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View Full Version : Are people conditioned to think long hair is gross?



Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 02:31 PM
I showed hubs a picture of JJJ's gorgeous floor length hair, and his first response was 'ew'

I asked him why it was ew, and he said he didn't know, just that it was.


I couldn't figure out for the life of me why he thought it was gross.

It was healthy, clean, shiny, and I bet it smells great. Why is it gross just because of length?


Where do these view points come from? I don't really see them enough in media, or I'm just not paying attention.

For example, if I had a dollar for everytime I read "does she user her hair as toilet paper?" I'd be retired 10 years ago.

And no, anyone with a brain will see that the hair they are referring to as toilet paper is clean, shiny, and well cared for.


What is the source for all this?



(Those makeover shows that disdain long hair on women over ____ don't help)

sarahthegemini
July 26th, 2014, 02:35 PM
I showed hubs a picture of JJJ's gorgeous floor length hair, and his first response was 'ew'

I asked him why it was ew, and he said he didn't know, just that it was.


I couldn't figure out for the life of me why he thought it was gross.

It was healthy, clean, shiny, and I bet it smells great. Why is it gross just because of length?


Where do these view points come from? I don't really see them enough in media, or I'm just not paying attention.

For example, if I had a dollar for everytime I read "does she user her hair as toilet paper?" I'd be retired 10 years ago.

And no, anyone with a brain will see that the hair they are referring to as toilet paper is clean, shiny, and well cared for.


What is the source for all this?



(Those makeover shows that disdain long hair on women over ____ don't help)

Maybe he just, y'know simply doesn't like the way it looks aesthetically. There doesn't need to be a deep meaningful reason for it. Personally I don't like floor length hair either.

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 02:37 PM
It just seems to be more common for people to dislike long hair than like it :shrug:

frejafjord
July 26th, 2014, 02:42 PM
I think there is a huge media conspiracy about it, personally! :stirpot:

All the people on LHC, how much money do we spend on haircare compared to the average girl with a bleached bob? I'd say barely a fraction of most people. Hairdressers need to make money. Hair"care" companies need to make money. We live in a capitalist society where real natural beauty is seen as frumpy, dirty and plain. We are taught this from a young age through images and media. It's very very sad, really.

divinedobbie
July 26th, 2014, 02:48 PM
That's an interesting topic...

I told my brother I'm planning to grow my hair long and he was all supportive and thought it was cool. I then showed him a picture of hip length hair and he was very "distant" about it saying "ohh......ok....why that long?..." and said he thought I meant like rib length (he doesn't know LHC terms ;p).

When I told my boyfriend I wanted to grow my hair to at least waist. He was excited about it and then asked me if I wanted a new straightener or was I going to highlight it.

:confused:

spidermom
July 26th, 2014, 02:52 PM
I don't think there's a deep reason for it, either. Some people like super long. Some like short. And everything in-between. My daughter likes her hair about APL because she has more styling options - straightening, curling, wearing up. Because of using heat, by around BSL her ends are trash, and that might be the ewwwwwww! factor that people feel, not knowing that hair well taken care of doesn't trash out at the ends. (well, mine does, but only around tailbone to classic)

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 02:53 PM
Also, we're also very harsh when it comes to things like makeup and botox.

It seems like aging is an awful thing to do, and here are 1000 ways to combat getting fine wrinkles!

It's always women they cater these commercials to.

If you don't look 40 when youre 60, please dont go out in public!

Nadine <3
July 26th, 2014, 02:58 PM
This. He probably just doesn't like hair that long. It's a personal preference.

Madora
July 26th, 2014, 03:00 PM
Many people don't "get" long hair because they don't understand its aesthetic appeal, or have been so inured to the idea of "short" hair (bra strap or shorter) that they can't fathom how someone would want to grow longer than that. Admittedly, LHC members know that long hair is beautiful and pleasing..but if you've never known anyone with moderately long healthy hair..and all you're accustomed to is short, stringy, lank, shot to hell hair...well then, it doesn't ring your chimes, does it? People have the misconception that long hair takes so much patience and buckets of $$$ to be kept looking healthy, but WE know that isn't the case.

The "toilet paper" remark can just be attributed to to few brain cells at work. Honestly, how dumb can people be?

And I think JJJ's magnificent mane is fantastic beyond compare. A lot of work..but it is sensational! Major kudos to her!

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 03:02 PM
My advise would be not to judge people with bleach blonde bobs who decide to botox their face, so they will most likely stop judging long hair at some point as well. ;)

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 03:04 PM
Well, it's a good thing I don't judge those people.

Entangled
July 26th, 2014, 03:06 PM
I'm not sure what it is. I believe part of it is a cultural thing, because I'm sure you do not see as much disgust in places where long hair is considered a major part of culture. However, there is some sort of deep-seated, subconscious and instinctual reaction to it in many western countries, just like with very long fingernails. Nobody tells me that long fingernails are gross, but nails elicit the same shudder that random shed hairs used to for me. Now, I push that reaction off. Also, much of the long hair in the wild is in bad condition – ratty, splitty, fairy/tailed by damage, and dry, or very oily.

Additionally, very long hair is outside of the cultural norm and is not something you see every day. We're often taught that hair needs to be relatively short in order to be healthy. Many people, even hair ignorant ones, experience the same reactions. I think it is a subconscious cultural teaching.

I have never experienced that reaction to a long hair because I was exposed to somebody with extremely healthy, tailbone length hair from a very young age, and I've always admired it. I believe the shock factor that hair longer than tailbone length has is related to the feeling of disgust for long hair. It is something outside of what we are used to seeing, and I believe that the disparity jars our subconscious, alerting us that something is outside the pattern. I am not a psychologist, but I do believe there is a connection there.

