Why did you do a massive chop and were you happy afterwards?

[et--cetera]

I'm faced with a difficult dilema. I've gone and absolutely ruined the condition of my hair and now I'm trying to decide if I should just chop it off into a pixie and then do everything you're supposed to do to the virgin hair or if it's worth it to try and baby the very damaged length I have.

I'd love to hear your stories of why you chopped and how you felt afterwards.

[sarahthegemini]

Hmm, is it past the point of being able to fix/improve it? I cut 3-4 inches off my BSL hair, and again to take me to SL. I know that's not as dramatic, but I felt good after. I cut because my ends were dry and straggly, I was left with healthy ends :)

[ladyfey]

I had dyed for about 14 years (bleached blonde, then eventually dyed red) and was at knee length. I grew out a few inches of natural and then chopped to a shoulder length bob. I LOVED it. Loved having my natural hair color back and loved having healthy hair. I had no regrets, kept it short for about a year and grew it back out, I am now approaching ankle length. I had a lot of fun with a bob haircut, might do it again someday, but not soon :)

[et--cetera]

I had dyed for about 14 years (bleached blonde, then eventually dyed red) and was at knee length. I grew out a few inches of natural and then chopped to a shoulder length bob. I LOVED it. Loved having my natural hair color back and loved having healthy hair. I had no regrets, kept it short for about a year and grew it back out, I am now approaching ankle length. I had a lot of fun with a bob haircut, might do it again someday, but not soon :)

Haha, okay you don't know how inspirational that is because that is the same boat I am in. I damaged it with bleach and still want it long in the end, but I really want to get my natural color long.

[ladyfey]

Yeah, bleach made my hair mooshy ;( The natural is soooo much easier, no more checking roots, no more wondering when to do the hair before a big event. It was worth it for me.

[Nesoi]

Ooh, a thread for me! :D

My hair was waist length, and I cut it for a number of reasons. I hadn't discovered LHC so I didn't really know about putting it up in fun ways, or how to get the best out of it. But also, it had been long for years and I was just ready for a change! A local salon was doing a donation drive (they help clients with trich - I know the donation world in general is sketchy, but they're legit) and I thought, why not, right? It's hair! It'll grow back.

I had a few NOOOO comments before the fact from family and friends, but they all loved the pixie too once I got it done :D Except my one friend who was like >:( but w/e, it isn't her hair!

This was my waist-length (at the back, where it didn't have to travel over my ~tracts of land~) hair (um, sorry for the creepy no-facing. I don't have an album here yet):

http://www.dumpt.com/img/files/ftqr2fpq1hcl392e0cj5_thumb.jpg (http://www.dumpt.com/img/viewer.php?file=ftqr2fpq1hcl392e0cj5.jpg)

This was the resulting pixie:
http://www.dumpt.com/img/files/etk1xfgb1rlmdf75703h_thumb.jpg (http://www.dumpt.com/img/viewer.php?file=etk1xfgb1rlmdf75703h.jpg)

And this was my pony! (Plus bonus cat.)

http://www.dumpt.com/img/files/zpxwii170ewp9ywxtahj_thumb.jpg (http://www.dumpt.com/img/viewer.php?file=zpxwii170ewp9ywxtahj.jpg)

Hee. Looking at it now of course I'm like WUAGH WHY DID I CUT IT because I'm growing out again now. But I absolutely loved having my pixie for a while, and if I hadn't cut and then decided to grow again, I'm not sure I would have googled, discovered LHC, started CO-washing and discovered waves - which I never had in my long hair!!

Why not try cutting it in stages? That way you cut get rid of some damaged hair and assess how you feel about it before taking the pixie plunge?

[et--cetera]

I would think about cutting it in stages except for a few things:
1. I don't have a lot of free time and the time I do I'd rather not even stop in at a hair salon
2. I am very money conscious and would just rather have one cut than many.

[Nesoi]

Yeah, I can see that. I actually hate going to the hairdresser - one reason to grow it out again, LOL. I can maintain it myself!

Good luck with whatever you decide :)

[jeanniet]

I cut from past hip (about BCL) to just past shoulder, where my hair is now. I did it because I wanted to, and also because I wanted to go full CG (curly girl) and felt it would be easier shorter. I did it over the course of several months, though, since I wasn't sure how long I wanted it to be. The last four inches were done in a salon. I'd guess all told it was nearly two feet. I don't regret it at all, but I've never been one to regret cutting my hair. I'll probably grow it back out eventually.

[lolar]

why go to pixie? cant you go to a short one length bob that would be a lot easier to grow out?

[et--cetera]

why go to pixie? cant you go to a short one length bob that would be a lot easier to grow out?

My roots are not that grown out and I don't know if I could deal with the damage for that long. But, it might be worth it and it's definitely something to consider.

[Seeshami]

When I was in high school I grew my hair out for colorguard and when I quit they didn't believe I was seriously quitting and talked a lot of sh*t about my knee injury and not wanting to practice so in a rage fueled fit of....at the time I thought kindness, I chopped waist length hair into a pixie and donated it. It upset a lot of people, many of my friends mourned my hair and the colorguard learned I don't do things halfway. I would never do it again because I have learned to simply tell people off but at the time the shock factor of my hair being there and then suddenly gone and no one knowing what was happening was satisfying. I also believe my best friend at the time encourage the action because she couldn't stand the fact my hair was longer then hers. I could never have anything she wanted.

[neko_kawaii]

I cut waist length hair off to a pixie a number of times in my life and loved every cut. The only time I was slightly disappointed was when I cut it short thinking it would be easier to manage and then realized that long hair was easier for me to manage. Loved the cut, hated that I had to wash it regularly and that with an infant shower time meant teeth grinding nerves on edge baby screaming time.

