What was your reason for wanting long/longer hair ?

[stephy190]

It may sound sad but my boyfriend loves long hair on girls. And I had longer hair before and had to get it cut due to damage. He loves my hair long and straight. Boys just don't understand I can't have it both ways :p But basically I prefer it longer too.. So I'm growing it out past chest length for myself and for my boyfriend :)

[goldenlady]

Mine was having my longish-hair cut into a hideous bob at about the age of 13/14 and going from feeling pretty to feeling ugly. I grew it to shoulder length and wore extensions from 16-18 ish... Everyone in my town seems to wear extensions so it makes me feel really good having long hair without them :)

[XcaliburGirl]

Long hair has always been the default for me. I experimented with shorter styles for a while, but discovered I just like my hair long.

[browneyedsusan]

henna.

My hair used to be strawberry blonde, but ashed out completely in my 20's. Not even a hint of warm tone to it! I experimented with lots of colors, but kept coming back to red, which faded after a week or two. (I don't think my friends even knew I was trying red, because it faded so fast.) After my first henna-- May 2012 siggy--I fell in love and decided to grow it. I then discovered TLHC, and the additional bonus of long hair actually being less maintenance than short?!? What's not to like? :)

[Soltimus]

I think what started it for me was that I wanted to be able to recreate the updos found on, well, people found in bogs! Yes, I said it! I'm a history and archaeology nerd, and I just wanted to be able to wear my hair up in elaborate and ancient styles, ha ha. It then ended up in like a test of patience. I've decided to see how long I can grow it before it starts getting seriously on my nerves. I used to cut my own hair and rock the short and spiky style, so having it waist length now is quite different for me.

[millyaulait]

My hair fell about a few years ago (~4-5) & I went straight to wigs.

I got this lovely, dark chocolate brown wig. The length was really only BSL, but to me it was LONG!

I decided that when my hair grew back I would grow it to be that long, that shiny, that lovely.

And, y'know what, I did it! It's a pain in the butt sometimes, and it's not as low maintenance or as thick as a wig, but it's mine. :o

[sarahthegemini]

I have always had long-ish hair, although I never took care of it. Then I had a pixie which I loved but I got sick of msintaining it (after 2 years it was a chore) so I decided to just let it grow. I had the "awkward phase" and grew it to bsl, but it was damaged and ratty. It was as though all of a sudden, I saw how awful my hair was so I just decided to trim my hair, and grow it out again but have it healthy this time. It also helps that my bf loves long hair. He saw a picture of me with long hair and loved it. I'm growing it for me but it's nice that he'll appreciated it too. When I met him I was at the awkward phase of outgrowing the pixie so he's never seen me with healthy long hair

[NuclearApple]

I love long hair,it reminds me to princesses,fairys,mermaids...:o
I always wanted it long,but my mom always decided to cut it in a horrible short cut with fringe,that even looked awful on me.
now I decided,and with patience I led it grow,now it's a lil past HL and I'm very proud of it,I like being different than my classmates with short/full of sls hair...I know I'm a bit stupid,but my hair is MY hair :)

[Flor]

I'm growing mine out just because I finally feel like I can and I don't care anymore what anyone else thinks. My whole life I was pushed by family or hairdressers or friends to cut my hair shorter and have it layered. Because my hair apparently just wasn't good enough (not fake-hair shampoo commercial material) to have it long. I've had it. I learned to trim myself and take care of my hair better and a few tricks to wear it loose without massive tangles.

[MidnightHowl]

I started growing mine out because of my wedding. I didn't want short hair in my wedding pictures. (Kinda weird I know) on top of that, I've always wanted to have long curly hair. I started the curly girl method last October in hopes of any type of texture and loved the change. I had always had "misbehaving" straight hair that didn't look done unless I straightened it and that just lead to insane breakage and damage. cg didnt make my hair curly like I really hoped it would, there are some amazing transformations online, but it did enhance the wave and made it a million times healthier. The reason I'm growing it out now is because I love how it feels and acts now that it's healthier and I don't have to worry about breakage. And cute Updos are a nice plus :)

[stephy190]

I have always had long-ish hair, although I never took care of it. Then I had a pixie which I loved but I got sick of msintaining it (after 2 years it was a chore) so I decided to just let it grow. I had the "awkward phase" and grew it to bsl, but it was damaged and ratty. It was as though all of a sudden, I saw how awful my hair was so I just decided to trim my hair, and grow it out again but have it healthy this time. It also helps that my bf loves long hair. He saw a picture of me with long hair and loved it. I'm growing it for me but it's nice that he'll appreciated it too. When I met him I was at the awkward phase of outgrowing the pixie so he's never seen me with healthy long hair

haha it definitely does help when the boyfriend prefers long hair, its what motivates me to keep going :) lol and yeah its better to get all the dead hair chopped off as it just makes it look bad even if its long.. its got to be healthy :)

[daredevil14]

To prove that long hair was and should remain the default "state" of males throughout history, a call for returning to mother nature, a counterculture and personality trait, a perfect way for headbanging...

And lastly I'd put it like this: WHY would I cut my hair? I enjoy it long!

[redtuss]

Well, I am growing because I have already tried everything else!
I have experimented a lot with my hair during my teenage years so now that I am approaching 30 I decided that, yeah, long hair - that's the new deal. To be honest my boyfriend really does not care at all what's on my head, he's seen it in many different colours and also shaved bald and thought I was hot no matter what ;) He just thinks it's really funny that I am growing and visiting this site haha! He calls it my "longhair-club" and everytime I am doing something weird in the kitchen he just gives me a look and says "do I have to ask if that's for your hair?".. ;)

And also some wonderful long-haired rolemodels helped my decision. A very special and strong woman with long hair inspired me to grow my own as well, she's passed and in a way it's a homage to her as well as something I do for myself.

Now I have been growing for.. almost 2 years - although the first year was more about getting the 'do even and trimming my hemline heavily until it was the same on both sides and with ends in good condition. So I have been actively growing with just seldom trimmings for one year, if it continues to grow like it has been I should be at my current goal (1 metre/39,4 inches) by late 2014!:)

That will be about classic on me, and by my 30th birthday it should be somewhere approaching thigh.. I can hardly wait! :D

[sourgrl]

We moved to a place where short hair seems to be the norm. I don't want to look like everyone else. Long, healthy hair makes me 'unique'. Bonus that my husband prefers it long.

[kittykat86]

When I began growing out my pixie cut back in 2010, I was doing it for my bf now dh. Currently, I am growing my hair long because I love it long. I never had it this long before and long hair really does look better on me than short. I am almost at hip, basically brushing hip with my longest layers, and I am hoping to grow to terminal.

[dwell_in_safety]

I have just always preferred long hair on me. I've cut it shorter, about shoulder length, quite a few times, but always grew it back to waist/hip. I would only have it cut when the split ends got too ridiculous to handle, when I didn't take care of it at all. Now I have long and healthy hair, which is allowing me to keep growing it longer and longer.

[Jeno86]

At first it was simply because I preferred long hair. I always felt like I should have a better reason because my hair is very important and special to me. It wasn't until quite recently that I came to my true reason for keeping it long. My family is Cherokee (on my father's side) and it was "traditional" to see women with very long hair, some to the ground. To me, my long hair connects me to my ancestors and I feel I not only honor their memory by keeping it long but I also honor the Natives that couldn't keep their hair long when they were forced into Christian boarding schools post-removal.

[chen bao jun]

I always had it at the back of my head that I wanted to grow long hair when I got older and be like my grandmothers and some aunts, who were all longhaired.
In late 2011 my mother gently pointed out that my hair looked awful and I looked at a recent photograph and realized it did. It was in kind of dreadlocky dried out braidouts, I thought that was being 'natural'. I went to the hairdresser (I hadn't been in years, like more than ten years) and of course she immediately started flat ironing it, which everyone admired but I did not like at all. At Easter 2012 I saw a cousin with a long, thick plait like my grandmother's and thought--it's time, I want my hair back. It's supposed to look like that, not this. I want to go into old age with a beautiful head of long hair that feels soft. But I did go back to the hairdresser a couple of times. the last time I went, she trimmed my hair even though I was strenuously resisting. She didn't cut it off or anything, it really was just a trim, but the point was, I was strenuously resisting and she still did what she wanted, not what I was saying I wanted. I decided that was it.
I googled on the internet to try to figure out why my ends were so dry and hard while the rest of my hair was soft, and among a couple of other sites, I found LHC. With that, and the information on LHCF for naturals and Curly Nikki and Terri LaFlesh, I started experimenting in June 2012. All the other sites were useful (i basically still use the Terri LaFlesh tightly curly method) but LHC had by far the most information, the most encouragement and there was a friendliness here that I liked. So this is the only forum I'm still on.
My hair grew 10 inches in the 14 months since I started my journey and I believe I will have my hair goal by the time I'm 58 years old, which is a thought that makes me VERY happy.
It's not in my culture to be a old lady with chopped off hair and I don't want to be one.

