Is Short Hair Actually Easier to Style? What I Learned
I'm Adore Beauty's resident beauty newbie. Before working at Adore, I was travelling the world for 4 months with just one tiny tube of Jurlique moisturiser. I washed my face with warm water and used olive oil as a deep conditioning treatment. Oh, how things have changed!
A few months ago, after spending at least 45 minutes getting all the knots out of my hair, I decided it was time to chop it all off.
I loved my long hair, but it had become a drag.
My hair would shed EVERYWHERE.
And not just in the shower. I would find my hair in every nook and cranny of my apartment.
Styling was also a drag.
If I let my curls go natural, it took forever to detangle my matted hair.
If I wanted to get all glam for an event, my hair took hours to style into waves.
If I was being lazy and just straightened it, it looked flat and lifeless.
I needed a change. I wanted something easy and simple.
And so, I did it...
After nearly three years of growing it out (with great haircuts to keep it healthy in between), I decided to get a bob haircut.
Not a lob. Or a collarbone-grazing do.
A short haircut. With curtain bangs.
If you've ever thought about cutting your hair off but wondered if short hair is easy to style (or easier than long hair), the short answer is YES!
Not only am I using A LOT less product, but I’m also not finding hair everywhere.
Yes, I miss my long hair. Something about wanting what you don't have, right?
But the decision to chop it off involved a cost-benefit analysis, and the benefits outweighed the costs for me.
So, this article is for anyone who has a short haircut but isn't sure how to style it, or those considering a chop.
Keep scrolling for everything I've learnt about styling my short hair (including what not to do).
How to Style Short Curly Hair.
For context, my hair is naturally curly, coarse and thick.
I was worried cutting it short would mean learning how to style my curls all over again, but it's been the opposite.
Day-to-day, I have two very simple hair routines:
Some days, I like to style my short hair using a straightener.
For a sleek and straight look, I wash, mask, add a hair serum like the Olaplex No. 9 Bond Protector Heat Protection & Frizz Reduction Nourishing Hair Serum and then use a hair straightener once it has dried.
It takes all of five minutes to straighten my new short do. A miracle!
If I want to leave my curls natural, I simply wash, mask and scrunch in a curl balm.
I find using professional haircare products works better for me than the curly girl method.
I will tie it up in a half pony, and it looks really cute. When I wash it again, no detangling is required.
Another miracle!
When I'm travelling or can't be bothered with hot tools, a curl cream or air dry balm does the trick.
How to Curl Short Hair.
Now, let's move on to how to curl short hair in the easiest way possible.
Because it's one thing to walk out of the salon with a bouncy blow dry, and another thing entirely to style it yourself at home.
I perfected my long hair glam routine years ago, but I wondered if the same principles would work with short hair.
After Googling 'how to curl short hair with a straightener', I decided to stick with the hair curling method that has never failed me.
You can watch me figuring out how to curl short hair for the first time in this YouTube video below.
Otherwise, read on for the full step-by-step short hair tutorial... which is actually as short as my haircut!
1. Start With This Frizzy Hair Saviour.
No matter what length my hair is, I'll always start with this product, especially for special events.
ColorWOW Dream Coat Supernatural Spray 200ml is a game-changer when it comes to adding shine and gloss.
Your hair will look sooo shiny!
For frizzy hair-havers, you’ll also get protection from humidity and frizz for up to four washes.
You might have heard about this cult product from JLo and Kim K’s hairstylist Chris Appleton - he’s a big fan!
It does require a little more effort than your average leave-in:
- After shampooing and conditioning, towel-dry hair and divide into sections.
- Spray Dream Coat liberally onto hair from roots to tips.
- Blow dry each section of hair, maintaining tension with a brush (more on that below).
2. How to Blow Dry Short Hair.
After applying Dream Coat, I use the ghd Helios Hair Dryer.
GHD Helios Hair Dryer In Black is lightning fast to dry off my short hair… it only takes six minutes!
I can also still use the GHD Helios Diffuser Nozzle for when I want to style my short curly hair.
I've found using a blow dry brush like RAINCRY SMOOTH 2.0 - PURE Natural Bristle Brush - Medium helps to add tension as I blow dry my hair straight.
It's also great for styling curtain bangs. Just lift up your fringe section, place the round brush underneath, and rotate outwards before blasting with the dryer.
If you have extra frizzy hair (me) or you’re terrible at blow drying your own hair (also me), you might also want to add some extra smoothness with a hair straightener.
3. The Best Curling Wand for Short Hair.
Now, this is the step that requires practice!
It took me many, many months to get the hang of curling my hair.
After cutting it short, I realised trying to fully wrap hair around a curling wand is not the easiest way to curl short hair.
With really short hair, you just want to add a little kink to the hair over a classic wave.
GHD Creative Curl Wand Hair Curling Wand is the best curling wand for short hair because it has a tapered barrel that gives shorter hair great shape proportionate to the length.
I curl outwards, away from the face, curling the hair around the wand just once.
And yes, I did struggle to style my short hair with that first attempt on YouTube, but honestly, it just takes practice with a new haircut.
Should I Cut My Hair Short, You Ask?
This is a question I get all the time now on Instagram.
My frizzy friends love their long hair, but find it really time-consuming to manage and style.
I understand this dilemma. But remember - hair grows back!
That’s exactly what I said to myself when I decided to chop it all off.
The last time I did a big chop was the day before my 30th birthday. It only took a couple of years to grow it back long and healthy.
And hey, change is nice sometimes!
So are clean floors and empty shower drains.
For more inspo on how to style short hair, check out one of these articles below:
