PDA

View Full Version : 5-year LHC anniversary: AKA what do I do with my knee-length hair for my wedding??



Lunnafindel
April 18th, 2015, 10:12 PM
I just realized that this month is an Important Anniversary for me at LHC - 5 years ago, as part of an april fools day joke, I decided to google "super long hair" and discovered LHC, hairtoys, hairstyles other than the nautilus bun and a braid (that's literally all I did before), ACV rinses, and a whole host of wonderful people. I'm so glad I found you guys!
Insert requisite length-photo here:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a503/Lunnafindel/d1523508-0430-4ad7-9c97-f1af1ed7592c_zps8d2gd6xr.jpg
The biggest reason I'm glad I found LHC is because you are the perfect people to ask advice about a VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC: what should I do with my hair for my wedding in June?
I've decided I want it half-up, probably in a crown braid or something similar. Something like this:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a503/Lunnafindel/Borderlands2_zps608a3989.jpg

but the question is, what to do with the length? Any advice for how to make it as shiny and silky as possible that day? Should I break with tradition and heat-curl it? (would that even work??) or would straightening look more natural with my type of hair? I've never really done either, since I've been firmly opposed to heat styling (for obvious reasons), so I have no idea what they look like on me.
(here's a picture of what braid waves look like, which is as close as I've ever gotten)
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a503/Lunnafindel/075d730a-5365-4078-a7de-acfe623de716_zpscv61esii.jpg
Also, perhaps most importantly, my hair is currently mid-calf, the longest it's ever been. Should I cut it back to knee (where it's been most of my life) to make the hemline fuller? Or keep it long to not lose all the ground I've gained recently (I'm almost at ankle!)? I've been planning on cutting it back for months, but as I get closer to the date I'm starting to lose my nerve...what do you guys think? will it look better at knee than it does at calf?

Thanks in advance, and please do let me know any advice about pampering my hair leading up to the wedding, I've always been in the "benign neglect" camp, so I really don't know what the best things to do are.

Duchess Fuzzy Buns
April 18th, 2015, 11:18 PM
Congratulations, you have beautiful hair! :applause And congrats on your upcoming wedding too. As for making your length shiny and silky that day, maybe you could use some kind of silicone serum, like Silk Drops, or something on it? I think the braid waves look really nice, but heat styling once for your wedding certainly won't wreck your hair if you decide to go that route. I don't know if you ever do deep treatments, but maybe you could incorporate them into your routine if you're not already to pamper your hair before the big day.
Good luck! :cheer:

divinedobbie
April 18th, 2015, 11:23 PM
Beautiful hair :) I like the texture in the first photo, so more straight rather than the braid waves, but I think curls would look really nice too especially if you don't cut so the fairytale ends will blend nicely. I personally wouldn't cut back to knee if you want to continue growing.

ETA: Curling such long hair would be quite a difficult task I imagine and only the ends might hold the curl.

butter52
April 18th, 2015, 11:39 PM
Rollers could also look great, or sock bun waves.
Also for hairstyles I love the one you posted, but have you checked the Game of Thrones and other fantasy hairstyles? There is beautiful classy and intrincate braided halfups.

About cutting, I dont know. I personally am not that fond of fairytale ends, but it should be you who likes the hair.

picklepie
April 19th, 2015, 12:29 AM
Congratulations!! Gorgeous hair. Great advertising for benign neglect, that's for sure!

My only input in wedding hair is-- will you be dancing? Will ankle length hair work? Would you be okay with putting it up for that part? Otherwise, I think anything you do will be wonderful, because your hair is gorgeous just the way it is!

Ishje
April 19th, 2015, 12:32 AM
Happy LHC anniversary! Your hair is very impressive. That braided half up is absolutely gorgeous, I hope maybe we get to see a picture of it on your wedding day, complete with dress and all?

About the cut, It depends on whether or not you like fairytale ends, but if you don't I would suggest to first cut half of what you planned, after that you can still cut more if you feel like it. Just play it safe!

Quixii
April 19th, 2015, 12:36 AM
Wow, congrats on your anniversary, your beautiful hair, and your impending nuptials! That half-up you posted is really quite lovely. Personally, I'm partial to waves and curls, but it should really be whatever makes you feel most beautiful. (I'm now picturing your hair in that crown braided half up, with little flower in the braid and into your waved length. :crush: )

Yarrow
April 19th, 2015, 01:24 AM
Wow, your hair is really long and beautiful.
Just a few thoughts:
Take the wedding dress and how your hair will look on into consideration.
If your going to a have a blue one, it might have a different effect on the perception of your ends then a traditional long, white dress. If it's only knee length , it will also appear different. So testing it out beforehand and seeing if you like the look would be important.
I think both curls and straight would look lovely on you, but if you hear style please don't forget an heat protectant. If it's headless curls, I'd start experimenting now to see what works and what doesn't.

pixiepaws
April 19th, 2015, 01:36 AM
WOW your hair is just beautiful. I would not cut back to knee( but of course up to you if you choose to chop) as curls would look really pretty with your ends , you would get a beautiful curl. As for heat products that ones up to you. I personally do not trust heat products that claim to stop damage, i worry that the heat protector sprays would stick or cook onto the hair. You could try rag curls, no heat then and use a little Argon oil for shine. Am not sure how the Argon oil would help with the curls to stay in all day. Conventional hair products will work/could better but come contain Alcohol in them this can dry out hair.

StellaKatherine
April 19th, 2015, 01:39 AM
Congratulations both on the 5th year at LHC and your upcoming wedding :flowers:

tigereye
April 19th, 2015, 02:00 AM
I usually find that I like braid-waves, but the very ends normally look scraggly and too straight after the waves (it's just the nature of my straightish hair - naturally wavy hair is usually wavier/curlier at the ends). I'd braid in braidwaves, then curl the ends (soft-rollers are good for curling the very ends).
In terms of cutting, I'd try on a half-up with the dress and see how it looks first. Then, if you decide you want a thicker hemline, you can cut it then. I like the idea of only cutting half to start with.

Panth
April 19th, 2015, 03:57 AM
Lovely! And congratulations!

My thoughts:
- I like the braided style in your second picture - that with some flowers, or maybe a (faux) hairtaping-style ribbon would be gorgeous
- I wouldn't heat style - your natural and braid-waved textures are plenty beautiful enough, no need to fuss with them (also, and this is more my personal preference but ... it'd take ages and I personally wouldn't want that much extra fuss and hassle on what may well be a somewhat stressful day)
- I wouldn't cut
- I agree with Yarrow about checking any style you choose against your actual dress - colour and length of dress are going to affect how your hairstyle looks
- I would throw out the idea of parandi braidwaves - with a parandi, you get waves to the very tips of you hair, which makes the ends look much better than with normal braidwaves

Personally, when I got married I did a coronet braid (because: up, out of the way, not sticking to me in the heat, plus there was dancing). I put forget-me-nots along the braid (my mum ended up having to sew them on...). I wanted orange blossom, for the scent, but spring was late that year and it hadn't flowered yet.

EF
April 19th, 2015, 05:08 AM
Congratulations on the upcoming wedding!

You have very beautiful hair. You do not actually need to do anything "special" to it to look absolutely gorgeous.

My advice would be:
- do not try any new products at this point, play it safe till the big day. And frankly, you just don't need anything )
- I would not cut hair before the wedding.
- choose a comfortable hairstyle, wedding day is long and tiresome, you don't want anything in your way.
- I absolutely love your braid waves, so if you are going to have your hair down, I would go with them
- wear really comfortable shoes.

lapushka
April 19th, 2015, 05:11 AM
The last picture you posted would be a nice wedding style as well, I think! You've got some gorgeous hair! :D

Upside Down
April 19th, 2015, 05:13 AM
Congratulations on your wedding and your annivercary!

Imo, your hair is a showstopper, no need to streighten it! Just wow!
The corronet braid with a ribbon/flowers would look very much amazing.

cat11
April 19th, 2015, 05:54 AM
Wow, congrats on the wedding and congrats on your hair-iversary! I would personally do the cut to knee to make the ends look nice and it will help with growing it out later and moving the thickness down. Of course, thats a very personal decision, but I think it would make your hair look more polished on the day of, if you like the look of a more defined hem.

Maybe you should do a special treatment to your hair, like the Keratin MINAKO is always suggesting, to make it super shiny that day. Biosilk is really good for that, too. Somebody mentioned large rollers, I can see that looking beautiful on your hair. If you put the right styling product on it before I can just picture it in big, long waves and curls. It would look great under that crown braid.

Either, way, I cant wait to see the pictures of what you come up with. :)

lapushka
April 19th, 2015, 06:49 AM
Curls in the ends (loose part), or like in the last picture, waves. I'd do that, that looks amazing with a half-up, IMO.

Chromis
April 19th, 2015, 07:16 AM
Congratulations!

I think the fairytail ends look nicer than a blunt, but thin hemline, so I would not cut back too far. I kept trying to keep mine blunt, but now I realize that only makes it look thinner, so now I just do small trims to keep thickness but not lose the fairytails so much.

I did rag curls for my own wedding and loved how it came out, but I think I was only at classic then. I really like Panth's idea of trying out parandi braidwaves! That would be much easier to achieve and should give a good effect.

Arctic
April 19th, 2015, 08:17 AM
Congratulations!!!

Hmmm, For making hair silky, you could try dipping your length into dissolved caffeine pill solution (caffeine pill in water). The stronger the solution the more slippery and silky the hair, at least on me. Note that this might also make your braids/buns more difficult to make, and it might temporarily make your hair more compact too (less poofy than normal). There is a thread about caffeine rinses for hair growth, etc, but you don't need to put it on your scalp and don't need to do many treatments: I personally got the super slippery, silky hair from the first time I tried them, so the results are instant. Ofcourse you would need to try beforehand, how you would like it and not do your first test on day before. The effect of one treatment lasts over a week for me, untill my hair starts to return to it's normal self.
The advantages: no coated feeling, extremely nice feel to hair (silky, touchable, conditioned), does not make hair look greasy, can be done several days before big day to save time in the last minute styling, easy to get all of your hair treated, does not effect how hair takes waves. NOTE 2, this should be caffeine pill in water, not coffee or tea: those have different effect on how they make hair feel and can be drying.


I like the halfup crownbraid, and like someone said, decorating your style with flowers would be amazing!


As for your length, I personally would trim it a little. NOt up to knee, because I think I would want to keep fairytale ends. They are not called fairytale ends for nothing, they do give a certain fairytale charm to hair! But I would shape the ends a little, maybe take them to the halfway point to where the ends are now and knee, and make them a slightly U-shaped. And yes, curling the ends would be nice. I can recommend sock curls, combined with braidwaves. Sock curls at the ends. They give nice, big beautiful curls in my hair. Rag curls would be more tight, but might last better in your length. Both have same technique, just the strip of fabric is thinner or thicker.

Komao
April 19th, 2015, 08:29 AM
Congratulations on anniversary & upcoming wedding. I love the crown braid. I agree with Yarrow in taking the wedding dress into consideration. I hope you do post pictures after the big day. :o

EdG
April 19th, 2015, 09:04 AM
Congratulations on five years! You have beautiful hair - whatever you do with it will be fantastic. :thud:
Ed

Kitten1030
April 19th, 2015, 09:23 AM
Oh my gosh! That picture with the crown braid is absolutely the most beautiful princess bride hair ever! I wouldn't change a thing. Definitely don't have a cut before your wedding especially since you are not entirely comfortable with doing it. Wear it however you like it best and would feel most comfortable for your wedding, I would say.

Kitten1030
April 19th, 2015, 09:29 AM
Oh my gosh! That picture with the crown braid is absolutely the most beautiful princess bride hair ever! I wouldn't change a thing. Definitely don't have a cut before your wedding especially since you are not entirely comfortable with doing it. Wear it however you like it best and would feel most comfortable for your wedding, I would say.

yogagirl
April 19th, 2015, 09:49 AM
Happy hairiversay, Lunnafindel, and thank you for sharing pics!

As for your wedding hair, I think your braidwaves look awesome and so does your half crown braid -- so. much. beautiful. hair! :crush:

Whether you trim or not is a question only you can decide of course. Personally I would trim a few inches, but definitely leave some fairytaling. I just really enjoy that romantic look. Previous posters have made a good point though, is romantic what you're going for with your wedding? If so, my vote is still for half crown braid and braidwaves. If not I'd look for ways to make larger bouncier waves, maybe some sort of bun waves. Another option, have you tried rope braid curls? Here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGuWokn47A) is a youtube video, and here (forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=128996) is a LHC thread.

As far as shine, I would bust out the cones. If you already use coney conditioner, maybe use a new coney serum. I like damp bunning for an hour, then taking my hair down and putting coney serum in it. If you're doing heatless waves, you could wash, damp bun, add coney serum the night before. Let air dry a tiny bit, then put your braid/curlers/whatever in for the night. So the morning of the wedding the only thing left to do is your crown braid.

Eastbound&Down
April 19th, 2015, 10:13 AM
I think the half up braid, like the first picture, with the braid waves and some flowers woven into the braid (or ribbon) would be beautiful! Congratulations on your wedding and hairversary!

Beatnik Guy
April 19th, 2015, 10:30 AM
:thudpile:

Mimha
April 19th, 2015, 10:48 AM
I just realized that this month is an Important Anniversary for me at LHC - 5 years ago, as part of an april fools day joke, I decided to google "super long hair" and discovered LHC, hairtoys, hairstyles other than the nautilus bun and a braid (that's literally all I did before), ACV rinses, and a whole host of wonderful people. I'm so glad I found you guys!
(...)
I've decided I want it half-up, probably in a crown braid or something similar. Something like this:
http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a503/Lunnafindel/Borderlands2_zps608a3989.jpg

http://i1281.photobucket.com/albums/a503/Lunnafindel/075d730a-5365-4078-a7de-acfe623de716_zpscv61esii.jpg
(...)
Thanks in advance, and please do let me know any advice about pampering my hair leading up to the wedding, I've always been in the "benign neglect" camp, so I really don't know what the best things to do are.

Hello Lunnafindel ! First of all, congratulations for your 5th annivershairy^^ and for your weeding ! :toast::flower:

Concerning the wedding, I agree with some other people above who said you must feel well, so to me, the closest you can be to what you innerly feel beautiful and convenient will be OK. If you start curling without knowing how it will hold or not, you will be nervous. I personally love both half-ups you showed us, with the lovely braid waves flowing down ! :crush:

Well, if I had to decide for myself, I would take the dress style into consideration : if it has a long slender medieval touch, the braid waved half-ups will be absolutely perfect. If it's a more modern and stylish look, like a suit for ex., I would may be go for loose straight hair. And if I'd choose a traditional large vaporous dress with lace, I may want an big elegant updo, with a few ringlets escaping... ^^

hennalonghair
April 19th, 2015, 10:57 AM
Congrats on both the wedding and your LHC 5th anniversary.
I m not sure what to suggest except to not experiment just before your wedding.

gossamer
April 19th, 2015, 11:20 AM
Oh Lunnafindel, how lovely!


Or keep it long to not lose all the ground I've gained recently (I'm almost at ankle!)? I've been planning on cutting it back for months, but as I get closer to the date I'm starting to lose my nerve...

This is exactly what's happening to me lately. It will look fuller at knee, but the photos you've posted of it are still so gorgeous. I love the crown braid - it's so thick and it's only half of your hair!!

Stangenlocke
April 19th, 2015, 11:26 AM
Congratulations on both anniversary and wedding! :flowers: Your hair is absolutely beautiful whichever way your are wearing it. Personally I like the braid waves the best but I would advise to use the style that you feel most beautiful and comfortable with.

FallingDarkness
April 19th, 2015, 11:36 AM
Your hair is magnificent and I wouldn't chop any of that for the world. Maybe start microtrimming if you wanted to thicken up your ends, but golly gosh it's just so beautiful <3
Congratulations on your 5 year LHC anniversary! So glad to see that it's treated you well :)

Lady Katherine
April 19th, 2015, 11:57 AM
Congrats on both the anniversary and the wedding! I'd experiment now rather than later, and find what you like best, and what goes est with the dress, ect.... I really like the half up braids though! :flowers: :blossom:

AmberJewel
April 19th, 2015, 12:00 PM
Whatever you decide to do to make it shiny, I would definitely recommend trying it at least once before hand to make sure it works for you. Other than that, it's really a matter of personal preference. I like the crown braid best but that may be partly because of the background. You could try trimming and inch or two to thicken the hem a little bit without losing too much length..?

YvetteVarie
April 20th, 2015, 12:59 AM
Congratulations on bth the hairversary and the wedding.

my only advice would be to experiment well before the wedding. And to go for an option that is simple yet gorgeous so you won't get stressed on your big day.

Congrats again

Lunnafindel
April 20th, 2015, 10:00 AM
Thanks, everyone! I'm making a list of all your advice to try out in the next month or so. It's really good to think about this, especially the rope braid curls and the Parandi method- I've never tried that before. And I'd never even heard of caffeine-rinsing!



Also for hairstyles I love the one you posted, but have you checked the Game of Thrones and other fantasy hairstyles? There is beautiful classy and intrincate braided halfups.

Butter52, do you have any ideas for fantasy-style half-ups? As you can probably tell from my hair (and the fact that my screen name is in elvish), I'm a fan of fantasy hair ;) and I've been looking around for cool ideas for a while.

I do plan on dancing, so I need a hair style that I can put up after the ceremony, but I think that shouldn't be too hard with a coronet braid - even a cinnamon bun would work, though it's a little boring.

And thanks for all the opinions about cutting vs not cutting... it never seemed like a big deal until now - I was just going to cut it back to knee like I always do, but then I noticed how very short knee sounded all of a sudden, and started having second thoughts. I like the idea of a U-shaped cut and doing only half of it at first.

Carolyn
April 20th, 2015, 10:46 AM
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and your LHC anniversary. Your hair is lovely. I can only comment on what I would do in your situation. I would cut to knee since I am not a fan of fairytale ends. If you do a half up that style will only make your ends look even thinner than they are now. So I would definitely cut back. I would experiment with curls. I would think you could use those pink foam rollers on your ends for a nice curl. You can even put your hair in a ponytail and curl the ponytail. Another thought would be to do several bee butt buns on damp hair and let your hair dry. I think you could get nice waves than braid waves. To me braid waves simply look like hair that has been braided and then unbraided. Don't be afraid to heat style if you want to for your special day. Your wedding day is hopefully a once in a lifetime event and you should have your dream hair for that day even if it means cones and heat styling.

Chocowalnut
April 20th, 2015, 10:53 AM
Your hair is so beautiful! Congrats on your wedding. I think heat-styling for your wedding would be the perfect time if any. Your hair would look really pretty in lots of heat-styled curls. And you'll probably have so many pictures of that day to remember it.

embee
April 20th, 2015, 11:16 AM
You may say a cinnamon bun is "boring" but that's because it's boring *to you*! Most people have no idea how to do such a thing, and anything you do will be fantastic.

If you're wanting to put your hair up for the dancing and all you'll want the quickest easiest most secure bun you can come up with, something you know how to do with your eyes shut. ;)

I can just imagine you standing there at the party, twisting up your hair, and poking a fancy stick in it and all the people just astounded by what you did. Heh heh. "Only took 10 seconds from start to finsh, did you *see* that!!!!!!"

chen bao jun
April 20th, 2015, 03:28 PM
Don't cut. If you do rag curls you don't need to. I put curlers on my hair ends then you don't see the fairy taling.

It's beautiful hair, you don't need any more shine.
People do a lot to look different on wedding day while the only person who counts loves the way they
ok already.

Angelica
April 20th, 2015, 04:23 PM
I echo everybody else's sentiments here, you have magnificent, beautiful hair and will make a beautiful bride. Perhaps flowers or ribbons in your flowing tresses will work. I hope we see photographs :) Congratulations. I would not personally cut any of that beautiful hair.