i have fine hair which, though abundant, is difficult to style. i am in constant pursuit of methods to fix this problem, but i have always known that the first order of business is getting the right haircut. fortunately, i have found the “lightly-layered mid-length” style best for my hair type some three years ago, but i think i am ready for a new cut.

i found an article by victoria wurdinger of www.hairboutique.com which could certainly address my plight. below is an excerpt of the article “FINE HAIR SOLUTIONS: the lowdown on which cuts, styling techniques and products really work for fine and thinning hair” (photos from other sources).

There are certain hair cuts that make fine hair look lots better, but first, you should understand what fine hair really is, because it’s not necessarily thin. “Fine” refers to the diameter of a single strand. So, you can have fine hair that’s abundant, because you can have many individual strands per square inch.

You can also have fine and thin or thinning hair, which means you’ve got strands that are small in diameter and on top if it, you don’t have a lot of them. Age, diet, stress, medication and other factors can make fine but abundant hair begin to thin, and appear sparse in density.

While the degree to which hair is fine or both fine and sparse determines the best cut for you, as a general rule, it’s true that when hair is shorter and almost all a single length, it’ll look its fullest.

For this reason, the top five cuts for any type of fine hair are:

1. The Bob – in its thousands of variations. A short bob (ear-lobe length) made my hair look super-healthy and about twice as abundant as it really is. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for how it worked with my heart-shaped face. A longer bob was better.
   

   bob cut from www.short-hair-style.com

2. The Chop – in basic bob-length with irregular ends. It gave my fine, sparse hair both style and shape and was easy to maintain, when cut above the shoulders. It worked lots better than a totally blunt cut, which looked limp and lacked dimension.
   

   the chop from www.trendy-haircuts-hairstyles.blogspot.com

3. The Cap Cut – with its all-bangs approach. Best for petite or oval facial shapes.
   

   the cap cut (with irregular lengths) from www.hairfinder.com

4. The Crop – which really refers to any short, tapered cut. Crops look cool on younger women; if you’re over 45, watch out for what they do to your chin and neckline in profile. Also, short crops put so much focus on your eyes, they draw attention to less than flawless skin.
   

   the crop from www.ehairstyles.blogspot.com

5. The Lightly Layered Mid-length – You can go just to or even below the shoulder with a smart shape and regular trims. A cut like this, from Minardi Salon in NYC, is my best cut yet. It brushes my shoulders, is cut on a slightly diagonal-forward moving line at the sides and contains a few, light layers, which provide volume when I blow dry my hair.

lightly layered hair. photo from lifestyle.msn.com

• With some layers. While you can wear your hair to shoulder-length, or even longer if you wish, a few carefully cut layers will add fullness and dimension. However, if too may layers are cut in, the shape of the cut will collapse, which can make fine hair look thin and lifeless.
• With a custom-shaped perimeter. If you want to wear your hair longer, have the sides cut along a diagonal-forward moving line. Hair will be longest in front, the strong shape helps locks look thicker and the angle helps push hair forward. Also, hair cut on an angle is easy to turn under, which adds fullness. As an option, have just the long pieces that frame your face sliced on an angle, so hair turns inward below your chin. This gives your hair more shape than a longer blunt cut.
• With wisped ends. If you wear your hair to the shoulders or a bit longer, another option is to have the ends “notched” into or chiseled. This is an always popular look. It gives you a light, air feeling and ends can be turned up for a contemporary, irregular flip. The wispy ends of the chop actually help camouflage the fact hair is fine–especially when you need a trim.

If your hair is both fine and thin or thinning (sparse):

• Stylists say a short cut best, but how short is too short? This depends largely on your facial shape. If it’s round, go with a longer, short cut to slenderize your face. If it’s elongated, create the illusion of width with fullness at bottom. If it’s diamond-shaped, keep the length below widest part of your face. Of course, there are plenty of times you’ll want to break these old rules, which were created to “downplay flaws.” If you’ve got confidence and attitude, you can even look great highlighting a feature that has been traditionally downplayed.
• Wear your hair smooth and close to your head, with the ends flipped up or under. Try cuts that were intended to be worn behind your ears. This naturally makes it look like you’ve got more hair.
• Ask your stylist about variations on the Cap, Bowl and Crop cuts. Consider what bangs bring to the table, besides concealing a sparse, irregular front hairline. When the back is cropped super-short and the long front “bang” area is worn close to your head, you can go for a smooth style or add a few layers for texture. Imagine a cut with all the hair from crown brushed forward and cut into heavy bangs. You can trim the sides around your ears, leave wispy sideburns or let bangs continue into a softened bowl cut. A good stylist can blend the best elements of each of these cuts.
• An asymmetric style makes it look like you have more hair. The cut stacks up on the heavy side and lighter side is supposed to look like less. Tuck the lighter side behind your ear and all that fullness on heavier side stands out even more.
• The cardinal rule is “kept simple.” Consider a short cut that does not require much volume, or a longer look that gets its kick from a smooth, shiny surface.
• If like a longer look, get trims religiously. Fine hair looks its worst when it starts to lose the shape of the cut and the first sign is straggly, ragged ends.

read more from www.hairboutique.com.