I screwed up big time. In a fit of impluse, I went in and had my hair layered by a "Master Stylist" about a month ago. It looked pretty good for about a week, then it started doing strange things.

You see, years ago before I let my hair grow long, the texture was slightly wavy at the most. After this recent cutting, it's very wavy to downright curly in spots. It sticks out in weird patterns and is just unruly. BTW, I'm in my mid-forties. Does hair texture change radically as you age?

What to do? I'm going to grow out the layers because I really hate them, but it's going to take some time. I've also got these short, curly little bangs that stick out like horns on the sides.  :o  I've got a low hairline, so they're too short to tuck into a headband. Any ideas?  

What a mess. It's tempting to just shave it all off and start from scratch.  :-/

ooh,I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience!  I feel for ya!!  
Well,hair and skin can change texture every 7 years or so I heard!  So it's not unheard of for you to be going through changes.  I'm in my early forties and my hair texture now,thank God, is not what it was,let's say 20 years ago or even more or less than that.
I oil my hair and do things now that I didnot do then so alot has to do with living style,what you eat and don't eat,how you take care of your hair etc.
As far as the horn thing........hmmm,have you tried aloe vera gel to tame them down???  It sounds like a real challenge,but as time goes by they hopefully will cooperate and your hair will lay down.  Hope some info. was helpful!

Beware the layered cuts...  :o

A lot of long-haired ladies and lords here use the "2 week rule" if they feel the urge to cut. That is, rather than going into a salon immediately, they wait 2 weeks and see if the urge passes. It's a good tactic to use on a lot of things, really, to prevent you from doing something that you would regret later on. Certain things in life just shouldn't be done on a whim.

As for your texture changing, a lot of factors could contribute to that. As Curlgirl mentioned, you may have changed your diet or your habits or another part of your lifestyle. It may be genetic, or it may just be what Nature decided to throw at you at this stage in your life. It is also not uncommon for people with wavy hair to have tight curls along the hairline, many of which don't grow out.
   You might try wearing a headband or scarf close to your hairline to keep the short, unruly curls down.

Be sure to get regular trims as your hair grows out. Since layers are often cut at an angle and/or created with razors, this leaves hair vulnerable and possibly already damaged. You'll need to keep a watchful eye on the ends!

Best of luck and sorry to hear about your hair trauma.  :(  May the hair gods bless you with length and health. Oh yes, and I love your name!  :D

Greetings, Green Fairy!

Have you changed your hair products?  Curly hair is naturally dry, if you've gone to a more moisturizing product this could be producing more curliness.

Also, if your hair was one length the weight of it was probably pulling out the curl so you had more waves.  When my hair is shorter, it is wavier and as it is getting longer the bottom half of my hair is turning into ringlets.

Another issue-curly hair is different in different parts of your head and is unique to each of curly girls.  If this master stylist cut your layers straight across (like for a straight haired person) this could be behind the weirdness-the tighter curls should not be cut as short as less curly bits 'cause of the shrink factor.

As for your bangs, perhaps take them in small sections twisting them back and pinning them.  I can't think of any other suggestions at the moment.

Welcome to LL-I hope you'll introduce yourself in the new members section if you haven't already!

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and suggestions.

I don't regret the length of the cut since I did think on it for several months, but I do regret the layering. I went in with a picture and it looked great at first, but it really changed shape after a week or two. I thought layered cuts grew out nicely? Oh well, it grows quickly, so it should look decent by the end of the year with regular trims. BTW, I learned that an expensive haircut is not necessarily a good haircut. At least Cost Cutters or Supercuts will do EXACTLY what you tell them. None of that stuck-up artistic temperment to deal with.  ::)

I think it's the texture change that has freaked me out the most. I wore my hair short for the first 39 years of my life and it was always fairly straight with a decent amount of body. I grew it out over the past 5 years. My hair was fairly thick and heavy (similar to curlgirl's photo) so any age-related texture changes were probably hidden from all that weight.

I'm trying to look on the bright side. At least it's shorter and cooler for the hot summer weather. Plus, it's a chance to start over. I had let my ends get too dry and they were looking kinda sad. I'll try to take better care this time around.

menopause can change hair texture completely due to the hormone changes.  Same way as pregnant women's hair sometimes changes becuase of hormones, so that could also be a reason perhaps?

I cut very slight layers in my hair when I was a teenager years ago, I will never ever do it again!