dry it straight. Seriously, this is as straight as I can get it using products and a straightening brush! Lots of waves and frizz. Ugh! I hate the way it looks like this — I call this my “Q-tip” look, because it’s a bunch of frizz on top of my head and makes my face look so big and round!
This is my hair about 20 minutes after taking the picture right above. This is the look I get after taking the time to section it off and straightening it piece by piece. I do like the way it looks straight (and my face doesn’t look so BIG now) but it’s a whole lotta work to do!
And here . . . it’s CURLY! Those are all my own natural curls! I did this myself in about 15 minutes, and it’s such a fun summer style!
So, what’s your hair like? How many of you have gone through the arduous task of growing short hair into longer hair? Share your hair woes, triumphs, and if you have any great suggestions on naturally curly hair, I’ll take them!
I grew mine out when I was a kid, used home perms to mask the growing. Boy was that a bad idea. Ruined my hair! Now that I am in my 20’s, it’s pretty untamable. I use a straitener, hot rollers, but it takes almost an hour due to my thick hair. So it usually ends up in a pony. i’m currently growing it from a shorter cut, so I have lots of layers. They I coloured it a darker colour, which people seem to love. Yay! lol
Comment by Jess — August 23, 2007 @ 6:10 am
I have long since discovered the straight/curly conundrum is something you just can’t fight. If you have straight hair you want it curly and vice versa. My hair is straigh and flat. I can spend 30-40 minutes curling it and within 2 hours it’s got a soft, faint wave to it. Nothing holds and for the effort it takes I can’t be bothered! I have gone much shorter than yours is in those photos but have it longer now.
Comment by Kerryn — August 23, 2007 @ 6:19 am
You look gorgeous Janelle! I even like your Q-tip look LOL. And I admit to being a bit jealous, though I do feel for you on how long it takes you to “get ready”. The curls look great, and it’s a fab look for you. Not that you look old, but the longer hair does look less severe, softer. Aren’t you glad you waited it out?
I have fine, super-straight hair that hangs like a limp curtain. The humidity is awful, that’s for sure. I got a perm about 4 months ago, and I’m enjoying the lack of maintenance - I wash it, put some non-frizz hair product, and let it air-dry. I’m lovin’ it. I’m also trying to see how long I can go before cutting it all off. Right now it’s past my shoulders.
Comment by Stacy ~ — August 23, 2007 @ 6:21 am
Your hair looks great in any of the pictures. My hair is like yours. I’m thinking of cutting it short. But I hate spending alot of time fixing it.
Comment by Stacy S — August 23, 2007 @ 6:30 am
Your hair tale sounds like my mine. I have the same type of hair, curly, frizzy, coarse and thick. Ironically, after letting my hair grow out since November, I just cut it all off again Tuesday. I’m having a hard time getting used to the short do, but I will eventually get to were I love it. My natural curls unfortunately are only the back and sides of my head. That means the front is stick straight and makes the longer styles hard to deal with.
Comment by Patty L. — August 23, 2007 @ 7:47 am
Mine is long & curly. So much so that people ask me what perm I use. It is a lost cause to straighten unless I have an hour to “try” and straighten it.
The last time I did straighten it, my girl friends loved it, but my husband took one look at me and said I looked like my sister.
Of course the image of my sister smooched up with my hubby flashed in my head and gave me the heebie geebies. I gave that expensive rump flat iron to my best friend and told her next time I wanted to see what my hair would do, to remind me what my husband said.
Comment by Madison — August 23, 2007 @ 8:07 am
Janelle, All your styles look nice, but, if you go with the curls, it’s certainly easier. I do applaud your dedication to the styling procedure, though, I couldn’t ever do it. I have naturally curly hair: in fact, when in Jr. High, had to have strips of sheets on my hair after washing it to weigh it down so it would not to curl as much. Most of my life I’ve just washed it every day in the shower & combed it out. Took about 5 mins. I don’t like to fuss, or have anyone else do it either. Late in the game I went the color process. Still don’t like the time I’m there, though. The cosmetic business would hate me.
Patricia A.
Comment by Patricia — August 23, 2007 @ 8:14 am
I like all of your hairstyles. I’ve done the super short hair and then the months of growing out my hair before. I cut all my hair off in college and it took almost a year for me to like my hair again once I started growing it out. Almost cut it off again about every other month while it was growing out.