[Synnovea]

I cut back from waist to APL to get rid of thin, damaged layers. I missed the length immediately, but by reminding myself that length didn't matter to me if it was in poor shape, I eventually came to appreciate the growing process along with my now thick hemline. I chopped about 1.5 years ago, and I'm past waist now onto hip. It was worth it.

[et--cetera]

I cut waist length hair off to a pixie a number of times in my life and loved every cut. The only time I was slightly disappointed was when I cut it short thinking it would be easier to manage and then realized that long hair was easier for me to manage. Loved the cut, hated that I had to wash it regularly and that with an infant shower time meant teeth grinding nerves on edge baby screaming time.

How did you deal with the growing out phase of the pixie cut?

[Maktub]

Ain't such a drastic change as others, perhaps, but I cut my past BSL hair to APL about 3 months ago.


It was a very bad idea, because I did it under frustration and stress (for something unrelated to hair). I impulsively decided to cut if off to get rid of the "layers" / thinning ends because I was mad, sad, stressed and unhappy about myself and that's what my brain decided to do to deal about it :rolleyes:
I am still a little sad about it and find my hair so short.

What I am happy of, is that my ends are so much thicker, I now have all LHC-grown hair (so much softer than the ends I had) and almost no henna/damaged hair left (pretty much all natural hair now).

I plan on microtrimming often (at least 4 times per year) to keep my blunt ends as much as possible.

[neko_kawaii]

How did you deal with the growing out phase of the pixie cut?

Mostly cotton bandanas, folded in a triangle and tied at the nape. Covered all the (greasy) hair and kept it out of my face. I also have a fair collection of thin clips and barrettes that could be used to holding hair back from my face. Funny little pigtails that stick straight out. The back of course is longer giving a mullet like look during the most awkward phase. I remember there was a length were I could twist the sides all the way to the nape and then tuck the longer part into a sort of roll and hold it with a hair comb - the hardest part was always adding the second side and not having the first fall to pieces in the process.

[McFearless]

Haha, okay you don't know how inspirational that is because that is the same boat I am in. I damaged it with bleach and still want it long in the end, but I really want to get my natural color long.

What is your natural colour?
Something similar may be achieved with henna and indigo or other herbal dyes that can also give strength to the hair, making the grow out process easier.

[et--cetera]

Except my dyed hair will not accept any new color. It is that damaged.
I'm a natural ash blonde as well so that's hard to match.

[Maktub]

Pure good quality henna sticks very well to porous / damaged hair in general (actually better than healthy hair).

[battles]

Not as big of a chop as some people, but I cut from almost waist back to APL.

I'm growing out color, and I didn't want to fall too in love with the length so that I couldn't bear to cut out the henna later on. Felt odd for a few days, I kept wondering where my hair went. I'm alright with it now, and planning to cut to shoulder length when my bangs and henna demarcation line reach that point.

[KittyBird]

I cut from hip+ to pixie when I was 15, and I loved it! Well, until I realised that I looked terrible with short hair, and that my thick, wavy hair didn't like being pixied. I decided to just grow it out again, and then I left it alone for a couple of years. Don't think I did much to make the awkward phase less awkward, except for wearing pigtails every now and then.

My last big-ish chop was in April last year, when I cut from waist/hip to about bsl. It was my first time cutting my own hair and I got a bit scissor-happy. I loved having thicker, healthier ends, but I hated how short it was! It took me many weeks before I got used to it.

[Hootenanny]

I chopped from probably around BSL at the time (wasn't really measuring back then) to a very short pixie (shaved in the back). I loved the pixie and maintained it for about a year, but finally got tired of the constant upkeep (flat-ironing my curls so they didn't stick out all over) and maintenance trims (pricey!) and started growing. I'm not gonna lie to you: the growing-out phase from pixie to chin is rough, but neko_kawaii gave some great tips for dealing with this difficult stage. If you've never tried a pixie before, I'd say to give it a shot. You might fall in love with the look! :)

[McFearless]

Except my dyed hair will not accept any new color. It is that damaged.
I'm a natural ash blonde as well so that's hard to match.

Ah I see. That method would work well for someone growing in dark hair. With your blonde roots it might be best to find another alternative.

As for pixie cuts - I currently have one and it has a mullet which I'm ignoring as I want this stage to end as quickly as possible. It doesn't look pretty, and would be hard to deal with if you like leaving your hair down constantly + oppose constant cutting and reshaping for financial reasons. Instead I'd recommend a blunt bob for a simple grow out. You can strengthen the left over dyed hair with protein treatments and gentle washing/conditioning methods.

[alexis917]

A few days ago I cut from about waist to an inch past APL, to get rid of old bleach damage.
It's finally all virgin, woohoo! So yes, I am quite happy now.
I'm just hoping it will grow back quickly- I think I suit long hair better.

[jessicac1]

4 years back I cut mine to a Victoria Beckham style bob (angled, short at the back) and at a later cut it got even shorter (chin length)
I cut it because everyone at my school had long hair and I wanted to be different/ stand out.
It didn't suit me I think, ended up wearing clip in extensions a few months after. To be honest I mostly hated it.
At BSL now, longest its been for a long time/ever.

[AmyBeth]

I chopped from tailbone to just above my shoulders. Out of insecurity about my looks, hoping I would look better with short hair. I fell victim to the "No long hair after age 35" mentality. I regretted it the moment it was done. I have been regrowing it for the past 2 years and with the help of the advice I've gleaned from LHC, I have better hair than ever and I know I will never cut my hair again!

[soapstone]

Cut from tailbone up to bra-strap beginning of 2012. The ends were wispy and uneven. Now hemline thick and even. Just growing along now. Grows slow, just at elbow now. Good all around. Good topic reminds me to get my vitamin routine rolling again.

[et--cetera]

Well,
I just got back from the hairdressers. She talked me out of a pixie cut and I now have shoulder length hair and she says she can blend in the roots with the rest that way I can just let it grow and leave it alone without an awkward growth phase and then cut out the damage later. I love the cut, not so sure about the color. So, maybe I can get advice for that here?

To start I have platinum blonde hair and then a golden blonde color and then my ash blonde roots. She was talking about highlights and toning it but I thought highlights only brought in lighter colors and a toner just took out ash tones?

[pensandpaint]

About six months after my renewal of vows, I cut my hair from waist-length to chin-length. I didn't really like it, but my hair was so damaged that it was pretty much just a puff of dried out hair, so it was nice to have healthy ends again (my DH and I cut it ourselves too, with scissors, so it wasn't the prettiest cut ever - but it was dark blue, so at least all the children around liked it). I think we even still have the pony tail somewhere, since my husband wanted to keep it. I hope that's not too weird :shrug:. If I find it, I will try to take a picture of it. I finally got to a stylist and had it cut into a nice pixie a few months later, and it's been very short since then. I've cut it back a few times because I saw it starting to thin again, but this time I am going to soldier on and keep growing it. :) I had it cut longer in front than in back, so I kinda dodged the mullet stage.

et--cetera: that haircut sounds nice! And you didn't lose all your length. The color sounds pretty too, but if you really don't like it, maybe it will slowly disappear with regular trims? No matter what happens though, happy growing :) If your avatar is any indication, you will look great no matter what.

[jacqueline101]

I had a shag in 08 and did it after a break up I wanted a change.

[jeanniet]

I think your stylist was smart. The thing about a pixie is, if you know you're going to grow your hair back out, it's going to take at least a year of growing and trimming to get it all one length at about chin. If you can stand just cutting back to one length--whether that's chin, shoulder, or whatever--you're saving yourself a lot of time even though length-wise it's not that much. I grew from chin to waist in less than three years; if I'd had a pixie, it would have taken at least four years, maybe five.

[et--cetera]

Yeah, that was what convinced me. She was telling me about all the awkward grow out and the maintenance of them.

[UltraBella]

Toner usually is for brassy tones or hair that has been lifted too light.

[hannabiss]

I think the pixie is the way to go. That way its fresh and a new hair journey. Do it at once other wise you may stop and prolong the damage in your hair. But that's my opinion.

[AspenSong]

The biggest chop I've had was long ago now.....I was about 18 years old, my hair was TB length and my family (except my Dad) was hounding me about "all my hair" and how bad it looked, etc. I dealt with it for a year and finally cut it out of anger to shut them up. Bad reason, but it was lame all around. My Dad was devastated and sad for me. I was sad and horrified once I'd done it. I went from TBL to an above my shoulder shag. I hated it and it took me a long time to stop hating myself for doing it and giving in to what others wanted of me.
I guess my next biggest cut was a few years back, I cut about 7-8 inches of dye/bleach damage off my hair. Went from waist to about BSL I guess. I wasn't happy, but I was at the same time to have the damage gone. I had about a foot or more of bad damage and cut the other inches off in spurts, but finally just hacked that lot off to get it gone.
Good luck on your choice. I can see doing it either way and have done it both ways, big chop and smaller ones...So there's pros and cons to either I think. Just depends on you and your own feelings and happiness in the end!

[curlytwirlykate]

I've had ashy lowlights put into my hair! And the toner made all the difference.

It wasn't too long ago that I was in the same boat as you -- fried ends, many types of blonde, and no way to grow it out nicely. I ended up getting it toned and it made ALL the difference! Toner takes out the brassiness (the golden stuff), which will make your hair look more ashy. Also, many hairdressers can really customize the toner! They use any colour blended with conditioner. So if she uses an ashy toner, you should be fine.

I had great success using my own version of those purple shampoos, too. Purple tones down the brassiness (again, the overt gold), restoring your hair to a more ashy, natural colour. I steep a ton of lavender in water (for a looong time... like, two days!), and then add the super concentrated tea to my condish. It thins out the conditioner, but I found that using it for extended periods really helped to tone down my hair.

Good luck!!

[chen bao jun]

I would suggest no pixie.
I did it once, not because of damage but because a hairdresser had given me one of those 80's hairstyles, beyond layers, the top was short and the back remained brastrap and I hated it.
I hated the pixie worse. Even if you are pretty, it can often be that a pixie just not suit your face. Then it starts growing out and its just all over the place. Its a ton of work to style and basically requires blow drying to look decent (mine needed a curling iron too). It takes YEARS to grow out even if your hair grows fast.
If microtrimming is not possible, I would suggest only cutting as much as you can get away with (up to where the damage is less severe) and then just babying, especially if you know your goal is actually long hair.

[ladylovecraft]

I've done a massive chop before and been in almost your exact situation. It took a long time to get here, but I don't think that my hair would have ever stopped breaking off because it was fairly damaged to get to this length had I not done the massive chop. If you have bleach damage, like I did, I suggest 'sucking it up' (not to be insensitive, but it's not going to be enjoyable) and doing the big chop. Now that my hair IS finally long and healthy, it's so worth it.

Maybe I'm overestimating your damage here. Some damage is salvageable, while others is less so. I think you could do a S&D and see just how many of your ends are splits, and if there's quite a few, a big chop might be worth it. Unfortunately I can't see your hair up close so it's hard for me to judge.

[Houdini]

I was in the same boat as you actually. Bleach killed my hair.. (not melted) but.. certainly dead.

I bleached my hair so hard it WOULDN'T take any pigment, it only turned gray every time I attempted to deposit. (initial plan was dye it to a color close to my eyebrows)

After I fully processed how damaged my hair was, (which took a week to do) I realized not only could I NOT reach my goal length with the damage, but I was effectively poisoning my scalp with the bleach chemicals, ruining hair before it was even 1/8 of an inch long by exposing it to the bleach and the heat from my head, my hair was thick even bleach damaged, so I took the time to imagine how thick it would be without damage and premature loss. How nice and silky it would feel naturally... to be chemical free and see my natural hair color, to know how long I could grow it...