Entangled
July 26th, 2014, 03:10 PM
I would love to grow my hair exceedingly long, floor length if my genes will allow it without extreme taper, but I don't talk about that frequently, if ever, because I know what reaction I will get. If I say waist length, or tailbone, people will ooh and aah, but any longer than that and I get a strange look. So I don't talk!:)

I will let them get used to it as I grow my hair. If they don't like it and it's healthy: well, I am not here to decorate their world.

ravenreed
July 26th, 2014, 03:12 PM
I remember being on a bus back in the 80's and a passenger flipped out because the long haired woman next to her let her hair touch her. She was yelling about 'dirty, long hair." I think part of it may be a throw back to the hippy days when people with long hair were assumed not to be clean. I think the assumption still exists that those of us with long hair don't wash often. After reading this forum, one might think that there is quite a bit of truth to it... One reason I regularly wash my hair is that I refuse to feed the stereotype of a dirty long hair.

LauraLongLocks
July 26th, 2014, 03:13 PM
Just think of the term "clean cut" when referring to hair. When someone keeps their hair short, particularly a guy, society calls it being clean cut. Why is long hair considered dirty? Why is short hair considered clean? I don't know the answer, but super length hair is fascinating. JJJs hair is inspiring.

frejafjord
July 26th, 2014, 03:15 PM
I'm not sure what it is. I believe part of it is a cultural thing, because I'm sure you do not see as much disgust in places where long hair is considered a major part of culture. However, there is some sort of deep-seated, subconscious and instinctual reaction to it in many western countries, just like with very long fingernails. Nobody tells me that long fingernails are gross, but nails elicit the same shudder that random shed hairs used to for me. Now, I push that reaction off. Also, much of the long hair in the wild is in bad condition – ratty, splitty, fairy/tailed by damage, and dry, or very oily.

Additionally, very long hair is outside of the cultural norm and is not something you see every day. We're often taught that hair needs to be relatively short in order to be healthy. Many people, even hair ignorant ones, experience the same reactions. I think it is a subconscious cultural teaching.

I have never experienced that reaction to a long hair because I was exposed to somebody with extremely healthy, tailbone length hair from a very young age, and I've always admired it. I believe the shock factor that hair longer than tailbone length has is related to the feeling of disgust for long hair. It is something outside of what we are used to seeing, and I believe that the disparity jars our subconscious, alerting us that something is outside the pattern. I am not a psychologist, but I do believe there is a connection there.



Yes, I agree with you so much Entangled. People don't just "dislike things because they dislike things". All our opinions come from somewhere, I agree that distaste for long hair is largely a cultural thing. Perhaps we are highly influenced by television and movie actresses who are not allowed to grow their hair past BSL because of their profession.

I don't know about the instinctual reaction however, it seems like on a basic instinctual level we should be attracted to the longest, most healthy hair possible. It has definitely been ingrained in us by our culture to have a knee-jerk reaction that someone who doesn't cut their hair might be crazy or diseased but at the root of it, hair that is floor length should indicate an immaculate level of health and nutrition (pun intended :p). It's like a readily available record of the last 10+ years - have they experienced any famines or serious illnesses that would cause hair loss? It's all there.

I think on an animal level we should find long hair extremely attractive. That's just a theory though :)

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 03:16 PM
I think esthetic views basically devide in trendy and classy, there's not so much there is to it. Most people who know by heart what they like are those who are the most accepting when others looks different in a way too. There rest probably is conditionend to think of high maintenance as very polished, almost artificial looking, in need for tons of product you kno.
But i don't really think i am personally that much different, although i fall into the category of natural looking, in the end it's anything but natural, looking at the extend in which i'm pampering my hair. If people would still think it's gross and not well cared for, oh well, i wasn't born to convince them otherwise.
Actually i started to love my long hair because it represents determination to resist anything that's hip at the moment for no apparent reason when it comes to calculable beauty. I don't think it ALL in the eye of the beholder, but some folks are to busy thinking about how to keep up with what actually doesn't suit them. Well, either way it doesn't bother me, each to their own, lol.

frejafjord
July 26th, 2014, 03:21 PM
Actually i started to love my long hair because it represents determination to resist anything that's hip at the moment for no apparent reason when it comes to calculable beauty. I don't think it ALL in the eye of the beholder, but some folks are to busy thinking about how to keep up with what actually doesn't suit them. Well, either way it doesn't bother me, each to their own, lol.

This is one of the things I love most about long hair. I think it becomes like a signature, outlasting trends and fashions.

Something about long hair feels very intensely personal.

Stormynights
July 26th, 2014, 03:22 PM
I was pretty grossed out by a YouTube video I saw of a man with dreadlocks that had never had his hair cut. It was wrapped up in this huge thing and piled on his head. I don't know how he managed to hold up his head. I am not grossed out by dreadlocks BTW just that huge nasty looking pile on his head. I love seeing well kept long hair but if it was disgusting looking I would be grossed out.

LauraLongLocks
July 26th, 2014, 03:25 PM
I was pretty grossed out by a YouTube video I saw of a man with dreadlocks that had never had his hair cut. It was wrapped up in this huge thing and piled on his head. I don't know how he managed to hold up his head. I am not grossed out by dreadlocks BTW just that huge nasty looking pile on his head. I love seeing well kept long hair but if it was disgusting looking I would be grossed out.

I saw that video too! It was totally disgusting. It was one giant dread coiled on top of his head and covered with fabric. It was nasty because it actually WAS dirty and probably had its own ecosystem.

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 03:27 PM
Uh, i'm also not a fan of dreads, but i love being grossed out, after all if it's another persons hair i can think whatever i want, but don't need to state them my opinion if they don't ask me, lol. Of course, if someone put's themselves on YT a reaction from viewers is expectable, lol. Hahaha, someone please show me!!!!