My hair is very thick. I have just a little bit of perm left from last year. Still pretty easy to keep curly. I went in last month to get a trim and my stylist layered my hair and she cut off over 2 inches. So now my hair just reaches my shoulders. I’m not big on anything to do with my hair that takes longer than about 10 minutes. She told me since my perm is almost gone, layering my hair would make it easier to straighten each day. Again my hair is very thick, so I have to section off pieces and it takes about 30-40 minutes to get everything straight. I like that the layered hair makes my face look slimmer, but I don’t enjoy any of the additional work. Right now it is so hot in TN that even if I tried to straighten my hair it would be frizzy in about an hour, so I’m just going with the curls for now.
Comment by Liza — August 23, 2007 @ 8:45 am
Hi Janelle! Yes, have the natural curls, and on top of it, fine hair but lots of it — not a great combination, actually, though over the years I’ve found a good cut and good quality hair products make all the difference, especially in fighting the summer frizz. I keep it short now — I used to have the long, country-music singer hair, a la 1970s, LOL, but now it’s chin length bobbed, and I like that. I would love it as short as yours in that first pic — but you have the face for it — it looks great. It’s nice that you can make so many styles work.
I cut my hair that short and I look like a walking bowling ball. With freckles. 
Sam
Comment by Sam Hunter — August 23, 2007 @ 9:24 am
Oh, I feel your pain. My hair is like yours, only fine, not coarse. But I have a lot of it. My hairdresser is the only one who can straighten it. I don’t even try! I live in FL and have learned to love my curly hair. I only have to wash it about twice a week, and in between I just wet it, put in conditioner and gel for curly hair (right now, I’ve found Redkin has shampoo and conditioner for curly hair and KMS curl up gel), and let it air dry. The only problem I have is those ponytails. I wear them a lot, and the little, fine, frizzy hairs like to stand up all over my head. Funny thing is, when I use a curling iron and TRY to curl my hair, it falls flat every time.
BTW, love the new emoticons!
Comment by Becca — August 23, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Janelle I LOVE your curls! That looks absolutely adorable and is so youthful!
Comment by Leslie — August 23, 2007 @ 9:38 am
Stacy (both of you!) thank you for the compliments!
I guess I should consider myself lucky that I don’t have to PAY for a perm! 
And for those of you who live in high humidity places — OY! Now that I can’t even imagine.
At least living in Southern California I have more GREAT hair days than bad ones! 
Comment by Janelle — August 23, 2007 @ 9:40 am
Janelle: It looks so good. My hair is the same since high school…just a straight bob, no bangs. I have had many incarnations (short hair) when first having my kids, but I go back to my bob. Frankly, I don’t do much to it (I probably should). I do get it highlighted twice a year (I’d do it more, but I just don’t have the time!).
Comment by katie — August 23, 2007 @ 9:45 am
Hi Janelle,
You look beautiful with the soft “natural” curls but all of your hairstyles are flattering.
I do wish I had some kind of curl in my hair but it is thick and fine and straight with a slippery texture and does not like to hold any kind of curl whether from a curling iron or hot rollers…it’s very stubborn that way. At national in July, it did frizz a bit which drove me nuts because of the kind of cut I have, just below my shoulders with long layers. It’s designed to blow dry “smooth.”
It takes me about 10 minutes to blow dry my hair.
I’ve had my hair very short, to chin length to longer that it is now–just below my shoulders. Thank goodness I have a great stylist to color it and keep it looking fairly decent. I tried coloring my hair once when I was in high school and it turned out to be a lovely shade of deep forest green.
I was cured after that of coloring my own hair. I will gladly pay my stylist to do it for me.
The new emoticons are great by the way.
Have a great day all,
Cher
P.S. Julie, it was fun chatting with you over at HQ yesterday.
Comment by Cher — August 23, 2007 @ 10:06 am
Madison - at least hubby didn’t tell you that you looked like your mother! Mine did, after I cut it really short. And I don’t care how much backpeddling he tried, there was no way to recover from a statement like that!
