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Rufflebutt
July 8th, 2013, 12:14 PM
About a week ago I chopped off a lot of my hair, and now I'm at BSL.

Before, I've had long hair almost my entire life. And though I loved it, it was often tangly, scraggly, and the ends were often very thin.

I decided to try something different and I think I really love it. My ends are thicker than I ever imagined they could be. My hair has more volume because it isn't weighed down so much. And I think it really changes how I look by a lot.

I guess I miss the eye-catching charm hat my long hair had, but my hair feels better than ever. I guess quality really trumps quantity for me.

What about you guys? Would you rather have mediocre super long hair? Or really great medium length or short hair?

sisi33
July 8th, 2013, 12:20 PM
Super medium hair, hands down. That's one of the reasons that I'm considering a 4" trim- my ends are pre-LHC nasty, and my volume has significantly decreased.

Kizuna
July 8th, 2013, 12:21 PM
I'd rather go for a great medium hair. :)

edit: but at the moment, my hair is long and I am not fond of the ends. Maybe I should just follow what I wrote and cut some of my hair.

oatmealpie
July 8th, 2013, 12:23 PM
I agree. I'd much rather have medium length hair (APL/BSL) than super-long (past waist) hair.

Another post asks whether you feel sexier with your hair up or down, and the overwhelming response was in favor of wearing your hair down. But when it's super long, you usually have to wear it up to protect it and keep it out of the way.

spidermom
July 8th, 2013, 12:31 PM
Nope; make mine long, please.

There is a limit, though. When my ends become more trouble than they are worth, I always end up getting them cut away, as much as 7 inches a couple of times.

clioariane
July 8th, 2013, 12:31 PM
definitely quality over quantity for me.

Tota
July 8th, 2013, 12:35 PM
I'd rather have mediocre super long hair. Super long for me would be TBL ;) But just because I never had it before ... I might change my mind when I reach it.

1nuitblanche
July 8th, 2013, 12:39 PM
I like quality over quantity. This past year, I learned I look better with my hair down. Guess what? That isn't practical with super long hair! Now, I can still put my hair up if I need to, but it looks great down and I don't have to worry too much about it getting caught in something or about a hairstyle pulling too much.

Rufflebutt
July 8th, 2013, 01:13 PM
I like quality over quantity. This past year, I learned I look better with my hair down. Guess what? That isn't practical with super long hair! Now, I can still put my hair up if I need to, but it looks great down and I don't have to worry too much about it getting caught in something or about a hairstyle pulling too much.
My hair was alright down when I had it long, but I had to brush it much more often. Which lead to mechanical damage and thin ends. Now my ends are really thick, and only the back tangles a bit.

purplebubba
July 8th, 2013, 01:17 PM
When I leave my hair alone for too long the rest of me goes with it. When I take care of my hair I think about taking care of myself too. So I had TB length and trimmed back to 28" because it was 4 years of hiding it under a work shirt and I'm not hiding it anymore. I'm going to keep it in shape and grow it again maybe even longer. But I'm going to not forget about it this time.

I've also taken control of my eating. I walked 6 miles. I feel like me.

amanda_the_tall
July 8th, 2013, 01:23 PM
i plan on growing mine to waist length, and that's probably as long as it's going to get. quality is definitely better than quantity in my opinion, because i have such fine hair it likes to knot up like crazy. and escape braids. and buns. haha. i hope you enjoy your hair cut!

goldloli
July 8th, 2013, 01:25 PM
I've actually been struggling with this choice for a couple months now and made a few posts about it. I'm kind of loathing my hair atm. It's so much effort, having to baby my prior damaged ends, which don't look bad at all but feel and tangle something awful. It's higher maintenance to keep it hydrated at this length (bcl), the effect of a mask would last up to a week at waist length and shorter, now it lasts a day before my hair is just as dehydrated at the ends.

Gnarly tangles. Insta splits. Less freedom. Extra thought and planning into activities/sports and grooming. Limpness/stringyness/tentacles. Pre wash oiling have become a 2x weekly thing. Easy buildup from products and oils. Hairfall is more noticeable. Windy days are hell. Wearing hair up sucks. Changing sleep styles to avoid traction alopecia and friction. Cant heat style without epic damage showing up because hair is so old. Interrupts affection time. Judgement from people outside of lhc for not styling hair in fashionable ways. And so on and so on.

Most of those I do for the promise of long perfect hair, which means for now I'm not enjoying my hair nor is my hair what I want it to be, yet. I've pretty much decided I'm cutting back, sure it wont be tbl, but I don't think I'd enjoy tbl atm. Maybe just need to cut back to a nice bouncy thick hemmed waist+ and take a break from lhc, leave my hair to grow to tbl with a lot less thought and effort.

melusine963
July 8th, 2013, 01:38 PM
I'm also not a fan of thin ends, and I'm beginning to suspect I may have to cut back from TBL to waist at some point. I have significant tapering from waist down, that isn't getting better even after more than a year of LHC care. Since the thickness isn't moving down at all, I wonder if the terminal length of half my hair is simply at waist. The rest is still happily growing, but I don't like the thin effect.