[ositarosita]

I miss my long hair and yearn to feel like a mermaid again.

[MasCat]

My mum had my hair short when I was a kid. Like, really short. She said she wouldn't have the time to brush it.

When I was 8 I decided I want long hair for my first communion (yep, I was catholic then ;)) and started to grow it. I think it was about 10cm long, sticking out in every direction :D

I always wanted really long hair, but it was only two years ago, when I found LHC, that I realised hip could not be my terminal length.
I'm solid tailbone, approaching classic now and my hair doesn't seem to stop growing (yay). I always wanted knee length hair - we'll see how it goes :)

[which.chick]

I had long hair as a little girl (up through third grade) but since I knew nothing about how to wash or care for it and since my mom was unaware of detanglers or conditioner, getting a comb through it after it had been mashed up on my head and scrubbed around (a la the No More Tears Johnson and Johnson commercials) was a bit of a trial. And so the ruling was "If you can't take care of it, it's going to be short." It was very, very short. My dad wanted it "out of my face" through junior high and high school so it *stayed* short. People regularly called me "son" and "young man" and "sir" during this period of my life. I am not a dude, but I also don't wear makeup or jewelry and prefer grey, black, navy, and unpatterned clothing so I suppose it was an honest mistake that a lot of people made. A lot.

After I left for college, I grew out my hair. I didn't so much "want" longer hair as I hated the salon routine, didn't enjoy someone touching me (dentist visits are a thrill for the same reason), didn't like the smell/perfume/chemicals in a salon environment, hated the "Oh, you should totally opt for expensive, high maintenance hairstyle that your baby-fine, resolutely-straight hair will limp out of in fifteen seconds and that will never look as good when you do it as it does right after I do it. It also won't work for you if it's hot or humid or you sweat, like, at all. And you will never be able to disguise the massive front and back cowlicks, either." speeches I got from hairdressers. It was just very not me, so I quit.

These days my hair is pretty predictable. I know mostly what it likes and what it doesn't like. It changes length very slowly so that I have time to adjust my routine to new lengths. I have saved a fortune on haircuts over the last twenty-three years, don't have to endure hair salons and stylists touching me and absolutely nobody calls me sir anymore. Finally, I can do my own hair by myself and it stays where I put it and the cowlicks are flattened by the weight of my hair and my hair is awesome no matter the weather because my styles do not depend on attempting to maintain the (exceedingly temporary) effects of a curling iron on baby fine dead-straight hair in heat, humidity, sweat, or rain. What's not to like?

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

Three main reasons;

I look much better with long hair than short hair.
I'm trying to live a healthier, more productive life, and long hair is a symbol of that growth for me.
I love having projects on the go.

[HintOfMint]

OP, don't feel bad about wanting to grow your hair out to please your boyfriend. As long as he's not being a tool about it, it's totally fine to want to make him happy with your appearance.

Frankly, I grew my hair out and kept it long basically to look more attractive and sexy, which for me, is largely comprised of male attention. Funny enough, while my boyfriend at the time wanted me to grow my hair out (after I already made that same decision myself), he was pretty conservative about the length. He never dreamed that I would have hair as long as I have it now. He kept saying, "okay, this is the perfect length for you, keep it here!" when it was only at say shoulder or APL. Moreover, I had plenty of luck with men when I had a bob, so I wasn't exactly hurting for attention.

However, now I'm growing my hair out to classic partly to thumb my nose at mainstream attitudes towards female beauty. I dated a very unconventional man a while ago, and while we're just friends now, he inspired me to rethink conventions in general, from beauty to politics. It was definitely freeing.

[jacqueline101]

I had long hair and miss it.

[littlemonster]

I had longer hair as a child, foolishly had and cut due to loss, now I want it back to a minimum of waist. Or, waist straight, if I am a curly... That sort of length, anyway.

But I also have a friend with I'd say TB length hair in a similar colour to mine, realised how lovely it was and that actually, I want mine longer than hers. Will take years though.

[Fairlight63]

I have long hair because:
It is easier to take care of than short hair. I don't have to go to the beauty salon every time I turn around to get it cut, dyed, permed etc. It is cheaper than going to the salon -I trim my hair myself - it is very easy to just trim off the ends. I don't have to use electric curlers on my hair to get it to look good. When I wash my hair - I just let it air dry, then braid it.

I don't want to be a senior with the short curly poodle perm. I think that it looks more elegant to have long silver hair done up in a bun. There are so many hairstyles to change to. With short hair - it is just short.

[nobeltonya]

I used to keep it shorter (always above the shoulders) until college.. I thought it was easier.. but in a pixie, I was mistaken for a boy (used to dress in baggy pants and t-shirts). At least now I'm somewhat more feminine (and have hips now) so I could probably pull it off.. but I couldn't deal with maintaining it. I had gotten to like APL in 2005, but it was thick, frizzy and curly (who knew I had curls!! Never let it grow out enough to see). I looked like Weird Al... but by summer 2006, I decided I'd stop going to he salon and just leave it to grow. I might have gone once more to the salon in hat next year (don't remember).. but as it got longer, it became something to take care of and see how much longer it'd get. I'd set little milestones (in 2009 it was to grow to my elbow) and now, here I am. I've learned a plethora of nifty updos and braids, and I just love the versatility of it. I generally just wear it loose, but it doesn't take more than 1-3 minute to put it up. Easy. :disco:

[YamaMaya]

I'm growing out my hair because it's just my style. I tried the short hair thing, and it's just not for me. My personality matches long hair, if that makes sense :p

[jen5972]

I had very short hair as a child. My hair is thick and tangles easily, and my mom didn't know how to care for it, so she would have it cut short. Plus she thought short hair on me was adorable. Being mistaken for a boy is just not a fun thing. I hated it. I would bawl my head off every time I had to have it cut, and would cry as it was being cut (the poor stylists were pretty uncomfortable!). I loved long hair, and would pretend it was long using a towel draped over my head. It wasn't until I was around 13 years old that my mom gave up and let me grow it out. It took a long time to grow it out, but it was so worth it.

[Marbid]

hello.
I want long hair because I want to be the venus de milo, and anime, and I love and adore hair. I want to put my hair in all those long forgotten braided styles that only seem to work if you have floor length hair, then I want to let my hair loose and voila! floor length hair! I also love anime, they all have this impossibly long hair that just surrounds you. Lastly, I wan't to be surrounded by my hair when it's loose, I love hair, the warmth and texture, how I can play with it when it's long, like an accessory. My hair is my pride and joy. I sit in front of my computer and habitually pet my hair and kiss and adore it (weird I know, its a habit I don't show people, but this is the long hair community, I am within my species here). I also hear that long hair is heavy, I expect that it will wave out my curls and make it much easier to handle, I have very curly hair, it has cause many a catastrophe on my head in my younger years. :) I would love floor length hair if my genes would allow. finger crosses to the max.

[caren]

This is a really interesting thread. I grew my hair at first because I never had long hair as a child. My mother had arthritis, so I always had a bowl cut (lovely) or a crop. Then, as a teen, I did very punk hair: shaved, dyed, mohawk, spiked. Then I had dreadlocks for a long time. I have always thought long hair was lovely, but for some reason never considered it a possibility for myself. Now that I am 40, well, I see all these older women with amazing salt and pepper, silver, or white long hair, and they look so beautiful. I want to be just like them! So, I figured I'd better start planting my crop. :)

[Mainesongbird]

I had short hair, like a pixie when I was younger and I hated it! I grew it out and it was APLish for many years. In the past few years I have started to grow it out. Then I learned about all the cool buns and braids I could do with more length, so I am aiming for waist!

[Crysania]

I have 2c hair...when i straigthen it ,it gets frizzy and poofy
and when i let it wurly it looks darker ( im blonette ) and looks unkept
so i want mid back length hair to be able to braid it after a wash, let it
dry that way and then have nice frizzless waves
also growing out the bangs the same length as the rest

[caromarpie]

For all my chilhood I was always short hair ( ear to shoulder lengts). Because want it that way and in my teenage years will all the sports and everything it was easier to have it really really short. But I decide it was time to get more femine so I let it grow and with the pregnancy it at grows faster even if I had lost half of my thickness. ( it at grows all the way to tailbone) I decide then to cut them for a new job because at that time I did not know how to braids or to make buns and I regret it so much so I let it grow again. I cut them to shoulder. But now I found (just in time because I was in the time to cut it to shoulder lengts again) this forum and learn many ways to make beautiful buns and braids so I decided to let it grow. I am almost at midback and they in relatively good health so I am aiming to hip or tail bone(will see how it goes).

