Growing Out A Fringe - The Topknot

I'm at that awkward stage with my hair at the moment of growing out my fringe. It's driving me nuts I'm not going to lie but I'm determined not to give in and just chop it back in again. It was thick, blunt and started quite far back on my head so it's quite a big chunk of hair I'm growing out which it makes it all the more difficult to keep it out of my face. Currently it's sitting just above my mouth so at that length it's starting to get easier to incorporate into hairstyles and I'm needing fewer and fewer bobby pins. At the beginning however my hair was just a disaster! Once it grew past my eyes I tried pushing it to the side but I hated it, no matter how much I blow dried it it didn't sit right. Then I tried splitting it down the middle and I ended up with awful 90's boy band style curtains, the shame!

The only answer in the end was a good old top knot. I resisted at the beginning because I wasn't a fan, in fact my sister and I would regularly laugh at what we called 'pineapple heads' walking down the street. Slowly though I began to see the beauty of a top knot, my fringe would stay out of my face and there was no styling involved whatsoever. Now I'm a proud pineapple head! My sister's still not a fan but hey, you win some, you lose some.

My top tips for growing out a fringe:

• Booby pins are your best friends, buy lots of them!
• Invest in a strong hold hairspray to keep it off your face, I recommend L'Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray.
• For the perfect top knot, tie you hair up in to a pony with your head upside down. Use a brush to make sure you get all of your fringe tied up. Then you can twist it and pin it into place.
• The messier the better, if hair falls out just go with it. If anyone asks (they wont), it was meant to be like that, duh!
• Make sure to get it trimmed regularly so the hair grows out strong and healthy. I know it seems like it's defeating the object but you don't want it breaking off as soon as you've grown it out. Plus, healthy hair grows quicker!
• Stick with it! The temptation will be there to just cut it back in once it's past your eyes but don't give in, soon you will be fringe free!

I don't want this to put you off getting one however. I'm still a huge fan of a fringe and I absolutely loved mine but I'd had it for four years and I just fancied a change. That and it also made me look super young and with my baby face I need all the help I can get. If you need evidence, every time I go into my local Indian restaurant they offer me a lollipop so now I refuse to go in there, I'm 21 not 12!

I've experimented with tons more hairstyles to help with growing out a fringe which I'll share with you in the coming weeks so keep an eye out!