For those with daughters - a hair question

[sarahsthreads]

What do you do with flyaway baby hair that's too long - without cutting bangs?

I really don't want to cut Carrie's hair, at least not yet, but I'm getting tons of family pressure to do it. And while I agree that sometimes her hair is in her eyes, it isn't always, and it doesn't seem to me that it bothers her so much. But hey, what do I know - I'm just her mom. ;)

So what can I do besides cut bangs? Headbands just slide right off her head. Barrettes are immediately extracted and shoved in her mouth. Ponytail holders seem to be working at the moment, but I'm not expecting that to last too long. It doesn't help that I have very thick and curly hair, so I'm already at a total loss about what to do with fine straight hair. (Although I am looking forward to the many, many braiding possibilities a couple of years down the road!)

Here's my crazy-haired baby:
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/29230.jpg

Am I silly to not want to cut her hair? Should I just give in and do it? Opinions? Ideas?

Thanks!
Sarah :)

[Emmas Mom]

I'll first apologize because I have no solutions for you...I'm in exactly the same boat. I ended up just cutting bangs on my DD. :( Just the front & it does look cute but her hair is just so dang fine & has not grown very fast so far, so I just gave in. You are not silly by any means. I look at other girls her age with long, curly, or styled hair & my little angel looks like a rag a muffin. lol She too takes everything out of her hair like two seconds after I put it in. sigh I'm hoping the sides at least grow out to go behind her ears but maybe someone else will have some ideas...I could definitely use them too! :)

[s7714]

When my oldest finally got hair long enough to start getting in her eyes, I did trim it just enough to keep it out of her eyes--not short enough to be bangs by any means though. And if you cut them at a slight angle to create a little layering at the ends, it won't look as harsh as if you had just blunt cut them right across her forehead. Ironically, as soon as I started trimming her hair on a regular basis to keep it out of her eyes, her hair started growing in like crazy.

I'd love to be able to put barrettes in her hair to keep it styled, but her love of them makes her always want to pull them out and look/play with them instead of keeping them on her head.

Jennifer
Mommy to
Annalia 3/03
Sophia 6/05

[kaylinsmommy2]

cute picture. We also just cut DD's hair. First, just a tiny trim to keep her hair out, but then my mom (behind our backs) cut her hair super short into bangs (that's another story). Anyway, it grew out, and we continued triming the bangs. I just started 2 weeks ago using a pony tail holder, and it seems to work well. After touching her hair all thetime, she's now started to just leave it alone and it's worked for us so far. Sorry, no advice here either.

Although, I would totally agree with you - once you start to trim her hair, it will become bangs and NEVER look the same again. So, make up your mind before you cut. I have a friend who's never cut her DD's hair (who's 2 years old now). It's just always in a ponytail (two ponytails, actually - one to hold up the bangs area, and a second to pull back the hair near her neck.
Caroline
Kaylin 6/5/04

http://b2.lilypie.com/9KMlm7/.png[/img][/url]

[SuenosDelMar]

My daughter is almost 2 and I have dealt w/ this problem for some time now. She hates anything in her hair for more than a few minutes. She likes hats though, so that helps keep it in place. She also likes wearing sunglasses (even in the house) and isn't opposed to me putting them up on her head to keep her hair back.

Frankly it probably would be easier to just cut her hair, but I have no idea how to get her to sit still long enough to get scissors anywhere near her head and if I did, I know I would mess it up and they wouldn't be straight and I would have to keep cutting and cutting.

She does often look like a rag-a-muffin, but I guess so do I w/ my thick, curly hair that is never styled. ;)

[mclianne]

I don't want to cut bangs either and have gotten some pressure to do so. I started pulling some of it up into a small ponytail on the top of her head when she was about 14 months old. I call it the Pebbles look. We get lots of comments on it of how people love the ponytail. She sometimes will pull the holder out, but usually leaves it in. Sometimes I make it stick up more than others...

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/29233.jpg

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/29234.jpg

[crayonblue]

I can see why you don't want to cut her hair! How cute! Lauren doesn't have near as much in front, and she is 21 months, but I did snip a bit in the front so that hair is not hanging in her eyes.

Also, the BEST barrettes I have found were at Walmart in the kids section. They clip (not snap) and stay put. They have bows on them and come in purple, pink and white. (2 of each color in one package- 6 total)

[starrynight]

Cut the smallest amount possible, like a 1/4 of an inch or less, just that barest wisp that is in her eyes. That's what I did for a long time until the girls were a bit older and I could use pony tail holders or barrettes without them eating them.

She is beautiful :) and I can see why you don't want to cut her hair!

[miki]

I cut the bangs until she was about 18 months and would leave whatever I put in her hair alone. Now I just use tiny rubber bands, the no-pull kind that comes in a small pack of a zillion. Since there is no decoration to pull on, she has always left it alone.

[Wife_and_mommy]

Another BBB mom reading my mind..... :)

I've cut DD's hair a total of three times: #1 was a tail she was growing in the back at 5 months. #2 was a trim because her hair was getting in her eyes. She looked really put together after that one and her bangs weren't the straight-across ones because I push it to the side.

#3 I was trying to keep the baby-look to her and told the stylist to keep it short...I haven't been happy with it at all. I think part of the problem was that I didn't know what I wanted and gave him free rein. He cut and cut until dd wouldn't sit anymore.

She's almost ready for another 'do and I've decided that I'm going to go for a bob look without the straight-across bangs. Her "bangs" are almost in her eyes again but the top is super-short because of the way it was cut. I have to wait for the top to grow a little more so we can try and manuever some kind of hairdo.

I'm not *too* sentimental about haircuts but will admit the first one was bittersweet. I would probably trim Carrie's so it's not in her eyes but that's just me. It might not bother her but you're the one who pushes it out of her eyes so if it doesn't bother you, leave it as it. :)

This is all so stressful, isn't it? I'm trying to attach a pic of DD's hair. We'll see if it works....all the candid pics I take her hair is *everywhere*.

Good luck with your decision. :)

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img][/url]

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/dogdogcrd20040405_4_My+child+is.png

http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev035pb___.png

[ykc]

Adorable picture!

I resisted cutting my daughter's hair because I didn't want to get into the cycle of cutting bangs/bangs growing too long/cutting bangs. (We won't mention the impromptu trim she got from a daycare worker because the hair was hanging in her snotty nose--I was livid!!! But it was just a tiny piece so from an aesthetic point of view, it didn't matter. Random person taking scissors to my kid's head--that was a different issue.) She had really fine, wispy hair when she was little, and wouldn't keep in barrettes or clips or anything. Looked a lot more ragamuffin-y than your daughter. She got her first real haircut when she was 3. Well, she's only gotten 3 haircuts in her nearly 5 years of life. I think it was worth holding out. Once she got to be about 3yo, she was all about putting up her hair. She now puts her hair behind her ears, or uses a headband, or has me (and sometimes, even Daddy!) put it up in a ponytail.

I'm sure it will be cute no matter what. But if you don't want to get it cut, don't. It will grow out eventually.

[tny915]

No, you're not silly to not want to cut her hair! I don't want to cut my DD's hair either, and her bangs are now down to the tip of her nose. I'm not very girly and am pretty clueless when it comes to hair, so all we did for a while was sweep the bangs to the side and hold it back with a hair clip. Have you tried different brands of barrettes? Maybe a different brand would feel better to your DD so she wouldn't be tempted to pull it out. These have worked VERY well for us. Otherwise, I'd try barrettes again periodically because she may eventually outgrow the pull-everything-out-of-her-hair phase.

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-BB-Boutique-infant-baby-toddler-hair-bows-Custom_W0QQitemZ4758841783QQcategoryZ18786QQtcZpho toQQcmdZViewItem

DD's current look is a ponytail on top of her head, the Pebbles look a PP mentioned. We've also used the Goody clear ouchless rubber bands that another PP mentioned.

[TraciG]

my DD also doesn't let me put anything in her hair, if I do manage a barrette in as soon as she notices it she takes it off or complains until I take it out so she pretty much has the bed head look, she has wavy hair & I do see her push it out of her face recently, I also thought about bangs but dont really want to do it yet.

You're DD is cute, just keep pushing her hair away for now like I do !

[TraciG]

She's so cute, I LOVE the Pebbles look !

[cara1]

My dd's hair (11 mos) looks just like yours. I want to wait til a year to cut it, but I actually like the look of bangs. Remember how cute Beth's Sarah looks in bangs? Is there something I'm not thinking through?

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I decided not to do bangs because I remember trying to grow out my bangs as an older child and I don't want Logan to have to face that.

We started with the pebbles look (one ponytail on top) and migrated it to the side as her hair got longer. Most days she has just the top pulled straight back to keep it out of her eyes.

[sarahsthreads]

Thanks for all the advice and ideas! I've been doing the ponytail on top thing for four days now, and it seems to actually be working well. Plus it's so darn cute!

Really, my only problem with bangs is that I've had them and hated growing them out, and I would feel bad putting Carrie through that. Plus, I have no idea how I (or a stylist for that matter) would get her to sit sill long enough to cut it anyway.

Sarah :)