Questions for BSL Length and Longer

[Hay22]

Was there a certain length that your hair became harder to wash, comb, wear down in public, etc?

My hair is at lower BSL right now and the goal is waist, but it has become so hard to comb after washing in this past week! I've started shower combing during the last couple of washes, but it's still a huge pain (literally). I guess I'm just wondering what else to expect as it continues to grow. :confused:

[lora410]

I am about 2" from waist with no issues. I wash every 2 or 3 days and usually do an oiling before wash though.

[mira-chan]

Was there a certain length that your hair became harder to wash, comb, wear down in public, etc?

My hair is at lower BSL right now and the goal is waist, but it has become so hard to comb after washing in this past week! I've started shower combing during the last couple of washes, but it's still a huge pain (literally). I guess I'm just wondering what else to expect as it continues to grow. :confused:

I don't remember having shorter than waist length hair (had it when I was 7 but don't remember much about it. For my it got easier to comb with length as I started wearing it up more and oiling it. I've never worn it down much but I would guess tailbone/hip would be fine to wear down. As for washing, I take about the same time to wash it unless I'm doing something special like a herb treatment, same 10 - 15 minutes. I never comb my hair wet.

[Tabitha]

My goal was waist and I did get a couple of inches beyond that, but by that time I'd got fed up with sharply increased tangling when worn down and when trying to wash it. I took some photos to record that stage, then booked a cut and had 6 inches taken off. It looked bouncier, made me look younger and fresher and is now a lot easier to manage and wash. I'm wearing it down much more and loving being able to do so.

So much depends on the individual - my hair is fine but voluminous and has a wave that varies according to what day of the week it is/which way the wind is blowing, and I think both these things make it more prone to tangling. Also as I'm quite short with wide hips I felt BSL suited my figure better, and also less hair hanging down round my face does not overwhelm my small features quite as much.

[ETA: I think one's personality and circumstances also come into it. I'm not a very patient person and don't enjoy fussing with my hair; I also have mental health issues that mean sometimes I don't put even the minimum effort into grooming. I hate washing it and some days wouldn't even bother to detangle it, resulting in some nasty nape mats that took a lot of fixing.]

I don't regret growing that long, because I wanted to find out what it looked and felt like. I feel happier at BSL second time around - when I was at BSL on my way to waist, I was just in a hurry to get to waist, if that makes sense.

Based on my experience I would advise you to hang on until you make your goal, just so you know what it's like and don't feel you've cut prematurely, then reassess what you want from your hair. If you decide it's too much to handle, take plenty of pictures to remember it by, and cut back to where you felt happier. Remember - if you did it once, it will grow back if you want to get there again.

[enfys]

I never have problems, from BSL to classic but I oil regularly which most likely helps a good deal. I rarely wore my hair down past tailbone, but rarely wear it down anyway because I prefer updos.

Washing is harder with it shorter if you still maintain good washing practice, CWC without as much length is harder to not get loads of conditioner on your scalp.

From my experiences you can look forward to an easier ride of benign neglect if you can make it work!

[HairColoredHair]

After tailbone mine grew more annoying to have down. Not impossible by any means, just had to look after it more carefully.

[Phalaenopsis]

I'm a bit longer than BSL and yes, I'm experiencing more difficulties to comb the ends. Also to comb the hairs most close to my neck.

[Angellen]

When I hit waist the tangling began. Before waist I could wear it down all the time, and hardly needed to comb at all--finger combing was sufficient until past BSL. Getting ready in the morning was a breeze! After BSL it was still okay, but waist was tangles galore.

[Darian Moone]

Once I hit hip length wearing it down became difficult. My hair got into/got caught in everything. Waist / waist + seemed perfect for wearing it down. Longer got to be too long for me.

[Curlsgirl]

When I got a few inches below BSL mine started tangling more. I posted it here once actually. It never really has gotten better it's just that I keep it up or braided more now when it is windy or going to be in a situation where it will be apt to tangle more. Good thing is I am almost waist now and it is still not any worse than it was then unless I need to clarify or something. Could you have some buildup by any chance on the ends? You might try clarifying followed by a good moisture treatment to see if that might help.

[AJoifulNoise]

I've been to hip without any problems combing or washing. But, I started wearing my hair up 95% of the time a bit after BSL. Having it down is a pain (especially if I'm home and cleaning) and I only do it if I'm going out/doing something special or photographing it. I will say that I think wearing it up is one of the main reasons I don't have problems with combing and washing.

