Why keep your hair up?

[Flipgirl24]

Hello! I'm a newbie here. I've been reading some of the threads here and am curious about something. You all work so hard to get your hair long and beautiful, why do you always put it up? I have noticed some people state they rarely have it down like it's a no-no. Is it a no-no? If so, why? I'm not judging ; just curious.

TIA!

[littlestarface]

Cuz with long hair to keep it up keeps it protected and safe, it doesnt snag on anything and get broken strands and also so we don't sit on it and put stress on our ends.

[Shiranshoku]

Cuz with long hair to keep it up keeps it protected and safe, it doesnt snag on anything and get broken strands and also so we don't sit on it and put stress on our ends.

+1!

Also, long hair gets in the way. So it's simply more practical to have it up.

Plus, personally, I love a dramatic bun drop. :D

[Anje]

The best comparison I've seen is that long hair is like a flag. If you leave a flag out flapping in the breeze each day, after a few months it starts to show wear. A few years, and it's frayed and frazzled, if it isn't completely torn and wrecked. On the other hand, if you fold up a flag neatly and keep it safe, it will last for decades without showing any significant wear and tear.

The same is true for hair -- if you leave it loose all the time, it experiences constant wear. It gets rubbed against things, caught in various places, and ends up breaking off at a shorter length than if it's kept in a protective style much of the time.

In practice, many of our members have found this to hold up in the real world. They found that their hair got to be a better quality, grew longer, and was thicker further down when they began wearing it contained. In some cases, we've even had members who went for years with loose hair while being members, yet when they switched to bunning their hair, they suddenly found it growing longer and healthier than it had been, with no other changes to their routines.

There's a practical aspect to this, too. My hair is down to my fingertips right now. It's easy to sit on or shut in the car door. It has an astonishing amount of reach to entangle people around me. And when I'm in the lab, there's some serious potential for it to contaminate my cultures or get set on fire (not to mention the OSHA violations). I love wearing my hair down, but most of the time I don't want to babysit it. So I wear it up, and let it loose for times when I can devote the attention to keeping from attacking passersby or tying me up.

[lapushka]

That's a question that has rolled by here *often* already. :) But I don't mind you asking. After BSL it gets in the way, so I actually need to put it up, no choice in the matter. Besides, why would I let it get into tangles and knots while wearing it down?

[Entangled]

Anje's answer just about sums it up for me (though my hair's nowhere near as long).

[Nique1202]

And in addition to all the answers above, not everyone DOES wear it up all the time. Some folks can get to their goal lengths (especially if they only want, say, midback or waist instead of fingertip or knee) and are perfectly happy with the condition of their ends, and still wear their hair loose every day because that's what they prefer. Most of us have to compromise, but if you don't like wearing your hair up and you don't want to train yourself to tolerate it, you don't necessarily have to right now. Enjoy it loose now, learn to be vigilant about it getting caught (purse and bra straps, zippers, seatbelts, chair backs, doors, etc) and if you run into a problem where your hair won't grow long enough, then you can think about protecting it more thoroughly if you need to.

The most important thing is for you to be happy with your hair and what you can do with it. Just because someone else does something one way doesn't mean you have to. :blossom:

[yahirwaO.o]

Certainly having hair up is way more practical and protective, still it is ok to leave hair down once a while in order not to super stress your folicules, when are air drying or when you have a fancy ocassion to show lenght!!!

I have times when I wear it down all the time and right now its been up almost everyday, so iit usually goes with my mood rather than me taking care of it! To me is ok to have both when needed because I get really bored of my hair up and since my hair is fine and black, details or cool updos are hardly visiable!

Of course if you have super long hair and want to take a rest from updos, braids and low ponies come in hand and some people consider them to be wearing hair down since its not secured in your head!

[yahirwaO.o]

The most important thing is for you to be happy with your hair and what you can do with it. Just because someone else does something one way doesn't mean you have to. :blossom:

This is right! some people like me and friends feel misereable or bored about wearing it up in a bun or braid everyday. Its like what the sake of it? Still we can rock cool styles in intricate braids or cool buns.

Some people dig the minimlist part of a bun.braid, others wear their hair up in such creative and beautiful styles and some folks like me are everyday hippies with locks flowing down the back and we also have anything in betwwen with the ocasional heat styling or dye job. Do what makes you happy!!!!

[littlestarface]

For me to have my hair down and out kills my neck literally, it feels too heavy for it to be open all day it hurt too much and I cannot stand my hair to be in my face and around my neck, it just annoys me so much. I have to have my hair in braids sometimes buns when i'm doing treatments.

[animetor7]

Well, a few reasons, as Anje said it protects the hair and after a certain length it becomes impractical to have hair down most of the time. I'm also fussy and tend to get annoyed with it quickly when it's down. Finally I work in a lab setting where it's not only impractical, but dangerous to leave long hair down or in a braid because of things like chemicals, flames, and running machines that could catch hair and hurt the person it belongs to. I'm sure other people have work environments where leaving long hair down is dangerous. But as with everything on this forum as you'll come to find YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary, that is it's different for everyone). Welcome to the LHC, and I wish you luck on your hair growing journey. :) :flower:

[spidermom]

because it feels so good to let it down at the end of the day and brush it out

[vampyyri]

It's protective and a way of neglecting it all at the same time. When you ignore it for a while it always surprises you how long it has gotten when it's not exposed to the elements! It's a good way to preserve your hair inbetween length goals!

I know I'll be wearing mine up until I reach my short and long term goals. After that... who knows? It kind of becomes a habit to keep it safe. Plus, buns are fun! :p

[Sarahlabyrinth]

It protects it and keeps it out of the way, too.

[Garnetgem]

As already mentioned it protects the hair from the elements plus some of us can be a little wary in public when we wear it down it attracts attention not always wanted and not always positive...and it has been known for some person to cut it so we can be nervous of that happening too...letting it down is a treat we save for special occasions...i wear mine down most of the time in my home town as i can relax there its a small town so all know me so kind of ignore my hair now which i like...if i go out of the area then i get stared at and followed by others wanting to touch sometimes they ask and at times just grab it...so wearing it up saves a lot of bother and protects my hair...mine is now classic and it gets harder to protect from both elements and attention..

[EdG]

In some cases, we've even had members who went for years with loose hair while being members, yet when they switched to bunning their hair, they suddenly found it growing longer and healthier than it had been, with no other changes to their routines.That's me. :waving:

My hair was perennially tangled in the years that I wore it loose. I thought that was normal. :shrug:

After I started bunning, new tangles stopped forming and the old tangles gradually came out. I wish that I had started wearing my hair up years earlier.
Ed

[Jerimi]

So many reasons. But for me, I've grown it out specifically so that I CAN wear it up. I love being able to play with styles.

[Flipgirl24]

Thank you all for your replies! Ok I get the gist. And I totally understand having to put it up for work. I work at an animal hospital and am required to have it up. I wouldn't want it caught in poop or pee! It is easier to leave it unwashed though because I use dry shampoo and put it up. But outside of work I wear it down. But it is good to know that putting it up protects it. Thanks again!

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

Well said everyone.
Also I find my hair tends to retain moisture when braided or bunned. When I let my hair out I am amazed of how moisturised it looks and feels

[truepeacenik]

One simple goof prompted me to learn updos.
I hit sit on the ends and discovered it in the loo.
Yeaaahhhh.
Bought a hair stick that night.

When I started, we had a wonderful member, Shrimp, who took a common statement from the board and made it her own.
The statement was "treat your hair like antique lace."
Shrimp's version? She added "...but I treat antique lace like sweat socks."

Bunning keeps me from treating my ends like sweat socks.

[Hairkay]

I'm one of those who hair stayed stagnant at one length since childhood until I started wearing it up. Now instead of the ends of the hair breaking off I'm retaining the length so now it's gotten longer. Longer hair means I put it up and out of the way for workdays. I'll let it down on the weekends.

[Dark40]

I love wearing my hair down!!! It doesn't bother me or get in the way at all. Because, it's not that long now. But, I guess when it does get very long I will be wearing it up all of the time.

[spidermom]

Hair down can be dangerous, too. It can float or blow into flames. A member here lost several inches to a candle in the past. Mine has gotten caught on things, then pulled out by the roots. A woman I know was literally scalped in a machine shop. Unless I've got the time and leisure to pay attention to my hair at all times, I'd rather have it up.

[animetor7]

Hair down can be dangerous, too. It can float or blow into flames. A member here lost several inches to a candle in the past. Mine has gotten caught on things, then pulled out by the roots. A woman I know was literally scalped in a machine shop. Unless I've got the time and leisure to pay attention to my hair at all times, I'd rather have it up.

Yes!!! In the lab where I work it's part of lab safety protocol to keep hair up, not in a braid, not in a half-up. All hair has to be up off the shoulders.It doesn't matter if you're male or female either, if your hair hangs down at or past your shoulders it has to be up. This is to protect from increasing the effect of chemical burns, fires, machinery, etc. Generally you aren't allowed into the lab if you aren't following any of the safety protocols, but once a girl got past with her hair in a waist-length or so braid. She accidentally doused her braid in very, very concentrated sulfuric acid because the braid swung and knocked the beaker over. It soaked her braid which clung to her body, which gave her fairly severe chemical burns even through her lab coat, especially on her neck where the lab coat doesn't cover very well. She had to go to the hospital to be checked out and she lost most of her length. Long story short: wear your hair up, all the way up, in labs!!!! It's a safety hazard.

[Flipgirl24]

Hilarious way of finding out that you should put your hair up! That would be a life changer! Shrimp sounded like she was quite the person.

[lora410]

when my hair was hip length I left it down as equally as up. for me I'm growing it to enjoy it down :)

[sarahthegemini]

I have very fine hair and not much of it and it just get EVERYWHERE. It's always in the way. I can't imagine how thicker haired ladies cope. Also, and this is a little weird but shed hairs literally disgust me shudder:

[lapushka]

I have very fine hair and not much of it and it just get EVERYWHERE. It's always in the way. I can't imagine how thicker haired ladies cope. Also, and this is a little weird but shed hairs literally disgust me shudder:

Oddly, before I got meds for Menière's that was the same with me too. Mine is esp. triggered when bending forward (that's why they first erroneously thought it was positional, very confusing), but I get it *like that* also. I think it's because the bending forward made me nauseated and that's why I kind of felt disgusted by the "things". Now I don't have that - at all, anymore. :)

[spidermom]

I don't like shed hairs, either. It kind of icks me out to know that other people save them.

[Kajzh]

Hair down can be dangerous, too. It can float or blow into flames. A member here lost several inches to a candle in the past. Mine has gotten caught on things, then pulled out by the roots. A woman I know was literally scalped in a machine shop. Unless I've got the time and leisure to pay attention to my hair at all times, I'd rather have it up.

Oof, I've caught my hair on fire a couple times. NOT fun.

Wearing my hair in any low-manipulation hairstyle (not necessarily "up") definitely contributes to a dramatic increase in length retention!

[Flipgirl24]

I like the way you think!

[Flipgirl24]

What? People save she'd hairs? I yell at mine in the shower for not staying on my head. But I put them on the side of the tub until I get out to put them in the garbage. I still have to pull out a blob of hair from the drain every week. How would they save the shed hairs?

[Nique1202]

What? People save she'd hairs? I yell at mine in the shower for not staying on my head. But I put them on the side of the tub until I get out to put them in the garbage. I still have to pull out a blob of hair from the drain every week. How would they save the shed hairs?

Instead of tossing them in the garbage after removing them from your brush/comb/tangle teezer/shower floor, you rinse them clean and save them to form shaped lumps of extra hair to use to enhance styles, like a hair donut or bumpit but made from your own hair so it matches the colour and texture to blend in better.

[Kajzh]

What? People save she'd hairs? I yell at mine in the shower for not staying on my head. But I put them on the side of the tub until I get out to put them in the garbage. I still have to pull out a blob of hair from the drain every week. How would they save the shed hairs?
I use mine and make extensions sometimes. Victorians made crochet necklaces from hairs. There's lots that people do with it!

[Wildcat Diva]

When I wear my hair down and step outside my door, the hair will stick to the back of my bare arms and wrap halfway around my arms and not move. Then I move my arm, and it pulls the hair.

I live in a very hot, humid environment. You step outside, you sweat. Period.

[Shiranshoku]

I've considered keeping mine, out of sheer curiosity. I wonder how long it would take to get enough to make a braid.

My SO is seriously grossed out by shed hair, though. He actually gags when it's his turn to clean the shower drain. Or when I throw the innards of my tangle teezer in his face. We're nice to each other :p

[animetor7]

I've never kept sheds because I don't know what I would do with them. I haven't used non-vegetable color in years, and my henna gloss mix was similarly formulated and tested on sheds years ago, so there isn't really a need there. I never bother with hair pieces or extensions just out of laziness and finding them to be itchy, so I wouldn't use them in that way. The most I'll do is sometimes leave my sheds outside when I'm with my parents who live out in the woods and let squirrels and birds take them for nest building. Otherwise, it goes in the trash.

[Groovy Granny]

I love to wear my hair down in cooler weather; usually in a ponytail/barrette, topsy tail, or half up.

It is put up in hot weather, on windy days, and to protect it while doing chores etc.

IMHO ~ why have it long if you are never going wear it down....to see and feel it's beauty :shrug:

Collecting shed hair? :tmi: EWWWW! :puke:

[littlestarface]

I don't like shed hairs, either. It kind of icks me out to know that other people save them.

Me too, so gross seeing hair on things or on the floor yuck.

[QuietVixen]

It's protective and a way of neglecting it all at the same time. When you ignore it for a while it always surprises you how long it has gotten when it's not exposed to the elements! It's a good way to preserve your hair inbetween length goals!

I know I'll be wearing mine up until I reach my short and long term goals. After that... who knows? It kind of becomes a habit to keep it safe. Plus, buns are fun! :p

I agree so much! It's easier to let my hair grow out of the awkward stage if it's always up and out sight. I find my hair sheds less because there isn't friction from my clothing too. I wish everyone luck on her/his hair journey!

[sarahthegemini]

I've considered keeping mine, out of sheer curiosity. I wonder how long it would take to get enough to make a braid.

My SO is seriously grossed out by shed hair, though. He actually gags when it's his turn to clean the shower drain. [BOr when I throw the innards of my tangle teezer in his face. [/B]We're nice to each other :p

shudder:

The thought of keeping/collecting shed hairs also = shudder: