Did you realize that your hair is one of the first things people notice about you?
This means that your hairstyle can literally make or break your feminine image!
You deserve to look and feel your best as a trans woman or crossdresser – and it all starts with your hair.
Here are 5 male to female hairstyle mistakes to avoid – and what to do instead!
Mistake #1: Choosing The Wrong Hair Color
If you wear a wig or dye your hair, choosing the right hair color is key.
The wrong shade can wash you out and add years to your face, while the right shade will have an instant flattering, feminizing effect.
Here are my top two hair color tips to keep in mind:
Tip: Stay within 2 shades of your natural hair color
Unless your hair is naturally very light or dark, you should avoid extreme shades like platinum blonde or jet black.
Platinum blonde is not flattering to most skin tones.
Jet black is too harsh for many people’s skin tones.
Flattering hair color as seen on Janet Mock, transgender author.
Tip: Choose a hair color that complements your skin tone
Before you can choose a good hair color, you need to know if your skin has cool or warm undertones.
An easy way to determine your skin tone is to look at the veins on the inside of your wrist. If they appear more blue, you have a cool skin tone. If they look more green, you have a warm skin tone.
Then, choose a hair shade that coordinates with your coloring:
- If you have a cool skin tone, choose hair colors with a cool tone – like coffee brown, burgundy, or ash blonde.
- If you have a warm skin tone, opt for golden shades such as chestnut, auburn, or honey blonde.
For more on this topic, be sure to check out my blog post on Male to Female Hairstyles: What Does Your MTF Hair Color Say About You?
COOL hair colors complement cool skin tones – as seen on transgender vlogger, Gigi Gorgeous
WARM hair colors complement warm skin tones – as seen on transgender actress, Candis Cayne
Mistake #2: Opting For The Wrong Cut Or Style
The cut and style of your hair have a dramatic impact on your appearance. Hairstyles that are too short, too long, or too angular can have a masculinizing effect on your face.
Instead, flatter your face with soft waves and layers. Bangs are also a great choice if you have a high forehead.
I go into more detail on the most flattering hairstyles in this blog post: MTF Transgender Hairstyles: 6 Best Transfem Haircuts & Styles.
Long, straight, center-parted hair looks too severe.
Angular bobs emphasize the angles of your face.
Soft waves (as seen on trans actress Laverne Cox) are feminine and flattering.
Mistake #3: Revealing Thinning Or Receding Hair
If you prefer to style your own natural hair (vs. wearing a wig), be sure to pay special attention to its thickness. Slight hair loss might not be noticeable in male mode, but it can detract from a feminine appearance when presenting as a woman.
Hair loss treatments and hormones can help with hair regrowth, but in the meantime, wear a wig or hair piece. You could also try sporting a cute hat!
Mistake #4: Wearing A Cheap Or Worn Out Wig
If you’re going to wear a wig, pay close attention to quality. High quality human hair wigs can cost hundreds (or even thousands) or dollars, but you can find synthetic wigs for much less.
No matter how much you spend, you want to look for shine and softness. Wigs with dull, rough hair fibers scream “fake” from a mile away.
Also keep in mind that wigs have a limited life span. As soon as your wig starts to look dull or frizzy, it’s time to shop for a new one.
Mistake #5: Wearing A Wig Too High Or Too Low On Your Forehead
If you’re new to wigs, it’s normal to be scared that your wig is going to fall off. Your instinct might be to push the wig down, but this is not a flattering or feminine look.
On the other hand, if the wig isn’t properly secured, it can creep up your forehead. This doesn’t look good, either.
To keep your wig securely in place, use wig clips, a wig cap, or a wig grip.
For more information on wigs, be sure to check out my blog post on The Ultimate Guide to Transgender / Crossdressing Wigs and Hair Extensions.
Wig clips
Wig cap
Wig grip
Make everyday a good hair day!
Beautiful hair can transform your female appearance – and it all starts avoiding these 5 simple mistakes.
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Share your best hairstyle tips and tricks and upload a photo of your femme hairstyle in the comments section below!
Love,
Lucille
P.S. If you liked this article, you will love my FREE Male to Female Makeup Mini Course.