KittyBird
July 26th, 2014, 03:42 PM
I think many people feel uncomfortable when they see things that aren't "normal". Hair longer than classic, and particularly hair down to the floor, is unusual and unconventional, and they probably don't know how to deal with it. Their default reaction to anything weird may be "Eww, gross!".
I think knee length sounds lovely, but people here think I'm crazy when I say it. Even my current length is considered unusually long, though I still feel that it's pretty short :lol:

Entangled
July 26th, 2014, 03:47 PM
I don't know about the instinctual reaction however, it seems like on a basic instinctual level we should be attracted to the longest, most healthy hair possible. It has definitely been ingrained in us by our culture to have a knee-jerk reaction that someone who doesn't cut their hair might be crazy or diseased but at the root of it, hair that is floor length should indicate an immaculate level of health and nutrition (pun intended :p). It's like a readily available record of the last 10+ years - have they experienced any famines or serious illnesses that would cause hair loss? It's all there.

I think on an animal level we should find long hair extremely attractive. That's just a theory though :)

This is what I meant.:)

molljo
July 26th, 2014, 03:51 PM
I absolutely agree with ravenreed that the "dirty" idea is a holdover from the hippie days. It was the first time women had really tried growing out their hair since bobs took over in the '20s. People with very long hair who wear it down all the time tend to be the ones who don't take care of it (no one notices the longhairs who are always wearing protective styles), so there's a visibility bias there. If all you see of very long hair is the sad, unkempt kind, it's a pretty clear jump to assume all long hair is sad and unkempt. This was definitely my experience, prior to joining this community.

There's also the element of uncanny valley-ness. If you aren't accustomed to anything longer than BSL, longer than that is jarring. This feels like a big confession to make, but for me, hair past waist used to make me feel visceral repulsion, like I thought it was going to "get me", like the feeling you get when you see vermin. Nobody ever told me that long hair was bad, but it was something I felt on a very deep level. I think it's probably that I had very few experiences with long hair in the wild, and my brain couldn't comprehend it, because it challenged what my perception of "normal" was. A big reason I joined here was to desensitize myself to this phobia, and it's really helped me.

chen bao jun
July 26th, 2014, 04:05 PM
Length of hair in Western society and among Westernized elites in non Western societies has become very much a social class marker. Long, natural hair is everybody's ethnic grandmother or rural grandmother who used to wash their hair with rain water and wear it in a braid or bun. It smells of poverty to people with its memories of the chicken coop in the backyard and the outhouse, whether or not it is actually clean. Shorter 'groomed' hair requires an intense amount of upkeep and shows that you have arrived into the middle or upper middle class and can afford the hairdresser; the regular trims; the expensive blond highlights; the layers that don't look good unless regularly re-snipped; the blow-drying and treatments and expensive shampoos. It's been like this since, as someone said above, the 1920's, when the ethnic grandmother was Italian or Polish (now she's more likely Indian or Mexican).
1960's counter-culture showcased long, unstyled hair for both men and women, but also added the association with 'dirty hippies'.
What's hilarious is that employers hiring for jobs and so forth say that they prefer short hair because it shows that the person is serious and doesn't fuss with their hair, when actually, it shows the exact opposite...

EdG
July 26th, 2014, 04:13 PM
I showed hubs a picture of JJJ's gorgeous floor length hair, and his first response was 'ew'He clearly needs to spend some time in rehab at the LHC. :rollin:
Ed

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 04:17 PM
Wise words Chen! I always love to read your eloquent and resonably structured posts. :heartbeat

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 04:27 PM
I still remember the time when I was a teenager and EVERYONE was cutting their hair short, really short. Only me and couple of other girls in the entire school had our hairs long. Those other girls were goths ( hehe ) and a very boring me. Non of my friends have longer, as long or even close to waist length hair.

I think the problem is really that people haven't used to see super long hair. Even I will get those " wow, your hair is long "- comments if I for some reason have it down. The only way to educate people is by growing our hair long, healthy and beautiful. Style it pretty ( for me braided updoes ) and show how amazing it can look. So we have lots of work to do here ;)

RapunzelKat
July 26th, 2014, 04:29 PM
Length of hair in Western society and among Westernized elites in non Western societies has become very much a social class marker. Long, natural hair is everybody's ethnic grandmother or rural grandmother who used to wash their hair with rain water and wear it in a braid or bun. It smells of poverty to people with its memories of the chicken coop in the backyard and the outhouse, whether or not it is actually clean. Shorter 'groomed' hair requires an intense amount of upkeep and shows that you have arrived into the middle or upper middle class and can afford the hairdresser; the regular trims; the expensive blond highlights; the layers that don't look good unless regularly re-snipped; the blow-drying and treatments and expensive shampoos. It's been like this since, as someone said above, the 1920's, when the ethnic grandmother was Italian or Polish (now she's more likely Indian or Mexican).
1960's counter-culture showcased long, unstyled hair for both men and women, but also added the association with 'dirty hippies'.
What's hilarious is that employers hiring for jobs and so forth say that they prefer short hair because it shows that the person is serious and doesn't fuss with their hair, when actually, it shows the exact opposite...

Well put as always, Chen. :)
The last person in my family to have really long hair in adulthood was my great-grandmother, who lived on a farm in Kansas. I'm determined to break the trend :D

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 04:32 PM
Style it pretty ( for me braided updoes ) and show how amazing it can look. So we have lots of work to do here ;)

I agree, but then again if JJJ cannot break the ice, i wonder who else could, lol. :confused:

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 04:36 PM
I agree, but then again if JJJ cannot break the ice, i wonder who else could, lol. :confused:

She is alone, she can't battle it alone! Need more of the amazing JJJ:s!!!

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 04:40 PM
She is alone, she can't battle it alone! Need more of the amazing JJJ:s!!!

Yes of course, the more the merrier! Just look at how many on here have been trying for a long time, she is truly blessed in the genetic department, even the best care hardly can help anyone to grow hair that long while it actually stays super healthy.
If i would have to place a bet onwhere my terminal is, i'd say about 48" is the absolut maximum it would grow, but i haven't been there yet to find out and probably never will because i'd need a maid to help me styling it, lol.

jacqueline101
July 26th, 2014, 04:43 PM
Many people don't "get" long hair because they don't understand its aesthetic appeal, or have been so inured to the idea of "short" hair (bra strap or shorter) that they can't fathom how someone would want to grow longer than that. Admittedly, LHC members know that long hair is beautiful and pleasing..but if you've never known anyone with moderately long healthy hair..and all you're accustomed to is short, stringy, lank, shot to hell hair...well then, it doesn't ring your chimes, does it? People have the misconception that long hair takes so much patience and buckets of $$$ to be kept looking healthy, but WE know that isn't the case.

The "toilet paper" remark can just be attributed to to few brain cells at work. Honestly, how dumb can people be?

And I think JJJ's magnificent mane is fantastic beyond compare. A lot of work..but it is sensational! Major kudos to her!



I agree. When I mentioned to a friend of mine back a year ago I was growing mine to tlh and his response was that will cost you. Shampoo, conditioner, trims, and leave in products. I told him I'm a self trimmer when it comes to my fringe and most of my products come from dollar store for a dollar or less they're discontinued items.

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 04:50 PM
I kinda have this feeling, that my hair could grow very long... My grandmother had a very long hair, not sure how long exactly. But I actually have her braid ( hope this doesn't sound too weird ). She cut some of her hair and was wearing the catted part as a braided bun. The length of this braid is 28 inches. My mom's hair doesn't grow past her arm pit length or so she was saying, but mine seems to be easily growing. So hopefully I inherited granny's gens ;) I will grow to classic , maybe a finger tip length. But honestly not too sure about growing any longer than that. Will need to thick about it. So even if genetically possibly not even all will go for it....

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 04:59 PM
StellaKatherine everytime i see your hair it actually already looks like classic length, maybe you are an inch or so away, but your full hemline makes up for it.
So you definitely have potential to grow super long.
My hemline is actually still quiet thick too, but for some reason i think it will just stop growing at some point very soon, dunno. Might be the result of nt having one family member with hair longer than APL to look up to.

jacqueline101
July 26th, 2014, 05:05 PM
I saw that video too! It was totally disgusting. It was one giant dread coiled on top of his head and covered with fabric. It was nasty because it actually WAS dirty and probably had its own ecosystem.

I didn't know he had a YouTube video but I did see his picture on line. If I remember correctly he has the worlds longest dread lock. Sick was the looks of it and ecosystem doesn't cover that at all. In fact I can't say the words that describe it on here.

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 05:14 PM
I didn't know he had a YouTube video but I did see his picture on line. If I remember correctly he has the worlds longest dread lock. Sick was the looks of it and ecosystem doesn't cover that at all. In fact I can't say the words that describe it on here.

Now that i'm thinking, i guess i've seen a picture somewhere too. No need to be explicit. There's an emoji for that, hahaha. :poop:

Stormynights
July 26th, 2014, 05:17 PM
It just proves not all long hair is beautiful.

Tini'sNewHair
July 26th, 2014, 05:30 PM
Id say because hair THAT long is pretty unsual, it is common to see waist length here and even a few at hip but longer than that, wow just no! (My goal is classic btw, I LOVE super long hair!). Even when i first met LHC i realised that i used to be a bit taken back when i saw floor length for example or someone with super thick hair at knee length. I thought that only hairdressers knew what proper haircare meant and for someone to grow THAT long, must be something wrong?! :s yup weird! I now realised that it was just the medias view of how hair SHOULD be and what makes hair beautiful involved NUN of this so i was pretty confused. I remember a conversation i had with my friends a few months ago about long hair and even THEY said "but HOW would you go to the toilet with butt long hair?" - luckily that i love them to bits or i would of smacked them haha BUT one of them said that in school she knew a girl with butt long hair whos hair used to fall in the toilet so no wonder she has the wrong idea about it. Dear lord! haha

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 05:40 PM
StellaKatherine everytime i see your hair it actually already looks like classic length, maybe you are an inch or so away, but your full hemline makes up for it.
So you definitely have potential to grow super long.
My hemline is actually still quiet thick too, but for some reason i think it will just stop growing at some point very soon, dunno. Might be the result of nt having one family member with hair longer than APL to look up to.

I probably should take a photo in jeans... I have a very long torso. VERY LONG. I have long distance from shoulders to bust, from bust to waist, from waist to hips, then little shorter to tail bone and then again big jump to where the butt ends :( I counted that I need about 6-8 inches to grow to classic. I was once almost at classic and cut it shorter because of pressure from friends and family :cry:

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 05:51 PM
Oh god, never cut your hair again if you don't actually want to yourself. It looks super healthy tho, so the generous trim wasn't for nothing.
I see, then it's still a bit for you to go onto classic, but you will get there before you even know it.
I'm very tall but with kind of a weird baody shape, long neck, short torso and long hip bone, i would say i need another 2-3 inches to get to classic when stretched out, let alone when it's wavy, instantly it becomes 4 inch shorter.

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 05:58 PM
I cam back from hairdresser with somewhere at arm pit length and cried my eyes out when tried to braid. So I put it in a ponytail and let it be until could braid again. Yes, never again I will cut because everyone says so! Hated it so much as I had no idea at all what to do with such a short hair :) Yeah, it is still some time for me. If my hemline keeps on looking OK, I will not be trimming until classic length is reached and then will decide what to do next :)

It is funny how different bodies are...

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 06:01 PM
Hubs loves me hair (it's finally at waist), and knows I want to grow it much longer.

He said JJJ long hair would be fine on me, but gross on other people?

I dunno. Maybe he knows how I take care of it, so that removes the ick factor? :shrug:

StellaKatherine
July 26th, 2014, 06:03 PM
Hubs loves me hair (it's finally at waist), and knows I want to grow it much longer.

He said JJJ long hair would be fine on me, but gross on other people?

I dunno. Maybe he knows how I take care of it, so that removes the ick factor? :shrug:

True love is when you love the person no matter what hair he / she has :)

queenovnight
July 26th, 2014, 07:06 PM
I'm not entirely sure where this mindset came from, but it seems rather common these days. My bf also finds extremely long hair to be "gross." He actually thinks anything past TBL is too much.


I personally don't understand the logic though. I don't understand why growing out your hair is gross, but bleaching and dying isn't. I dunno?

*- I do think the media impacts people and their opinions though. Like, make-over shows! If the woman has long hair, you can bet they'll chop it off.*


I think people also assume that women with floor length hair let it drag across the floor and don't take care of it.. But in realty, they take better care of their hair than most people do. Just one big misconception. Kinda like how people say "not washing your hair everyday is gross."*


That's just my guesses though.

HairFaerie
July 26th, 2014, 07:18 PM
During my lifetime, I have seen a shift in the way people view hair in general...and not just the hair on your head. Goddess forbid if you don't shave your pubic hair these days! Back on the 70s and 80s, it wasn't a fad and nobody really did it and nobody minded. Nowadays people freak out. :shake:
Same thing with head hair, in the 70s and 80s a lot of people (men and women) had long hair. Nowadays, the bob is the most popular style.

So, short story long...Yes, people are conditioned by whatever society happens to be pushing at the moment.

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 07:40 PM
Actually i feel that the most popular style these days ain the bob but extensions, preferably super layered, midback to hip with some kind of ombre going on.
Sort of like #teamkardashian :laugh:
Actually that was the reason why i wanted to cut mine into a bob not too long ago, i didn't really feel my hair was that special, was accused of wearing fake hair all the time just because i invested alot of time and effort in apparently making my real hair look like virgin malasyan clip ins, lol. http://smiley.nowdararpour.ir/animated/40.gif ...Happy that it has grown now past the length thats on offer at luxy's, lol. Nothing wrong with wearing them, but my ego desires apropriate recognition for hard work. Credit where credit is due! http://smiley.nowdararpour.ir/kolobok1/54.gif

Maktub
July 26th, 2014, 08:01 PM
Length of hair in Western society and among Westernized elites in non Western societies has become very much a social class marker. Long, natural hair is everybody's ethnic grandmother or rural grandmother who used to wash their hair with rain water and wear it in a braid or bun. It smells of poverty to people with its memories of the chicken coop in the backyard and the outhouse, whether or not it is actually clean. Shorter 'groomed' hair requires an intense amount of upkeep and shows that you have arrived into the middle or upper middle class and can afford the hairdresser; the regular trims; the expensive blond highlights; the layers that don't look good unless regularly re-snipped; the blow-drying and treatments and expensive shampoos. It's been like this since, as someone said above, the 1920's, when the ethnic grandmother was Italian or Polish (now she's more likely Indian or Mexican).
1960's counter-culture showcased long, unstyled hair for both men and women, but also added the association with 'dirty hippies'.
What's hilarious is that employers hiring for jobs and so forth say that they prefer short hair because it shows that the person is serious and doesn't fuss with their hair, when actually, it shows the exact opposite...

Very well said !

chen bao jun
July 26th, 2014, 08:06 PM
Stella Katherine, you have very beautiful hair. Minako, you do too and it does not look like extensions.
I like JJJ Longhair's hair and there are a couple of other floor length members on here who look good, but I admit it is perhaps a special taste to admire floor length hair, if only because of the convenience factor. When it gets that long, you definitely would have trouble wearing it down, unless you are a Japanese lady in a Heian castle with clothes that support it, and never actually have to walk around, just ride in litters! However, so far as beauty alone is concerned, it certainly looks beautiful.
My favorite length to look at is knee length, but I doubt I would get there. I really want to get to waist.
As for dreadlocks, I know that there are modern style dreadlocks which are not nasty, sister locs and mini locs and things like that. there is a girl on LHC who has very lovely mini locs groomed beautifully, I forget her name. But the original style is truly disgusting. People get upset if you say this, but it is true, they break off sometimes and you at least find dust inside there and sometimes insects. You can wash your scalp but the dreadlocks that aren't minilocs you can't get inside to wash the inside because of the structure of the thing, which is shed hairs clinging to each other after a certain point (which is why I personally don't count them as actual long hair, by the time you get to the bottom, those hairs haven't been connected to your scalp in forever, that's just a fact.)
People accuse you of all kinds of prejudice when you say this so I usually don't. As I said, they have been modernized so that they are done with crochet hooks rather than just hair matting together like a Polish plait (look that up on wikipedia if you really want to be grossed out) and the small ones like the sister locs are clean and look attractive (although it would be too much trouble for me, you have to go to the hairdresser once a month to keep those up) but the Bob Marley style are just nasty and if they aren't when you start them, they will get nasty later, that's the nature of matted hair and shed hairs clinging together, enough said.
it drives me crazy when people say that they are 'natural' for African American hairtypes (usually people say 'for certain hairtypes' but you know they mean Africa), nobody's hair naturally does that. Fortunately, in my opinion.
http://www.reddit.com/r/WTF/comments/1ylhe2/i_cut_one_of_my_dreadlocks_off_tonight_this_is/
http://www.dreadlocks.org/stuff-inside-my-dreads/

cathair
July 26th, 2014, 08:30 PM
I'm not sure what it is. I believe part of it is a cultural thing, because I'm sure you do not see as much disgust in places where long hair is considered a major part of culture. However, there is some sort of deep-seated, subconscious and instinctual reaction to it in many western countries, just like with very long fingernails. Nobody tells me that long fingernails are gross, but nails elicit the same shudder that random shed hairs used to for me. Now, I push that reaction off. Also, much of the long hair in the wild is in bad condition – ratty, splitty, fairy/tailed by damage, and dry, or very oily.

Additionally, very long hair is outside of the cultural norm and is not something you see every day. We're often taught that hair needs to be relatively short in order to be healthy. Many people, even hair ignorant ones, experience the same reactions. I think it is a subconscious cultural teaching.

I have never experienced that reaction to a long hair because I was exposed to somebody with extremely healthy, tailbone length hair from a very young age, and I've always admired it. I believe the shock factor that hair longer than tailbone length has is related to the feeling of disgust for long hair. It is something outside of what we are used to seeing, and I believe that the disparity jars our subconscious, alerting us that something is outside the pattern. I am not a psychologist, but I do believe there is a connection there.

This made me laugh. I have people recoil in horror at my long nails (and a couple of good moments at beauty counters where the people working that have been stunned they are real.). When I ask them why they say it's because they are not dead straight like false nails, they have a curve to them.

I think JJJ's hair is amazingly beautiful. However I would imagine the only hair of that length at a lot of people have seen before is Cousin IT. I think when people haven't seen something before, or they don't know how to cope with what they are seeing their first reaction is to be dismissive or negative, maybe even without thinking it through. A bit like if you dress in an extreme way, you will probably get lots of negative comments, even if you look nice.

I think the hippie hair being dirty thing definitely plays a part and also long hair being associated with being poor. I have heard people say things like 'I only had long hair because I had kids/lost my job etc and couldn't afford to go to the hairdressers' before. I guess in that was it can be related to 'letting yourself go', even if that is unfairly.

I have also hear people say they find long hair gross because it's dead. What's the point of carrying dead stuff around. I kind of can't argue with that, it is dead and if dead stuff grosses you out then it does.

kaylamarie
July 26th, 2014, 08:33 PM
I think it has a lot to do with society. Every time there is a makeover they chop all of their hair off. Also, it seems that women get very jealous of others with long, thick, and healthy hair. So instead applauding them or giving them encouragement, they put them down. Mainly though, it seems that very few people are around others with very long hair. It is common for people to think things are weird or disgusting when they are out of the normal. I love super long hair. If anybody puts you down about your hair being to long, remember that you did something right! It takes a lot of work to get it that long!

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 08:38 PM
I agree, Kayla!

If you try and keep mind that your hair is the way you want it because it makes you happy, and not for show, I think it helps takes a bit of the sting off the comments.

This kind of hair does take work, and seeing it in the mirror is very rewarding :blossom:

MINAKO
July 26th, 2014, 08:42 PM
Uaaaaaaaaaaaaah! That gives a whole new meaning to volumizing powder, yikes!!!
I agree that they can look nice if done properly, small, neat and clean... but the messy grunge style just doesn't appeal to me.
And the polish plait... well, lucky me its way past midnight here and my stomach is empty, lolol.

On floor length hair. I love to watch JJJ and she seems to have a very special connection to her mane, it exeptional looks amazing on her, indeed very majestic.
I personally wouldn't want to deal with it to, it's just too much hair for me to continuously baby it all the time. Maybe if it was naturally straigth and i lived in that lovely castle that you describe i would change my mind, haha.

I always wonder if there would be a way to define ones terminal length before actually getting there, but i guess looking around at realatives in case there is one with really long hair would be the safest bet.
I admire knee on others as well, it really depends on the hair quality. Anyways, i think it happens unexpected for many of us here on the forums, in a way that the more we get the more we want and nobody likes the word scissors or to use them if the reason to cut isn't damage. Just feels wrong to cut healthy hair that has been tenderly taken care of. My absolute favorite inspiration picture however are ALWAYS longer than i say i would intend to go. :eyebrows:

Shibe
July 26th, 2014, 11:08 PM
I googled photos of Polish Plait..and I gotta agree with Minako, I'm happy my stomach was empty, eugh! The thought of it touching my skin http://laflecha.net/archivo/storage/smileys/nooo.gif

Duchess Fuzzy Buns
July 26th, 2014, 11:51 PM
Curiosity got the best of me, and I had to know what a Polish Plait was. Good. God. :disbelief:puke:

Stormynights
July 27th, 2014, 12:03 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXc6ncfEkX0 I guess that is what this is.

Aurum
July 27th, 2014, 12:15 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXc6ncfEkX0 I guess that is what this is.

I love that this video references Xie Qiuping. That man is in a completely different world than she is, hair wise. Her hair is all still attached to her head, whereas I'm sure the hair at the end of his dread hasn't been connected in years.

-----
EDIT: cathair, I'm not sure I would call hair "dead." The visible cells themselves are dead, for lack of a better word, yes, but it isn't an independent living thing. It's not like you're carrying a dead cat on your back. By that logic, the outer layer of skin on everyone's body should be gross as well.

eadwine
July 27th, 2014, 12:29 AM
At least I am lucky to have a client who has seen me with my hair down back when it was still TBL, he loves it. Whenever we are sitting out on his balcony and those schoolkids bike by, he sees the girls with really long hair and goes: ah.. just look at that, how beautiful, that is what a woman should look like, with beautiful flowing long hair.

He's not tacky about it at all, he just doesn't like the short haircuts :)

I don't know how he'd feel about floorlength though, but I am pretty sure that that would be too long. I know he accepts TBL at least :lol:

StellaKatherine
July 27th, 2014, 02:06 AM
Then I heard some people saying that long hair looks creepy. I wonder if that is effect of the horror movies or movies with ghost to appear ? Like "The Ring" - where the hair isn't too long, but with it been over the face the creepy effect sure to exist. :shrug:

SkyChild
July 27th, 2014, 03:57 AM
I'm not a big fan of floorlength hair I think because if worn loose I worry what would get into it from the floor - but I wouldn't just say it's gross if it was clean and looked after.

StellaKatherine
July 27th, 2014, 04:28 AM
I must say, the more I look at floor length hair , the more I want it... But I think with my ii hair the ends at floor length would be so see through, that it wouldn't look good.

Majorane
July 27th, 2014, 05:48 AM
I only heard this whole 'long hair is dirty' quite recently when a couple of collegues were talking about that. Didn't get it then, don't get it now, didn't even know it was a thing? Heck, I don't even make such a big fuss over a hair in my soup, I just fish it out and continue eating! Why would it spoil good food? I never heard of anyone that got sick from eating a hair. ....admittedly my family is both very hair friendly (my dad had long, permed hair back when he still had it) and clearly not very squimish, because they forgot to teach me hair is gross...

A 'friend' (as in; she's in my circle of friends and was one time my friend, but she has a mean streak under her insecure girly front) and I were recently talking about hair and I mentioned this place. So it was along the lines of "and at that forum there's people with hair to their knees and the floor!" (because, well, true). Lo and behold it came: Oh! Really? Well okay! But ... haha kinda gross... haha... So I asked why?
"well eew toilet hahaha I mean that gets difficult with such long hair haha.." I was so flabbergasted I blurted out "HUH? why would someone do that? Do YOU crap all over your skirt or tunic if it's below your butt? I never poop on my scarves! How do you go to the toilet if your hair gets in the way?" And she shut up about it and now I'll never know why she had that weird thought! Argh.

I thought it was her mean streak again and thought it was really far-fetched and mean to say, but this is actually a thing where people consider long hair dirty? Man, humans are weird.

jacqueline101
July 27th, 2014, 07:47 AM
Now that i'm thinking, i guess i've seen a picture somewhere too. No need to be explicit. There's an emoji for that, hahaha. :poop:

True that's why I tried to hold back. If I'm remembering correctly the guy that had the dreads was going for a record. As someone stated he'd never washed his hair in 30 years or anything. When the bugs took over he wanted a cut and the hair dressers can't due to the bugs. He had lice, flies, and all sorts of bugs. I'd faint if someone wanted me to cut that kind of buggy mess.

Shibe
July 27th, 2014, 10:45 AM
I only heard this whole 'long hair is dirty' quite recently when a couple of collegues were talking about that. Didn't get it then, don't get it now, didn't even know it was a thing? Heck, I don't even make such a big fuss over a hair in my soup, I just fish it out and continue eating! Why would it spoil good food? I never heard of anyone that got sick from eating a hair. ....admittedly my family is both very hair friendly (my dad had long, permed hair back when he still had it) and clearly not very squimish, because they forgot to teach me hair is gross...

A 'friend' (as in; she's in my circle of friends and was one time my friend, but she has a mean streak under her insecure girly front) and I were recently talking about hair and I mentioned this place. So it was along the lines of "and at that forum there's people with hair to their knees and the floor!" (because, well, true). Lo and behold it came: Oh! Really? Well okay! But ... haha kinda gross... haha... So I asked why?
"well eew toilet hahaha I mean that gets difficult with such long hair haha.." I was so flabbergasted I blurted out "HUH? why would someone do that? Do YOU crap all over your skirt or tunic if it's below your butt? I never poop on my scarves! How do you go to the toilet if your hair gets in the way?" And she shut up about it and now I'll never know why she had that weird thought! Argh.

I thought it was her mean streak again and thought it was really far-fetched and mean to say, but this is actually a thing where people consider long hair dirty? Man, humans are weird.

Very good response! I don't get that at all. Ladies can go the bathroom in huge dresses for prom, but we will be absentminded enough to dunk our hair in the toilet?

It's like they view people with that length of hair to be lacking some brain cells, if were 'letting it' plop in the can!

Kherome
July 27th, 2014, 10:54 AM
I don't personally want floor length hair. As it is at Classic I am unsure if I want to grow on or cut back to hip. But it never crossed my mind that long hair was dirty...unless it actually is, like, you know...actually unwashed and greasy and such. If my hair is down (rare, and pretty much never outside of the house) and I go to the bathroom, I wrap it around my neck a few times like a scarf. It never gets near the toilet. Why do people think up such stupid things???

MINAKO
July 27th, 2014, 11:08 AM
Why do people think up such stupid things???

Because every once in a while there seems to be a long haired lady who can't quiet figure it out, lol. :laugh:
Anyways, even if this did happen to me by accident, i think i'd be fine just washing my hair and be more careful the next time. Not a reason to cut at all.

http://xiaxue.blogspot.de/2012/02/i-cut-my-hair-i-am-proud-homeowner.html
"Then one fine day I sat down on the toilet bowl and realised... In between my ass and the seat... is my hair. Not my ass hair, my head hair. I actually sat down on my ****ing hair. I mean it's gross and all, but my point is that it's super long!"

martyna_22
July 27th, 2014, 11:28 AM
Because every once in a while there seems to be a long haired lady who can't quiet figure it out, lol. :laugh:
Anyways, even if this did happen to me by accident, i think i'd be fine just washing my hair and be more careful the next time. Not a reason to cut at all.

http://xiaxue.blogspot.de/2012/02/i-cut-my-hair-i-am-proud-homeowner.html
"Then one fine day I sat down on the toilet bowl and realised... In between my ass and the seat... is my hair. Not my ass hair, my head hair. I actually sat down on my ****ing hair. I mean it's gross and all, but my point is that it's super long!"

Wow, her hair.. is awesome :D I liked it better before the cut, but still looks nice after. Oh, well.
Anyway I see no connection between long and dirty. Of course, the longer bits of hair are older, but why the heck dirty? (Unless they are actually dirty, but it's not the point ;))
The toilet reference is beyond me as well. Like others, floor-length would be too much hassle for me, but I whole-heartedly admire those, who consciously grow beautiful, long hair.

MINAKO
July 27th, 2014, 11:38 AM
Wow, her hair.. is awesome :D I liked it better before the cut, but still looks nice after. Oh, well.
Anyway I see no connection between long and dirty. Of course, the longer bits of hair are older, but why the heck dirty? (Unless they are actually dirty, but it's not the point ;))
The toilet reference is beyond me as well. Like others, floor-length would be too much hassle for me, but I whole-heartedly admire those, who consciously grow beautiful, long hair.

The pink as awesome! I liked it better before the cut too. But she grew it back out and went platinum for her wedding. i wish my hair could take all that X'D

Shibe
July 27th, 2014, 12:23 PM
That pink hair is so cute :love:

chen bao jun
July 27th, 2014, 12:31 PM
Go for it. I would if I could (even with thin ends) and who knows, you might be able to thicken them up by gradual cutting.

I must say, the more I look at floor length hair , the more I want it... But I think with my ii hair the ends at floor length would be so see through, that it wouldn't look good.

Majorane
July 27th, 2014, 12:33 PM
Aaaah, Xiaxue does all kinds of things to her hair! I really liked her purple hair, or when it was platinum and with rainbow neck highlights.... She was one of the reasons I tried to bleach my ends white so I could manicpanic them all kinds of colors. I still have 7 bottles of cotton candy color dye.... the blonde ends fell off, though.

But wat was said earlier. Even IF someone accidentally dunked their mane, c'mon, that's nothing a bit of shampoo and condish can't clean. I've had a kitty enema blow up in my hair, and it washed out just fine.

Stormynights
July 27th, 2014, 12:33 PM
I remember a lady with knee length hair that never wore her hair up because she said it was too heavy to wear up. When she sat down it was on the floor. I always wanted to pick it up and put it in another chair or something to get it off the floor. I have to admit that her hair on the floor grossed me out.

chen bao jun
July 27th, 2014, 12:40 PM
I agree that long hair isn't dirty--unless you don't wash it.
You can have dirty short hair just as much as you can have dirty long hair (by not washing it).
I can't imagine accidentally getting it into the toilet, even if that one lady did.
My Granny with hair she could sit on was the cleanest person ever (like obsessive/compulsive clean).
cooking food, wear your hair of any length up (and then not only won't it get in the food, but you can't accidentally burn it as once happened to me).
As for hair being dead, if you have a crewcut that 1/2 inch of hair is just as dead as floor length hair, so why is the floor length hair suddenly gross.
It's a social class thing, as I said, as well as a style thing and short hair is the greatest money maker ever. But I LOVE long hair and while you can have your opinion on it, I'm growing mine and encouraging others with pretty long hair that it looks nice. And truthfully, when it doesn't, what it usually needs is TLC,not a drastic haircut.

Laurenji
July 27th, 2014, 01:21 PM
This kind of reminds me of an article that I was reading about body image where volunteers rated pictures of various women on a scale of attractiveness. One of the groups of volunteers looked at pictures of large women for a while before they rated the attractiveness, and the researchers found that those who had looked at pictures of large people came to see larger as more "normal," if that makes sense.

Essentially it found that if we look at a certain type of body shape, etc for a long time, we start thinking it's normal. So here on the LHC where we look at pictures of long hair hip or tailbone becomes "average -normal" and We forget that other people don't have as much exposure to longer hair as we do!

Hopefully that made sense.

StellaKatherine
July 27th, 2014, 01:34 PM
Go for it. I would if I could (even with thin ends) and who knows, you might be able to thicken them up by gradual cutting.

At 5'8 there would be some nice length for the hair hehe

RileyJane
July 27th, 2014, 04:01 PM
I think it depends on what you're used to seeing or in your case, not seeing. Growing up with hippies , have hair classic length or better wasn't uncommon in my household, and my hair was always hip length, sometimes flirting with tailbone length. My mother tells me when I was 12 I asked for a pixie cut (I don't remember this at all) and when she asked me why my only answer was bc all the girls at my school had them. (Ik; this is when you feel sad for my
YOunger self for wanting to not stick out). I also remember when I was 16 I bobbed my long hair and came home to show my parents( I was rebelling) and my mom actually burst into tears about how short it was and WHY did I cut my hip length hair?!?! It's all about what you're used to, or not. My bf could care less how long or short my hair is, and honestly that's how it should be:) do what you want with your hair ; it is just yours but do it for you and not for anyone else :)

LunaLuvsU
July 27th, 2014, 04:45 PM
A persons preference doesnt, or shouldnt, come out as 'ew'. All because I prefer dark hair doesnt mean I think light hair is gross or would say 'ew' to it. In this society we have a tendency to think of long hair as unhygienic and dirty. I also think there is a disliking of it now because it isnt average anymore.

heartgoesboom
July 27th, 2014, 04:57 PM
I had to ask my by if he would think it's gross if my hair is down to my butt. As someone who had waist/hip+ hair fore over half my life, it's weird that I would think it's gross. Sometimes I think it's coz I think too much and I realize woah, my hair is old. Lol, maybe it's that?