Who has (or plans to) cut back to waist?

[jel]

Why? Do you find waist to be the ideal length?

I have noticed a few people mention, casually, in their blogs or on the board, that they have (or plan to) cut their hair back to waist from hip/tailbone/classic. I wonder if it's just a trimming decision (i.e. getting rid of bad ends on the way to longer length), or change of hair goal (i.e. maintaining at waist for the foreseeable future).

My hair is now past hip length, and the tips are only a couple of inches away from my ultimate goal, tailbone. Maybe it's due to some hair loss I recently experienced (though my thickness is still in the mid-ii), but while I thought my hair looked great at waist, it appears slightly too long when down, proportionally less voluminous, and is definitely more difficult to style. Although I really want to reach TB, just so I can say I achieved the romantic goal I set when I joined LHC, I'm seriously considering cutting back to waist afterwards.

Any thoughts/experiences?

[spidermom]

When/if I reach the point where my hair is longer than I care to maintain, I plan to cut back to waist with long layers. I have several reasons for this.
1) The grow-out from waist to tailbone was fast and I wouldn't mind going through all those stages again.
2) I got more curl at waist with long layers. It was very pretty to wear down, not so hard to detangle afterward.
3) Waist is long enough to do a variety of styles.
4) It has been nearly 4 years since I joined LHC. If I were to cut back to waist right now, most of my hair will have received special care the LHC way (multiplying the number of months since I joined by the average of 1/2 inch growth per month). By the time I reach/pass my goal of classic and cut back, all my hair down to waist will be post-LHC care and should be in excellent condition.

[Meli]

I cut from tailbone to waist, and I'm still kicking myself for it... I didn't cut it all at once, I just trimmed more than it grew during a bit more than a year. The reason was because my hair was so damaged and I also felt unhappy about it - I thought I had hit terminal and had so bad hairgenes that I couldn't even keep it there due to all the splits and breakage... :doh: It was probably not my true terminal length due to said splits and breakage, but I didn't know that. And since I didn't know how to care about my hair properly either, trimming only made my hair shorter, not healthier. I was still cutting into damaged hair and the new ends got exposed to friction and deteriorated into nothing before the cut length grew back. Although I probably got rid of at least some damage by cutting - always something. But, I'm not overly happy with my current length, and I'd rather have very damaged TBL hair and work on improving health from there, than trying to grow it back while still fighting with the damage left. But what's done is done, hair is hair and it grows. I'll get back there someday - with healthier hair than last time. :meditate: And I don't think my hair is short - it's just not quite as long as I would like. I doubt I'll ever cut it to waist again, but if all that breakage I still have eventually manage to drive me nuts - who knows? :silly:

[k_hepburn]

I cut back from hip to waist last year, or at least that's what I instructed the hairdresser to do. I was longing for a thicker hairline, and thought it might be good to keep splits away. Unfortunately the waist I got cut to was wet length, so in real term it felt to me like I'd gone back to somewhere just past bsl. To make matters worse, my hairdresser didn't manage to even the hair out properly, so one side is about an inch longer than the other i you pull it forward. But with all the length I'd lost, I just wasn't prepared to go back (or go somewhere else) to get it rectified.
Meaning I've now spent months and months trying to get back to hip, and I'm still not there. So, for me, next time I'll go to a hairdressers's it's going to be for a trim only. They'll probably end up cutting more than you told them too, anyway, but at least if I tell them one inch and end up with two, I can grow it back in reasonable time, not like telling them four inches and end up with about eight,

So, from personal experience, unless you have a long-established trustworthy relationship with your hairdresser I would seriously advise against giving anyone the free reign to cut back hair to waist from considerably longer. You may be in for a LOT MORE than you bargained for...


katharine

[Euphony]

I've thought about it, I don't know yet. I still had mushroom head at waist, that was so weird - I realized I've finally gotten rid of that problem, but I have no idea when it was.

Waist is a complimentary length on me since I am built pretty odd - my waist is a full size (or more) smaller than the rest of me so with hair as long as it is now, from the back I look a bit like a lump :D

With my hair being thicker than the norm though, I'd be seriously stunted on what updos I could do with waist length hair. Heck it's at tail bone when pulled straight and I still can't do a cinnamon bun that looks like a cinnamon bun and not a fluff even now.

So I'm very undecided (helpful aren't I!?!)

[brok3nwings]

My honest honest opinion is this....
waist lenght for me is the sexiest and feminin lenght. And in my personal tast it would have a U shape. Why waist? Well, waist (in female body) is very appealling and if your long hair ends up there it will take some attention to it. But thats me! :)
Besides it ends on the starting curve that will be your but (and that sometimes could , i imagine, be annoying because of the movement)

[Omens]

I think waist is probably just much more easier to manage, and it's more practical. It's long without being too long. You still get to enjoy the styling and it isn't in the way that much.

I've definitely been reconsidering my own goals. I'm a very no fuss sort of person, and though I certainly to aspire to great lengths, I realize it might not be right for the way I am. I'm a bit past waist, and though I feel like it's still far too short, just a few more inches and it's really going to start getting in the way. The other day I almost shaved a lock off in the shower accidentally :o I think I'm a little too rough to get much longer than this....

Anyway, it's more for the easiness of it than anything else. But it's different from person to person. Sometimes the look of really long hair can outweigh any of the other stuff that brings doubts. So wait till you get there and see how you feel. Maybe it will be the romantic idea you had originally. :)

[Forever_Sophie]

I think waist is probably just much more easier to manage, and it's more practical. It's long without being too long. You still get to enjoy the styling and it isn't in the way that much.

This is exactly why I'm gonna stay at waist :) I am so glad I've reached this goal, now I can look forward to trims! I'm v. short and any longer will likely overwhelm me.

[Psalm186]

I finally reached tailbone after a year of no trims, but my ends are in sad repair. They're dry, crunchy, starting to split/break, and tangling like mad. I'm heading to the salon for a trim tomorrow (stupid Family Day closed everything today -- even the buses aren't running!), and I'll probably have to cut back to waist :(

I was also thinking about adding some more shape. I think I need something to frame my face a bit... nothing too heavy, just something to pick it up, you know?

[Themyst]

I'm thinking that waist length is probably easier to deal with.

Mine is probably at classic length now, I can sit on it. You have to keep moving it out of the way when you sit down ... er... anywhere.

[Euphony]

I had another thought too. I do think waist length is good for me, but I also think that an ankle length braid would be amazing...<sigh> I just don't know. :D

[Elphie]

Waist has been and still is my goal. I've had longer lengths and I know what I think looks best on me as well as what's easier to manage. I may go a little longer just for fun but I doubt I'll keep it there.

[Morningglory]

I grew my hair to hip and cut back to waist this summer and then again in January.:D (Actually, my hair is a little above waist). I cut it because of damage and extremely thin ends due to shedding and damage, post-partum and hair color, heat tools etc...I actually had almost no choice it was basically invisible at the ends and now at least I can see my hair!:o I love hip length and longer is my goal but, at waist I feel like my hair length is long. I really do not want it any shorter so it is a good compromise for me. I do think that waist length hair is in some ways a perfect length for beauty and managability. So, for now it works for me but, eventually I would love to have all natural, untouched by heat as long as my hair will grow hair.:cool:

[darkwaves]

I suspect waist is chosen as the point to cut back to because it's still long, yet manageable.

I mean, at tbl, who wants to cut all the way back to bsl? Or apl? But waist is significant enough to cut off damage, yet still be long.

I thought when I reached waist/hip, maybe I'd cut back to bsl to get rid of damage -- but that's too short! Who knows, though? Maybe in a year, I'll be happy to cut back to my current length, and then grow again.

[Sidani]

I hit the 50" mark this month and my hair is the longest it's ever been in my life. My mother asked me not to cut it until she sees it. I haven't seen her in two years, so it's gotten quite a bit longer since she saw it last.

