hair

ADDING LENGTH TO SHORT HAIR

tutorial by Micha Brown, photos + graphic design: Kristin Ess

When it comes to super short hair, you often find yourself to be slightly limited with styling options. That’s why we thought it would be great to show you how to temporarily add a little length using extension wefts. This gives you a bit more versatility with your look. We’re pretty obsessed with Meagan Good’s short + sassy style. It’s really short in the back and gets longer toward the front. We’ve seen short hair on both Rihanna + Pink for years, but there’s something less edgy about this– it’s a very feminine, chic, flirty hairstyle. We’re so excited to show you how to play with length. Here we go!

1. Start by blowing your hair into the desired shape if your hair is not relaxed. If your hair is relaxed, start by shaping it with setting lotion + setting strips. After the hair is completely dry, remove the setting strips.
2. Use our FAVORITE TOOL for smoothing crazy curly roots! It’s called the “Root Control” tool, and if you haven’t heard of it, you should check it out! It’s just amazing. It’s like a hot comb for the root. Best. Thing. Ever.
3. Create a clean part using a tail comb about 1″ behind your hair line. The part should mimic the hair line. (If you need visual help, jump down and peek at step #9!)
4. Now get out your extension track. You don’t want to use clip-in extensions for this, you want to use extensions which are considered tracks/wefts. Measure the extension track like you see Micha doing in photo #4 and cut the piece to be the exact same length as the part.
5. Apply a temporary bonding glue to the sewn part of the extension. If you’re confused on which bonding glue to get, ask the person you buy the extensions from. We like the Natty’s glue the best. Temporary extension glue lasts about 3-7 days depending on how fast your scalp gets oily. TIP: people have expressed that they’ve had a bad experience removing extension glue. I can assure you NOTHING removes this temporary extension bonding glue better than THIS. Spray it on, wait 3 minutes and peel the extension off with no problems. I’ve used it for years on many-a-model and have never had one problem. Most people try to soak them off with water. That doesn’t work!
6. Lay the glue side down on your scalp and use the blowdryer on cool to set it. It takes about 20-30 seconds to adhere when using the blowdryer.
7. Keep going!
8. Keep going!
9. You should lay 7-10 tracks down, one right behind the other (approx 1/2″ apart. Make your sections a teeny bit less wide as you move up toward the crown. (Use photo 9 as a guide if you need help!) Once you have all your tracks laid down, you’re ready for the fun part!
10. We like to use this hair cutting razor to get a more textured haircut, but  you can also use scissors or thinning shears if you know what you’re doing. If you look at Micha in photo #10 you see that she picks up little pieces at a time and slides the razor down. She’s also not going anywhere near her own hair. Please BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT YOUR OWN HAIR. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this part, don’t do it and ask someone who does. The whole point of this tutorial is to add length so you shouldn’t be cutting too close to your own hair anyway. Stay at least an inch away and you’ll have no worries.
11. Once you’ve cut into the top, it’s time to add some texture to the back. Use a little curling iron for the best result. We used THIS ONE.
12. Now add some curl to the front. Leave the ends out when you curl like Micha does in photo #12. Use a slightly larger size curling iron for this part. We used THIS ONE.
13. Use a little more of your pomade for texture. Now you can rub it into the roots as well.
14. Same thing for the front. Rub a little pomade into your hands and then through the front.
15. Add shine or texture spray as desired. Here we’re using that beach spray we’ve been obsessed with. It gives beach-y texture but maintains the shine unlike some other beach sprays.
16. Last but not least, always check the back using a hand mirror and make sure the shape is right.

Seriously makes me want to chop my hair off! And how gorgeous does Micha look with short hair!? If you have short hair + add some extensions for length, please remember to tweet us a photo @TBDOFFICIAL. We would love to see yours!!