I hav not colored my hair yet, but it is tempting as i have a fair amount of gray streaking through. i have included several photos starting from before hormones to today
first two picture was taken in 2008 before transition
the 3rd photo was about 6 months after hormones switched
the 4th photo was about 1 month later.
and the last two are present day 4/7/2012
the 5th one i look like a dude in a wig.
the last one (same hair) looks passing to me. (camera angle?)
i have done nothing to my hair since i sarted to grow it out, except wash it regularly and use conditioner.
i had more feminen looking photos, but the site limited me to 6 photos
Ever since I have been wearing this wig, I hear more “you are so beautiful” than I did with the short red ones.
People have asked me many times on the titian “Is that your natural hair color!”
I have had questions on the short red ones that indicate they thought it was my real hair.
This year or late last year, I stopped caring if people knew I wore wigs. I never kept it a secret and many people have thought it was my own hair. I have 19 wigs of different colors and styles.
I have gotten compliments on all of them, even the lavender and purple.
Since no one questions my gender, it doesn’t matter if they know I wear wigs. And I always have the excuse of an accident (yeah, birth defect) for losing my hair.
I finally got very tired of having to put my back long hair up under my wigs with short hair, and just lopped it all off one day recently.
Although I miss my long red dyed hair in back, I don’t regret it for the increased ease of wig wearing.
I usually don’t wear a wig cap or hair net, but before I lopped off the long hair, it did help keep it in place as it had a tendency to slide on the hair under it.
I always wear a headband. I have sparkly pink, sparkly blue, blue, green, red, pink plain and two tiaras. Tonight I wore the big tiara and my green headbands.
People usually take me for 50 something and if I tell them my age they never believe me. Sometimes I show them my DL.
Anyway, it would be nice to have my own long hair back, which I would have to dye every 4 weeks to keep it red, but it AINT GONNA HAPPEN, so I am happy to be able to wear these beautiful wigs.
I have been on HRT (estradiol & spiro) for 16 months now, with years of fenugreek and sawtooth palmetto prior.
Cost? the most expensive one was $60. Most of them are wigs I buy for $5 or $6 dollars at the Smith’s grocery where I work in October, when they stock for halloween. The platinum blonde cost me $5.95!!!
… Hi Lucille best way to get hair sorted is let sister or sisters daughter style and colour it for me. never fails. Make up too. And Nails. get the girls to do it, they know how to get it spot on. Ask the girl with the best how she does it, usually they happy to share tips…
wigs worn them years ago and the suggestions you mentioned i totally agree with. many cd/tgs who wear wigs dont know how to so great advice. and also many older cds/tg have thinning hair and its not pretty or passable at least to me. so if you plan to go FT i suggest consulting with doc on how to either grow hair or make it less thin, if that is possible.
i have grown my hair out and i love it, it looks better now
Lucille, as always your articles are enlightening. However, let me add a few points to the discussion. One, staying close to your natural color. Well for me that’s a silver gray and while I love the look, there are days that I prefer to be blonde or brunette. And with a cool tone skin I can wear brunette well, except for those days when I want to be a ditsy blonde 🙂
You didn’t mention face shape yet this is a key element in selecting a style. And for the more mature women with those unfortunaate wrinkles, soft bangs are necessary as is the proper makeup to compliment your wig color.
Interestly enough, I have a dear friend that is now full time and she has a high receding hairline with grayish natural hair. When she went full time in this small East Texas town, she styled it and that was all, yet she was accepted and embraced by the women she met. Don’t ask me how but there are exceptions to every rule.
Lastly, the experts all talk about styling your wig and yes, this is necessary too. I have an ash blonde that I dearly love but it took a professional to make it look right on my face
I feel so comfortable wearing this type of wig i would love to try other types but i am not sure what would look good or bad but i am willing to try anything that would suit me.
Lighting, co-ordinating an outfit and then the colors for wigs and the make up palette. I am learning and having fun too; just recently had my first passing flirt by a man at a bar recently. The right hairstyle can make for a happy event in life….
My natural hair is not long enough to style yet, so I have wig options.
I have always had long hair. Since the 60’s it has been “hippie” long…my Dad hates it! I don’t know how many times I’ve been addressed as “Maam” from behind and then I turn around and get the “O, excuse me”. For the last ten years or so I’ve been getting perms twice a year to help manage the length. I love my naturally long feminine hairstyle and grooming is very important.