Janelle - all the styles look great (and I can’t believe how much time you’re willing to spend on it!) but I really like the curls. They look really fun and care-free.
I get bored pretty easily with my hair and so I used to grow it/cut it/grow it/cut it…now I just change the color every 6-8 weeks and it’s grown about 1/2 way down my back. It was all the way to my waist when I cut it short, like you’re first picture (that’s when he said I looked like my mom). That was a major pain to grow back out and I decided I’d never do that again. Glad you stuck with it…and anyone else going through that “growing out” phase, hang in there. It does get better!!
Comment by Jodie — August 23, 2007 @ 10:32 am
Janelle - I can’t believe you have MY hair. Add in extra thick and you got it. I have been trying to grow it out but I’ve just about had it. My sister is my stylist so she tries to help me out all the time. I love your natural waves. I tried a diffuser and got a lot of natural frizzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
Comment by Carol R — August 23, 2007 @ 10:34 am
Janelle I love the curls. You really can wear just about any style.
Mine is waist length. Easier to care for at my age. Don trims my ends
when they need it. I get lots of compliments on it so I guess it works for
me. Now you will have to excuse me because I have to dash over to
Allison Kent’s blog to try and win one of those really
BORN TO BE WILDE books.
Comment by jeannie — August 23, 2007 @ 10:51 am
Janelle, I LOVE it long. I loved it short too, and I know most times people grow it long only to cut it again.
but these pics of you are so great! But I really would love a face forward shot of you curly!
Comment by Carly — August 23, 2007 @ 12:38 pm
Janelle, your hair looks good in every picture. I love the curls.
I have worn my hair in some short variation since I was 19 & have no desire to have it longer. I call the style wash & go cause I don’t even need to blow it dry! It is naturally wavy with a mind of its own so the short style works best for me. I am not a lover of long hair & would never go back to that & at my age long hair is not usually very flattering.
Comment by Donna M — August 23, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
Janelle - I am jealous - I love your hair in all the pictures. I have midlength straight mousy flat hair so I am coveting your curls. I also have hard water so my beautiful blonde highlights now are rust colored. Oh the fun. Someone doesn’t know a remedy to that besides going to the hairdresser do they (and I do love my hairdresser, money is just a little tight right now)? I haven’t actually ever had to grow all of my hair out, but I recently went to no bangs and it was a pain to let them grow, I kept wanting to cut them so I feel some of the pain you went through.
I’m also jealous because you have the patience to do something to your hair. I just brush mine out and go because I don’t want to spend the time on it, but looking at yours, makes me want to spend time. You look great!
Comment by Crystal F. — August 23, 2007 @ 2:13 pm
Wow , your hair looks just lovely . I have curly/wavy hair as well with MEGA frizz. I wore my hair short for over five years then 2 years ago this Labor day I decided to try and grow it out. Along the way , I have frightened small children and my husband, tried a bunch of anti- frizzing producta and worn my pink Marlins cap a LOT!!! I do like having a pony tail to twist into one giant curl or a braid. I’ve never been good with girly-girl stuff and when I try to blow try it it still gets frizzty and wild. I like Panteen products and Jonh Freida. The humidty looks at my hair and says” Hello, old friend!”. You look great.
Comment by Sue Mont — August 23, 2007 @ 3:35 pm
The curls look great!
Comment by Estella — August 23, 2007 @ 3:43 pm
I started growing mine out last Fall. Big mistake. My hair is not the same as when I was young. That lasted until May or June and I told the lady that does my hair to “Cut all off again.” Which delighted her no end because she got to cut and cut and…
I still have a headful of hair, but now it’s much finer. Probably was then, but I always had a perm in it! I had always had long hair until about 9 years ago. A new hairdresser burned my hair with a perm (OMG - they don’t listen when you say your hair sucks up chemicals, go for body and I’ll get super curly!) The only cure - cut it off.
Cutting it off I thought actually made me look younger because now you can see my cheekbones. And frankly, I need every year (imagined or otherwise) back I can get.
Comment by Lynn Matherly — August 23, 2007 @ 3:52 pm
I meant to add, Janelle, that you look great any way you have it done. Fun and flirty or sophisticated.
Comment by Lynn Matherly — August 23, 2007 @ 3:53 pm
Love the hairstyle Janelle! I am in the process of growing my short hair out.