[Hay22]

curlsgirl: You might be right about the clarifying thing - I'll try that the next time I wash.

I like seeing everyone's replies on this one, as everything is a matter of preference. I want to keep wearing my hair down and will probably cut when it becomes too hard to do so, whether I've reached my goal or not. I love all of the updo's I've seen on here, but I'm finding myself unable to do any of them so far (really, all I can do is a half bun/half pony thing), which can be attributed to my layers and my lack of power to make my arms stay up for very long. :o

[Kristen_Marie]

My hair has a similar problem - if I leave it down, by the end of the day I'll have some serious tangles. (It is just at/slightly past waist length.) If I were to try and keep up with it, I'd have to comb several times a day. I still have no desire to cut it off!

[Tyrinaniel]

I've barely gotten to BSL at the moment, however I have minimal tangling. Do you have a photo of your hair? Also, what do you notice when you do different things with your hair? For instance, have you tried more conditioner, less conditioner, hair oils, etc.? Try this every 1.5 weeks (or more) and see what tends to work best.

My hair is very odd. The top half gets oily, near the scalp, so I have to use more shampoo on that half. The bottom half needs conditioning, so I use more cond. and even hair oil on the ends to keep off the split ends away. My dad was a long hair until he entered the USMC, lol.

[Isilme]

my hair is hip length and washing or combing isn't any more difficult than when it was shorter. But it tangles easily when I wear it down. Today I took a walk in the city and had my hair down (sunshine, love to show off my hennaed hair then!) and it was quite tangly when I came home, many small tangles and a little dryness, but no major ones. Guess it became a bit frizzy.

[Hay22]

Tyrinaniel - my routine right now is just shampooing my scalp with an SLS shampoo, then conditioning the length with an organic conditioner. I don't use any oils or add anything else to my hair because everything seems to make it heavy/frizzy/spongy/gross. The routine was working out until now! I guess I'll have to switch it up.

[Chromis]

I rarely wear my hair down, but I found the exact opposite to be true. As it gets longer it is *easier* for me to wear it down (provided it isn't windy or anything). It stays nicely behind my elbows now instead of getting in my way.

[Carolyn]

I'd also suggest a good clarifying shampoo. Shampoo your entire length with a real clarifying shampoo and then do a nice heavy moisturizing conditioner. That's a first thing you can do when you get tangle issues. It often solves the problem.

I've had no issues with my hair being harder to wash or comb as it grew longer. I'm between hip and tailbone now. I don't wear it down much anymore because I live in a very windy place and windy days are death to my hair if it's down. I've changed my washing schedule with longer hair. I wash 3-4 times a week as opposed to 5-6 when it was above BSL. I can't wear it down if it isn't freshly washed that morning. I've come to like wearing buns more and more so keeping it up isn't the issue that I thought it might be.

[spidermom]

Waist was the biggest pain of all the long lengths so far. It was too long for my favorite go-to hair styles, too short for the new styles I wanted. And then one day around hip length - MAGIC! Cooperative hair again.

[Roseate]

Waist was the biggest pain of all the long lengths so far. It was too long for my favorite go-to hair styles, too short for the new styles I wanted. And then one day around hip length - MAGIC! Cooperative hair again.

Ooo, I'm so interested to hear you say that!

Waist is the longest I had my hair, and I cut it at that point as it had become more of a chore than a pleasure. I love the look of TBL hair, but am not sure of my resolve to reach that length, because at waist it was hard for me to manage last time.

This time around I'll think of your comment once I reach waist; we have a similar hairtype so maybe I will hit a magic longer length too!

[vindo]

Was there a certain length that your hair became harder to wash, comb, wear down in public, etc?


Wash: Not yet
Comb: TB
Wear down: midbutt

I don't mind though...I can manage to wear it down at classic, the combing is just a tad more difficult if you don't have enough room ;)

[orbiting]

To be honest, as soon as it hit BSL my hair became an unmanageable mass of pain.

I've wanted to take scissors to it ever since.

It tangles, I lay on it, the FH lays on it, it gets stuck/caught, it does *no* updos unless I style it sopping wet (can't braid it dry, or bun it or anything except put it in a ponytail once it is dry and wet it will only go into very few styles. my ficcare is worthless, it holds up nothing, every hair stick I own falls out in a matter of hours, the one hair fork is useless cause it's too thick and generally my hair still seems too short to do anything). The tangles are the worst. Washing it isn't too annoying but I can't run my fingers through to detangle when I'm working through the conditioner any more, as it leads to pain. Half the time FH has to detangle it for me or I would rip my hair to shreds.

And now? I've noticed a lot of breakage in the top layer of my hair, especially around my hair line and the very top of my head. So I now have a frizz halo.

My goal is also waist, but I'm not sure I have the patience for it...

[janeytilllie]

My hair is nearly tailbone. When I hit waist I noticed I would get more tangles. But I have changed my routine to reduce these horrible tangles.

leave conditoners are your hairs best friends :D I use my own homemade one of light coconut milk and jojoba oil. It really does help cope with the tangles.

Also I wear it up most of the time to reduce tangles more.

[Seraphina]

My hip-length hair is becoming a real pain to deal with.To be fair,though,I think it's just because of my wacky hair rather than the length in general.When I wear it down,it gets caught in bag straps,under my arms,behind my back,etc.It just won't behave.So it's extremely rare that I'll wear it out unless it's still very damp from washing.
Speaking of washing,I don't find it any harder washing at this length than I did before.After each wash,I put my hair up straight away,and that's what I did when I was at BSL.
Combing is much the same.I just divide my hair now into two sections in front of my shoulders,hold them out in front of me,and comb.It's a lot easier for me to do that than to try and comb over my back-unless I get an extendable arm :P

[nueinsel]

I can't really wear my waist-length hair down unless it's still a little wet, as it gets very scraggly-looking and tangled almost instantly. That being said, I've had waist-length hair many times before in my life and didn't have this problem, so I'm attributing it to the current condition of my hair. maybe all those suggestions to clarify are the way to go...

[goodenough]

I noticed around waist that my hair didn't look as nice down. At almost hip--it was getting crazy. I kept getting it caught in my purse, under me when I slept, and it was dragging my long face down. Plus it was hiding my thinnest part. I understand that all these issues would have been avoided if I wore it up all the time. But I just quit a job where I had to wear it up every day, and I really didn't like wearing it up all the time. So in three stages over the last four months, I cut off at least five inches.

I was going to go to bsl, but I thought I'd try layers first then I could always chop it off to bsl if I didn't like it. I like it, though. My hairdresser is amazing. I think I still want to try lower bsl in the fall--I don't like it getting all caught in my coat during the cold months. So to answer your question, I think anything past bsl all one length is more work for me. But at waist with my hair thinned and layered, it's not more work than apl. You seem to have thick hair--and the thickness can be more work, too.

[JamieLeigh]

I really don't remember much about the shorter lengths, and I don't think I had any trouble at waist either. I think when I started to venture back into longer lengths (as in, crack and beyond) is when I started to notice things like that much more, and certainly since I've joined LHC I've become more aware of my hair, period.

I don't have any trouble with washing (the last thing I do in the shower is rinse out my conditioner, as it always has been even before I joined LHC, so there's no big change in shower routine - except leaving out the shampoo), or combing/brushing as I don't really get tangles even at classic length. And anything extra I do is either once every 2-3 weeks or once a month, so I'm not adding anything time consuming to my daily repertoire. I don't wear my hair down in public much (due a bit to convenience, even more to sanitation - can you imagine dealing with classic length hair LOOSE in a public restroom?! Ack!! - and some to concern for others - as in, not wearing it loose in a restaurant so that I shed in others' food - there's another thread about that, which I posted in) but I love all the updos I've learned lately, so that's not a problem for me either. :)

Basically, your hair journey is what you make of it. You don't have to spend extra hours and money to make your hair look nice. :flower:

[mahoganyhorizon]

the longer my hair gets, the more it tangles. It also is becoming more difficult for my mother to give me a chemical service (relaxer). I had BSL hair before, but it wasn't nearly as thick, so I think this may be the reason for the difficulty. Anyway, we are in the midst of very windy weather where I live, and the past two days I wore my hair up in a jaw clip by day and when in the wind, by night, spent the evening gently detangling.

NOWWWW today, I had the sense to dry bun and scrunchie.....and no tangles :) But I have to be much more concious now that I have so many extra "strands", and now that my hair is so much longer to avoid tangles.

[laybackspin1993]

when mine reached BSL i found it a lot harder to look after. It's difficult to wash and i use more conditioner than my whole family put together! The worse thing though, is getting it caught in places, like car doors!!! But it is worth it, it looks so pretty!

[morguebabe]

Classic IMO is a downright pain. Showering is a pain it gets stuck places you don't ever want hair. i have to move it to sit down if it's not up in a total updo.
NO other length was ever a real annoyance like I'm finding classic to be.