Who Says Long Hair is A Lot Of Work?

[Dark40]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if any of you out there thinks that having long hair. Or, extremely long hair is a lot of hard work to take good care of? Because, my mother always tells me that waist length and beyond length hair is a lot of work these days. Can you please give me your thoughts and opinions on this issue? Thanks!

[Sarahlabyrinth]

In my experience the only people who say that are the ones who have never had long hair :)

[Groovy Granny]

Long hair is much easier than the short hair I had!

I only have to wash it 1-2x/week

No Styling products needed

Dust or trim it yourself as needed....no cost or appt

Air dry (Summer) or scalp diffuse 1 min/ air dry ends (Winter)

Brush / style / go each day

Styles stay all day, or can be redone in seconds

No bad hair days; so many style options

I don't even think about it now ~ CAREFREE :joy:

[littlestarface]

I never heard long hair is hard work, for our type of culture long hair is easy and cheap cuz one doesn't go to saloons to get cuts and dyed. You just wash it let it dry and your done.

[Dark40]

I totally agree with you littlestarface, and I just love the idea of washing your hair in showers these days!

[ladonna]

We, my 2 daughters and I have have long hair because our hair types behave better this way. So long hair is easier for me to take care of.

[Nique1202]

I definitely put less effort into my hair now that it's near tailbone. I can wash it less frequently (from every day and a half when it was short to every 4-6 days), I can trim it less frequently (only when the ends look too ragged, instead of maintaining a short cut with trims every month), I don't have to do anything with styling products to make it look nice (I can just put it in a braid or a quick bun with a stick or a couple of spin pins and it still looks fabulous). The detangling takes a little longer since short hair doesn't really tangle unless it's really curly, but I also do it the long way with a wide-toothed comb instead of with a brush or Tangle Teezer, AND I only have to do it before and after I wash my hair usually so only a couple of times a week.

This may not apply to everyone, but for me long hair is definitely less stressful and less time-consuming than short hair unless you count all the hours I've spent looking at it in the mirror or just running my fingers through it, which might technically make it a little more time-consuming. :pumpkin:

[matentur]

I think it all depends on perspective. As a guy who always had pretty short hair it is way more work. While I don't have to get a haircut every month, washing, combing, brushing, oiling, etc. take a considerable amount of time I didnt have to commit before. Most days it is probably a wash though since I can role out of bed tie a ponytail or bun and look nice.

[AZDesertRose]

Mine is definitely easier to deal with long than short. My texture is just wavy enough that it would require a lot of manipulation/styling and product to make it look even half-decent if it were short, whereas long I can braid or bun (or both!) and it's fine. I don't have to wash as often, I can trim it myself, and after spending most of my post-pubescent life with it at least longish, I'm just more comfortable with longer hair.

I do find I need to detangle pretty much daily, but that's not a huge deal because I prefer to do a different style each day unless I'm not feeling well enough to bother, and honestly, if I give it a good combing daily, the process doesn't take that long anyway, and it's significantly less time to comb my hair and do whatever I'm going to do with it than it would be to fool with a blow-dryer/curling iron/flat iron/whatever all I'd have to use to make my hair behave in a short cut.

[PixieP]

Mine takes wayyyy less time long! I can go longer without washing, granted washing it and drying it takes a bit longer but it doesn't bother me. I can cut it myself which saves time and money. Bad hair day? Bun. No need to spend a lot of time with curlers to make a bad hair day into a ok one. I know that my length and colour is spectacular enough that nobody really notices when I have a bad hair day. And caring for my hair is a lovely way to pamper myself. I was much more stressed about my hair when it was shorter.

[missmelaniem]

I think it depends on what look youre going for. I like lots of volume, so styling products are a must for me to achieve that, and that definitely takes more of my time...not much though. I'm perfectly fine with it because I really dislike short hair on me

[sumidha]

In my experience the only people who say that are the ones who have never had long hair :)

Bingo.

(Plus some extra characters)

[vampyyri]

I find I spend even less time on my hair the longer it gets actually. I thought it would have been the total opposite!

[Ashenputtel]

It can be a lot of work. Especially if you wear your hair down a lot and have to deal with the tangles or are the type of person that tries a lot of different oils and treatments. I think a lot of new people here tend to try too much at first.

In my case it isn't, I don't oil or do fancy treatments, I just wash, condition hair dry, sometimes I put a bit of serum and I usually wear my hair in a simple bun like a nautilus or a lazy wrap bun.

[Dwemeri]

I have fine, thick hair that was knee length up until my late teenage years. And yes, it is far more work. It's a ton more length you have to wash, condition, detangle, and brush. And with my poofy wavy thick hair it was a chore. Honestly have no desire to go back to it.

I think for a lot of people here it's a labor of love, or perhaps their hair really is as easy to deal with because of their texture, but definitely not for me.

[lora410]

As it grows its as easy to handle as any other length. My hair shorter is more of a pain then when my hair was hip length.

[Decoy24601]

I have fine, thick hair that was knee length up until my late teenage years. And yes, it is far more work. It's a ton more length you have to wash, condition, detangle, and brush. And with my poofy wavy thick hair it was a chore. Honestly have no desire to go back to it.

I think for a lot of people here it's a labor of love, or perhaps their hair really is as easy to deal with because of their texture, but definitely not for me.

To be fair, there are plenty of people who still have to deal with that even when their hair is between APL and waist. No matter what length my hair is I still have to wash, condition, detangle, etc, but I don't find it to really be that much work. It normally doesn't consume more than 15 mins of my day.

[animetor7]

For me, long hair is less work than short hair. It only takes me say 30 seconds to a minute to do in the mornings and I only have to wash it once a week. I oil it every night, but that only takes a minute or so. Way easier than when I had chin length hair and had to wash it every morning then blow dry it which took easily 30 minutes, and that's 30 minutes of "active" time. Even though my hair takes 4-6 hours to fully dry, that's passive time where I can be doing something else while letting my hair dry. So, it's much easier in my opinion. :)

[Kajzh]

For me, medium-length hair is the least amount of work. Long hair and short hair have a lot of upkeep details that are bothersome.

[nekosan]

I have long hair because I'm lazy. Then again, my hair has refused to grow longer than classic. :shrug:

[MidnightMoon]

Its a bit more work for me, definitely. My hair is fine, quite a decent amount of it, and the ends, when dry sort of stick to each other. I dont want to trim constantly so I just let it grow but it does make it harder for me to detangle. I also have to be more careful when I brush, what I wear, etc.

[Dwemeri]

To be fair, there are plenty of people who still have to deal with that even when their hair is between APL and waist. No matter what length my hair is I still have to wash, condition, detangle, etc, but I don't find it to really be that much work. It normally doesn't consume more than 15 mins of my day.

I've had waist length too, and it was easier to deal with. Now at BSL as long as my hair is behaving or I just washed it I can finger comb for a minute or two and toss it in a ponytail or bun and be good. Ultra easy. When it was knee length it was many minutes of careful, sometimes painful, detangling (oh the knots!) with a comb and then longer to braid it. No ponytails, and buns were only for special occasions as they made my head hurt and were heavy for my neck after awhile. Plus with how thick my hair is I always had to break a few times in the shower when washing and rinsing, it was just way too heavy when full of water and I had to rest my neck.

If I loved my length this probably wouldn't have all been that big of a deal, but I didn't. Even if I did though it still took much longer to take care of it than it is now. Detangling, combing, all a breeze in comparison at my length now. Plus I doubt I would ever had gone to WO at knee length, I can't imagine making that leap weighed down with so much hair and trying to make sure the sebum distributed all the way down to the ends.


Regardless I'm not trying to sway anyone from growing their hair out, I know that many people here love very long lengths and enjoy it very much! I'm mostly just chiming in to say that yes, in my experience of taking care of hair at that length for several years it IS more work. It's simply the logistics of maintaining hair that long that's not straight and tangle/frizz free.

[b70]

My hair is just APL now, but it is the longest it has been in my adult life.

For me, long hair is so much easier and less work. I have straight fine hair, and I had a bob for many years. That meant daily washing, blowdrying, styling products, salon visits every 6-8 weeks and so on. And I was never happy with my hair.

Now I wash twice a week and let my hair air dry. No product. In the morning it takes me minutes to bun or braid my hair. I go to the salon for a trim every 6 months, and I dye my hair myself with henna. I use heatless waves for special occasions, and once in a while hot rollers. I now have no bad hair days and I actually love my hair - how it looks and feels, and how low maintainance it is.

[Arctic]

For me longer hair isn't a time saver. I need to wash as often as I had to when it was short (my scalp demands this), the washing time is longer, as it the drying time. If I blowdry, it takes much longer now than at short lengths. I do have my days when I put my hair in 30 seconds bun, but I don't enjoy that. I like doing my hair, and in general I'd say it takes as long, and with some styles even more time to do my hairstyles now. Plus practicing new styles (braids, for example) takes time - albeit it's fun. Detangling takes more time, deep treatments need to be done more often and take more time. My hair and scalp aren't always the easiest either - both need some special attention. (Before my hair type change my hair was super easy!) It has taken quite a bit of effort to find suitable products too, something I didn't have to worry about at shorter lengths usually. My natural texture isn't something I enjoy wearing like that, so if I have my hair down I want to do something to the texture, at the very least bun it a while when it's almost dry after washing.

[poli]

Short hair - the time spend on hair depends mostly on the quality of the haircut;
Bob to long bob - easiest hair ever;
Longish hair (APL/BSL)- the more simple style the less work, and always easy to put up;
Real long - never had, so we will see :)

[lapushka]

I wash it once a week (that is a lot of care), takes about half a day (drying time etc.), every time on Sunday. Then the rest of the week it takes 15 sec. to put it up into its bun. Done! So one day, for ease for the rest of the week. I call that *easy*. Yes, granted, the Sunday is busy busy because of it, but well, it beats having to wash it multiple times a week (2/3x) and styling it. Takes a lot more effort & time!

[Mimha]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if any of you out there thinks that having long hair. Or, extremely long hair is a lot of hard work to take good care of? Because, my mother always tells me that waist length and beyond length hair is a lot of work these days. Can you please give me your thoughts and opinions on this issue? Thanks!

Hi Dark40 ! :)

I think it all depends on what you mean by "long" and on what you consider acceptable or desirable to achieve. As a person with wavy hair who has had all possible lengths between a short permed pixie to natural classic+ (most of my life between BSL to TBL), I can tell you that the most comfortable length in terms of care is between shoulder to tailbone. The hair is long enough to nicely hang by itself without putting gel or spray or requiring special styling, except a trim once or twice a year if needed. When the hair becomes longer and starts creeping below butt length, it does become more demanding in terms of care : more length to detangle every day (oh yes !), and more fragile ends. It starts to become more bulky too and much more in the way when you want to wear it loose, meaning that you have to "keep it in mind" all the time, not to get it caught in things when you move. Depending how much free you live with your hair, you also may have to think twice before you involve into some activities that you did not even think about at shorter length, like going to the swimming pool, camping, windy places, etc.

And actually, you will find it more or less fastidious to maintain depending on what YOU consider to be acceptable for yourself in terms of care. If you want to enjoy natural long hair in the benign neglect philosophy (like I do), long hair is definitely an option to consider. Now if you can't imagine to stay one single day without washing it, and if you are a blow-drier or a straigthener addict, you'll have to take in consideration that growing your hair down to your butt or longer will require a lot of dedication.

Concerning my own hair, I wash it once a week (a little bit more often in the summer) and I don't apply particular treatment. I just need half an hour each week for the washing procedure and detangling + towel drying, and then I let it air dry by itself. The rest of the week, I just need between about 10 minutes each moring to detangle and put it up (or braid), maybe 15 minutes if it's a bad hair day :p. The only difference with my pre-LHC life is that now I enjoy taking care of my hair ! It's no longer a fastidious task but a real source of pleasure. I love combing it and washing it : it has become a sweet pampering time :cloud9: so I don't mind growing again to classic length or below. I am at hip right now and I can tell you for sure that I do notice the increase of length already : I definitely spend more time to comb my hair than when I was beetween BSL and waist. But I don't ask myself how long I will still grow it : I will grow it on as long as I keep enjoying it ! :)

Hope this will help you to figure out a little better. Anyway, you don't have to "decide" from one day to another : hair grows slowly and you can as well let it go and see. :flower:

[school of fish]

For me it's about the same amount of work, just a different kind of work ;)

My everyday care routine hasn't really changed substantially from when it was a chin-length bob many many years ago to now that it's tailbone length. I still have to wash it every day - I've just altered *how* I wash (alternating S&C with CO now vs S&C only in the past). I still henna my hair for colour - I just only do roots applications now weekly (with a deep treatment on the length) rather than whole-head applications monthly. My monthly hennas used to be overnight treatments, now my weekly ones are only a couple hours each. I still wear my hair down daily, that hasn't changed - but I do put it up at night now or when I'm doing a task that would be unsafe to have it down. I never used styling products when it was shorter and I don't now that it's longer, no change there.

I have to detangle more often now, but I have fewer and less severe tangles now than I had at shorter lengths *because* I'm taking care of them frequently. My hair is cobwebby textured at any length - I just used to let it get out of hand more often when it was shorter ;) Growing my hair to this length taught me that where detangling is concerned, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So the 'extra' work of frequent detangling has saved me the frequent exasperation of detangling a terrible snarl.

I was always fairly careful about handling my hair since it's always been delicate - that hasn't changed at all. All that's changed is that my length can drag further into hazards such as car doors now than it could when it was shorter, haha!!

I've cut my own hair for literally years and years, so even that hasn't really changed. Again, with length came the discovery that my hair is better cutting a small amount monthly than a larger amount every 3 or 6 or 8 months. Monhly microtrims mean better behaviour for my ends, so the work of extra trims is offset by less work having to detangle misbehaving ends ;)

Long or short, I still only put in maybe a total of 15min work into my hair daily. That feels pretty minimal to me :)

I think other peoples' answers may vary according to how they were handling their hair at shorter lengths vs longer ones. If they were habitually curling or straightening, colouring, maintaining regular salon appts, etc. then their care may be less work at longer lengths. For others, if they had a simple routine at shorter lengths but they have a natural texture that requires more careful upkeep at longer lengths then it may be more work. As always, these things are so individual.

[HairPlease]

I cut my hair to shoulder and my workload has decreased to "shampoo, condition, done." I don't get fancy haircuts... just lop it off like a boss and who cares what it looks like? :lol: (OK, I'm not *that* haphazard...)
Mainly, that is because my long hair was severely damaged.

[lithostoic]

I haven't noticed a difference. I'm sure when my hair is virgin it'll be much easier.

[Hairkay]

I can't really say that I've noticed a difference in the way I care for my hair. It's been BSL and now waist length.

[spidermom]

Long hair can definitely be more work, especially on deep treatment day, and I know what I'm talking about because I've had it for at least 10 years now.

Short hair was easy-peasy: step out of the shower and run gelled fingers through it. Done.

Mid-length was a lot of work because my hair tends to go bushy as I grow it out, so there were curling and straight irons involved just to tame it.

[EdG]

I am pretty happy with how my morning routine consists of comb... bun... done! :cheese:

Really the only thing that takes more time is waiting for my hair to dry, but that doesn't require effort. :)
Ed

[Upside Down]

My hair is less work when long and this is a big part of why I don't cut it.

I can't imagine going back to that much styling, daily weekly and to monthly cuts.

[Acid]

the only difference for me is that the longer it is the longer it is to dry but thats no extra effort and its more than worth it to have beautiful long locks :)

[Groovy Granny]

Talking about long hair being 'Easy peasy' ...... I was laughing today:

Hubby spotted the 5" african porcupine quill I keep in my pocketbook, and was like...WTH:confused:.
When I explained that is the ONLY hair toy I carry with me...just in case I need to change to a bun or half up...he was impressed (after a demo) :D

Who would've thought a 64 year old would carry a porcupine quill to put up her hair :rollin:

[AZDesertRose]

LOL, Groovy Granny, that incident might do well in the Entertaining Hair Conversations thread as well! :lol:

[meteor]

Depends on what's meant by "long" and what's meant by "a lot of work". I think longer hair involves *different* type of work - so maybe less product/styling, sometimes less frequent washing, but more detangling and washing & drying time.

I think my current length (a few inches past Fingertip) is significantly more difficult now than when it was somewhere in the Waist-to-Tailbone range. There is just a lot more time/work involved in simple washing and detangling now, even though I've streamlined my routine to bare bones (to save time). I detangle my hair only every couple days and leave it constantly braided and bunned in ways that reduce tangling and manipulation to bare minimum, but when I do detangle it, it takes quite a while longer. I think if I wore it down, it would involve *a lot* more work and care. I don't even oil my hair anymore, no more deep conditioning and no more complex styles... but even the simplest things (like saturating hair with water, working conditioner in...) take longer, because there is just a lot more surface area, especially since my hair is thick and unlayered. That's also why I constantly sing praises to Scalp-Only Washes :crush:: they make my hair so much easier to care for by allowing me to stretch those increasingly long washes. I have no idea how some folks with ankle-length+ hair manage to wash it every day :thud: , but I know that I don't have that kind of patience and I'd just give up...

Oh, and I also consider very long hair to take quite a bit of work around sports/gym/pool...

But I think short hair has its challenges, too, I think there can be more frequent cuts and more daily styling often involved (especially around texture, shape...), while longer hair can be simply bunned or otherwise contained more easily.

[KittyBird]

For me, long hair was definitely a lot of work. It didn't matter if I wore it up or down or braided - it still tangled like crazy, and I hated combing it because it took ages and was such a pain. I also hated wash day, because I had to spend the entire day wearing my hair down, waiting for it to air dry. Blow drying would take hours, so that was not an option. I couldn't damp bun or braid it, because then it wouldn't dry completely. It was such a hassle, and combined with the scalp pain and headaches bunning caused me, it made me truly hate my hair.

Now, at shoulder+ length, it is so much easier. I don't wash more often than I had to at bcl+ (twice a week), and I spend very little time styling it. After washing and conditioning, I scrunch in some leave-ins and air dry (sometimes I diffuse for 5-10 minutes on cool). On the following days I might mist my hair with water and scrunch a bit, but mostly I just let my wild, frizzy wurls do whatever they want. If I'm feeling fancy, I use a curling wand to get a more polished look.

[ravenreed]

Yes, my long hair is a lot more work. Washing takes far longer because there are many more steps than when it was short. Since I wash every other day, it adds up. A simply updo is still more effort than I put into my hair when it was short. I was literally wash and go back then. More importantly, since I dye my hair every 4 - 6 weeks, having to wrangle long hair during that process is so much more effort than when my hair was BSL or shorter. I also have to plan ahead a lot more. Since I usually do catnip rinses, I have to have one ready to go when I do wash my hair. If I have to dye my hair, I have to block out several hours, when before it was about 20 minutes. A bad hair day may take several updo restyles, and I often have to stop and redo my hair throughout the day. It isn't something I mind that much, but it is an investment. Anyone who wistfully wishes they had my long hair gets an earful about all the crazy things I have to do to keep it looking nice.

[Groovy Granny]

Talking about long hair being 'Easy peasy' ...... I was laughing today:

Hubby spotted the 5" african porcupine quill I keep in my pocketbook, and was like...WTH:confused:.
When I explained that is the ONLY hair toy I carry with me...just in case I need to change to a bun or half up...he was impressed (after a demo) :D

Who would've thought a 64 year old would carry a porcupine quill to put up her hair :rollin:


LOL, Groovy Granny, that incident might do well in the Entertaining Hair Conversations thread as well! :lol:

LOL ok...will do :lol:

[Garnetgem]

Talking about long hair being 'Easy peasy' ...... I was laughing today:

Hubby spotted the 5" african porcupine quill I keep in my pocketbook, and was like...WTH:confused:.
When I explained that is the ONLY hair toy I carry with me...just in case I need to change to a bun or half up...he was impressed (after a demo) :D

Who would've thought a 64 year old would carry a porcupine quill to put up her hair :rollin:

Lol just love this made me laugh and i was kinda imagining hubby expression when you gave the demo..must have been priceless!

[Garnetgem]

I can honestly say long hair for me at least is less work as i no longer need it trimmed as often as i did with a short style all that upkeep with trims every two weeks due to my fast growth...now its every two months but i have joined the "No trimming 2016" thread so don't even need the two monthly trims either..it seems the longer it is the less work there is...hmmm "long" may it last!

[trolleypup]

GG has it. Nothing to add. Although, if you want to make it into a life consuming hobby, that is certainly possible!

ETA: For my hairtype.

[Groovy Granny]

Lol just love this made me laugh and i was kinda imagining hubby expression when you gave the demo..must have been priceless!

LOL I really was....first to see his reaction to the quill in my purse, then to see me whip my hair up with it :lol:

[Carolyn]

If you haven't had long hair you have no idea how easy it can be. If you are one who likes to blow dry and use several styling products and a flat iron every day, then yes, you probably do think long hair is more work. For me long hair is so much easier. Washing does take a couple minutes longer to rinse. But washing time is the same. Detangling maybe takes me one minute. Two if my hair is being difficult. Air drying doesn't count as spending time on it as you are probably doing something else as you air dry. I use NO styling products. My styling time is 30 seconds to maybe 2 minutes tops for something more complicated such as a braided bun. This is versus 30-45 minutes styling time with shoulder length hair EVERY SINGLE DAY. Now I wash my hair about 3x a week. It's bunned most of the time. Once in a great while I will do the blow dry and flat iron thing. I usually do that maybe once every 2-3 months if that. You do have to learn how to take care of long hair. If you've always had it short, then there will be a learning curve. Hair grows slowly so you will have plenty of time to adjust to it.

[Phanaferous]

GG has it. Nothing to add. Although, if you want to make it into a life consuming hobby, that is certainly possible!

ETA: For my hairtype.

Seconding this. I can spend a lot of time playing with it, and if I want to do extras like deep treatments or heatless curls or some fancy braid thing then I could easily fritter away an afternoon. I wouldn't call it work, per se, since I enjoy the pampering. On a daily basis, though, I can bun it without the need to wash or even comb it.

Now, if I am planning to have it loose, I need advance notice. But only because it is my preference to have braid waves and curled ends; I need to braid it a few hours ahead of time so the waves will take. I could leave it straight, but I'd obsess over flyaways and frizz.

[Shiranshoku]

To me my long hair gives me a lot more options. I can bun it up without detangling for days on end and I'll look good. Or I can pamper it and spend a lot of time styling it.

My basic hair care routine isn't that time consuming. I do spend more time on it than I did when it was short, bu that's because I can. And not because I have to.

[Dark40]

Hi Mimha,

Thank you very much for your response! Yes, that does help me to better decide. I was just asking. Because, my mother very often always say that having extremely long hair takes a lot of work, and it really bothered me. Because, my hair is BSL, and it doesn't require much time for caring at all. It only takes me 30 minutes to wash and condition. Then, I/ let it air dry on it's own. Then, about 4 or 5 hours later after it's 100% dry I will go over it with a blow dryer to brow dry it straight. Because, it's curly. You are soooo lucky to be having hair reaching hip length!!! I have a longtime high school girlfriend of mine that had hair that long, and it was always gorgeous!!! For all of these years I have always admired her hair.

It was always sooooo shiny, healthy looking, and pretty. And, I never did get the chance to tell her that either.

[akuamoonmaui]

Ugh. My mother (and other extended family members) said the same thing. I grew up believing long hair was unkept and unattractive, not too mention endless work and ungratified toil.

HA! The longer my hair got/gets, the easier it was/is to care for. I never got compliments on the hairstyles I had when I went to a hair salon; just this summer I was told my hair was princess hair.

Stick to this site Dark40. You will have the hair you imagine for yourself! Learn your hair type and treat it accordingly and lovingly. There is someone here who has your hair type and has grown it successfully. Promise.

[kidari]

I've never had hair past waist but I always keep it at least at BSL, because you can just take 1 minute to put it up and you're done. I cut back to APL and had way shorter layers and immediately regretted it, because it took some time to style. Even putting it up was a challenge since shorter layers fell out of buns and ponytails. Wearing it down took time to make sure it looked good and I had to use styling products as well. Now I just have longer layers, longer "bangs", and make sure I can bun it so it can all go up in a bun in a few seconds. Ironically, styling it is easier too when it's thicker, longer, and healthier.

[Platzhalter]

While I really like having long hair and also don't mind having to take care of it (because it's all up to me what I do or don't), short hair definitely was less work/effort. While I had to wash more often, washing didn't take nearly as much time as it does now, just get wet, use shampoo and rinse... and let's not even talk about the time my hair takes to dry now that it's long. Aside from washing my hair, there wasn't much to take care of.

[Lavendersugar]

Hmmm I'm doing the same as when mine was short. Wash comb go. That's not work.

[lapushka]

Hi Mimha,

Thank you very much for your response! Yes, that does help me to better decide. I was just asking. Because, my mother very often always say that having extremely long hair takes a lot of work, and it really bothered me. Because, my hair is BSL, and it doesn't require much time for caring at all. It only takes me 30 minutes to wash and condition. Then, I/ let it air dry on it's own. Then, about 4 or 5 hours later after it's 100% dry I will go over it with a blow dryer to brow dry it straight. Because, it's curly. You are soooo lucky to be having hair reaching hip length!!! I have a longtime high school girlfriend of mine that had hair that long, and it was always gorgeous!!! For all of these years I have always admired her hair.

It was always sooooo shiny, healthy looking, and pretty. And, I never did get the chance to tell her that either.

Now I'm confused as your stated hair type is 1a/b. :confused:

[Flipgirl24]

When I had short hair it took so much time to style. I have poker straight hair so if I didn't style it my hair looked terrible short. I think long hair requires more care I. E. Deep conditioning, detangling with patience, trimming split ends etc. And if you style long hair, then it definitely is more work. It depends on your lifestyle.

[Mirabele]

Long hair is less work for me as well, but i had to change my mindset about what i think of my own hair and all my thinking how to care for healthy hair. After that everything was easy.

[Ligeia Noire]

everything requires work, that is what I reply to people that ask me how do I deal with it and I have never really had short hair but at 16, so I do not really know the difference. Anyway, it demands some care but since I only wash it once per week and during the week I braid, bun and go, I think it is nothing dramatic.

[spidermom]

Now that my hair is 10 inches shorter, it's a lot quicker to blow dry.

[Dark40]

Hi Dark40 ! :)

I think it all depends on what you mean by "long" and on what you consider acceptable or desirable to achieve. As a person with wavy hair who has had all possible lengths between a short permed pixie to natural classic+ (most of my life between BSL to TBL), I can tell you that the most comfortable length in terms of care is between shoulder to tailbone. The hair is long enough to nicely hang by itself without putting gel or spray or requiring special styling, except a trim once or twice a year if needed. When the hair becomes longer and starts creeping below butt length, it does become more demanding in terms of care : more length to detangle every day (oh yes !), and more fragile ends. It starts to become more bulky too and much more in the way when you want to wear it loose, meaning that you have to "keep it in mind" all the time, not to get it caught in things when you move. Depending how much free you live with your hair, you also may have to think twice before you involve into some activities that you did not even think about at shorter length, like going to the swimming pool, camping, windy places, etc.

And actually, you will find it more or less fastidious to maintain depending on what YOU consider to be acceptable for yourself in terms of care. If you want to enjoy natural long hair in the benign neglect philosophy (like I do), long hair is definitely an option to consider. Now if you can't imagine to stay one single day without washing it, and if you are a blow-drier or a straigthener addict, you'll have to take in consideration that growing your hair down to your butt or longer will require a lot of dedication.

Concerning my own hair, I wash it once a week (a little bit more often in the summer) and I don't apply particular treatment. I just need half an hour each week for the washing procedure and detangling + towel drying, and then I let it air dry by itself. The rest of the week, I just need between about 10 minutes each moring to detangle and put it up (or braid), maybe 15 minutes if it's a bad hair day :p. The only difference with my pre-LHC life is that now I enjoy taking care of my hair ! It's no longer a fastidious task but a real source of pleasure. I love combing it and washing it : it has become a sweet pampering time :cloud9: so I don't mind growing again to classic length or below. I am at hip right now and I can tell you for sure that I do notice the increase of length already : I definitely spend more time to comb my hair than when I was beetween BSL and waist. But I don't ask myself how long I will still grow it : I will grow it on as long as I keep enjoying it ! :)

Hope this will help you to figure out a little better. Anyway, you don't have to "decide" from one day to another : hair grows slowly and you can as well let it go and see. :flower:

Hi Mimha! :)
Thank you very much for your response!!!! I totally agree with you of what you're saying. I was considering long hair being like starting from BSL on down to floor length. To me, I think long hair take lesser time to do rather than short hair. Plus, it suits me more. I love doing my hair! Washing, conditioning, detangling, and drying it. You are sooooooo very lucky to have hip length hair right now!!! I have a real life girlfriend/classmate that could also grow hip length hair. I often admired her hair throughout high school!!! She had some gorgeous hip length dark brown hair!!!! My hair right now is BSL, and hopefully by March of next year I'll be waist length. But we'll see. :)

[Dark40]

Now I'm confused as your stated hair type is 1a/b. :confused:

I'm sorry. I'm confused about the hair types too. I don't know or not sure what my natural hair type is. All I know is that it is more like on the curly end but now I get it chemically relaxed. :-)

[lapushka]

I'm sorry. I'm confused about the hair types too. I don't know or not sure what my natural hair type is. All I know is that it is more like on the curly end but now I get it chemically relaxed. :-)

Oh, that explains it! :)

[Annalouise]

For me, I don't consider it more work, but for my mother, yes, she did. My sister and I and my mother have baby fine hair. As children she always cut our hair short like boy's haircuts because she couldn't handle the constant tangles. She didn't have the patience or the desire to learn how to manage fine long hair so we grew up as tomboys with short haircuts. :( What a shame. Oh well, what can you do?

[Aidin]

Yeeeah! I am happy to find another Portuguese :) Ligeia Noire

[turtlelover]

Mine is loads easier short than long, but I don't care, because I like long hair better! :D My hair is the kind of hair that tangles easily when long no matter what products I use, so I pretty much want to cut it off every day when I detangle it! LOL Of course, I have no intentions of giving in to that temptation cause it is finally getting comments on its length now and it is very healthy and I like the way it looks when it is actually cooperating.

[gracenotes]

My hair is MUCH easier to take care of at tailbone/classic than it was at shoulder/APL! Styling takes less time, especially.

[hanne jensen]

I find my waist length hair slightly more work than short hair. I never used machines on my hair when it was short and it took a lot less time to air dry. It took no time at all to wash and rinse.

My waist length hair is more versatile. This is why I want my long hair as I get bored with the same old thing every day.

[maborosi]

I have nearly classic length hair. Normally, I just put it up and leave it alone. I don't need to wash it as often because my hair takes longer to get oily. So in that case? Yeah, definitely easier. I love a braided cinnabun- stick a stick in it or a few clips, and BAM, my hair is good for the day. Takes maybe 5 minutes in total. I like to style my bangs with a bit of aloe vera gel, too.

BUT! I would be lying if I said it's less work overall. For me...I take meticulous care of my hair and am always trying to make sure to maintain it nicely and listen to what it needs. The absolute time sink for me is wearing it down- preparing my hair and then taking care of it afterwards means that I don't reallt wear my hair doen much anymore unless it's a special occasion. On that end, long hair is more work for me.

[dancedance]

I can only predict how much work long hair will be, because the longest mine has ever been was between APL and BSL, and even then it was bleached and thus much more frustrating than it could have been.

But I'm quite sure that my pixie cut was the least work of any hairstyle I could possibly have. I didn't need, use, or even own conditioner, combs, brushes, oils, styling or heat products, elastics, or any hair toys/accessories. I didn't need expensive or gentle shampoos. I could wash it with some generic shampoo, hop out and air dry it in minutes. I only colored it twice in the 5 years I kept a pixie, but if you like coloring, you don't really have to worry about damage when it's that short. The hair is still so young that it won't get all that damaged to begin with, and it'll grow out in 4 months anyway if you do manage to damage it badly or if you don't like the color or get bored of it.

Plus, if you're like me and you are happy with a pixie at 1" or 5", you can go about 8 months between trims. That also provides some versatility, because the look of it changes so quickly as it grows. In my case, I could have a boyish, stick straight pixie when it was real short, wear James Dean or Elvis-like pompadours a bit longer (I could carry this on for quite some length, my hair stays however it dries), and sport a wavy, girlish pixie at its longest. This was as easy as running my fingers through the "bangs" repeatedly while it was air drying for the pompadours, or running my fingers throughout repeatedly until dried when it was longer to get it wavy.

But not everyone has hair like mine, and might find it impossible to achieve different looks without styling products or heat, or won't be happy with their pixie at every length between 1" and 5".

I loved it, really and truly, but after 5 years, you get bored. And I've never ever had really long hair before, so I have to give it a go!

I don't expect it will be much work, though. More than a pixie, yes, but adding in conditioner, occasional oiling, detangling, and bunning (which should take seconds once I get the hang of it, no?), isn't what I would call "work." Especially since the different styes are so much fun, and the "work" that goes into keeping it healthy is gratifying when you can go and admire how much shiny, strong hair you have. Although I can imagine how, once it is supremely long, wearing it down would be a lot of work, so if you want to be able to wear it down regularly, calf length hair might be a bad idea. :)

Other than that, I would say ear length and just above shoulder length hair are the most work, at least for me. Ear length hair makes me look like a squire. Just-brushing-my-shoulders length hair flips out at the ends thanks to my hair's tendency to hold however it dries (not even heat can help me once my hair is dry). Very frustrating!

[Ligeia Noire]

Yeeeah! I am happy to find another Portuguese :) Ligeia Noire

Oh Olá neighbour!

[Alex Lou]

I find short hair to be more work. If I can't put it up in a pony tail or bun when it's dirty or misbehaving, then I have to wash or style it. Long hair doesn't need to be washed often and can simply be put up.

[Dark40]

Ugh. My mother (and other extended family members) said the same thing. I grew up believing long hair was unkept and unattractive, not too mention endless work and ungratified toil.

HA! The longer my hair got/gets, the easier it was/is to care for. I never got compliments on the hairstyles I had when I went to a hair salon; just this summer I was told my hair was princess hair.

Stick to this site Dark40. You will have the hair you imagine for yourself! Learn your hair type and treat it accordingly and lovingly. There is someone here who has your hair type and has grown it successfully. Promise.

Thank you for such kind words dear! I will stick around. I do really enjoy coming to this website!!! And, throughout the years that I've been coming I have really learned a lot after reaching my goal this year. Which is BSL!!! Yah!!!!

[spidermom]

I recently had my hair cut back to shoulder length, and I can tell you that my hair is twice as easy to care for now. Whenever I wanted to exercise, I used to have to take the time to braid it, otherwise it was too heavy and all over the place. Now I can just put it into a high ponytail and I'm good to go. Washing and conditioning take very little time. Drying it takes half or even less than half the time whether I blow dry or air dry it. I can comb right through without hitting major tangles and knots. I can wear it down anytime I want instead of having to do and possibly re-do up-styles. There were days when my hair wouldn't comfortably hold a bun for more than an hour. There were days when I made a nice braid or two, only to discover I'd missed a cluster of hairs.

I loved my long hair, no mistake, but life is so much easier with it shorter.

[turtlelover]

I recently had my hair cut back to shoulder length, and I can tell you that my hair is twice as easy to care for now. Whenever I wanted to exercise, I used to have to take the time to braid it, otherwise it was too heavy and all over the place. Now I can just put it into a high ponytail and I'm good to go. Washing and conditioning take very little time. Drying it takes half or even less than half the time whether I blow dry or air dry it. I can comb right through without hitting major tangles and knots. I can wear it down anytime I want instead of having to do and possibly re-do up-styles. There were days when my hair wouldn't comfortably hold a bun for more than an hour. There were days when I made a nice braid or two, only to discover I'd missed a cluster of hairs.

I loved my long hair, no mistake, but life is so much easier with it shorter.

With mine, just a bit longer than pixie is super, super easy but leaves me feeling not myself. Then, there is a very annoying awkward stage till I hit shoulder length since bobs just do NOT look good on my round face. Then, I have few issues with my hair till APL. I don't notice it being significantly harder to deal with till APL, but then there is a HUGE increase in tangles and general annoyance. BSL is do-able, and I really think I can probably deal with it at waist and hopefully hip, but I can't see myself ever handling below hip, though I used to dream of tailbone length hair as a child. It is just a childhood dream that is hard to let go of.

[Salwety]

If with short hair you are using blow-dryer,curling iron, flat iron, dying, and bleaching, and you choose to continue doing the same while maintaining long hair. So the answer is yes, with all that manipulation and the damage using these tools cause and length you will need more time.
But to achieve long healthy hair you have to change the way you handle your hair too, and after settling into a routine it will definitely take less time and effort. And will look fabulous.

[pili]

My hair has always been easier to handle once it hits waist dry. Otherwise the sheer volume makes it wider than my shoulders and updos are limited since it it can't be bunned until that length unless it's sectioned. Once I am at waist the weight finally starts obeying gravity. This is the first time I am growing it out with LHC help, so stretching washes, oiling and putting it up beats daily wetting and waiting 6-8 hours every day for it dry or taking half an hour to diffuse.

[adrenaline]

In my experience the only people who say that are the ones who have never had long hair :)
Totally agree! I'd say, probably it's more work to have short hair, isn't it? You have to go regularly to the hairdresser to cut them and to style them everyday?

I wash my hair everyday, what i'd do with any hair length. Sometimes i blow-dry them, sometimes i braid them. I don't dye my hair, and i have to go twice a year to the hairdresser for a trim (though, i need to go more frequently when i reached my goal length). Every now and then i use conditioning treatments, not that often though. I don't know if this is hard work! :confused: It doesn't feel so.

[genlilliana]

Long hair requires maintenance, but in a different way than short hair maintenance. Shorter curly hair always meant sticking to a strict color and cut schedule. Easy enough to style - shake it off and go. Long hair means more tangles and more moisturizing but no cutting schedule and I'm growing out my color. I am hoping that it's easier as the colored portion grows out - then my hair will be whole and healthy (the gray section is super healthy and shiny!) Styling it long or short both take time, but there are more options with long. I suppose it's all how you look at it. Some days I love my long hair, other days I miss my shorter hair and at the end of the day I'm just happy it's healthy hair.

[inpatient]

For me personally, short hair is way more work.
As a kid I had long hair and it was easy to just do a braid and have it out of my eyes. With short hair, you can't do a braid, only a ponytail that in my case, hurts your head. Also longer hair kinda requires less styling. Maybe it's because you have length, so it's impressive even if you don't do anything.
SUPER long hair might be more work, though. Like if it's waist length or longer, it would possibly tangle a lot and also not be as easy to wash

[Breanna]

I wouldn't say that it's more work, but it requires plenty of commitment and patience. I think people who say it's lots of work think of it in terms of conventional styling like straightening or curling and dyeing. But if you let your hair do it's own thing naturally, it's really not that bad. You need to be commited to the health of your hair and you need to have patience with it sometimes. Patience for letting it dry, patience for those bad tangles you might get sometimes. Don't rush it to do anything.

My routine is super simple, I wash it and let it air dry, detangle it, sometiems apply aloe or coconut oil, then either braid it, bun it, or leave it down for the day. I braid it every single night before bed, and I only wash every other day (which is frequent by LHC standards).
Living naturally with my hair has made me feel at peace. I don't try to change it and I feel more like who I'm supposed to be!

[lulikrueger]

It's quite the opposite on my case. When my hair is shorter than BSL it just will not cooperate.
It gets a weird wave, even though just a few inches longer it'll be bone straight. Also, everything weighs it down and the ends get drier because I can't help the shampoo getting straight onto them.
My hair only works when it's long, and the longer, the better! When it was past hip I didn't even need to use leave-in and all my buns would stay in place without pins or sticks.

[Dark40]

In my experience the only people who say that are the ones who have never had long hair :)

I totally agree with you on that note! :-)

[Dark40]

I have long hair because I'm lazy. Then again, my hair has refused to grow longer than classic. :shrug:

LOL...Awwww, I'm so sorry that your hair can't grow any longer than classic. That's the goal I'm trying to achieve for sometime next year. For the end of this year I'm aiming for hip length.

[Dark40]

To be fair, there are plenty of people who still have to deal with that even when their hair is between APL and waist. No matter what length my hair is I still have to wash, condition, detangle, etc, but I don't find it to really be that much work. It normally doesn't consume more than 15 mins of my day.

Yeah, me too. With my hair being BSL it only takes me 15 or 20 minutes to co-wash it, and spray some leave-in conditioner in it to detangle. Then, let it air-dry up until it's 100% dry. Then, I blow-dry it straight. Because, I have curly hair.

[Dark40]

Hi Dark40 ! :)

I think it all depends on what you mean by "long" and on what you consider acceptable or desirable to achieve. As a person with wavy hair who has had all possible lengths between a short permed pixie to natural classic+ (most of my life between BSL to TBL), I can tell you that the most comfortable length in terms of care is between shoulder to tailbone. The hair is long enough to nicely hang by itself without putting gel or spray or requiring special styling, except a trim once or twice a year if needed. When the hair becomes longer and starts creeping below butt length, it does become more demanding in terms of care : more length to detangle every day (oh yes !), and more fragile ends. It starts to become more bulky too and much more in the way when you want to wear it loose, meaning that you have to "keep it in mind" all the time, not to get it caught in things when you move. Depending how much free you live with your hair, you also may have to think twice before you involve into some activities that you did not even think about at shorter length, like going to the swimming pool, camping, windy places, etc.

And actually, you will find it more or less fastidious to maintain depending on what YOU consider to be acceptable for yourself in terms of care. If you want to enjoy natural long hair in the benign neglect philosophy (like I do), long hair is definitely an option to consider. Now if you can't imagine to stay one single day without washing it, and if you are a blow-drier or a straigthener addict, you'll have to take in consideration that growing your hair down to your butt or longer will require a lot of dedication.

Concerning my own hair, I wash it once a week (a little bit more often in the summer) and I don't apply particular treatment. I just need half an hour each week for the washing procedure and detangling + towel drying, and then I let it air dry by itself. The rest of the week, I just need between about 10 minutes each moring to detangle and put it up (or braid), maybe 15 minutes if it's a bad hair day :p. The only difference with my pre-LHC life is that now I enjoy taking care of my hair ! It's no longer a fastidious task but a real source of pleasure. I love combing it and washing it : it has become a sweet pampering time :cloud9: so I don't mind growing again to classic length or below. I am at hip right now and I can tell you for sure that I do notice the increase of length already : I definitely spend more time to comb my hair than when I was beetween BSL and waist. But I don't ask myself how long I will still grow it : I will grow it on as long as I keep enjoying it ! :)

Hope this will help you to figure out a little better. Anyway, you don't have to "decide" from one day to another : hair grows slowly and you can as well let it go and see. :flower:

Hi Mimha! :-) What I meant by "long" is extremely long like from hip length hair on down to your ankles or the floor.

[Dark40]

Depends on what's meant by "long" and what's meant by "a lot of work". I think longer hair involves *different* type of work - so maybe less product/styling, sometimes less frequent washing, but more detangling and washing & drying time.

I think my current length (a few inches past Fingertip) is significantly more difficult now than when it was somewhere in the Waist-to-Tailbone range. There is just a lot more time/work involved in simple washing and detangling now, even though I've streamlined my routine to bare bones (to save time). I detangle my hair only every couple days and leave it constantly braided and bunned in ways that reduce tangling and manipulation to bare minimum, but when I do detangle it, it takes quite a while longer. I think if I wore it down, it would involve *a lot* more work and care. I don't even oil my hair anymore, no more deep conditioning and no more complex styles... but even the simplest things (like saturating hair with water, working conditioner in...) take longer, because there is just a lot more surface area, especially since my hair is thick and unlayered. That's also why I constantly sing praises to Scalp-Only Washes :crush:: they make my hair so much easier to care for by allowing me to stretch those increasingly long washes. I have no idea how some folks with ankle-length+ hair manage to wash it every day :thud: , but I know that I don't have that kind of patience and I'd just give up...

Oh, and I also consider very long hair to take quite a bit of work around sports/gym/pool...

But I think short hair has its challenges, too, I think there can be more frequent cuts and more daily styling often involved (especially around texture, shape...), while longer hair can be simply bunned or otherwise contained more easily.

I meant from waist length hair on down to your ankles or floor length.