Does it take a while to get used to wearing longer hair down?

[bunzfan]

I know its sounds very silly but i've always worn my hair up in the last 3 years back then it was around shoulder length mainly because when down it would fly in my face which i hate, i grew my hair because obviouslyi like long hair buts what's the point if its never down.

Now that its longer somewhere between waist and hip it doesn't go in my face like it used to but it tangles easily if i go outside and unless i want to take a hair brush and hair ties with me its gets so knotty it takes me 10 minutes just to de-tangle it:rolleyes:
So if you always wear it up can it just take some getting used to wearing it down? because if i don't wear it down now i don't think i will be able to at longer lengths from what i've heard, my hair is a mixture of fine and medium coarse hair's that go very static and frizzy if it goes anywhere near damp weather.

Any tips for me? half up's maybe?

[Kelikea]

I always take a wide-tooth comb with me, and put hair elastics on its handle, just in case. I do like to wear my hair down if its freshly washed, but I have to take the time to comb it during the day. Otherwise, I end up with massive tangles, especially on the underside. Half-ups can help, but the underside still gets matted.

Also, make sure it is very well conditioned and perhaps make a conditioning/moisturizing mist. I put a dollop of conditioner in water in my spray bottle.

[MinderMutsig]

I don't think there's a way to keep your hair from tangling when wearing it down. It's just one of those things you're going to have to learn to deal with.

[Henrietta]

Half-ups do work for me.
If you feel like there is no point in having long hair if it's always up... once someone here said that long hair is like a tattoo. For you to know about it and enjoy it, not for others, if you don't want it.

[Tota]

I mostly wear my hair down when I'm not at home because I like how I look with it down. But I don't know how to prevent tangles. Sometimes it tangles like crazy and other times just a little bit - I think it also depends on which conditioner I use and if I use a leave-in (when I do, my hair tangles less). I just accepted it and deal with it when I get home - TT is my best friend :)

[longNred]

I wear mine down maybe 1-2x/wk. I always keep a wide tooth comb with me, and there is always something in my bag - a stick, ties, pen, something... so if it has to go up, it can. I use a detangler, or the mineral oil thing, to keep the snarls to a minimum.

[Amber_Maiden]

I wear my hair down quite a bit, but I flip it over my left shoulder so it doesn't get in the way.

[twoLs118]

I wear my hair down quite a bit, but I flip it over my left shoulder so it doesn't get in the way.

I do this a lot too. I also keep a clip/hair tie somewhere on me in case i get sick of my hair down half way through the day

But it def takes a while to get used to wearing your hair down!

[MinderMutsig]

I don't think there's a way to keep your hair from tangling when wearing it down. It's just one of those things you're going to have to learn to deal with.Not entirely true this one. It does matter what shirt you wear. If you wear something with a slippery fabric (silk perhaps) you will get a lot less tangling. Wool obviously makes it tangle a lot more.

[Madora]

I know its sounds very silly but i've always worn my hair up in the last 3 years back then it was around shoulder length mainly because when down it would fly in my face which i hate, i grew my hair because obviouslyi like long hair buts what's the point if its never down.

Now that its longer somewhere between waist and hip it doesn't go in my face like it used to but it tangles easily if i go outside and unless i want to take a hair brush and hair ties with me its gets so knotty it takes me 10 minutes just to de-tangle it:rolleyes:
So if you always wear it up can it just take some getting used to wearing it down? because if i don't wear it down now i don't think i will be able to at longer lengths from what i've heard, my hair is a mixture of fine and medium coarse hair's that go very static and frizzy if it goes anywhere near damp weather.

Any tips for me? half up's maybe?

If you wear it down, you're going to have to deal with tangles. Pure and simple. There no way to avoid it, unless you wear a braid or "caterpillar" the length. But the hair is still subject to possible damage, even when confined. Not much fun getting your hair caught in a pneumatic chair or file cabinet..or between cushions.

Half ups lessen the opportunities for tangles..but doesn't eradicate the need to detangle periodically.

Bunzfan, I do hope you detangle with a comb and not a brush.

Wearing hair down for a special event is fine but for me, I hate tangles and want beautiful, longer hair...so mine stays braided and up.

[EtherealDoll]

I often wear my hair down and the only thing that helps to deal with tangles is a comb.

[bunzfan]

I wear mine down maybe 1-2x/wk. I always keep a wide tooth comb with me, and there is always something in my bag - a stick, ties, pen, something... so if it has to go up, it can. I use a detangler, or the mineral oil thing, to keep the snarls to a minimum.


Not entirely true this one. It does matter what shirt you wear. If you wear something with a slippery fabric (silk perhaps) you will get a lot less tangling. Wool obviously makes it tangle a lot more.


If you wear it down, you're going to have to deal with tangles. Pure and simple. There no way to avoid it, unless you wear a braid or "caterpillar" the length. But the hair is still subject to possible damage, even when confined. Not much fun getting your hair caught in a pneumatic chair or file cabinet..or between cushions.

Half ups lessen the opportunities for tangles..but doesn't eradicate the need to detangle periodically.

Bunzfan, I do hope you detangle with a comb and not a brush.

Wearing hair down for a special event is fine but for me, I hate tangles and want beautiful, longer hair...so mine stays braided and up.

Thank you so much everyone for all the replies:D

Mindermutsig my real problem is i live right next to the beach so when ever i go out it go's 10 foot high in the air and that's i have almighty tangles.

LongNred maybe i could do what you suggest braid it before i go away and once i get there take it down and detangle maybe.

Madora Thank you for your answer to i always appreciate posts by members that have really long hair, i do worry about the possible damage of wearing it down could cause rubbing on jumpers,backs of chair's.

I'm afraid i used my Tangle Teezer but its very gentle but, just today i have been using my bone comb which is very gentle and seems to cause less static and frizz.
I think i'm going to set myself a challenge of wearing it down twice a week because for me wearing it up is just so automatic i love seeing love hair on others and when i think what long hair others have and my hair is actually longer now:lol:

[Iolanthe13]

I wear mine down one or two times a week, these days. But I usually put it back up, take it down again, put it up, etc. I don't wear it down outside in the wind, but it doesn't get in the way at meals or in the library. I detangle my hair before putting it up on those days, so it never gets matted or too knotted. Although my hair is BSL and somewhat fragile at the ends, this seems to work pretty well and not cause too much damage.

So basically, maybe you could try putting it up before you go outside but leave it down inside when you want. Just make sure you always have a wide-tooth comb and something you can use to put your hair up quickly.

[spirals]

I rarely get tangles even though I wear it down away from home most of the time and sleep with it loose and am a restless sleeper. Curly hair is known for tangles, but I don't fit the profile. :shrug:

[TeaEarlGreyHot]

My hair isn't very long but I just can't wear it down for a whole day. I can go maybe 2-3 hours and then I have to tuck it away, lol. I can't stand it getting into everything and having to tuck it behind my ears. I am growing to do all the different buns/braids/bun braids because even when shorter I wear it up anyway.

[hermosamendoza]

It takes getting used to wearing my hair up. I've always preferred my hair down or half down and think I look odd with my hair up.
i guess for the majority of my life I've had my hair shorter or with a whole bunch of layers that made putting it up difficult.

[jacqueline101]

Before I came to lhc I wore mine down and didn't notice tangles and I liked it down. Now I feel strange with it down so you might have to get used to it again. I like the wearing it over one shoulder idea.

[browneyedsusan]

:confused:

I've always had fairly short hair, so wearing it up is new! I've been putting it up every day for a month or 2. (My scalp protests after supper, so I take it down!)

I can't imagine having trouble wearing it down! :eek:

[ravenreed]

Most of my tangles happen where my hair hits my shoulders. If I wear a high ponytail, this reduces the tangles quite a bit.

[Pearly~91]

What I used to do (when my hair was long enough to be a bother down) was I would mostly wear my hair in pony tails, and that didn't seem so different from having it down. It still flies around and tangles and gets caught, just not as bad. So maybe you could try more pony tails at first to get used to it? Also it sounds like the biggest problem you have is tangles.
The only thing I know that will reduce tangles, or make them easier to detangle, is to add slip to your hair. The most effective way that I know to do that is cones, so I don't know if that's okay with you. You could try to find products with water-soluble cones if you are sulfate-free. Or maybe an oil will add more slip? I'm not very experienced with oils, but just a couple of drops of mineral oil seems to make my hair more slippery.
If your hair is more slippery it wont tangle as easily and tangles will be more easy to comb out, which might make it easier for you to wear down, so that's all I got.

[ravenreed]

I get a small amount of slip from catnip rinses.


What I used to do (when my hair was long enough to be a bother down) was I would mostly wear my hair in pony tails, and that didn't seem so different from having it down. It still flies around and tangles and gets caught, just not as bad. So maybe you could try more pony tails at first to get used to it? Also it sounds like the biggest problem you have is tangles.
The only thing I know that will reduce tangles, or make them easier to detangle, is to add slip to your hair. The most effective way that I know to do that is cones, so I don't know if that's okay with you. You could try to find products with water-soluble cones if you are sulfate-free. Or maybe an oil will add more slip? I'm not very experienced with oils, but just a couple of drops of mineral oil seems to make my hair more slippery.
If your hair is more slippery it wont tangle as easily and tangles will be more easy to comb out, which might make it easier for you to wear down, so that's all I got.

[gthlvrmx]

Im not used to wearing my hair down anymore, ive been wearing it up everyday and night for over a year now and when i do wear it down, i think the evoo really helps to keep it from tangling up. works kinda like cones doesnt it? works for me :) but then again, once it dry enough, i put it back up so :p it feels weird wearing it down now like my mind is always on it when i wear it down because it feels different.

[katfemme89]

My hair doesn't really tangle much when I wear it down because I have a few tips to help:

1. Finger-comb often, this will help settle down flyaways and pull out any tangles before they get really bad.

2. Heavily oil the ends before wearing it down. This will weigh it down and keep it from getting caught up in wind and will make the tangles come out really easily.

3. When sitting anywhere or getting in-out of cars, pull your hair over one shoulder so that it's not hanging down the back, rubbing against fabric of whatever you're sitting on.

Hope these help :D

[ravenreed]

1) I don't finger-comb, I use my TT. Finger-combing doesn't do much for me, and my TT is less likely to break hairs than when I finger-comb. But whatever method, I agree, do it often.

2) I don't oil before wearing my hair down because a) I don't like how it looks and b) it attracts all sorts of lint and dirt to my hair. I am actually doing better with catnip rinses than oiling at this point. I only oil my hair a couple of times a month, and usually right before I CO.

3) I agree 100% with this.


My hair doesn't really tangle much when I wear it down because I have a few tips to help:

1. Finger-comb often, this will help settle down flyaways and pull out any tangles before they get really bad.

2. Heavily oil the ends before wearing it down. This will weigh it down and keep it from getting caught up in wind and will make the tangles come out really easily.

3. When sitting anywhere or getting in-out of cars, pull your hair over one shoulder so that it's not hanging down the back, rubbing against fabric of whatever you're sitting on.

Hope these help :D

[neko_kawaii]

I know its sounds very silly but i've always worn my hair up in the last 3 years back then it was around shoulder length mainly because when down it would fly in my face which i hate, i grew my hair because obviouslyi like long hair buts what's the point if its never down.

Updos!


Now that its longer somewhere between waist and hip it doesn't go in my face like it used to but it tangles easily if i go outside and unless i want to take a hair brush and hair ties with me its gets so knotty it takes me 10 minutes just to de-tangle it:rolleyes:
So if you always wear it up can it just take some getting used to wearing it down? because if i don't wear it down now i don't think i will be able to at longer lengths from what i've heard, my hair is a mixture of fine and medium coarse hair's that go very static and frizzy if it goes anywhere near damp weather.

Any tips for me? half up's maybe?

I dislike having hair in my face, even whispies from an updo will irritate me on a windy day in which case scarves are my friends. If I go out with my hair down I carry a back up plan for putting it up quickly in case the weather or activities require putting it away. To keep hair out of my face while wearing it down I use half ups or elastic headbands.

I also accept that it will take some time to detangle after being down and if I don't have the patience/time to do it I can always bun it and deal with it later.

No advice about the static, sorry.

[katfemme89]

1) I don't finger-comb, I use my TT. Finger-combing doesn't do much for me, and my TT is less likely to break hairs than when I finger-comb. But whatever method, I agree, do it often.

2) I don't oil before wearing my hair down because a) I don't like how it looks and b) it attracts all sorts of lint and dirt to my hair. I am actually doing better with catnip rinses than oiling at this point. I only oil my hair a couple of times a month, and usually right before I CO.

3) I agree 100% with this.

Tell me about these catnip rinses, I am interested... Do you get the dried herb and brew it like tea and apply it to the hair or what?

[Skruttiz]

Hope it is ok if I ask a question.

You who uses catnip-rinses, do you have cats and how do they react of the smell of your hair?

The previous cat we had got completely crazy by the smell of catnip on one of his toys. I´m a little bit afraid that our current cat will go crazy with my hair. :hmm:

[kidari]

I'm sure some of all of this has already been said but it helps to use a really good leave-in. Personally I like a serum or cream that has a lot of cones and oils in it. This helps protect the length and provide slip so that it doesn't tangle as easily. Also, if you wear your hair in a very uniform wave pattern that was set in your hair while it was wet all of the hair lies all the same way and this helps it to have a "style" that pretty much lays nicely and generally stays put. Curls that are all curled in the same direction or waves that are in the same pattern throughout the entire head are best. It also helps not to have velcro ends; freshly trimmed hair will be more resilient to wearing it down. It goes without saying that healthier hair, coarser hair, straighter hair, and shorter hair will be easier to wear down. If you have pieces that bother you near your face, you can do a half-up, braid it away from your face, use pins, twist and pin front sections back, use a hairband, etc. Also, no matter what always have something on you handy that you can use to quickly put all your hair up at a moment's notice should you need to.

[MsBubbles]

Bunzfan I have thought about this issue a lot. I have wondered if I would have made such progress with my long hair project if I still lived in the UK, much less near the beach! In fact, I'm going back in Nov., and will be at the coast, and was thinking ahead of time that probably only a dutch braid and/or some pretzel buns will really hold against that wind! I'm sure having fine hair prone to tangles makes it worse.

Where I live now, it's pretty landlocked :(, but the upside to that is that there are very still days where I can wear my hair down.

No leave-ins I've tried have worked for me on this one. But using a cone conditioner helps. For me, going cone-free is a disaster where tangles are concerned.

[Madora]

Info from Ktani re: catnip rinses:

http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/vbjournal.php?do=article&articleid=118

[thatcrazychick]

Mine is usually down during the work day, but I'm prone to headaches. Sitting forward at the computer, and leaving it over one shoulder helps isolate it from damaging stuff. It also goes into a bun/braid before I go outside, exactly because of wind (besides damage, its just plain annoying!) I second keeping stuff with you to put it up quickly.

[teal]

Subbing this thread for ideas!

Currently it's tangle city if the hair is down. Combing loosens the curl pattern. Well, that and I can't seem to keep my hands out of it! :doh: I play with the ends of braids as well.

I'm hoping to wear my hair down a bit more often, though.

[jojo]

For me wearing my hair down isn't an option. I can't stand my hair blowing in my face, leaning back and trapping it on chairs, getting it trapped in car doors its not worth it and the tangles after no thank you :D However if you are keen on wearing it down I'd suggest extra protection by means of using cones and maybe tucking your hair down your coat when your outside, these may help.

[dulce]

Half ups do it for me,that keeps the hair out of the face.

[teal]

I don't see how wearing hair down validates the idea of have long hair to begin with. One might as well state the opposite! :) My hair tangles easily. I don't generally wear it down when I'm out. When I do it's a nice treat for DH or me.