I do plan to cut my hair back to a more manageable length shortly after my mother seeing it. I'm not sure I'll go as short as waist, though. Probably somewhere in between waist and tailbone. It's so long now that it's in the way unless it's pulled up in one fashion or another. Even braids are too long to leave down. So, I want to go back to something that's easier to care for and something I can still have fun with.

I think your hair should be enjoyable to you. For whatever reasons. And waist length hair certainly turns heads. :eyebrows:

Mine still turns heads, but it gets odd comments as much as praise if I wear it down. :shrug:

[Jeni]

I haven't ever had hair past BSL so I'm guessing but I agree with the other people that said waist is long but still (seems) manageable.

I bounce around between a goal of waist/hip/TBL, I had given a thought to classic but I just don't think its for me. I want long hair but I also want to be able to wear my hair down without having too many issues. If I find TBL a pain I will cut back to hip or waist. It will also depend on whether I can get a thick hem at TBL, if not I will more then likely cut it back to hip or waist (hopefully I can get a decent hem at that length)

[maskedrose]

I'm about an inch and a half away from waist, and my plan is to stay between waist and hip for the forseeable future. Like everyone else has said, it's long without being too terribly unmanageable, and the growing time between waist and TB is fairly short, so if I want to go longer, it won't take forever. And like Sidani said, waist length certainly does turn heads!!

[Bene]

my game plan so far is to grow it to tailbone, then one big cut to even it out (i had some DIY bang type thing going on). that should be to about waist length. and then after that, i may decide to grow longer. depends on how the total thickness at the ends affects my bunning abilities.

[Treecrown]

I have been thinking seriously about cutting back to waist, the main reason being that I don't really like wearing my hair up (although it's much better now thanks to the techniques I've learned here) and I'm finding since I passed waist that I just can't wear it down. But I'm having trouble bringing myself to cut off basically healthy ends! They are a little dry, damaged, etc, but not so bad, and the more I learn about how to take care of them, the less I feel like cutting them. It's a dilemma.

[akka naeda]

Sometimes I consider cutting back because I'd like to be able to wear my hair in a low ponytail sometimes, the whiter my hait gets the less I like having to wear it with a centre parting which is what I get with buns and non-French/Dutch plaits. I'd cut it back to waist because it's long but not unmanageably so in terms of getting in my way when I try picking things up off the floor :). So far I haven't done it because with the thickness my hair is, it'd mean I have a whole lot of useless sticks.

I think that's one reason that people cut back to that length, but also because it "looks good". That's not to say any other length looks "bad", but since waist coincides with the natural break between torso and legs, some people may unconsciously feel it is more aesthetically pleasing.

[MoonCreature]

I cut back to waist last week because my ends looked so ratty. This was mostly due to a big hair loss and me lying in bed for 6 weeks wich lead to hairdamage. I didn't plan to cut that much, but when at the hairdresser I thought that why not, I must cut away the damage anyway.
The one thing that annoys me is that I just realised that my left side is about 2-3cm longer than my right at my face, so I must go and ask the hairdresser to correct this :rolleyes:

Oh, it was at tailbone before I cut. I regret the cut a bit, but mostly because now I can't make many of the buns I used to, and a simple bun won't hold without pinns.

[twilight]

i was a bit past waist up until a few days ago when i asked my mom for a micro-trim... she took more than i was expecting. so i have technically "cut back to waist" unintentionally (though i will admit i needed it, and more, to control damage).

bah. i LIKED being "past waist" even though my ends weren't very nice!

it's not exactly an answer to your question but personally, i plan to grow to tailbone and then probably cut back to hip so that i can really "tailor" the final look that i will then proceed to maintain. forever. :lol:

[AmyJorgensen]

I usually keep mine right around or slightly below waist because I can wear it down without difficulty and if I let it get longer, I find that people start to make assumptions that I must be part of a particular religion.

[Redheaded Raven]

I cut back to waist but I am going to grow longer I cut to get rid of whispy ends :rolleyes: