Misconception

[W2]

I've been growing out my hair for over 2 years now - starting with just below shoulders - and that being about the longest, my hair had ever been.

Now, I'm just shy of waist ... and I think my hair is waaaayyy to short! I had actually just planned to grow to waist - now ... I don't know how long - but most def. longer.

And, might I add, here in Denmark long hair os not often seen on "older" women - I'm 42 and considered way to old for long hair - but I don't give a hoot about that - I keep it up most of the time in a rather tight bun - nobody knows how long it actually is.

[arr]

I know what you mean. I originally wanted to grow to waist, but now that I'm one inch from waist, it doesn't feel long! Ive changed my goal to hip, but who knows if that will finally feel long. It doesnt help that the sides of my hair are layered, so from the front my hair looks short to me. Im growing out the layers so i hope when its all even it will feel long.

[Soltimus]

I'm at waist now, too, and I don't feel like I have long hair at all either. I think when I started growing it out I thought I'd stop at around tail bone, but as it's been growing I think I'm aiming for classic instead (and who knows what will happen after that!).

Being from Denmark, too, I seem to have noticed that all my really long haired friends have cut their hair short after having babies, and I don't know anyone over 40 with hair longer than maybe APL or shoulder blade. It's odd and a bit sad especially when people start commenting. I plan to rock the long locks for as long as I can get away with it!

[Skade]

42, that´s no age. Keep on growing girl! :hollie: And then one day you pull out your hair from that bun and you shock the hell out of everyone. ;)

[Libbylou]

Same here W2. Started with waist goal and just shy of waist and I don't feel it is long at all. I usually wear my hair up also. I have noticed several older women with long braids or buns when I'm out. I think this might be an economic thing in the area, we still have high unemployment. Or, we could all just be old hippies and not giving into the norm.

[0xalis]

Honestly, after years of trying to get my hair back to "long", I feel torn about how I feel about my hair length! Sometimes it's like "woah, I have hair now", and other times I just get so frustrated that it's not longer yet. I spent about ~70% of the last 6 or 7 years with hair that was neck length or shorter, so nearly APL can seem pretty long at times. However, before the bleach incident + pixie nearly 2 years ago, my hair was full APL+, possibly even BSL stretched! I can't wait to get back to that length.
Because of the length of my neck and torso, waist on me is about hip on most people with "normal" proportions around my height, so waist will feel pretty long once I get it there again. When I was young and had waist/elbow length hair, it stunned people, even though waist usually isn't that big of a deal!

I started with the goal just to get my childhood hair back, but have changed my goal to TBL so I can beat my record of my own longest hair length.
In the end though, all I know is that when I'm old I want long, shiny, silver hair!

Also, 42 is by no means old. You are younger than my mother, who has hair between APL and BSL [she's by no means a longhair though, that's just the length she finds suits her the best.] We have the same "old people must have short hair!!!" social expectation as you do in Denmark, and nobody is giving my mom any crap yet ;)

[Hele]

my hair is hovering at tailbone length at the moment, i really don't think of it as long unless i catch a glimpse of myself in a full length mirror. I'm 35 with no plans of cutting it off. I fully intend to be a little white haired old lady with a giant granny bun someday. I can't imagine anything sadder than cutting my hair off just because i'm a certain age!

[AmyBeth]

I started out with the goal of waist, and now that I'm at hip, I'd like to grow longer as well. It doesn't feel long to me. I'm older than OP, and I don't care what "older" women are supposed to do with their hair, this is me, and I want longer!:) I keep mine up all the time, too, so nobody really knows how long it is.

[Tini'sNewHair]

I cant believe that age has anything to do with hair lengths :s but yeah, my hair now is at MBL and if i dont look in the mirror i swear i feel like its gone to APL because it feels so short which is pretty dissapointing, I cant wait for my hair to feel long again (my hair is pretty straight by the way so i know its all in my head). My goal is classic length, i know ive been there at least once as a child and i want to do it again :)

[hanne jensen]

W2, I'm in Denmark andf I'm 54 years old. I know a lot of ladies that have hair below waist as they are saving money where they can. They just wear their hair up. At least here in Slagelse, I'm seeing a lot of mature men and women with long hair.

We've been miljø skadet (influenced) here at LHC!

[Bagginslover]

My original goal was hip, and I've just passed it, and its only just starting to feel long to me, yet still doesn't really look it. Yet I look at others, and APL looks long on them to me! Its so odd, I must have some form of hair dismorphia (I think thats the right word), this is the longest my hair has ever been, yet it still feels shorter than before I chopped it from waist years ago!

[DweamGoiL]

Really interesting points brought up in this thread. First off, I am 44, will be 45 in July and my hair is just shy of waist as well. I promised myself that I would go gray gracefully, but once the grays started popping up at my temples, I wasn't so in love with the idea anymore, so I started henndigo-ing...but that's another story. In my city, most women over 40 do not have hair passed APL, and certainly not in the workplace. If you do, you are viewed as either unkempt or 'off' psychologically. No one has openly said anything to me, but I have never received a compliment about my hair either. I have been complimented on the hair toys I wear, but not on the condition, length, or beauty of my actual hair. Well, except for one day before I decided to actively start growing it out again, it was about BSL back then, but it was visibly dry. It was that length due to neglect, and since I worked out 4-5 times a week, I washed it with harsh shampoos to get it clean and very little low quality conditioner; basically whatever was on sale. Two girls in another department and I were chatting about our hair. They are African American and we were talking about growing hair long. I was telling them about when I had my hair at TBL years ago, but that afterwards I have never thought about really growing it out again. They actually scolded me for even entertaining the thought of cutting my hair. Honestly, that was like a reality check for me. I had never considered that there are people who are unable to or have great difficulty growing their hair to any real lengths. But, other than that, it was just what I needed because then it made me think about aging and the fact that now is the time to grow.

I don't know what variables will come into play 10, 20, or 30 years from now. Prepping for menopause has somewhat thinned my hair, but not enough for anyone to notice, but me. I just hope it is a temporary effect and not the beginning of a downward slope. I am comfortable at this length, and frankly, I don't think I will grow longer than WL. It is still very manageable at that length. Having TBL, felt a bit cumbersome for me so I can't see myself going back to that. But, it does make me appreciate the fact that I still can grow out my hair. I plan to keep my hair long for the rest of my days. I fondly remember my 92 year old grandma who always had her hair in a little bun. By the time she was ready to move on, her hair was quite thin, but she was always so proud that it was long. Now, I can certainly understand her feelings. I love the way my hair looks and feels. I don't care if no one else is, but I can honestly say I am in love with my hair!

Speaking of dysmorphia...Yesterday, I saw this young woman with beautiful long hair. After admiring it for a few minutes, it then hit me, her hair was about mid-back. Is my hair as long as hers because it certainly does not feel that way?

[W2]

W2, I'm in Denmark andf I'm 54 years old. I know a lot of ladies that have hair below waist as they are saving money where they can. They just wear their hair up. At least here in Slagelse, I'm seeing a lot of mature men and women with long hair.

We've been miljø skadet (influenced) here at LHC!

I live north of Copenhagen ... "whiskey-bæltet" ;)

Not a lot of long hair's passed the age of 30 here

My mother hates it, when it's loose - and my dad mocks me, when it's up - DH couldn't care less, as long as it doesn't get in his face.

[AmyBeth]

I feel sad for those of you who get no support, much less dissed for having long hair and I want to say that I like it, for what it's worth. Until my mid thirties, I wore my hair hovering at around waist length, and no one but my mother ever mentioned it, and she would say "Why won't you cut it? It just hangs there!" I would never say anything to my mother like "What do you expect? There's this little thing called "gravity- haven't you ever heard of it?" But that's what I wanted to say! In the aftermath of my grief at her passing, I did the big chop, to just above my shoulders, and it still just hung there. I decided I liked it to "just hang there" longer! But I always wear it up, and nobody mentions it or comments on it on the very rare times I wear it down anyway. If anyone had anything negative to say about it, I'm sure it would just roll off my back. I like it, DH likes it, so no one else matters. If he did want me to cut it, he'd just have to deal with disappointment!

[0xalis]

My original goal was hip, and I've just passed it, and its only just starting to feel long to me, yet still doesn't really look it. Yet I look at others, and APL looks long on them to me! Its so odd, I must have some form of hair dismorphia (I think thats the right word), this is the longest my hair has ever been, yet it still feels shorter than before I chopped it from waist years ago!

The word you're looking for is dysphoria, I believe. :D
Edit: Oh it seems dysmorphia, is in fact, a word. And it seems both words fit quite well, surprisingly.

[Islandgrrl]

First of all, age has absolutely nothing to do with hair length!

I'm at mid-thigh, and I will tell you, my hair feels long. Really long. This isn't the longest it has ever been, either. Maintenance at knee. I don't think I can take more than that.

[BlueMajorelle]

My grandmother is 96 years old and has the most beautiful snow white hair, and when she takes it out of her braid it's around near classic. Model Yasmina Rossi is very long silver hair, and goes to show you can grow and grey and be absolutely gorgeous! Fie on anyone who says differently.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/26/fb/f526fb72e038d7835cccf6fe94d2131c.jpg

[didrash]

Wow, that is a beutiful lady - and what gorgeous hair!


My grandmother is 96 years old and has the most beautiful snow white hair, and when she takes it out of her braid it's around near classic. Model Yasmina Rossi is very long silver hair, and goes to show you can grow and grey and be absolutely gorgeous! Fie on anyone who says differently.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/f5/26/fb/f526fb72e038d7835cccf6fe94d2131c.jpg

[vanillabones]

I plan to be growing my hair for the rest of my life.. and never cutting shorter. There's no age limit.

[hairpleasegrow]

What skade said !!!!!!!

[W2]

I think I might have figured out, why I still think it's too short.

When it was shorter, I could feel how long it was by where the ends reached my body. But now, when being longer than shoulderblades, the ends are in mid air, not touching my back.

I think, it will feel more 'the length' when the ends start touching again - that will be around butt-length ;)

[bekstamonkey]

I know exactly what you mean. I had hair that was close to waist most of my early childhood (many years ago), but since I was 14 nothing below shoulders (aside from a six year stint of Mid-back to waist-length dreads)...started my undreaded hair journey just below shoulders, now a few years later I'm a solid hip length and don't consider it that long...people gasp when they see my hair down (usually bunned), but no matter where my hair is, my definition of 'long' seems to change LOL!

and by the way, W2...that signature pic is gorgeous...beautiful grey, and stunning crown braid! :D

[tlover]

(I havn't read it all)

My grandmother is about WL and she's 84 so youre not the only one over 40 having WL in Scandinavia ;) (Actually I Think my old drama teacher is past 40 and she's at Classic)

I'm at TBL and I'm starting to feel that it's not long enough since I joined LHC

[W2]

and by the way, W2...that signature pic is gorgeous...beautiful grey, and stunning crown braid! :D

Thanks - now it's longer than in the pic - so I simply can't get it to look good anymore :(

[Decemberrose]

[/QUOTE]We've been miljø skadet (influenced) here at LHC![/QUOTE]

Indeed!! :)

I think it's the journey we want and the joy of seeing new growth, it's addicting! :)
I'm in Struer at the moment and I have not seen any women over 40ish with hair longer than shoulder!
It's the damn jantelov! can anyone translate that?? haha!

[YamaMaya]

I'm at "can I call this hip yet" at the moment, just barely touching with the longest part of my hair, and I still don't feel like my hair is long. My husband tells me it's getting really long but I just want to be classic now :p

[MeowScat]

Same thing here, my goal of BSL changed to Waist, then Hip, then Tailbone, then Classic. I have a slight U-shape now and the hair in the middle is just touching Classic...still not long enough! I guess my latest goal is Fingertip / Mid Thigh. I never thought I'd want it that long...but it just doesn't seem long enough yet.

I wonder if I'll ever be satisfied.

[spidermom]

I don't know what's up with that. I was just below classic length at one point, now back to waist length with layers shorter than that, and my hair feels and looks long to me.