So, I waited a month after my last bleach- and shaved it down to 3/8 of an inch, ended up cutting almost half a centimeter of my natural hair off in the process- but whatevs, thats what i get for eyeballing it. I felt, and still feel great having made that decision. I like my natural color way more than I thought I would, I wash with only honey (going completely natural with the hair care) and without seeing that contrast between bleach and roots, I'm not even temped to bleach anymore.

[Khiwanean]

I chopped from MBL to Chin because I was growing out blant bangs and no longer wanted to deal with 2 different hair lengths. I didn't regret the chop, but the lighter feel all at once drove me nuts. I was not at all fond of feeling like I was going to float away.

[Leeloo]

I'd suggest doing smaller trims to see if your hair feels healthy enough at longer lengths. If you want to keep the length there aren’t too many choices. I know you said that you’d rather spend money on only one haircut, but maybe you can try to use Feye’s trimming method at home.

[Nae]

I had a cut from apl-ish to pixie on a whim because I saw a hairstyle I liked. Yeah. Big mistake.

I would rather have someone pull out all my toenails rather than try to regrow from pixie to all one length again.

Good call on the shoulder length cut.

[ravenreed]

When I was pretty young, I over bleached my hair and went from probably APL to a pixie. I loved it. I don't know if I would go that short again because my hair is pretty wild at the shorter lengths, but I am glad I did it at the time. It was a cute hairstyle for me. At this point I probably wouldn't go shorter than BSL...

[MandyBeth]

I had gotten to APL - my hair is cat fine, frequent trims are required - and between several rounds of surgery with extended hospital stays, the resulting hormonal changes from finally being spayed and several (erm 4...) Rammstein concerts in the first few rows so my hair was pretty much not worth wrestling. So back to my frequent friend of a pixie. I'm growing it out, but yeah, it'll take a long while.

My daughter cut from waist/hip curly past mid calf straight to just above elbows curly around fingertip straight. Her hair was extremely damaged, and after one long, frizz worship session of detangling, the second round - she brought scissors to me and wanted her hair cut where it went from soft to icky. So, chop of sorts there.

Both of us - damage was more annoying than regrowing length. So, cut away. Besides, it is only hair. Even if it doesn't grow back - it's not THAT important in the big picture, and even then, there are some very nice wigs out there.

[YamaMaya]

I did a big chop in 2008 because I fancied short hair for awhile, did a bit of bleach and manic panic for awhile, then quickly grew bored of it. I fried my hair with the bleach and vowed from then on to not let bleach anywhere near my hair. I slowly, painstakingly grew the bleach out myself and bit by bit trimmed it out over the course of a year, then decided to grow it long. I've been growing ever since and have it about MBL. I dyed black a few times but decided to go natural, so I'm again trimming out the dye bit by bit :p. If you have the patience to do it that way then that is always an option. IF however, it is severely damaged at the ends, it might be healthier to let the damaged hair go. I've wrestled with the decision a couple of times when I felt I had to trim more than usual, I always say to myself it is better to get rid of the damage and have less length than to hold onto damage for the sake of length.

[see_turtle]

I chopped this past October two days after my wedding....my hair was waist and was cut to a bit below shoulder. My hair was gross from the hair spray and curling and I wanted to please my husband who prefers short hair. This was a massive mistake...I could have trimmed an inch or so and seen an improvement. I am now waiting and growing currently 2.5 inches from BSL with a goal of classic. I took myself back three years of growth in 5 minutes and it is hard to deal with. My hair was not damaged though so a different situation than you are in. Good luck with figuring out what you want to do,

[sumidha]

After I graduated high school I buzzed my bsl+ hair down to about 1/4 inch, and I loved it... I had always had long hair and needed a drastic change, plus I had a couple years of growing it out after that where I played around with dyes and different shorter cuts I had never experimented with before. I also learned that I look good with very short, or long hair, from chin length to past shoulders was a horribly awkward length on me. So, for me, it was an overall positive experience. :)

[yuehime]

Personally, I was too chicken to get the pixie, so I went from BSL to above shoulders/half way down the neck. I was upset to lose length, but I knew if I was gonna get some good length and better hair health I had to do it. I also stopped dying it at that point as well and the growth has been pretty good since.

[Olavi]

My hair was literally so damaged, it was breaking away. I was tempting to have shaved head anyway, so I asked my dad to cut EVERYTHING away. It was bit shocking, but I was happy with it :) Until it was 1 cm, then it wasn't that cool anymore.

[Tristania]

I cut off about a foot a year and a half ago. I was happy that my shorter hair felt softer, more manageable and generally in better condition, but it didn't take long before I started to miss the length (it was tailbone before the chop).

[Jeno86]

For me, it was at least five years ago. I was in a really bad place mentally, emotionally, unhealthy relationship. I was basically in a rut and desperately needed to do something new. My hair at the time was hip length, horrible condition due yo years of bad box black hair. Out of nowhere, I decided to stop dying it black and I then had my mom cut it to a little past chin length. That seemed to be exactly what I needed because things changed in my life for the better! Got out of my bad relationship, began healing myself, met the man I am now married to and so on. My hair is now back to hip, almost TBL, and in better condition than its ever been. I've still got some dye I'm growing out on my ends but its coming along.

[miss_asimov]

My then-fiance broke up with me and I cut my hair from around APL to a pixie. I loved it and kept it variations of short, longest being an asymetrical chin length bob, for about four years. Then I discovered LHC at about the same time I got bored of the bob... and the rest is history ^^

Here's an old compilation I made for illustration purposes:

http://i818.photobucket.com/albums/zz104/sweetestpoison_photo/hairprogress-1.jpg

[Krystall]

Damaged ends, tearing their way up was my reason. I cut from tailbone to borderline shoulders (A bit shorter)- happy to be able to leave the hair that was healthy. It's almost a year ago now, and by the 1st anniversary I'm fairly sure it will have grown 6". I'm at 5.5" already. I did snip my ends once in January, and went on a S&D mission some months ago (I found three split strands :D). I miss the length of course, but if this growth rate continues I'll be almost back to where I was by late September 2015. Soothes my soul.

Overall I'm glad I did it.

[MonaMayfair]

When I was about 15 or so I had it cut from classic to shoulder length because I was bored with it.
About 4 years ago cut from around waist length into a traditional 1920s chin length bob (because all I ever see is long hair, and I was sick of looking like everyone else) But way too hard to look after, so I grew it out again straight away, after one more cut, because I need it short for a play I was in.
I just trimmed a few inches off myself here and there, and then last February or March, when it was past waist length and I was really bored with it again, I had 8" cut off and lots of layers put in.
It's back to waist length again already though.
Since there's still lots of henna in it, I'll be getting lots more chops in the future :)

[NoRush]

I went from mid back to chin two years ago and yes, I was happy I did it, for a few reasons, first it had been 14 years since my hair had been any shorter then apl and I liked the new feel (not the look, I found my hair looks horrible on me when short T.T), the no maintenance experience and with the passing of time I also realized just how different hair feels when it's not tortured :P I found the LHC at about that time and started lurking in here so for me the chop was a complete fresh start I enjoyed a change of look, however unfortunate, and got to grow my hair back with all the care possible so now it's almost bsl and growing, smooth, suuuuuper shiny all the way to the ends, wich it had never been before, no tangles at all.

In sort for me the chop was a very positive experience overall but you have to embrace the short and rock it while it lasts and forget about missing the length until it grows back, otherwise one can fall into despair XD.

ETA: the reason I chopped in the first place was because I was sick and tired of waiting for some horror story mullet layers to catch up to the rest of the length :P

[Achlys]

I had it cut from a little past waist to a chin length bob. I'd been thinking about it for half a year and I was happy after. Well, for another six months at least. Then I started to grow it out again. I remember that after the cut my mom said that I must feel great because of the weight of hair that I lost. But I couldn't tell a difference, and it made me a little sad.

[RedNymph]

I bleached my hair previously, it was a disaster. I permed my hair, it was a disaster. I permed my hair again, it was a disaster.

The state of my hair effected my mood because it was just a knotted, matted mess. Getting it chopped made it feel so much healthier, and I no longer feel negative about my hair, despite my haircut being actually horrible.

I'm glad I did though.

[Wildhorserider]

I had some mysterious illness and lost about 40% of my hair as a result. It was waist length so It ended up looking like the witch from Pumpkin Head! 😂 I cut it to just under my ears. I think I’ll let it get to shoulder length and maintain that till all the new growth catches up. I hate how I look with short hair and can not wait till it grows! The cherry on top is my hairline grows straight BACK from my face! There is absolutely nothing I can do about it. When it’s long it gives me gorgeous volume around my face. When it’s short, it stands straight up! Plus, I have a large forehead that could really use some cute bangs... nope, not gonna happen.

[Bookprincess]

I had some mysterious illness and lost about 40% of my hair as a result. It was waist length so It ended up looking like the witch from Pumpkin Head! 😂 I cut it to just under my ears. I think I’ll let it get to shoulder length and maintain that till all the new growth catches up. I hate how I look with short hair and can not wait till it grows! The cherry on top is my hairline grows straight BACK from my face! There is absolutely nothing I can do about it. When it’s long it gives me gorgeous volume around my face. When it’s short, it stands straight up! Plus, I have a large forehead that could really use some cute bangs... nope, not gonna happen.

Aw I hope it grows back to its former volume soon! I had to get a big chop due to extreme hair loss like that too about three years ago and it was so heartbreaking! But it grows back so don't worry

[Vorvayne]

Cut my hair from hip to APL in...like 2012 or something? I was cutting out dye and, though I didn't cut all of it out, I definitely god rid of the worst of the damage. Didn't regret that at all, though I missed my red hair and the length, and felt a bit sad and unattractive, but that was other things going on.

Cut to a - well, can't call it a pixie, it was one of those kinda punk haircuts with the shaved sides and longer on top things - in 20......uh......14 maybe? 15? And while I LOVED that cut at the time when I decided to grow my hair out again a year later I was a bit cross at myself for all the wasted time and length. Still, I got to start with really healthy hair and my hair grew pretty quick. The in-between phases were *painful* though and I looked a bit tragic (couldn't afford to go to the hairdresser to get it touched up as it was growing out) for like a year.

If you possibly can, I'd get it cut to a short blunt bob. It'll grow out in no time and you can have someone you trust cut it straight along the bottom in a few months' time. If there's only a bit of dye on the ends that means it's ombre! You can stick a bunch of that damaged hair sealing cream stuff on the dyed bits and tough it out. Well, that's what I'd do in your situation, I hope you find something that works for you! :blossom:

[Wildhorserider]

Thank you. I was a having a really terrible day today. I just hate it. However; I just measured it and it’s grown more than half an inch since I cut it 20 days ago! Plus I have a million tiny hairs sprouting! 👏🏻

[cailinbee]

that's speedy growth, Wildhorserider!

I chopped last year and was really happy with it. I had to get the last 4-5 inches of bleach damage out; I'd been restless for over a year. I did like the initial cut, and went back to get it shaped after a month, but I had every intention of continuing to grow it back out -- my personal "awkward phase" is shoulder-APL+, which I've almost powered through. My hair is really healthy and I'm super happy with its current state.

