<p>my hair used to be long enough to touch my butt. a few years ago, i donated it and now have a short haircut. it's a kind of pixie cut (see <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/hardcorehamster/xlr006.jpg?t=1174138130%5B/url%5D">http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v146/hardcorehamster/xlr006.jpg?t=1174138130</a>) with the front and sides long and the back a little shorter and fashionably messy. i am well aware that it will not be a good idea to use hairspray/spray wax at west point.
the cut i have now needs to be done every 5 weeks, and that is probably going to be too frequent. so my question:
how do i grow out my hair? i want to keep it relatively short, just long enough to put into a little ponytail.</p>
<p>As the parent of a female cadet i can tell you that "pony tails" aren't allowed (at least they weren't att Beast). Our D was instructed to keep her hair tied back in a bun so her hair needed to be long enough to do that but short enough to be able to do it. Hope that makes sense---
maybe bzzzzt can shine a light on this.</p>
<p>If you want to try and keep growing it out, this is how I had my hair cut for Beast <a href="http://www.anytimecostumes.com/Merchant2/graphics/wigimages/097cindy.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://www.anytimecostumes.com/Merchant2/graphics/wigimages/097cindy.jpg</a> (Yes, I know it's a wig) bangs and all. I had a GREAT stylist at the time, and she under cut the ends so it would naturally curl under. It was cut just long enough to be able to tuck behind my ears, and worked well for me. To get there from where you are, talk to your stylist about growing your back layers out to match the ones in front, trim the layers that frame your face to just long enough to tuck behind your ears so you get used to the length, and work with it to get used to the new style. You've got two and a half months, so you should be good...that's at least another inch of hair or so, right? </p>
<p>Anyway, I hope this helps. Let me know if you need more clarification. The shortest "ponytail" length you'd be able to have would be at least to your shoulders. That's the shortest I've seen pulled up into a bun. The bun itself was about the size of a pingpong ball. If you're really good with your hair, another option is a French twist, but I've never gotten mine to stay very well. I do have friends who wore them almost every day. Generally, the inbetween stage of "too long, touching the bottom of my collar" and "yay, I can put this whole mess up in a pony tail" involves gel, clips for escaping wisps of hair, and a 'tuck under.' Pull whatever hair you can into a ponytail, but only pull the tail through the final loop halfway. You'll have an almost s-shaped creation on the back of your head. Clip the tail end/loose end flat with a barrette. These barrettes rock - <a href="http://www.goody.com/Products/Accessories/Barrettes/Sport/Sport.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://www.goody.com/Products/Accessories/Barrettes/Sport/Sport.aspx</a>. Buy the variety pack, then color them in with a black sharpie. Shellack with clear nail polish for a fairly indestructable finish.</p>