Vampyria
July 8th, 2013, 01:43 PM
I cut my hair back to collarbone length a couple of times, because it just didn't look right. It was shedding a lot so the ends were quite thin. I just have to have thick ends, so it will probably take ages to get to waist. I'm quite happy with shorter hair and really thick ends, and I'm always obsessing about cutting, if the ends don't look right.

verylittlecarro
July 8th, 2013, 02:19 PM
Quality> quantity, which means I want to stop at waist or sooner. I fully acknowledge my hair needs some shaping right now, but at barely APL I feel the need to get a little more length before the shaping can commence. At BSL I'll feel my hair is 'long' (normal human definition, not lhc definition, obvs) and I'll be happy to slow down growth progress in favour of trims to give it some shape and improve quality.

jeanniet
July 8th, 2013, 02:24 PM
Quality over quantity for me, but more importantly, I have to enjoy my hair at whatever length it's at.

Vrindi
July 8th, 2013, 02:28 PM
I want both. I will take my time getting it to the length I want if it means it will look better when it gets there. For me, that means micro trimming and S&D's. It also means I have to start with it past a certain length. Anything shorter than BSL on me is super damage prone. Honestly, the longer my hair gets (currently BCL), the easier it is to keep it looking awesome. My hair is in the best condition it's ever been in, and it's also the longest it's ever been. (thank you LHC!) When my ends start to look bad, I trim, but I don't like to grow and grow with no trims and sacrifice healthy hair for length. I can have both at once, just a little bit slower, so that's what I do.

PetuniaBlossom
July 8th, 2013, 02:36 PM
Yeah, I second what Vrindi says. i want both quantity and quality, and for me that means microtriiming. My hair is longer and healthier than it's ever been before, thanks to LHC, and I want to keep growing to find my terminal length.
So my hemline, due to growing out layers and a massive shed when I unwisely tried CO-ing, is thinner than I'd like. Yet it's not straggly looking by non-LHC standards, so I'm going for it.
The one thing I'm sure of is that I've generally regretted eevery chop and I've never regretted letting it grow.

honeybunnie8
July 8th, 2013, 02:37 PM
double post

honeybunnie8
July 8th, 2013, 02:38 PM
quality over quantity for sure. Though my hair is at waist and is really healthy now so I plan to go for BCL?, or really cover my boobs in front and touch my butt length...I with there were an acronym for that..CMBTMBL?lol:p

Rufflebutt
July 8th, 2013, 02:42 PM
I've actually been struggling with this choice for a couple months now and made a few posts about it. I'm kind of loathing my hair atm. It's so much effort, having to baby my prior damaged ends, which don't look bad at all but feel and tangle something awful. It's higher maintenance to keep it hydrated at this length (bcl), the effect of a mask would last up to a week at waist length and shorter, now it lasts a day before my hair is just as dehydrated at the ends.

Gnarly tangles. Insta splits. Less freedom. Extra thought and planning into activities/sports and grooming. Limpness/stringyness/tentacles. Pre wash oiling have become a 2x weekly thing. Easy buildup from products and oils. Hairfall is more noticeable. Windy days are hell. Wearing hair up sucks. Changing sleep styles to avoid traction alopecia and friction. Cant heat style without epic damage showing up because hair is so old. Interrupts affection time. Judgement from people outside of lhc for not styling hair in fashionable ways. And so on and so on.

Most of those I do for the promise of long perfect hair, which means for now I'm not enjoying my hair nor is my hair what I want it to be, yet. I've pretty much decided I'm cutting back, sure it wont be tbl, but I don't think I'd enjoy tbl atm. Maybe just need to cut back to a nice bouncy thick hemmed waist+ and take a break from lhc, leave my hair to grow to tbl with a lot less thought and effort.

I feel like hair is what you want from it. This site IS called the long hair community, so it's only natural that most of the people here hiss about the evils of heat styling and praise only the longest hair. But, if length isn't really what you're going for then heat styling isn't really BAD per se... You'll chop it off before it gets noticeably damaged anyways.

I wanted long hair but I can't get the volume I want without teasing the life out of it. So I chopped it and now it has so much more body. It's still long enough to be considered long by the mainstream public and it's a lot better looking. It just worked for me personally.

goldloli
July 8th, 2013, 02:58 PM
Thanks for making this thread rufflebutt, I've finally made up my mind and going to cut back and enjoy my hair for a while.

Rufflebutt
July 8th, 2013, 03:29 PM
Thanks for making this thread rufflebutt, I've finally made up my mind and going to cut back and enjoy my hair for a while.
I really hope it works as well for you as it did for me. :) But I agree, there's no use in long hair if you don't ENJOY your hair. Some people thrive on updos and practicing strict haircare routines. I've found that it's not for me.