I got a haircut that I really did not like about four months ago and am now paying the price. I thought a shroter style might be easier to manage. I was VERY WRONG! I have very problem hair after a perm 16 yrs ago. Yes, ladies, I said 16 yrs ago. Now my hair is very curly in the back and only has some waves on the side. 
I don’t have much choice but to straighten it.
Janelle, to save time fixing my hair I wash it at night and use an anti-frizz cream. Then I let it dry naturally and take a straightening iron to it in the morning. It cuts down on time and heat damage from blow-drying then straightening.
Men have it so easy! They can just shave it all off!
Comment by kelly h — August 23, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
I have SUPER straight hair that I just recently cut short and layered. I’ve always wished I had curly hair of course but with all the work that goes into it, I’ll just stick with being able to jump out of the shower and go!
Comment by Jen — August 23, 2007 @ 5:50 pm
Janelle I love the curly locks, but what’s even better is that you get a variety of looks to choose from.
I have mid-waist length hair that can be unruly but usually a kick swipe with the straightner and I’m good to go. I’ve learned that if you have a good straightner with high temperature its works really well, I went through a few before I found the one I have now, and I ofter wonder how I lived without it.
Comment by Tina Martinesi — August 23, 2007 @ 5:53 pm
Hi Janelle, my hair story is really simple…when I was in the military, I wore it natural…no chemicals and I cut it very short…like a boys fade whenever I had to do military stuff…now I have it grown out and I understand that awkward stage of growing your hair out, but I don’t spend much time on it…it takes a relatively short time to get my hair done…I wear braids, twists or have my little sister cornrow it for me…now the last two styles take a while…when I twist my hair it takes about 45 min to an hr, but I watch my fav show while I am doing it…Law & Order SVU…when my sister does, I just pray that the hour and half goes by quickly…
Thanks for telling us about the contest…I entered it…AND, I was able to pick up two of your books today…The Wilde Side and Too Wilde to Tame…yep, I am working on your back list…the only prob was that they only had these two books at the Borders I visited today…
Leslie, I still had no luck with finding OVEREXPOSED…needless to say, I was bummed…
My family in Jamaica is safe…there was one death…a cousin and I haven’t heard from one of my twin aunts…but I am going to try her again tomorrow…
Comment by Paula R. — August 23, 2007 @ 9:47 pm
Short, very, very short and I am keeping it that way. My hair looks like crap when it is long and I can’t be bothered doing anything with it. I love that it takes me a minute, tops, to do my hair.
Didn’t get to post last nite- we had a concert. And damn am I glad I went!!!
Slash is god!!
Comment by ev — August 24, 2007 @ 5:59 am
Janelle, One more thought from me about naturally curly hair: always have a style that goes in the direction that the hair naturally curls. I’ve always found it doesn’t pay to have the hairdresser design & cut a style that looks as if it’ll be cute, but, is not the way the hair naturally curls, because, the next day, your hair will look as if it did before the cut. For the most part, it’ll never really change from that style.
Patricia A.
Comment by Patricia — August 24, 2007 @ 10:07 am
Janelle, I love the pictures. Your hair looks great in all of them, but I really like the most current shot with the curls. It’s a great fun look on you. Good luck with it.
I just decided to cut my hair short yesterday after a fews years with a bob that went anywhere from chin-length to almost shoulder-length. I get very bored with my hair and like to change it often even just slightly by layering it or growing out the layers. I imagine at some point I’ll be waiting for all my layers to grow out too.
Comment by Carolyn A. — August 25, 2007 @ 8:33 am
Mo
Comment by Mo Boylan — August 26, 2007 @ 8:32 pm
I like your hair curly myself, and I think that longer hair makes you look much more youthful! Your hair is so pretty, why wear it so short? I don’t think your hair longer makes your face look big at all, but rather highlights your beauty.
My hair is naturally curly, and I don’t like it straightened out. So I guess as you can see I’m partial to curls, waves, and the romantic look curls and waves suggest. I just dry it a little bit with a blow dryer as I scrunch along with my hand. When hairdressers dry it straight, I feel like it just isn’t me.
Comment by Elaine — August 28, 2007 @ 2:01 pm