Make Mine A Middy

Ever since I started to get into doing wet sets on my hair, I've been trying to figure out how to make the most of my hair styles. Given how much time and effort going into doing the pincurls and foam rollers and all that, of course I want it to look as good as it can.

It had been about 8 months since my last haircut (I know, but when I'm not broke I'm usually being lazy), and since it was getting to the point where I couldn't really put it off any longer, recently I started looking into middy cuts. A middy was a popular style of haircut in the 1940s and 50s. It had a U shape, longer in the back than the front, and lots of layers. It doesn't look like much when it's not styled, but the shape and the layering are what give it that distinctive vintage look. 

I went to a beauty school near my house for the cut. I was a little worried about having such an inexperienced stylist, but to be honest, I've had stylists with a lot of experience who couldn't give me what I wanted, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. It took a little explaining, showing her diagrams and photos and stuff like that, but in the end she was really game to give it a try. Her lack of experience ended up being a real asset, since she wasn't afraid to ask for clarification when she needed it, and she really took her time make sure everything was just what I asked for.

One of the big benefits so far is the ease in styling. Whether I'm using a curling iron or doing a full pincurl set, it just falls into the kind of loose, easy vintage waves that I want - very Liz Taylor. It's also nice just to have 8 months worth of damage gone, since it was giving me some serious frizz.

I had read this this cut can be kind of high maintenance - you really do have to style it every day, otherwise you've basically got a "fancy mullet." I'm still not sure how that factor will work out since I've only been living with it for a couple of days now, but we'll see how it all goes.