Do I Cut, Style, or Leave the Hair in Her Eyes?

Updated on January 18, 2009
J.G. asks from Riverbank, CA
21 answers

I feel silly asking, but I'm at a loss on what to do about my 14-month girl's hair! It's straight and some of the front has grown down over her eyes. She had little hair as a baby and I want to grow her hair longer. I just figured it would start going to the side once it got long, but it's always in her eyes. I've tried sweeping it to the side with barrettes, but she immediately rips them out. Pigtails work somewhat, and she doesn't mess with them, but they're not easy to do every day. And I'm not fond of the Pebbles look (the pigtail going straight up on top). What else can I do? Do I need to cut bangs? I'd love to hear how other moms dealt with this. Thank you!

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W.W.

answers from Sacramento on

Just cut it. Since she isn't ready for barrettes yet. You can still put the barrettes in the side of her hair and leave the bangs down. That way she'll start getting used to stuff in her hair. Just remember to save a lock of hair for her baby book! Good luck!

http://www.chefwalton.com

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A.C.

answers from San Francisco on

My preference is to keep bangs (easy and managable) until the hair comes in thicker. I'd keep it shorter until the baby hair thickens up then grow it out. MY daughter didn't really have hair till she was 2, but she is 6 now with long beautiful, hair. Don't feel rushed. It will come. Keep it simple for the both of you.

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C.M.

answers from Chico on

If you like bangs, I would opt for that as little ones often will not keep barettes or ponytail holders in their hair. If you take her to a Great Clips or Super Cuts or even a regular haridresser, they usually only charge about $5 for a bangs trim and some will even blend the shorter bangs down the side of her face so it is not blunt cut and then straight to the bottom.

I took my daughter in regularly for a bangs trim and blending every 4-6 weeks until she was about 3 as we wanted to grow her hair out. Eventually, the hatrbrushing became a daily battle and with her lead, we decided to have it cut into a bob to get rid of the staticy, fly away, tangly ultra fine hair. She still has these problems, but it has gotten a little thicker and she is old enough now that she understands the need for detangler and brushing to get rid of the knots so her hair won't be messy and she won't need to cut it unless she wants to...we have allowed her to decide on length because she has to endure the brushing. She is adorable in the sassy bob cut or with it longer!

BTW the best leave in conditioner we have found for combating static fly aways and tangles is Kenra...it is quite expensive, but lasts 4-6 months and is SO worth it! Good luck!

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M.S.

answers from San Francisco on

I have my daughters bangs cut, but I am letting the rest of her hair grow long. She was born with more hair than I've ever seen and had her first haircut at 6 months to get it out of her eyes. She's three and it's down to the middle of her back now. My problem all along is her hair also grew forward. I thought when it got longer it would go to the side, but even now, only slightly. She has a cowlick at the top/back of her head. If I don't put that portion of it up, she is constantly wiping the hair from her face, and CONSTANTLY getting it in her food. I have found that the plastic elastic ponytail rings are THE BEST, my hairdresser introduced them to me! (not the fabric covered ones) I buy the clear ones, but they sometimes come in black or colors. They are Goody brand and in the hair isle at any regular grocery or drug store. Do not get the Scuncy brand....not elastic enough. Made of silicone or a poly-something I think. They are small, thin and tight enough that she cannot take them out, yet very easy for you to slide them out at the end of the day. VERY SECURE, I can do her hair once a day and that's it. I usually only take the top square section of hair and pony it on the side. The same as the "bam-bam" pony, but not at the top/middle of the head...more to the side and it lays down flat. This has been our saviour, only takes a second every morning, and I can dress it up with a bow or a clippy over top of the elastic for pretty days. You can probably do this with or without bangs if her hair is that long. I can email you a picture if you'd like....I don't know if I've been able to get my description across. Send me a message with your e-address if you'd like to see what I mean.

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H.J.

answers from San Francisco on

Entirely your call. My little girl is 5 months older than yours. I thought the Pebbles ponytail was cute, so we did that for awhile (when I could get her to leave it in!). Her hair is finally long enough to pull the front back and make a little 2 inch long braid, and she likes that & leaves it in. It takes me about 5 minutes to do that every morning. Secret: I do it when I'm washing her up after breakfast, since I have her corralled in the high chair, which is at a good height for such things.

A.H.

answers from Sacramento on

I just let my little girls grow. I just kept brushing it out of her face until it was long enough to tuck behind her ear.

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N.A.

answers from San Francisco on

Hi J.,
Once I had my children's hair cut, it started growing in thicker and became more manageable. I would suggest having it cut with bangs---then you can do lots of styles with the longer parts (pigtails, half-up, braids, ponytail, page-boy, flip, etc.) Enjoy--before you know it, she'll be doing her own hair! N.

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J.H.

answers from San Francisco on

You've gotten lots of good advice but thought I would throw in my 2 cents. I think my daughter was about that same age when we had to decide to cut the bangs or not. I grew up with my dad and brother so I always had short hair. =) I finally told her one day that we either need to cut it or we need to leave the clippies alone. I don't know if she understood but she didn't pull them out as much anymore. A friend of ours had cut their daughter's bangs and I didn't really care for it so I wanted to stick it out for a little longer. They do go through phases quickly so hopefully this pulling her clips out will pass. Distraction is a great tip as well. Let her watch TV or put them in while she is busy and hopefully she won't go after them right away. Good luck!

N.P.

answers from San Francisco on

I gave up and cut her bangs myself one day while she was in the bath. We spent over $30 replacing lost barrettes and by the time she was one and a half I just threw in the towel and gave her bangs. It was the best thing I could have done. She was happier and I didn't have to worry about her scrubbing her eyes because the hair poked them. I'd never cut hair before but I think I did a good job and only have to retrim them every couple of months.

Hair grows fast and by the time she's old enough to leave the ties and barrettes alone, you can grow those bangs out.

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D.R.

answers from Fresno on

I have the exact same problem with my 21 month old daughter. I would put her hair up and she usually leave it alone for awhile and then she takes it out. The barretts don't usually work for her. I am going to take her in to have her bangs cut only. I want the rest of her hair to be long. Just have your daughter's bangs cut and let the rest of her hair grow long. It is very annoying to me to have her hair in my daughter's eyes. I wouldn't like for my hair get into my eyes. She'll also look cute when her bangs are cut. Good luck!

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M.D.

answers from San Francisco on

I had the same problem with my oldest daughter at that age. I went back and forth and decided against cutting it b/c I didn't want to have to keep taking her to get it cut as her bangs grew and also didn't want to have to deal with that awkward stage when she got older and the bangs weren't needed or wanted anymore. I just was persistent about putting a clip in her hair to keep it out of her eyes. It took her a looooonnng time to get used to the clip, but eventually she let it be. Good luck!

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J.K.

answers from Fresno on

My daughter would never keep anything in her hair either and I cut bangs. It was very cute.

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B.S.

answers from Sacramento on

I didn't want to cut bangs because I want to grow my daughter's hair out as well, but I had the same problems as you with barettes, etc. Finally I just broke down and cut bangs. I think it's better than her having hair in her eyes all the time.

O.S.

answers from Sacramento on

I'm always getting my daughters hair out of her face too:) But she let's me style it and doesn't take it out, so maybe bangs would work for you. And I bet it would be so cute!

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Dear J.,
If your daughter won't wear hair pretties, then you should definitely cut her some bangs. Have you tried the soft elastic headbands?
She's not a diva at 14 months. I hope. Get her bangs out of the way.

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B.M.

answers from San Francisco on

I have a little boy, but I used to cut hair for a living. And I always thought "what's up with the Pebbles Flintstone thing?" Until my friend had a girl. Yeah, there's a reason people go with bangs! Baby hair is too fine and wispy to get it to stay anywhere, especially off to the side.

If you don't mind dealing with clips all day, then go ahead with them, but if it's driving you crazy cut some bangs. Just don't do it yourself!

If you have a hairstylist you love she might do it for you. I really didn't do children's hair generally, but for clients I would often do baby haircuts for nothing if they had their baby with them. It only takes a minute. But your stylist may not be as generous. :) Ask how much she would charge. Don't be offended if she tells you that she doesn't do children's haircuts- it's much more stressful and people want to pay a lot less!

Find a place that does kids hair- don't do it yourself unless you have to. If you have to do it yourself part the section you are cutting *very* carefully, clip everything you aren't cutting off to the side, and check to make sure the bangs aren't going to be too thick or too wide. Take your time. You may end up staying with bangs, you may end up growing them out. But yeah- I vote for bangs! Good Luck!

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C.T.

answers from Sacramento on

J.,
Try not to cut just yet. I am not a stylist but I asked a lot of these questions with my daughter and learned that new layers of hair come in until age 5~for us, that award look softened at age 2 ish...meaning the bangs hang beautifully off to the side.
I did trim her mullet look into a bob to even things out. She turned 3 last week and has the most beautiful page boy look, with new baby hair coming in. My daughter has wave in her hair. My friend cut her daughters hair that fell forward and is now growing it out.

Also, my daughter was a bow, barret puller outer too! Keep trying, wet it, gel it to the side, try soft headbands (they sell some at target, to start with) she can take them on and off and they are harder to lose than those over priced bows they hate at that age.

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W.M.

answers from Sacramento on

J.,
I did the front up in pigtails, all up in pigtails,
and a barrette with it pulled straight back. Then about
2 years of age we cut them some bangs....my mistake was we went to far back on the head. I would have preferred them to be lighter, and not so heavy. Both of my girls also had a ton of hair by the time they were two. They never really had that whispy baby hair.
W.

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N.C.

answers from Sacramento on

Cut bangs until she is old enough to want cute barrette's, ribbone etc in her hair.

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J.W.

answers from Sacramento on

My daughter is 14 months too and has the same problem. I don't want to cut her hair because the hair that gets in her eyes grows from almost the crown of her head, too far back. So when we go out I play the clip game. I put it in, she pulls it out, I put it back, and on and on. Normally what works is to distract her right after I put it in and she forgets it is there so won't pull it out right away. Then most times at home I just let her go wild with hair everywhere, her hair is curly in back so she looks like a mop headed child, cute at that age.

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J.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I cut both of my girls bangs to keep them out of the eyes. Both of them (ages 28.5 mo and 15.5 mo) were born with full heads of hair that grew fast. Both of their hair still falls forward into their faces even with the bangs cut. Good luck with hair accessories. I continue to try all the time sometime with luck and other times they get taken out within minutes.
Good luck in whatever you try :-)

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