Firefox7275
July 8th, 2013, 03:32 PM
In theory I want it long and am willing to accept a certain amount of thinning and less healthy hair (I box dye). In reality I can't get past bra strap because I keep cutting back to armpit! Initially I was cutting out damage but the last couple of times I just haven't liked the hemline or shape.

chen bao jun
July 8th, 2013, 05:13 PM
the longest my hair has ever been is bra strap. I have never had thin ends (maybe because of that?) I am curious to see how long it will grow so right now I want length whatever quality. However, using LHC methods my hair is not only growing longer than ever before but it is in way better condition than ever before.
I've always worn my hair pulled back or up most of my life anyway, because its very thick (at least its thicker than most people's that I meet in real life, there are some ultra thick people on this forum who are thicker than I am) and very thick hair that's curly tends to look poufy when worn out. So I've always done ponytails or buns or half ups, and that is not stressful for me. I also don't super care what my ends look like because I am curly. That's one of the great benefits of being curly--if your ends are uneven no one notices and if they are a little bit thinner, no one notices because they curl up and fit in with the rest of your mass of hair. (unfortunately, this also means that the hair never looks as long as it is--to every benefit, there's a downside). But anyway, I am going on and on. But I am disagreeing with everybody else that's answered--I'd rather have the length right now, and then I can see--if I ever get to lengths like waist or tailbone, maybe my hair won't be great then, but it sure looks enviable and appealing now.

Kherome
July 8th, 2013, 05:25 PM
Always QUALITY over length. I saw a gal at the store the other day that was FTL, almost knee. Her hair was so unattractive. It was stringy looking, and the faery tale ends were super see through thin. I kept thinking that if she cut it back to waist and took care of it, it'd be nice. No, I'd stick to BSL and awesome over super long and ugly.

akilina
July 8th, 2013, 05:30 PM
I agree about quality over quantity in all cases. Your hair is constantly growing so it will be there again :)

I bet it looks great!

When I chopped from almost bsl to apl it was great...for some reason people said my hair looked longer and that it was much thicker and nicer over all :)

Edit: I wanted to add....I'm all for ENJOYING your own hair, whatever that may mean to the individual. I totally fried my hair to go purple and I couldn't be happier. It's much healthier again as it has been 2 months or so. It's still breaking a tiny bit but......dgaf.

ladylowtide
July 8th, 2013, 05:43 PM
Mine is thin at the bottom because I had extreme layers a few years back, (I'm elbow length and inch past waist now). So it looks thin towards the ends when it isn't super clean, but I'm fine with that. I think if the ends aren't breaking upwards, why even bother trimming until I get to the length I like, lest I overestimate my growth and get myself into an infinite stall. I'll be a trim-a-holic, once I hit TBL, or perhaps even chop back to hip from TBL. Who knows, but for now... NO TRIMS! :)

ravenreed
July 8th, 2013, 06:06 PM
When I want to enjoy my hair down, I either wear a comet bun or a high pony. I sometimes even wear it all the way down, just for the fun of it. Because of that, I want my ends to look nice, no matter how long or short it is. My biggest issue at the moment is thinning, and my hair will look a little fuller if it is shorter, but the scalp will look the same either way.

Bun15
July 8th, 2013, 06:57 PM
I've had nearly all lengths, and I think it really depends on how you have hair when it's long. When your hair was long was it all one length? That weighs it down a ton. Apologies if I sound rude, but maybe you didn't really 'take care' of your hair? What I mean is, I remember when I had long hair (all the way through middle school) I didn't really take care of it appropriately. I sort of just washed and brushed, nothing more nothing less. Maybe it was something like that in your case? Also, you say your ends were thin, but that could have been easily solved by just getting your hemline cut.
I've had long, medium, short, and boy short, however, I currently want to grow out my hair a little below classic. Generally I prefer long hair, but that's just me

Mesmerise
July 8th, 2013, 07:32 PM
I've had nearly all lengths, and I think it really depends on how you have hair when it's long. When your hair was long was it all one length? That weighs it down a ton. Apologies if I sound rude, but maybe you didn't really 'take care' of your hair? What I mean is, I remember when I had long hair (all the way through middle school) I didn't really take care of it appropriately. I sort of just washed and brushed, nothing more nothing less. Maybe it was something like that in your case? Also, you say your ends were thin, but that could have been easily solved by just getting your hemline cut.
I've had long, medium, short, and boy short, however, I currently want to grow out my hair a little below classic. Generally I prefer long hair, but that's just me
Sometimes "thin ends" mean 4+" of thinner hair, and thus cutting the hemline to thicken involves cutting a few inches. There are numerous reasons why ends become thin, and the main one for many is that the pace of hairfall starts overtaking the pace of hair growth. For some people this means their hair will never have thick ends beyond waist (or whatever) because generally by the time hairs get that long they're at the end of their growing cycle and will fall out, so fewer hairs actually get to longer lengths.

I guess the point is that for some people, very long hair does mean sacrificing quality for quantity... even if the hair is healthy at that length, the ends may look thin and stringy. It's great to WANT classic hair, but not everyone's hair will get there, or if it does, will actually look great at that length (although beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so some will find fairytale ends attractive, and others won't).

Beborani
July 8th, 2013, 07:50 PM
So much depends on mental state and stage of life. My hair was long in three different stage of my life, each for different reasons--it was at its best in terms of health and length in teen years when I cared so little for it. It was taken care of well but I didnt feel pretty or modern which was important at that time. So I cut it but unforseen health issues led to massive hair loss so I ended up letting it grow again but this time without nurturing it and wearing it up in buns to hide the lack of thickness. My face shape supported this style and I spent a decade like this with probably tailbone or longer hair until I cut it short. It looked cute enough (youth compensates for other flaws) and next decade was spent in caring even less until I learnt to wear it curly. Now that I am regaining lost density, l am excited to grow it long and am using a mix of traditional care and modern techniques--I have never felt better about my hair. At this age each good healthy day is a gift and I am not taking anything for granted and nor am I stressing over minutae--process of growing is fun now. But it may change and I hope to roll with whatever comes next.

goldloli
July 8th, 2013, 08:05 PM
I really hope it works as well for you as it did for me. :) But I agree, there's no use in long hair if you don't ENJOY your hair. Some people thrive on updos and practicing strict haircare routines. I've found that it's not for me.

Not long after posting i washed off my coconut and jojoba oil mix, then cut to solid hip. Already dramatic increase in slip :o

kysgrl
July 8th, 2013, 08:42 PM
I think bsl is still pretty long and eye catching to a lot of people :)

chen bao jun
July 8th, 2013, 09:03 PM
Yes, in real life people consider bra strap to be long and many people even consider APL to be long. A great many people can have their cake and eat it too at those lengths--that is, they can blowdry, curl with heat, dye and just cut off the damage. I'm one of those people--i did all those things except dye most of my life, many at the same time and my hair was always somewhere between APL and bra strap and looked 'healthy' by most people's standards nowadays. Some whose hair is weaker can't do this, of course but I think they're rather rare. I think most people can't get to waist length looking good when they are doing the things that LHC doesn't recommend. But hey, as I just said, many would rather have bra strap length styling their hair in ways they like than waist length that is always up and not the color or texture they prefer. Which is fine. I would think that very few can get to tailbone or classic doing non LHC recommended things but truthfully, once you get to classic, you are at a length that isn't admired much in our current society and you have to be a special sort of person (plus, many just don't have the genetics for it no matter what they do). LHC is a great support group for people who want to go against society a little bit and have this kind of hair. It is also helpful for people who just want healthier hair than they have had before, and to grow just a little longer--but not to LHC lengths. I think the site can work for both groups--in the end, you have to be the person to decide what you want and do it. and it can be that you think you want really long hair when you see the very very beautiful hair of the regulars on here who have reached great lengths, but then decide you don't want to at a later point. At which point you can cut and be happy. It's all good. In the end it's just a site with information, there's nothing that says you ever have to do ANY of it, but the information can be useful to those who have certain goals, that's all.

chen bao jun
July 8th, 2013, 09:05 PM
I hope I can grow mine at least to waist/hip--maybe I won't like it then, but I sure am having fun working towards this goal.

GrowingGlory
July 8th, 2013, 09:14 PM
I'm happier with my hair now that it is shorter and much healthier. I've got a great shampoo and comb and I don't have to think about it much. Soon it will reach APL. I hope that the honeymoon isn't over then!

ExpectoPatronum
July 8th, 2013, 09:18 PM
This is really hard for me to answer, actually. I haven't had really long hair (below BSL) since I was really young and I really miss the look of long hair. I think that even if it was mediocre quality, I would grow it to that length just to experience it being that long again. Then, after I got tired of it not looking great, I would probably cut it to medium length.

EdG
July 8th, 2013, 09:39 PM
Shoulder - longer is better.
Waist - longer is better.
Classic - longer is better.
Knee - longer is better.
Ankle - longer is not better.

My informal sample shows that longer is not better 20% of the time. :lol:
Ed

truepeacenik
July 8th, 2013, 09:55 PM
:spitting:
Shoulder - longer is better.
Waist - longer is better.
Classic - longer is better.
Knee - longer is better.
Ankle - longer is not better.

My informal sample shows that longer is not better 20% of the time. :lol:
Ed

:spitting:

I look forward to having hairy calves in two meanings.

EdG
July 8th, 2013, 10:11 PM
I look forward to having hairy calves in two meanings.That makes two of us who feel that calf-length is better. :agree:

I unfortunately have never had more than a wisp down there. :(
Ed

neko_kawaii
July 8th, 2013, 10:13 PM
Shoulder - longer is better.
Waist - longer is better.
Classic - longer is better.
Knee - longer is better.
Ankle - longer is not better.

My informal sample shows that longer is not better 20% of the time. :lol:
Ed

Hehe, here's hoping for ankle!

Wildcat Diva
July 8th, 2013, 10:42 PM
I can't even dream of ankle. I'm hoping that waist+ is completely awesome on me... and impending hormone upheaval will not cause any shed. I think I will at least be able to accomplish waist. After that I'll have to see. But that will be something...

Natalia
July 8th, 2013, 11:03 PM
Id keep mine long. I prefer to wear it up anyway and when I remember having BSL or shorter hair it just got annoyingly in the way. Im glad you love your new cut though :)

SongofLove
July 9th, 2013, 01:24 AM
Do you have a pic of your new cut, Rufflebutt? I always thought your hair looked amazing and I would love to see :)

Yeah, I think it depends on how you like to wear your hair too, because for some hairtypes it is difficult to do certain styles at certain lengths. For example, those with thicker hair often have to wait til their hair is longer before they can do most buns, and I think doing a French twist is much easier if your hair is shorter. I do think that if you enjoy wearing your hair down a lot then BSL hair is a good, more carefree length--and it does indeed look beautiful and still quite long. Most of the people whose hair I admire in everyday life have hair around BSL length.

Also hairtype tends to affect how the ends look. My hair is straight and I do sometimes have the hemline vs. length dilemma, because it seems to me that fairytale ends on wavy or curly hair look extremely pretty whereas on straight hair there's more of a tendency for the ends to look "choppy" if there is significant taper.

share801
July 9th, 2013, 01:52 AM
Rufflebutt, I'd also like to see a picture! PurpleBubba, that's a good point about the caring for your hair and yourself. I need to think on that - yay for your 6 miles.

Having been a member here (though a quiet one) for 10 years, I would say my opinion changes over time. At first it was LONGER IS BETTER no matter what. Then there was the BETTER phase where I wanted it to be higher "quality". I'm not sure what's next for me honestly but it keeps things interesting.

jacqueline101
July 9th, 2013, 02:19 AM
I agree that if it's not what you desire why keep it another words if the ends bug you trim it. You can try again. I do like long hair.

labailaora
July 9th, 2013, 02:42 AM
Quality *and* length, please! I have had short (chin) hair, and I have had very long (tailbone) hair. I find long hair is actually easier to *do* things with, and more practical to keep out of the way when I'm exercising and dancing, so it's much more convenient for my lifestyle, plus I like the look when I do let it down. I'm pretty obsessive about having thick and well-cared-for ends, though, so I do a lot of trimming too. I don't see why length and quality necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

Scarlet_Celt
July 9th, 2013, 03:06 AM
Quality *and* length, please! I have had short (chin) hair, and I have had very long (tailbone) hair. I find long hair is actually easier to *do* things with, and more practical to keep out of the way when I'm exercising and dancing, so it's much more convenient for my lifestyle, plus I like the look when I do let it down. I'm pretty obsessive about having thick and well-cared-for ends, though, so I do a lot of trimming too. I don't see why length and quality necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

I feel exactly the same way. I've never viewed quality and length as mutually exclusive. In my experience the determining factor in the quality of my hair as it gets longer is almost exclusively related to how well I care for it. However, that's just been my experience :).

Mesmerise
July 9th, 2013, 03:30 AM
Quality *and* length, please! I have had short (chin) hair, and I have had very long (tailbone) hair. I find long hair is actually easier to *do* things with, and more practical to keep out of the way when I'm exercising and dancing, so it's much more convenient for my lifestyle, plus I like the look when I do let it down. I'm pretty obsessive about having thick and well-cared-for ends, though, so I do a lot of trimming too. I don't see why length and quality necessarily have to be mutually exclusive.

I guess it's because some people's terminal length makes it so! As I posted earlier, many people get quite a lot of taper beyond a certain point, say waist, and all the care in the world doesn't change this. Their hair may reach a longer length than waist, but the ends are never thick, no matter how much they care for it. This is simply because the growing cycle of the hair is too short, in most cases, and most of the hairs just don't get longer! This means that they're either forced to a) cut it at the length that the taper begins, or b) grow it longer while having thinner, fairytail type ends. This doesn't mean the ends are unhealthy, just not blunt and thick!

If you're lucky enough to be able to grow your hair long and still have lovely, thick ends then that's great! But for those who can't, there's always going to be a trade off.

cranberrymoonz
July 9th, 2013, 03:32 AM
I'd go for great medium length hair. But no shorter than BSL! I've just reached it and it finally feels fairly long and flowy on my back. I'm lucky, because I won't have to choose. I don't really experience much thinning yet, so terminal may be a long way down still.

NoRush
July 9th, 2013, 03:52 AM
I would rather loose a few inches rather than grab onto scraggly ends, I did that for a long time and was never quite happy with my hair.

DarkCurls
July 9th, 2013, 04:13 AM
I'd go for great medium hair... I think.
Really, I'm not sure. I love length, but I'd hate it if there was no way for me to get non-scraggly ends with long hair. I've recently cut back several inches to get rid of thinning ends due to age-old layers, and I like it... I think. ^^ It's hard to choose, but I'd probably pick health over length... No shorter than BSL though. (Which may already count as long to some people, actually.)

This kind of question is why I'm grateful for the LHC, which helps me balance out health & length. I hope I'm lucky enough to have a terminal length which allows me to keep my ends relatively thick even at longer lengths, and if not, well, I'll see when I get there.

restless
July 9th, 2013, 05:46 AM
To me, both quality AND quantity matter. For all that IŽd love to have really long hair (Im currently at hip and aiming for tailbone/classic) I still want it to look nice and cared for. A while ago when my hair was close to waist lenght the ends looked really scraggly and thin. My hair is wavy and I can get away with a lot because of that, but this was just a little too much to hide. I really didnt want to get rid of any lenght but didnt feel confident at all when wearing it lose and eventually bit the bullet and cut off the worst of it. It didnt take many inches for me to feel much better about them and yes, Id still do it again if I had to. Long hair is important to me, but feeling good about it is just as important.

Misty'sMess
July 9th, 2013, 06:09 AM
I'm at tailbone now and while I love long hair I'm maintaining at this length for a couple of months and trimming to get rid of the last of my old layers. I want my ends to thicken a little more before I keep growing. Hopefully by the end of the year I'll have classic length with a nice blunt cut :) that's the plan at least.

woolyleprechaun
July 9th, 2013, 06:42 AM
For me, its the length that matters. I wear my hair up allllll the time, so a few scraggly bits wouldn't bother me half as much as not being able to do certain updos.
I'm waist now, and I'm only just starting to manage more complex buns. Any shorter than this would break my heart ;) Every time I strive for a milestone, I promise myself I'll chop back to the last one to get rid of my scragglies... Not managed it yet. I get too attached :)

chen bao jun
July 9th, 2013, 06:44 AM
This is really hard for me to answer, actually. I haven't had really long hair (below BSL) since I was really young and I really miss the look of long hair. I think that even if it was mediocre quality, I would grow it to that length just to experience it being that long again. Then, after I got tired of it not looking great, I would probably cut it to medium length.
I agree with this.

Natalina
July 9th, 2013, 06:47 AM
Not to me. For some reasons my hair actually had gone worse since I cut it short rather than when I had it at TBL. My ends were healthier though quite thin, but that's because I trimmed it that way to create a V-Shape. I now remember why I hated having short hair, because somehow it always end up more frizzy, more puffy, and I've a really hard time getting it to look good while letting it down AND up.

I guess it's my hair type/texture. The shorter it is, the more rebellious it gets. I don't understand when people complain about how hard long hair is and how much easier shorter hair is (other than the fact that they just like the look of it), because my hair was always the complete opposite, lol!

CorinaS
July 9th, 2013, 06:56 AM
It all depends on the hair type really.

In my case, I get better quality with increased quantity :D: when my hair was short/medium it was frizzy and rebellious, now it's straight and smooth, but it still has volume. However, I do chop off the ends if I get splits or it looks bad. The only down side to long hair is that it keeps the back of my head hot and sweaty during summer :disgust:.

Nightshade
July 9th, 2013, 07:49 AM
In the hypothetical, I'd rather have health over quantity, but I also was never a fan of big chops and over the course of 6 years grew out the damage while gaining length, so for me it was never about one or the other, it was how to I minimize one while nurturing the other.

I think I've hit a good balance on length vs quality for me. All the damage is grown out and cut off, my nasty shed from, switching from BCP to an IUD is grown out and cut off. Up until now I've always kept around classic to tailbone while mitigating the damage/ thin ends.

So it's as thick as I think I'll get it all the way to the ends, the waves are pretty and it's healthy. I might wear it up a lot, but when I do wear it down, it's lush and healthy and, frankly, beautiful at the longer than average length I keep it at. Maybe it's too long for other's tastes, but that's a whole lot of I don't care :shrug:

neko_kawaii
July 9th, 2013, 08:50 AM
How a person likes their ends comes down to personal aesthetics and thus both quantity and quality are subjective even after the factors of thickness, texture, and growth patterns are considered. I am not attracted to blunt hemlines and have not yet reached a point with my own hair where the ends are too thin. I'm sure it is there somewhere in my future but I won't know what I want to do until I reach that point.

gillybeanxo3921
July 9th, 2013, 09:07 AM
It's quality over quantity for me. But to a point. I refuse to cut my hair much shorter than waist length. Once I get decently past waist, I'll refused to go shorter than waist at all.

I've been trying to grow my hair out since two July's ago, and I've only gained about 4 or 5 inches because I keep trimming off pre-LHC hair. I'm almost done trimming off that damage, only a few more inches to go!

I didn't gain any length at all the first year I was growing, because I unintentionally trimmed off every inch that I grew. So the 4 or 5 inches I have grown were all in this past year.

I'm dying to get rid of the icky ends, but I've already trimmed my hair a bit shorter than waist, and I absolutely refuse to trim again until I'm past waist.

rachelbethany
July 9th, 2013, 09:18 AM
I go back and forth on this one. I've had short, but flattering, haircuts that I absolutely loved. But I've never had hair longer than my waist, so maybe I can't really compare. Still, my hair is much harder to style (if I want to wear it down; I usually just opt for braids/buns) when it's long, and the ends do look much thinner. My curls get weighed down, too. However, my goal in growing out my long hair isn't necessarily to have the most flattering hairstyle for my face shape or to look as put-together as possible. I just want long hair! I can't even explain it logically. I just feel like I want to be the most "me" that I can, and, as I grow older, growing out my natural color and letting the used-to-be-layers all fall where they may seems to be the best way to be true to myself. I kind of feel like Samson; if all my hair were cut right now, so might be my strength. But then again, I've had some good haircuts that made me feel glorious and powerful, too. I guess it's just something about the patience required that fits my life right now. But I'm just an all-or-nothing person. There are no happy mediums in my life. Haha!

Anje
July 9th, 2013, 09:28 AM
I want it all!!! :lol:

In practice, I grew to tailbone really quickly, and not all my hair got there. I didn't have damage, but I had a lot of taper and thinness. So I maintained and maintained and maintained... now the thickness is much more even through the length and the ends actually look like something now. I suspect I'm still holding my hair at a couple inches above my terminal length because the ends tend to thin out drastically when I grow past this point, but I think I've got enough thickness now to find out.

meteor
July 9th, 2013, 09:44 AM
I want it all!!! :lol:
This! :)

I really don't think you need to choose between quality vs. quantity. The same things that help thickness also help length. When I take care of my ends, oil and massage my scalp, use very gentle detangling tools, it really improves overall quality and quantity, too.
Even very short hair can have damaged and split ends.
If anything, long hair disciplines me more. It makes me consider long-term consequences or impulsive moves, like hair-dyes or heat-damage.
I wonder if the taper depends on how fine and damage-prone the hair is. If you have medium coarseness, you don't need to keep it medium / short just to keep it healthy.
But so many people don't like the hassle or the look of long hair. You should choose whatever makes you happy!
Re hassle: I notice that people with shorter hair tend to be shocked to hear about 5-hour long drying time or hour-long detangling. But long-haired people tend to dislike having to visit hairdressers every few weeks for regular cuts and root touch-ups. Both approaches are high-maintenance, but in very different ways.

Stellaaa
July 9th, 2013, 09:59 AM
My hair is mediocre, whatever the length.
I'd rather have long mediocre hair than shorter. At least that way I don't look like every other 50-something woman in the city. And I really actually prefer the look of naturally tapering fairy-tail ends than the chopped-off blunt hemline look.

AmyBeth
July 9th, 2013, 11:42 AM
I'll take the mediocre super long. I'll never have short hair again. I love long hair, no matter what.

battles
July 9th, 2013, 12:00 PM
I'd rather have good quality hair, whatever length that may be.

Though, that makes me a hypocrite. :cool: I'm enjoying having long hair too much for the first time in my life to start all over again, even though more than half of it is colored and I'm growing out weird pieces and bangs. :(

PetuniaBlossom
July 9th, 2013, 04:32 PM
Yes, several recent posts here have pointed to something that applies to me (and thanks for writing it, because it made it clearer to me.)
I just love long hair. I want to have it myself and I want to see it on others. I like to play with my hair more the longer it gets. I like every hair type, color, texture, etc., just so it's long.
I agree we don't have to choose between quality and quantity, we can have it all. and if for some reason our hair isn't in great shape, we can still have it long. We just don't know what genetics, overall health and diet, stress, and such do to another person's hair, so I don't judge. If it's long, I'm gonna like it. if it's long and healthy/beautiful, I'll like it more, certainly. But long hair just seems beautiful to me on its own terms.
When I take out the hairstick and my hair falls softly around me, I'm a happy camper!

leslissocool
July 9th, 2013, 04:40 PM
Nope; make mine long, please.

There is a limit, though. When my ends become more trouble than they are worth, I always end up getting them cut away, as much as 7 inches a couple of times.

I'm like this too. I like hair longer than waist. I really do, but I like to trim at least once a year and I won't mind parting with a lot of it to get shape.

spirals
July 9th, 2013, 09:36 PM
I think the question for me is whether to have great curls at APL with layers, or to have long, thick wavy hair at waist and longer. At this length it just needs to be combed out for braiding, so I lose my curl to that and weight. But my ends don't naturally fairytale. They are only thin now because I thinned them at APL and have not cut them off. This is the longest my hair as ever been, the same as in high school and college. Even though the ends were damaged, they stayed thick. I will cut my hem into a V or U and it will naturally blunt itself over time. I am a fan of layers when my hair is curly, but since I'm wearing it brushed out often, I think I should get rid of my layers.

kidari
July 9th, 2013, 10:10 PM
quality over quantity for me also ;)... the perfect lengths for me is fluctuating between BSL and waist with layers... I love wearing it down and it's healthy enough that it's super easy to care for plus I can constantly change it up by switching up the lengths, layers, and bangs

I am thankful for LHC for allowing me to reach my goal/dream hair. I grew out a ear length bob cut and never in my entire life have I had hair past BSL in this great of condition before and for that I thank LHC!!

woodswanderer
July 9th, 2013, 10:11 PM
I don't know if I agree with the idea that if you have long hair you always have to wear it up to protect it and can't often enjoy it....surely not everyone does. Mine is at tailbone with a thick blunt hemline and I wear it down unless I am outside in wind, being active, cleaning house, or being near fire. My hair is healthy and I frequently get compliments in public. However, I guess I prefer convenience and quality to quantity. I'm pretty sure I could grow to classic at least and still have a fairly thick hemline like I like it, but it would be too much trouble for me to deal with so I just keep cutting it back to tailbone or around there periodically.

blueyedcurls
July 9th, 2013, 10:17 PM
I made that very decision about 3 months ago when I cut around a foot off mine. I had highlights put in and they made them too heavy so it was bleached very heavily and the bleach did so much damage. Due to all the damage my curls straightened out. All was okay until my new growth started coming in and I had curls by my head and straight ends. It wasn't good. Now I was stuck with pony tails or straightening my hair to make it look decent. Neither are options I want for every day. That's when I made the decision to just chop it off and start over. It's a shoulder length bob now (as short as I will go). I still have bout 4 inches that won't curl and after it's trimmed off I'll grow it back out. I can't stand the damage. I'd rather have it short and healthy than nasty.

Tea Lady
July 9th, 2013, 10:58 PM
I pick longer. It all depends on what one's definition of quality is. If someone's ends are truly damaged, then maybe some should be cut. But just because a person has tapered ends, that doesn't mean it is not "quality" hair. I know several people here at LHC with a natural taper in their uber-long hair, and their ends are in great condition, certainly are of good quality; they simply are not blunt cut.

Sadly I cannot exactly say that about my own hair at this time. My hair is going through turmoil due to my awful stress-shed. So it is very thin at the ends. I don't have a lot of splits, and what hair I have left seems to be healthy. But I haven't cut yet, because I was aiming for somewhere past-classic before this shedding all started. Now I am mid-thigh, but my whole head of hair is thin, especially the ends. I could cut them, which would give the overall length a thicker look. But the trouble is, once I got fairly far past classic, I wondered: "Just how long will my hair grow?!". So I am keeping length to see where it ends. I try not to think about how long it will take my new growth (if it is indeed restored to me) to catch up to the old. And with hair that has hit terminal length, a natural taper is going to happen simply due to the mechanics of hair growth and shed cycles (see interesting explanation here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3G4RyJMKtTc)). So, once I reach terminal, then I will choose a length and cut to that. I can't imagine that will be too long from now, since I am longer than I have ever been. Could I get to knee length? (Me, with knee length hair??!!).

Tea Lady

Cassie_
July 9th, 2013, 11:00 PM
Maybe longer isn't better, 'tis true. But shorter isn't necessarily better, either. Everyone should find the length that they like best. Also, even if you are lucky enough to have the genetics required to have a thick hemline at the longer lengths, it will certainly take a lot longer to achieve that, and sometimes that time can be a trial.

But if I had to choose longer or healthier, I would definitely choose healthier. :)

KittyBird
July 10th, 2013, 05:18 AM
For me, longer is definitely better. I like wearing my hair up, but I can't do anything other than ponytails and short, stubby braids when my hair is shorter than waist. At hip++ my hair is still too 'short' for many of the buns I try. I'd like to grow to at least knee length, hopefully longer, and I don't care of my hemline is thick or very tapered. Both look beautiful imo. I vote for "mediocre" super long hair. :cool:

windchijmes
July 10th, 2013, 08:22 AM
It probably depends on how one wears the hair. If I'm into intricate buns, then I'll really need the length to work with. But well, I'm lazy and crap at anything more elaborate than a braid. Plus, now and then I like to wear my hair down. So I vote for healthy medium-length hair. ^^