If you actually want a pixie, definitely give it a shot -- but if you're just worried about the state of your lengths and you're worried about regretting it, just baby the lengths and visit some trim temptation therapy threads :) I was a really restless trimmer the last 2 years of having dye in my hair and I remember it almost triggering my (Very real) OCD/dysphoria. Ultimately it was still just hair on my head that occasionally I think wistfully...would be length down to waist by now, damaged or no...

[wool]

I slowly cut back from nearly waist after lightening my hair a few shades. I regret the dying but not the cutting. I do think if i never dyed it I wonder how long it would be now etc. I dyed in 2015 and kept it longer than bsl with just small trims for a while then started the process of dying back to brown and trims. Then I cut back to APL a few times and finally to just off the shoulders but not quite chin length, which is where I am now. I love having my hair short and have maintained this for a few months but now I am feeling impatient to get it back to a natural colored waist length and continue growing to my goal of hopefully hip or tailbone length. In hindsight I would have just listened to the mulitiple people who told me not to change it in the first place, including the colorist who looked at it and said how lovely and healthy it was before, but oh well!

[lithostoic]

My hair was very damaged from years of bleach and dye. Plus mechanical damage from combing out my dreadlocks. Don't regret it one bit, my hair is almost damage free now!

[guska]

I did two massive chops, with one month in between. First from TLB to MBL, then to ChL.

My friends had been telling me to chop it off since forever saying that I needed something different (I had always had long hair) and I finally listened, after 4+ years of nagging :) I've also gone through one massive shed that took away 1/3 of my hair thickness and the taper that it left was... not very nice :(

Yes, I'm happy, since new healthy hair is gonna grow back ;)

[Stray_mind]

I chopped from almost hip to above chin length. I started hating my henna red hair and how awful the ends felt and how it tangled every time and just didn't look good. I also wanted a big change that time, so i chopped.

I was happy for about a year until i decided i miss doing buns and braids in my hair.
That's when i decided to grow out again.

[browneyedsusan]

I kept my hair around my shoulders until I had kids, then cropped to pixie. The hairdresser was very reluctant to cut it "that short", but it was what I wanted. I was tired of it gettin my face, stuck in my lipstick, having to style it. I wanted it short enough so the kids couldn't grab it, ride the motorcycle and not have helmet head, and to never get tangles. I loved it for many years! :)

[wannabe-rusalka]

I cut my hair to my chin in my sophmore year of high school and I loved it for about 2 years before I decided I wanted long hair back! My bob suited me but I eventually got bored.

[ponine]

I went blonde and my ends got so damaged they started to get really tangled so I chopped my BSL length hair to shoulders. Then I got a pixie cut because I thought that now is the time to have short hair, I knew I would want to grow it out at some point. I never regretted that I was happy with short hair too.


However way before deciding to bleach my BSL hair I chopped my hair to a bob and then I wanted to grow my hair before going blonde and that's when I regretted cutting my hair. I wanted waist length but I ran out of patience. It might also have been a false terminal since I felt like it didn't grow and I knew nothing about hair care back then.

[Unzadi]

I chopped from BSL to shoulder about two years ago, to get rid of a W shaped hemline, and loved it. Nice, healthy ends, even hemline, and great bounce. I had thought about going a little shorter still (maybe someday) but grew out to BSL again. A stylist suggested I try layers, which I had never had, with my fine hair, but figured eh, if I didn't like, I could cut back to shoulder again.

I ended up liking the layers, but stylist is no longer at the salon. Probably time to search again.

[Jas]

I had my hair at a very bleach damaged BCL when I found LHC - and the next day chopped it to MBL, just above WL and did my usual bleach the crap out of it. I definitely needed the cut but I so wish I hadn't gone blonde again..I'll be growing that out for ages! I'm now a year and a bit into growing out the dye and it's healthier at the ends due to protective styling, but I'll be slowly cutting out the bleach once I reach classic :)

[iforgotmylogin]

I don't remember why I cut my hair off the first time I went back to short hair.

The second time, it was because of heat. I only ever tied it back at the nape of my neck at that time, despite tying it up more like a top knot during the growing phase. It never dawned on me (as it did this time around) that I could tie it up high to keep it off my neck and forehead, as opposed to parting it in the middle and tying it low, which had hair on my skin. Now, when it's hot, I tie and bun it so it's not on any skin (that isn't my scalp of course) and it's not really a problem in the heat at all

[nitagurl]

I'm against any and all cuts but even I had to perform one about 2 weeks ago. My ends were so destroyed after neglectfully aiming for TBL that you could see split ends inches up the hair shaft. I reached my goal but a clean cut back to WL was no longer a choice but a requirement. I've been mad about it ever since.

[Ardyn]

I did a massive chop from waist length to long pixie with nearly undercut sides about 2 months go and I regret it in terms of missing my hair. But it has done wonders for removing a lot of damage.

But it brings me to tears thinking it’s gonna take about 2 years to get it to even bra strap length. :( if I’m lucky.

[joiekimochi]

My chops have been gradual but earlier this year I went from APL to a cheek-length bob and really liked it. I looked like an anime character and my hair dried so quickly and felt so light! I flirted with keeping the shortness but as I got too busy to go back for trims I just let it grow out and I'm now at shoulder length and planning to grow it out as long as I can again.

tl;dr it was fun and I loved the chop, but am neglect-growing it out again.

[TreesOfEternity]

I’ve cut from waist to pixie twice, I loved it and maintained the pixie for a really long time because I really wanted short hair and didn’t care much about long hair. Now I would never do it again, at this point I want my hair to be extra long and I don’t think I’ll change my mind.

[Ardyn]

I’ve cut from waist to pixie twice, I loved it and maintained the pixie for a really long time because I really wanted short hair and didn’t care much about long hair. Now I would never do it again, at this point I want my hair to be extra long and I don’t think I’ll change my mind.

I feel ya - I really wanted to try a pixie at least once as I’d had long hair my whole life. To the point where it was what I was known for in school and such. But, even though it’s nice and I suit it, I wouldn’t go back. Aiming for waist/hip by the time I’m 30 as a birthday present to myself...4 years in the making haha.

Also, I have to ask — is your username a reference to the band of the same name?

[Andthetalltrees]

This has kind of been my cycle, Grow for 2-5 years then chop short when I get tired, Not sure I've maintained a hair length/cut for longer than a few months. I've never regretted it much, Sometimes I do but then I know it'll grow again and that's just how it's been. I've gone from TBL to chin, From waist to shoulder

[TreesOfEternity]

I feel ya - I really wanted to try a pixie at least once as I’d had long hair my whole life. To the point where it was what I was known for in school and such. But, even though it’s nice and I suit it, I wouldn’t go back. Aiming for waist/hip by the time I’m 30 as a birthday present to myself...4 years in the making haha.

Also, I have to ask — is your username a reference to the band of the same name?

I still have a long way to go to reach my goal haha but oh well, I can’t complain growing from a pixie is a real quest, all we can do is enjoy the journey.

And yes! my username references the band which I love :heartbeat

[Artemecia]

I did a huge chop from almost bsl to a short pixie- at the time I loved it, bleached the hell out of it and played with all of the fun colours. Now I'm growing again, because I miss being able to put it up, and use all of the fun hair sticks! Henna is going to be my saviour I think, because after growing it all out natural, I remembered that I never feel like 'me' with my natural colour (lovingly called mousey brown by my family).

Pixie is currently at mid nose length... And I'm hoping to avoid too much mullet, and the back was a lot shorter than the rest. But either way, I'm powering through it, and I will get to waist (goal is classic... But I know what I'm like for suddenly cutting).

[chomsky]

Chopped off several inches due to heat and bleach damage. Only regretted it because my hair was almost to short to plait.

However, it was the best decision I ever made. I got to enjoy my hair healthy, short and bouncy, which I hadn't done in a long time.

[MidnightMoon]

From tailbone to APL. Did it because I was bored and decided I wanted copper dyed hair again and being able to style it. Couldn't dye it because I had used Pravana, ended up with a disaster and hated the length. So yes, I regretted it dearly.

[queenbee1]

Chopped from bcl to bsl. Cut off all the damage. BUT i had been planning this chop for months. Super happy and no regrets!

[lapushka]

In my decade that I've been here, I went to chin again from BSL (or even twice, can't even recall LOL), and to BSL once - from hip. I didn't much like it but it had to happen. When I went to chin last I had a chemical cut and burn and my hair just broke off at around shoulder, like diagonally just could pull it off real gently, it all came out. That was not the best experience. So I had the hairdresser shape it up.

[Iku-Turso]

Longest hair I've had in recent years is Classic length, but TBL was my normal length. I cut my hair in May and now I currently have a BSL hair. I love it. I might even go for a little shorter hair.

I'm super happy I can wear high ponytails again! I can also do pigtails which now look more "energized", because this shorter hair does not drape over my back like the very long hair did. Instead the hair wooshes happily all around when I turn my head. I wash my hair upside down so it has not changed (washing is as easy as it was before) but conditioning takes less time and smaller amounts of conditioner. I still keep oiling my ends and treating my hair good.

I chopped because my long hair did not give me as much joy as it did previous years. My hair was in good shape, it did not have split ends and it was medium thick, it was ok, sometimes it was great, and sometimes absolutely stunning. But as the years went by I started to feel that I don't want to try new updos anymore or I skipped curling my hair even though I knew it would look extra good with a new dress or I was going to a party, etc. I've had long hair with layers and without, colored and natural, curls and without, I did updos and kept my hair open, I had bangs and I grew them out. The long hair did not have the value for me it used to have so I decided to cut, and try something new or at least different. Frankly, I was thinking that even shorter drying time after washing would be something interesting. Now it takes only few hours, yay!

So I cut a slight V-shape and gave the ends a some layering. It makes my hair feel lighter and after curling the hair looks better than with a blunt cut. Straight-across cut was great choice for CL or TBL hair, because it made microtrimming and braiding easier. I have 1C hair with some 2A days, so my hair has always some body, but with this shorter hair I can use it to my advantage. When I had longer hair my hair type made my natural hair look either stringy or not styled, the hair was never straight or fully wavy. So I kept my hair in updos or curled it, and usually got compliments, but although the compliments always make you happy, you can get used to them, and you can also start to wonder that is it JUST the hair that looks good... I got very good doing my and other people's hair, and I'm still using my skills on this shorter hair. Everything is just so much easier now. :)

I only sometimes miss the effect that my long hair made on other people, especially when I had it as my side as one long spiral curl that reached my jeans pockets. I also miss the the feeling of the mass of hair gathering over your thighs: when you have long hair and you sit down then you can just reach the hair easily and arrange it better in your lap. Almost like petting a small pet hamster or rabbit. :D

[daisy rei]

In 2014 I chopped my APL hair into a bob - maybe chin or ear length. I’d always had long-ish hair my entire life, but from the age of 13 and onward I bleached the crap out of my hair. I had every unnatural color under the sun. Mainly what destroyed it though, was trying to get white hair. If anyone wants white hair - save up for a salon. :p

I chopped it because it felt like straw. Having short hair was amazing - my showers were less than ten minutes and I rarely had to brush it. It also grew super fast. It took two years to go from a bob to APL/BSL. While it’s been growing out, I frequently threaten my boyfriend that I want to shave my head because I’m curious as to what it’d be like being bald.

Now I think it’s safe to say I don’t want to be bald. I still had mixed opinions about long hair VS short hair (I personally love short hair on women) but LHC has converted me. Now I consider super long hair to be a rebellion against societal beauty standards. Hahaha, maybe that’s an overstatement, but there really is this nonconformist streak that seems to run deep in longhairs - which I absolutely love!

Plus, it seems way more low maintenance to me now to just throw my hair up into a bun with coconut oil rather than having to go to the salon every three to six months to touch up roots/layers/bangs. I’m far too lazy now to deal with processed hair. I don’t mind looking “boring” now - because at least it’s au naturel. :wink:

[tentaclecat]

I cut my hair last year from just beyond classic length to shoulder blade length.

A few years ago I got very ill, and as a result, a great deal of my hair fell out. Like...more than half. Every morning I would almost cry seeing my hair down, because though I still had some length, it was thin and ratty and reminded me of all I'd lost along with my health.

I went in for the chop and the stylist agreed that I had 'good' hair at about 3-4 inches above BSL, and I wanted to be able to put my hair up for work (I hate hair in my face), and I also couldn't bear to lose my collection of beautiful hairtoys I'd collected over the years. I did it, and she was a great stylist, who understood I did not want layers or style, I just wanted to get back to hair that wasn't awful.

I don't regret it. It's now a few inches below BSL, and I can start doing the more fun buns again, but with hair that feels better. It felt like a new start, and I rediscovered styles like 'just a plain old ponytail' (which is cute in a short length but can get unwieldy in longer hair), french braiding, and the like.

I have no regret other than having been so sick. I've expanded my style repertoire and am actually thinking of stopping this time at waist length instead of classic, to have more versatility. I'll never get back ALL my hair, so I'll never have my big buns again, but I can have tiny buns and feel good.

[Katsura]

I did a chop from BSL to APL about a year and a half ago because I wanted to trim my hem to more blunt to make it look healthier and thicker. I was happy with the result. I wasn't growing my hair then, I'd kind of want to chop again, but now I'm more keen on keeping the progress I've achieved.

[mindwiped]

Back in 2011 I was in school for a respiratory therapist license/ degree. I was having to drive over an hour without traffic to make it to a hospital by six AM. My hair was thinning and limp, and wasn't looking nice in braids, so I decided to really chop it. I had to convince my hair stylist that I was sure, the first time I sat in his chair I cried, because the previous stylist had butchered my hair.

My longest layer was about 3-4 inches. I'd wash my hair and body before bed, wake up, wet my hands, run them through to pop my wurley, and then run some product through it. So easy, but I got tired of not being able to get it out of my eyes.

I decided to grow after I graduated in Jan 2013, and I stopped coloring it two years ago. I'm now at a solid BSL, color free to about shoulder blades, but I have let myself put a deposit only color on my ends. I missed having some color, and this won't hurt the already damaged hair any further.

[Simsy]

I went from bsl to shoulder a week before graduation. It looked okay:?; I will admit that it needed doing since I had a lot of splits in the length (curls are high maintenance, who knew); but the stylist wasn’t familiar with curly hair and I ended up with triangle hair for graduation. I’m not upset with her, she was lovely about the cut and tried to make it look nice curly. At the time, I just figured it was what curls did, and dealt. No one in our family’s general circle at the time really understood curls and curl care in general, and I don’t think that anyone realised that I was a curly, not a straight/wavy who leaned heavily to curls. It was a few years before I even figured out the difference, and I’m the one with the mop on my head.

Afterwards, I stuck around shoulder length and figured out what my hair actually needed; not what everyone thought I needed. I was always a bit lazy about my cuts though, and I just drifted down to waist over a few years of benign neglect. My father and grandmother were slightly horrified when I told them I wasn’t brushing my hair, and neither really believed I was growing my hair much longer until they saw it loose at Xmas one year. My father still thinks it will cause me headaches and spinal/scalp problems once it’s gets below my hips (should I tell him I’m well past that point now?:eyebrows:). My grandmother thinks it looks magnificent loose and curly, safe to say she’s a fan.

So was I happy? Well, I wasn’t unhappy about the cut, and the fact that I kept the style for a couple of years probably says something about my laziness and general care factor at the time. But I prefer my hair long, and I’m happier with it now that I know what I’m doing.

[Lizabeth94]

A few years ago i had hair almost waist length, dyed it brunette, had severe allergic reactions and couldn't find a dye safe to use. I also was frustrated that every time i put my hair up it would trigger a migraine, so i decided to cut it to a pixie. At first i was super nervous, but everyone loved it and i got tons of compliments everywhere i went. I kept it for 3 years then started growing my hair again. I was happy when i did it, but it makes me sad to think that i could had classic length hair by now if i hadn't cut it. Im determined to grow it out my natural color and find a way yo put it up that doesn't hurt. Maybe crown braids or milkmaid braids. :shrug:

[maybeinaforest]

I cut my mid back length hair off in high school to a bob. No regrets after, it was so much faster to wash that early in the morning. I maintained that hair style for a long time because it was easy to wash and dye whatever color I was feeling like. I'm not sure if I'd do another chop like that unless I was no longer able to take care of my long hair. I guess that's when it goes back to a bob.

[illicitlizard]

Never any regrets, I think over my big chops for a long while. First one was from mid back length to shoulder length because I was sick of it, my head felt so light! Second was shoulder length to buzzed, something I'd been curious about for ages and when my dark brown dyed hair began to grow out I decided to go for it. Get back to that natural colour, which I discovered is no longer blonde. Was not expecting that.

[kamileona]

I chopped from tailbone to collarbone simply just because i thought having that much hair was exhausting. I never regretted it though, because the hair was soooo so damaged anyways so I really felt i was doing the best possible thing for my hair