Hair Perceptions acros the country?

[Ashlbee]

So, I've been thinking about this for awhile. Perceptions of 'long hair' vary greatly across the country don't they?

I ask because I see a lot of people post about how people start telling them their hair is long after shoulder, but where I live, people regularly have bsl length and waist length hair. It's not until hip and tailbone that people will start to consider it unusually long.

But then again, I live in coastal southern California and I feel like long hair is sorta a fashion statement here. It's very normal to see a bunch of bsl hair and a few waist length just walking around day by day.

In what parts of the country is shoulder and beyond considered long?

[jacqueline101]

Yes its getting harder to find long hair wearers. I've seen maybe 3 I'd call really long tailbone to hip.

[Othala]

What country? Is this thread just for people in your country?

[Winnie!]

I live in the US as well, albeit on the opposite side of the country than you. Here hair isn't really a big deal period. You'll see young teens rocking pixies and you'll see older women with classic length. I've even seen a woman with hair down to her ankles. I've never heard smart remarks about either case.

[Ashlbee]

Oh sorry! I was thinking in terms of the US because that's the geography I'm familiar with but yes, I'd love to hear about length perceptions from other countries as well!

[pes3108]

I like in the South and there are several different perceptions here that I have heard. Some consider long hair (tbl+) to be a "home school" thing, along with long skirts and no makeup. Others think that long hair is "trashy" or "wild," especially if it is teased/bleached.

[afu]

I live in the UK and I would say that people generally class hair as 'long' when it gets to about BSL. However I have noticed a lot more people with waist-hip length in the past couple of years - my little sister is 16 and most of the girls in her school year have hair between bsl and waist (which i never saw when i was in school).

[lapushka]

I live in the UK and I would say that people generally class hair as 'long' when it gets to about BSL.

Same here in Belgium, as far as I know. Up till now there's few people I've seen with hair longer than BSL. I think in my 40 years, I can still count them on two hands.

[Rufflebutt]

People constantly ask if my hair is extensions/wig. I live in Wisconsin. I've seen plenty of people with hair longer than mine, but people can't seem to accept the fact that my hair is real. It's only at hip length.

[sparrowswing]

It seems to vary a lot between different groups here. Hair to mid-back or even waist is somewhat common among white women in their late teens to maybe 30s. Hair longer than that gets a bit of attention when it's noticed, but I have yet to hear anything negative.

The metal scene has tons of long hair on women and men alike, all across the age spectrum. The anime scene tends to feature shorter hair to shoulder or possibly APL, so that they can fit it under wigs for cosplay (and so people won't assume it's a wig and randomly start playing with it, which does happen at conventions a fair amount).

I lived next to a girl in college in WV with hair to her knees. She'd never cut it, for religious reasons. I think she may have mentioned LHC to me at some point, possibly when I asked her where she learned to bun her hair with a single stick. I kind of wish I'd have looked it up then, rather than finding it years later.

I haven't experienced the disgust some people say they've encountered in regards to their hair. Here people mostly just wonder how I can stand to keep taking care of it. When I mention it's easier for me than regular cuts and styling, they accept that answer and move on.

[rock007junkie]

Well, right now in NYC every other girl I see has Waist length hair....I often though have to wonder how many of them are wearing extentions since is a big thing here.

[Sarahlabyrinth]

Here in NZ long hair is usually considered to be anything much past shoulder.

[MinderMutsig]

I live in the UK and I would say that people generally class hair as 'long' when it gets to about BSL. However I have noticed a lot more people with waist-hip length in the past couple of years - my little sister is 16 and most of the girls in her school year have hair between bsl and waist (which i never saw when i was in school).This is true for The Netherlands too.

[theemeraldskull]

I live in the UK and I would say that people generally class hair as 'long' when it gets to about BSL. However I have noticed a lot more people with waist-hip length in the past couple of years - my little sister is 16 and most of the girls in her school year have hair between bsl and waist (which i never saw when i was in school).

I would say this is also common in AZ. Though there are not many people around here with hair past waist length (it does get HOT!), but there are a lot of teen/young adult girls I know with natural hair to BSL/Waist. It seems long hair is the "in" thing lately... LOL

If you had long hair coupled with an everyday skirt, you'd definitely be classed as a homeschooler. (which, I was, but wore jeans rather than skirts, and my hair only really started to get long a few years ago)

So I would say long hair starts at BSL, but my OWN hair doesn't feel long until it's between hip and tailbone.

