Wearing My Hair Down

[Temme]

I have a sort of ongoing conflict between wearing my hair up or down. I like wearing my hair down because I think it looks better on me, though up isn't too bad, but I know wearing it up is healthier, which can help me reach the length I want. My hair is past bsl in and in the mid-back region, and I'm not exactly sure how long I want it to, but I think I would go for classic or even mid-thigh, though that does seem like a long way away. So, I've been following a plan of wearing my hair up 2/3 of the time and down 1/3 of the time, but lately I've been thinking about half and half, or even always wearing it down, except when it's greasy, which is like 1/4 of the time. I don't want to ruin my chance at being a long-hair though. How often do you think I should wear it up if I'm aiming for classic? How long could it get and still be healthy if I always wore it down? If I did half and half?

If it helps, I never use heat and wash my hair every 4 days. It isn't currently damaged, I have a few splits, but not a lot. Thanks!

[trolleypup]

Wear it up when it is most in danger of damage.

Works for me. Granted, coarse tough hair, but...hiking in the sun and dust, doing hard labor on trails, carpentry, yardwork, work? Up and covered! Sauntering about town in mild weather? Down! That has gotten me to calf...

[lapushka]

I agree with trolleypup. It depends on where you are, on the conditions (of the weather as well).

[PamelaViktoria]

I look better with my hair down too! My face is long, and my forehead is high, plus square-ish. So I find my face looks better with it down, soft and wavy. But it's mostly because I haven't found how to wear it up and soften my forehead look. As it becomes even more 1 length, I have even less tendrils too. I'm in the same boat :)

[QMacrocarpa]

How often do you think I should wear it up if I'm aiming for classic? How long could it get and still be healthy if I always wore it down? If I did half and half?
It really depends what sort of hair you have. In my teens I wore mine down all the time and couldn't get past BSL because the splits and breakage kept up with my growth rate. For me, wearing my hair up most of the time would likely be essential for reaching extreme lengths. But my hair is quite prone to splits and breakage: if yours isn't you'll have a different experience. If you decide to wear it down more, you could keep a reliable hairtoy in your bag or pocket so you always have a way to contain your hair if you unexpectedly find yourself in a hair-unfriendly situation and want to put it up.

[chen bao jun]

It really depends what sort of hair you have. In my teens I wore mine down all the time and couldn't get past BSL because the splits and breakage kept up with my growth rate. For me, wearing my hair up most of the time would likely be essential for reaching extreme lengths. But my hair is quite prone to splits and breakage: if yours isn't you'll have a different experience. If you decide to wear it down more, you could keep a reliable hairtoy in your bag or pocket so you always have a way to contain your hair if you unexpectedly find yourself in a hair-unfriendly situation and want to put it up.

I agree with this.
My type three hair is not going to grow past brastrap without protective styling (i.e. up most of the time). Many people in my family had long hair, but it was either in a braid or a bun, like, always.
However, everybody's hair is not like this.
You could try wearing it down half the time and then when (if) it gets to the stage where it appears to be terminal because of splits and damage, then put it up all the time and see how long it gets. I think your hair will kind of tell you what it needs for extreme lengths.
From what I read on these forums, most people start keeping their hair up most of the time after hip anyway, not necessarily because it needs it not to break, but because loose hair gets in the way a lot at that point. But I could have misread and I stand open to correction from those who know from experience.

[FuzzyBlackWaves]

You could try a side braid - that's still down, but protected :)