Hair Impasse

[Karmi]

I have been slooooowly cutting my hair shorter and shorter over the past year. Yet my hair is still so long, and thick and heavy and annoying (waist-to-tailbone length, 4.5" ponytail thickness), which makes me wear it in a boring, works-every-time-bun just about everyday. Even when my hair was a medium length (BSL), I wore it in a low, loose ponytail every day.. but at least then it seemed to have some volume). I hardly ever wear my hair without some elastic or stick holding it up and away from my face anymore and I AM BORED and frustrated. I'm at an impasse. I love having long hair, but I hate the maintenance, it takes me an hour or so to shower, and since I usually don't blow dry, it takes 7-8 hours to air dry (and if I sleep wet hair overnight, even longer drying times) and lets not talk about styling...

My hair is beautiful but it is really annoying me with how thick and heavy it is, and the maintenance, oh the maintenance!
'm a photographer and I move around a lot, making my long hair more impractical than ever.

Please share your advice or photos that show long hair cuts that feel short (does anyone have experience with thinning thick hair with those special shears?) or share advice, tips, and compromises that make having long hair less of a hassle. Thank you!

[10000days]

Wish I had your problem..

[silvertongue]

Back when I didn't enjoy maintaining thick hair, I had layers cut in and my hair thinned with razors (professionally). I would also touch up the shape by myself with a hair razor. The style made my hair lighter, more voluminous, and easier to wash and dry; however, I would also have bad hair days if my short layers stuck up or wouldn't behave (my hair is wavy when shorter and straight when longer).

These days I am finding it a pain to grow out the layers! But it worked for me for a while, so it's something you might consider.

[PJolie]

I have mine in layers too, a V hemline to make it look less thick. I do experiences bad hair days sometimes but nothing a bun or a ponytail can solve. I think it'll depend on your type of hair too... Here's a picture so you can have an idea of how mine looks http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5424&d=1374583356

[MiaBeth]

I'd say go for a cut where thinning shears are used -- take away the bulk but leave the length? Can I tape your cut strands to my head, then :D ?

[AliD]

layers help to make your hair thinner...I never understood how people got "bored" of their hair :confused:

[Carolyn]

I can't wrap my mind around long hair being boring. You may have to just live with what you consider a boring style for work and go with more fun things for other times. Would that be so bad? I wish I had your problem too.

[jeanniet]

My hair is thick (5"), and I recently cut from past hip to just below shoulder because I wanted to experiment with bringing out the curl more. It definitely takes less time to dry, but surprisingly not that much less. If you want more volume/lift, I'd cut to a reasonable length (BSL to waist) and have some light layers put in. Thinning can work if you have a good stylist, but if not, or if the razor isn't sharp, you may end up with damaged hair. I would opt for layers over thinning.

[Leeloo]

I always wore my hair in a ponytail also, before lhc. Now I'm trying to learn some new braided styles and some are a lot easier then I thought. You can try going through some youtube videos and pick one that would work for you. Layers might also work, but there are way too many threads here of people saying that they regret getting them.

[CurlyCap]

1. Figure out how infrequently you can tolerate not washing your hair, thus freeing up more shower time.

2. Figure out how much time you are willing to spend on styling your hair in the morning. Then learn every possible style that can be done in that amount of time. Make it a challenge and buy hair-toys to let you accomplish this.

3. If the above isn't enough, consider layering. If you have wavy or curly hair, long layers will help you get movement and more manageable low-maintenance hair. It will look better worn down but be harder to style up.

4. If the long layers don't work, consider how short you could tolerate your hair. What MUST you be able to do with your hair. That will decide the cut length.

5. Cut off half the length decided in #4. See if you like it. If not, be happy you didn't do it all in one fell swoop. If you are considering cutting more, maybe even buy a short wig to see if you really like the way your face looks with shorter hair.

6. Cut your hair to something shorter that makes you happy. Hair grows back and to be honest, there's no point in having long hair if you aren't enjoying it.

I had stretched BCL length hair for most of my early 20s, and while people around me loved it, I got very tired and very frustrated with it. It ate a lot of product and took to long to style in ways that I enjoyed. It took 2 years total to finally decide that I wanted to cut it. In the end, I cut it into a very short pixie and enjoyed having short hair for a while. It really IS low-maintenance and freeing. When I did eventually want longer hair, I knew how long it would take to grow back out so it wasn't stressful. In fact, the worst part of growing it back out were the awkward mullet phases....but that was over in 2 years as well.

Make your hair make you happy. It's attached to your head and that's a terrible place for something that annoys you.

[winship2]

Make your hair make you happy. It's attached to your head and that's a terrible place for something that annoys you.

Love this :):D:p

[Vrindi]

I'm a videographer/photographer too, so I understand how it can get in the way. My hair is not nearly as thick, but I have lots of it and it's BCL. I decided before it got to waist that if I was going to have long hair, I would learn how to do awesome things with it. I end up wearing a lot of french/dutch braids and then putting them into buns to get them out of the way. The cool thing with them is you can braid your hair when it's wet (I use coconut oil to help give it some slip when it's half-dry) and then I can wear the braid for at least 2 days. To make it look different, I'll hold it with different sticks, or wrap a ribbon around the base, or use some other quick hair tie. I'm also a fan of battle braids (so amazing on thick hair like yours!). Just start with 3 simple low english braids, then braid those together. It looks so complicated, you can do it wet, it's crazy easy, and again, you can let it dry that way and wear it for days. The cool thing about braids is even the messy ones look awesome. If you can't french braid, start with a pony tail, braid that, and wrap it into a bun. It always looks good.

[sisi33]

I will also echo the layers suggestion. Something like what UltraBella had in her hair when it was longer. Try to get them done with thinning shear, as they're less damaging than a razor can be. Also, you can always cut back to waist, as that seems to make a huge difference in weight.

[jacqueline101]

I'd try some layers.

[mzBANGBANG]

I was recently unhappy with mine.
I got some completely new bangs, and now I love it again.

Maybe a slight change will help you out? Bangs look very nice with updos. :twocents:

[Leeloo]

Trying some new styles I guess (then maybe layers).

[AmyBeth]

I can't imagine being bored with long, thick, beautiful hair;)! I had long, fine, not so beautiful hair to TBL years ago, and had it cut to above shoulder length. I liked it for about 2 minutes, then decided I wanted my long hair back, even if it wasn't so pretty. Oh, well. The two week rule is always good. Trim it back gradually, or add long layers going progressively shorter. You'll know when to stop. I'm telling you, you have a problem a lot of us would love to have. I am now growing my hair back out using techniques I've learned here on LHC, and my hair is nicer than ever, but it will never be thick and strong like yours sounds to be.

[Bronzepikzi]

Make your hair make you happy. It's attached to your head and that's a terrible place for something that annoys you.

Best hair advice I've ever heard...

[MychelleC]

My stylist is amazing, my hair feels weightless with her help. She cuts me in long layers then has me turn my head upside down and thins the inside. I get light weight while maintaining volume and length. I'm not sure how to post pics from my phone but you can see a ton on my website, mychellebellydance.com. She angles my hair into a soft V at the ends, this takes off a ton of weight and enhances the look of length.

[lapushka]

I'm a iii too, 4.25" circumference. I recently had it cut from almost TBL to waist, because of length and thickness. If you're no longer happy with the length and it bothers you, you are pretty much entitled to change! The dilemma with that much thickness is that it's never too long for a cool bun (because you can only start bunning at around waist), but then it gets too long for comfort. So you're basically stuck. The ii's rule the world, truly! I wouldn't have it thinned, though, because that is the most annoying thing ever, IMO. You'll really miss the thickness and it will feel really strange and alien. I'd say cut a little at a time, until you find that perfect length. Don't do anything drastic.

[Angelica]

You don't realise how lucky you are.

[dulce]

For me,I cut a v hem ,a few shoulder length side layers and thick bangs to cut the weight and add style.I also use a floor fan to airdry after my daily wash,[my now fairly thick 3.8 inch]hip plus hair dries in 20 minutes.Try the fan ,it is amazing.I can still do buns and braids even with a v and a few layers at the front .

[Mesmerise]

You don't realise how lucky you are.

"Lucky" is relative! I know a lot of us thinnies think we'd love really thick hair, the reality is that it can be tough and challenging to look after (not to mention hot and heavy). I have a friend with super thick hair, and while I used to envy her, I don't anymore. I've realised how much EASIER my hair is! Even when my hair was almost waist length it took me all of 5 seconds to comb it out after a shower (and it only takes a few short minutes to wash, long or short).

I just don't think it's helpful telling someone that they don't realise how lucky they are, when they're really struggling with their hair!!

As for what to do with long, thick hair, I would probably consider layers before thinning. I can see how thinning can cause problems over the long term if you're not careful, and you end up with lots of different lengths of hair (yes you do with layers too, but with layers the lengths are more regular and controlled, rather than just somewhere in the hair).

So yeah, I'd consider cutting a bit shorter maybe, possibly with a V or U hemline, and some long layers (maybe a bit shorter around the face, but not too short at the back for starters).

As for drying time, even my hair can take awhile to dry when it's long, and my hair is quite thin! However, I think layering would help somewhat to reduce the drying time.

[WilfredAllen]

You've gotten lot's of good advice. I just wanted to throw in the possibility that maybe you could start blow drying your hair. Most of us LHCer's are against it, but I have known members here and people in the real world who blow dry their waist-hip length hair (obviously, they use protective sprays and low heat settings). If blow drying wouldn't be super damaging to your hair it could make maintenance a little quicker. If my hair took as long as yours to dry I would certainly blow dry it!

[leslissocool]

I'm a thick one too, my hair is heavy. Braids are really in, rope and twists and bored LHCer styles are very in.

[Mayflower]

I'd been annoyed with my hair for a couple of months before I cut it yesterday. I have the same thickness as you (though mine dries a lot faster!) and it was below my hips and all of the layers were grown out, like I had wanted. But that made it a hot, heavy blanket that made for a sweaty neck. I also find flat hair extremely unflattering (for me anyways) and my hair got very triangle-y and kind of... mediëval looking? In a bad way. So yesterday I cut myself some face framing layers and a more severe U-cut, and I love it! It feels so much lighter but the ends look thicker, and it has a lot more volume around the face so I can wear it down again without looking like a cone head.

Unlike some people commented, it's not weird to get bored with your hair, especially if you're not really the bun/updo kind of person. I'm not either, so "playing with hair toys" isn't really the solution to any hair impasse of mine, since I like to wear it down, and to wear it down I need to like my hair.

[starlamelissa]

I have thick hair, though thinner since I had kids. I have regularly maintained layers, bangs,and a v shaped hem. Helps it dry faster, and looks visually interesting.