[Words]

I have never had really long hair and I believe that the longest it has ever been was BSL. I would like to grow my hair to waist and see how I like it. It would also be fun to have long hair so I can do pretty updos.

[peepopowitz]

My hair is my favorite accessory. Some people like watches, some like handbags, I like my hair. I like it short and I like it colored. I've been rocking short or super short haircuts for about 7 years straight, and I started with the pixies 16 years ago. Change makes me feel alive, and the biggest change I have left for my hair is to grow it long and see what that feels like. Unfortunately for me, there is no instant gratification going this direction on the hair length continuum. So far, so fun. I like that I don't have to fuss with my hair everyday, I can just pony up and forget about it, but I get bored with it from time to time. Once I can braid again, I think I'll enjoy my bit of length so much more.

[PamelaViktoria]

My hair has always been long, in the real world (BS length). In the long hair world, this is my first time approaching waist.
I think I'm going through an early mid-life crisis. I'm turning 40, and decided to grow grow grow. I am also practicing the splits, cartwheels and backbends.
I think I just want to have new experiences when I hit 40:)

[prettyinpink]

I know its probably a wig, but this girl has the most amazing hair I have ever seen!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=470949776248367&set=a.470949772915034.29316106.470948796248465&type=3&theater

Seriously, she is inspiring me to grow my hair

Edit: Shes famous, so I don't think she'd mind my posting of her pictures :D

[michelle483]

My hair has always been long, in the real world (BS length). In the long hair world, this is my first time approaching waist.
I think I'm going through an early mid-life crisis. I'm turning 40, and decided to grow grow grow. I am also practicing the splits, cartwheels and backbends.
I think I just want to have new experiences when I hit 40:)

LOL, that sounds about right. I turn 37 this month, and growing my hair seems to be part of wanting to retain some youthfulness, yet still age with grace. I've been crossfitting 2.5 years and learning how to do stuff like walk on my hands and learning that just because you are getting older doesn't mean you can't learn to do those things you never thought you could do before!

For me, it grew as an extension of living a healthier, less conventional lifestyle. Eating paleo, realizing that I don't need to shampoo/perfume/use xxx and xxx products to be happy, etc. Living an "unpackaged" lifestyle. But don't get me wrong--I definitely don't give off that "hippie vibe" (which is great, just not me) when people see me. I like to live sort of outside the categories placed on us.

And I haven't seen what my real, unbleached, unblown, unmanipulated hair looks like in ages. I like it.

.....aaaandddd....because I can always cut it if I hate it, so what's the harm!?! :eek:

[Vintagecoilylocks]

When I was a little girl long hair was not in style at all. But I loved old movies and would see the long hair and just love it. Lillian Gish, The movie the Blue bird, The silent movie Thief of Bagdad, and westerns with the beautiful buns and braids over their shoulders,etc. It was a world I never saw in the real world and wanted to be part of it. Then my dad told me that his Grand mother had a long braid done her back and it became a dream I could never shake. :heartbeat

[Steven's Bride]

I had long hair when I was a girl. It was down to my back. I never let other girls play with it because I was hiding an ugly tumor behind my right ear that covered a big section. If they tried to braid it, they would find it and think I was gross.

My mother never showed me how to care for my Long hair so I always had so many tangles with no idea what to do. One day, when I was about 7, she bought a bottle of detangler. I used it on every tangle. I used up the bottle in one day, and I still remember how different and beautiful it felt to just simply slide a comb through it easily. I still remember the surprise and delight I felt. I got into so much trouble for using the entire bottle (I wasn't being intentionally wasteful, it was just used on every tangle and I had a lot of them). My mother never bought the detangler again.

Then when I was 8 or 9 she was sick of the trouble of my hair, so she cut it to chin length. I hated it and cried. Everyone called me a boy.

Later when I was older, my hair grew long again (BSL) so never as long as originally. It was purely by accident and just by neglect. I couldn't wear it up completely or the tumor would show. I couldn't wear it down completely or it would tangle and get damaged (and I didn't know about adding oil or moisturizing my hair). Finally at age 29, I was able to have the surgery to remove the tumor. They shaved a good section off, but with the post-operative healing and pain, it became very hard to take good care of both hair and wound. So I cut my hair to a pixie while it healed.

