The Styling Advice We Give Clients Growing Out Their Hair

Key Takeaways

If you’re struggling to style your hair while it’s growing out, try to work with its changing shape rather than trying to recreate your old haircut.
Soft waves, half-up styles, and low ties can make uneven lengths look more intentional.
Blended layers, lobs, and face-framing usually transition more smoothly as hair gets longer.
Picasso Hair Studio’s Hair Personality App considers seven features and matches you with one of nine Hair Personalities. This gives our stylists an extra reference when recommending shapes, layers, and proportions as your hair grows.

Introduction

If you have ever tried growing out a bob, short layers, or a fringe, you’re probably familiar with that awkward in-between stage. Your ends may start flicking out, your layers can sit at noticeably different lengths, and the shape that once worked suddenly feels harder to manage.

At Picasso Hair Studio, we see this quite often among our clients. Our advice is not to keep fighting to recreate your old haircut. When it comes to styling hair that is growing out, it is usually much easier to work with the length and shape you have now, then make small adjustments that help it look more intentional.

Here are a few approaches we often recommend.

Easy Hairstyles for the Awkward Grow-Out Phase

We usually recommend leaning into styles that feel a little softer and more effortless, while helping uneven lengths look like part of the overall look.

1. Go for Soft, Undone Waves

Loose waves are one of our favourite ways of styling hair that is growing out because they soften the difference between shorter and longer sections. A gentle bend through the mid-lengths and ends can help layers flow together naturally, rather than drawing attention to where each section ends.

If your daily schedule makes it difficult to reach for a curling iron every morning, we may recommend a Korean wave perm instead. This type of perm is designed to create soft, defined bends through the mid-lengths and ends, giving you that polished, loosely waved look without making the hair feel overly curled. Think gentle S-shaped waves, soft movement around the face, and ends that fall into place more easily.

2. Try a Relaxed Half-Up Look

A half-up style is an easy way to make in-between lengths feel instantly more styled. Pulling back the top section gives the hair a bit more shape, while leaving the rest loose keeps the look soft and current.

When styling awkward hair lengths, it’s best to go for a slightly undone finish over anything too sleek. Leaving a few shorter pieces around the face can make the style feel intentional rather than like you are trying to hide them.

3. Keep It Effortless With a Low Bun or Ponytail

A low bun or ponytail is perfect once your hair is just long enough to gather. Instead of pulling every strand tightly into place, keep the finish slightly loose and let a few face-framing pieces fall naturally.

This works especially well on days when your ends are doing their own thing but you still want your hair to look put together. We would just avoid tying it very tightly in the same spot every day, as repeated tension can put unnecessary stress on the hair.

4. Smooth Out Puffiness With Soft Rebonding

If your hair tends to puff out, frizz, or lose its shape as it grows, soft rebonding can help create a smoother, more controlled silhouette. It may be especially useful if your natural texture is difficult to manage at in-between lengths, or if humidity makes the hair expand and sit unevenly. Unlike traditional rebonding, which is often associated with very straight, flat hair, soft rebonding is designed to keep the finish more natural.

Our stylists will usually aim for smoother roots and lengths with a little softness through the ends. This makes it easier to style hair that is growing out by reducing bulk and helping uneven sections sit more neatly as the hair gets longer.

Haircuts That Still Look Good as They Grow

Some haircuts are simply easier to grow out than others. If you know you may not have time for frequent trims or the patience to style hair that is growing out, here’s what we usually recommend.

1. Choose a Hush Cut for Soft, Seamless Layers

If you like layers but want something that grows out without looking too choppy, a hush cut can be a great middle ground. This Korean-inspired style uses soft, airy layers and face-framing pieces to create movement without taking too much weight out of the hair.

We love this for the grow-out stage because the finish is meant to feel light, soft, and slightly undone. As the layers get longer, they tend to blend into the rest of the hair more naturally, keeping your hair effortlessly styled even when you are between appointments.

2. Let a Lob Be Your In-Between Look

If you are growing out a bob or shorter haircut, a lob can be a chic middle ground. It has enough weight to sit nicely, while still giving you movement and enough length for ponytails, clips, and half-up styles.

We also like adding a little texture through the ends or around the face so the lob does not feel too heavy or blocky. Soft waves or a slightly tousled finish with some hairspray can keep you looking stylish while your hair continues to grow.

3. Face-Framing Layers for a Flexible Look

Face-framing layers are an easy way to keep your haircut feeling fresh while the rest of your hair gets longer. We usually keep these layers soft and connected to the overall shape, rather than cutting very short pieces that may become awkward to grow out.

For an even more polished finish, we may pair them with a Korean C-curl perm, where the ends curve gently inwards around the face. This helps the layers sit more neatly around the cheekbones or jawline while adding that soft, effortless shape that still works as the hair gets longer.

Conclusion

Growing your hair does not mean waiting months for it to look good again. From our experience, styling hair that is growing out becomes much easier when you treat each stage as its own look, then make small adjustments as the length changes.

At Picasso Hair Studio, we also use our in-house Hair Personality App to look beyond just hair length and texture. It considers seven features, including your face shape, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, height, and build, and matches you with one of nine Hair Personalities. We use this as an additional reference alongside our stylist’s judgement to decide which shapes, layers, and proportions are likely to suit you as your hair grows.

If you are not sure what your next grow-out stage should look like, visit us for a consultation today.