[dwell_in_safety]

I'm in the Columbus area of Ohio. Long hair seems to be much more the norm here than in northwestern Indiana, where I just moved from. My hair would already be unusually long there; here, it's not really anything special.

[HairFaerie]

I live in the Northeast part of Ohio and most women sport bobs. Older women generally have pixies. Younger girls wear it a little longer, usually between APL & BSL, but waist+ is very rare. I have only seen waist+ maybe 3 times in the three years since I have moved back here.

[gossamer]

I just moved to Taiwan recently and have noticed the average length on women seems to be about APL or BSL. Definitely longer on average than where I lived in Chicago. The difference doesn't seem to be so much among young women but with middle aged and older women. Lots of updos on middle aged women that seem to be hiding BSL locks - although a mom at the laundromat last night surprised me with hip length hair when her clip came out.

There are plenty of older women sporting the curly bouffant expected in the US, but more than expected who've kept their hair long as well.

[torrilin]

People constantly ask if my hair is extensions/wig. I live in Wisconsin. I've seen plenty of people with hair longer than mine, but people can't seem to accept the fact that my hair is real. It's only at hip length.

And I live in WI and have never gotten that kind of question. Haven't heard reports of similar from the friends with hip to TBL length hair either.

[PixxieStix]

In the midwest it is pretty common to see APL to BSL hair, which is considered long by most people I know. Waist and longer seems to be considered very long.

With my hair reaching APL in July, people who saw it down commented on how long it is, and I always have a quick mental "What are you talking about?" before I remember they are comparing it to either my bald head or super short hair. =P While it is much longer than it used to be, it is still short to me, but I figure by this time next year I'll be a bit past BSL and will have what I consider the beginnings of long hair again. :)

[Wahinee]

I just moved to Florida and I can't believe how many TBL+ people I see every day. Absolutely amazing.

Im from NYC and right now long hair is a trend among mainstream manhattan people, but in certain communities you will always see very long hair. I lived in a puerto rican and dominican neighborhood and seems like every woman regardless of age had at least BSL curly hair.

[PerkyCurlz]

Around here, APL and BSL are normal and often seen. Hair isn't considered long until it gets to waist length.

I used to think BSL was considered 'long', but now I think it's all relative.

[bunnylake]

I am on Long Island, NY. It is getting more common for girls to grow to waist length, but I have seen very few past that. Most girls have maybe around BSL or shorter, though.

[gthlvrmx]

Hmm well about 2 years ago in high school i noticed the a lot of new freshman girls all had waist-tbl hair, which was so strange because moist girls in school had short apl bleached and dyed hair. the new girls seemed like most of them didnt dye their hair at all.
and honestly the majority of hair with females here in college is from apl-bsl.
but more and more im seeing waist length hair! its small increase from high school, but i hardly see anything past it.

but if im in a more hispanic section of town, i see tbl hair again maybe longer. the longest hair is usually from small children and what looks like to me older woman who came from like a pueblito in mexico :p my mom says thats how it is in the small towns in mexico or villages, they had long hair. usually their long hair ranges from hip-midthighs but its usually kept in a bun. but its only on the older woman that i find hair that long and its usually kept in a bun or braid.
not very many at all had it healthy either :( i think the hard water here has that effect on everyones hair and the weather. dry dry dry hair. even more so if its chemically treated with dyes and bleaching >.<

but yeah put that all together its about apl-waist. not many guys have long hair here :( such a shame. ill be that gem then :) shiny hairy gem :)

edit: OH! and im in southern california

[MaryMarx]

I live in Sweden, and I think long hair here is pretty common. BSL is very common, WL is nothing "normal" people react too either, I think.

I would love to hear what my fellow Swedes have to say about this!

[Anje]

My hair is definitely long by the standards here in Purdue-land, but it's not bizarrely or drastically so. I regularly see other people in the hip-to-tailbone zone, and this last weekend registered a fair number of glorious-looking classic-length folks at the local colonial-days event.