It has taken a year to heal entirely. Now I am regrowing my hair to what it was when I was small. I loved my hair, but felt like I was always hiding a big, gross secret. Now I can finally grow it because I love it. And for no other reason. It's not an accessory to help me hide and it's not a beautiful thing that I have to keep people from touching.

As my hair grows, it feels like I am finally healing inside. Like I am finally being who I am and who i was meant to be.

[Coolcombination]

I had hair between sl and apl when I was young, being a 2c, lack of conditioner made my hair frizzy and unmanageable. My parents said that my hair was too hick and like rats tails. Then rip a brush through it so that to me long hair was uncomfortable.
When I hit 16 I wanted to grow it and then found lhc and utt. Long hair signals spirituality and not following the conventions of society. I hate being a follower of trends, long hair is becoming more popular, down to about waist length. So now Miao ing for at least hip.

[LadyCelestina]

I like the look of long hair,and also,shorter curly hair was very high maintenance.

[Hairitic]

I have fine, thin, lifeless hair that has NO volume. It waves in it's own pattern and when it's short, it sticks out at crazy angles unless I blowfry/iron it everyday. It also requires lots of product to hold a decent shape. I hate all that work and product that feels unnatural. When my hair is long, the waves/curls look nice. I don't mind that it sits flat on my head. The few products I use are much more natural and leave my hair soft, silky and shiny instead of stiff and sticky. I've always preferred my hair long. Never did get it this long though :p Thanks to TLHC! :applause

[Nope]

I've always been really self conscious of my flat chest, so I've had a dream of having mermaid hair that covers my boobs for a really long time. I almost got there once, but my hair was too damaged and stopped growing at BSL D:

[Nique1202]

To make a long story short, I had short hair almost all my life, grew it to BSL in my early 20s, cut it back to a boyish pixie in a fit of stress and , and almost instantly regretted it. When I close my eyes and think about who I really am, who I'm supposed to be, it's almost always been someone with hair well past tailbone, sometimes classic, sometimes knee, but always long. Now I'm just trying to get it down that far and see how it goes from there!

[Nae]

I just wanted to see if I could. Generally my hair would get to shoulder/apl and then it would be very damaged. I was never one for heat treatments and the like so I was baffled. I researched how to grow hair and ended up here. This place seems to have Nae quicksand and I have not extracted myself yet lol.

[PamelaViktoria]

LOL, that sounds about right. I turn 37 this month, and growing my hair seems to be part of wanting to retain some youthfulness, yet still age with grace. I've been crossfitting 2.5 years and learning how to do stuff like walk on my hands and learning that just because you are getting older doesn't mean you can't learn to do those things you never thought you could do before!

For me, it grew as an extension of living a healthier, less conventional lifestyle. Eating paleo, realizing that I don't need to shampoo/perfume/use xxx and xxx products to be happy, etc. Living an "unpackaged" lifestyle. But don't get me wrong--I definitely don't give off that "hippie vibe" (which is great, just not me) when people see me. I like to live sort of outside the categories placed on us.

And I haven't seen what my real, unbleached, unblown, unmanipulated hair looks like in ages. I like it.

.....aaaandddd....because I can always cut it if I hate it, so what's the harm!?! :eek:

We're in the same boat! I also think that I don't look almost 40. My face looks younger so long hair doesn't pull down on my face. But even if it does in the future, I think women with updos and tendrils look better than that short old lady style.
My hubby tells me that I'm turning into more of a hippy every day. I think it's because I'm becoming more natural. But I'll never give up eyeliner! (unless my eyelashes suddenly become long and dark!)

[aksown]

I've had at least shoulder length hair nearly all my life but never longer than mid-back or so. About 4 years ago I rented Practical Magic, fell in love with long hair all over again and decided to grow it as long as I could, just because. :)

[Emanuelle]

I'm a big fan of fantasy and long hair in general. It looks so gorgeous and reminds me of fearies and elves tee hee :o

I have always wanted long hair. I loved Disney princesses as a kid and I wanted to look like a princess lol. When I was like 11 or 10 or something, I became more passionate about it and started paying more attention to my hair, even though I didn't know anything about basic haircare. But I kind of made it my mission to get butt length hair. Then when I was 12 I had it cut back to a pixie... :( :( :( my mom wanted it so badly and I wasn't really able to say no back then. I regretted it sooo much. I immediatly started growing it out again. Then for most of my teenage years I had my hair at APL or BSL, but I still desperately wanted it much longer. But I thought that wasn't possible, that my hair was too dry and too prone to splitting... I always told my hairdresser to only cut off split ends... and she always had to cut off quite a bit. I was never able to grow past BSL.

Now I know that split ends mean a different thing to hairdressers. They cut off way too much! They cut off completely healthy hair! When the ends of a clump of hair get a bit wispy, THEY THINK THAT IS A SPLIT. Really, I can't believe they are taught that in school. It's a completely natural occurence; it just means that the hair is growing in different directions and might have SLIGHTLY different growth speed.

When I was 20 I stumbled upon a hair forum (not LHC) and finally learned a lot about hair and haircare. I always viewed hairdressers as an authority on hair and believed what they said, but now I know better. I stopped going to hairdressers altogether and started taking great care of my hair. Within no time my hair was at waist length, and now I am at butt-crack length. My hair has NEVER been this long! Really happy! And my hair has never been healthier and split ends are a rare thing for me (thank you sealing). Goodbye hairdressers, hello S&D!


Ok, this became slightly longer than I intended too, haha.

[gnome82]

I had waist length hair before I met my husband. When I met him I had a short bob. I decided when planning our wedding that I wanted my hair in an "updo". I saw how many "updos" I had never tried out. I decided I wanted to grow my hair at least as long as it was before, so that I could try different "updos".

[merrow]

Because in general I think long hair looks beautiful, and I think it makes me look better. Also, there's more of it to love! :D

[summergreen]

I've always had long or longish hair, apart from one disastrous bob which I hated immediately. I just wouldn't feel like myself if my hair wasn't at least APL-ish. As for wanting really long hair, I guess I just want LOTS of hair, and as I can't make my hair get ultra-thick the only way to do it is to get my hair ultra-long!

[Cindershadow]

In one book I read, a character was described as having a braid past her waist, and she was thought quite pretty. :hmm: I also have a cousin with long blonde hair that was nearly tailbone in a braid before she cut it, and I loved her hair.

[vindo]

I wanted to look medieval and be able to headbang more impressively :rockerdud :lol:

[Marbid]

I like always being aware of my hair. I do it now even thou my hair is only waist length. Move it to this side when wearing a bag, lift it from my hoodie, over my shoulder when bending down. I like the feeling of having long enough hair to get in the way because it becomes like an extension of me. Like a tail I cant manipulate. (Always wanted to have a tail) Yeah a bit weird. That and childhood fantasies of wearing sheet over my head and have it trail on the floor and pretend it is my hair. I guess a lot of things culminate in me wanting super long hair. It was the childhood fantasies before I developed weird and creepy habits. But I could never leave my hair alone for it to grow. To obsessed with it all my life so the over handling and bad self trimming (I do it better now) and middle school and high school experimenting did me no good for what I wanted. I did not really realize that I had to leave my hair alone (since is fairly medium fine) for it to grow.

But Oh well. Here I am. After many mistakes and badly executed actions of too much hair love... It's finally growing to my goal and dream hair.

Oh my bad.... I've answered this thread before... Reading it back I remember other reasons I want my hair long.... I think those medieval pictures of maidens with super long hair are cool... (I since figured out that my hair is probably going to be too delicate to put up in fancy hair styles) Also.... Anime characters with really really long hair that surrounds them is cool too.... Geeee.... I have sooo many reasons.

Some more reasons to have long hair will probably pop up in the future too. (Also admiring the people here with ultra long hair, that's an inspiration)

[embee]

My hair was short when I was little, because I didn't like my mom fooling with it. As a teen it grew to BSL which ws considered long at my school. After my babies I cut it short and hated the way I looked, but really didn't have any idea how to make an updo or anything other than loose or ponytail. I also hated the salon thing, didn't like the touching and smells and all. Ick.

When I lost my job in 2001 I couldn't afford the hairdresser so I just pulled my hair back as soon as I could and put it in a low pony. And eventually pinned it up with oodles of pins and barrettes. And it grew. And grew.

This is the hair I always wanted. At last. :)

Now I can do a bun with one hairstick!

[wrinkledamanda]

First, I wanted to have long hair like a Native American. From there I found more long haired muses, such as Shakira and everyone in Lord of the Rings. When LOTR came out, I watched it nonstop and would ask my sister, "is my hair longer than [person on screen]'s?" She would get so annoyed.

[wrinkledamanda]

Also, I LOVE the feeling of it on my back and arms.

[Marron]

Around the end of my adolescence I loved short hair. I still do and sometimes I feel sad because I don't wear these "cool" hair styles any more. I think short is perfect if you have an expressive face.
But when I was around 20 I fell in love with someone and felt he would find me attractive with short hair. That was the moment when I started growing my hair at 1 inch length. Of course I don't feel for this man as I used to, that's long time ago :) But since then I'm obsessive with growing my hair.

[Tini'sNewHair]

For MEEEE :D. I have experimented with everything else but long hair seems to still be an old time favorite :)

[aisha.christine]

I haven't really ever had long hair in my adult age. I had it when I was a very young girl, but after I cut it the first time, I never let it get past APL.
I want to grow my hair out because it's something new for me, and I want to see if I can be patient enough to get there.

So I am growing it out purely for personal satisfaction. :p

[sunflowersmiles]

I have always wanted long "princess hair". I am going through a hard time emotionally right now, and it is nice to have something to think about that is happy. My hair is waist length and I am on my way to classic. I can't wait to keep growing and learning about hair health. It is fun and exciting to learn more and more about hair.

[Rio040113]

I've found that I just don't feel like myself with short hair! I know some people would think it a little silly but it's a huge part of my personal identity :)

[Alun]

To prove that long hair was and should remain the default "state" of males throughout history, a call for returning to mother nature, a counterculture and personality trait, a perfect way for headbanging...

And lastly I'd put it like this: WHY would I cut my hair? I enjoy it long!

I don't really care if other men have long hair. I don't spend much time looking at them, LOL! I'd rather be looking at long-haired women!

OTOH, I hate shaved heads, but mainly because when and where I grew up the only guys with hair (or lack of hair!) like that were all violent Neo-Nazi skinheads and scary as hell. Yeah, basically I find shaved heads frightening, even now. As for cops, WTF do they think it's a good idea to have a threatening hairstyle? Soldiers I understand, as they are basically trained killers, but a shaved head doesn't say 'protect and serve' to me, and never will. End of rant.

I originally grew out my hair because it was the hip thing to do at the time, because all the bikers back then had long hair and I was one (not highly logical, as long hair tangles if exposed on a motorcycle), because all the rock stars whose music I liked had long hair (and in those days it was not just in Heavy Metal), and last but not least because the hippies had long hair, although I was more a 'freak' than a hippie, for those who still understand the difference. I still try to be 'green', although I am not vegan [ETA: ...or even vegetarian, although I love vegeburgers] and still love the internal combustion engine. As for the illegal drugs, we are in public, so don't ask, although the tide is turning. FTW!

And then I grew it out even longer purely because of a chance remark from a girl I wasn't even dating, who said my hair was 'long for a guy'. That really did it, it was like a challenge to grow it until it was long regardless of gender. [ETA: That was a long time ago, I have been married to my wife for 25 years!] Hopefully I have succeeded. It barely reaches my waist (just a few hairs!) and doesn't look like growing much further, which is why I bristle at any attempts to define 'LHC long' as longer than that, because I don't think it can make it.

My hair looked pretty good short, in photos, but I know that 5 mins after I combed it my waves would destroy my hairstyle every time. The length gives it enough weight to stop that happening, and as it has always been both fine and thin it still weighs almost nothing.

So, now you know.

[norths]

i love braids, i love seeing those old paintings where chicks with long hair had all these amazing braided designs.

[aloha]

It may sound sad but my boyfriend loves long hair on girls. And I had longer hair before and had to get it cut due to damage. He loves my hair long and straight. Boys just don't understand I can't have it both ways :p But basically I prefer it longer too.. So I'm growing it out past chest length for myself and for my boyfriend :)
I have decided to grow my hair out after an accident . Kind of a tribute to what I had been thru
and able to come out the other side. If that makes any sense.

[sweetinlace]

I first wanted to start growing my hair out longer to be able to do the really cool buns that you can only do with long hair. Other than that, it's a challenge for me, and I love a challenge.

[RubberDucky]

For the past two plus years I've had a pixie, but before that my hair was long, even below my tailbone at one point. And honestly - I started to miss it. So that's why I'm growing it again :)

[shola-faye]

A Lara Croft braid (longer even) :)

[Johannah]

I have decided to grow my hair out after an accident . Kind of a tribute to what I had been thru
and able to come out the other side. If that makes any sense.

I just think that's beautiful. :blossom: