Dispell the myth--how long does your hair routine take?

[Darkhorse1]

Since many people think long hair takes ages to deal with, I think it'd be interesting for readers to see just how quick/easy long hair is to manage.

For me? Washing takes all of 5 minutes (I wash at night), and to get ready to go out, I just brush, use whatever hair accessory I chose, and go. I'm a wash and go gal!

So, for me, it takes no more than 10 minutes for me to do my hair--and most of that time is me searching around the house for the hair toy I want to use! :)

[Delila]

I agree. Long hair is far easier to cope with than short, at least for me.

On a daily basis, I think I spend the most time detangling, just to make sure I'm gentle and careful. I also braid my hair every night, and that does take a while, but since my hair is now at tailbone, I'm not complaining. Plus, I can do it while watching tv, so it's not as though I have to put my entire life on hold just to get the job done.

Drying my hair takes a while, but since I wrap it in a microfiber towel when it's soaking (then flip the towel after a few minutes to soak up more moisture), the process doesn't take forever. Plus, I can put my hair in an updo while it's damp, no particular harm done, so it's not as though I couldn't get my day started quickly just because of my hair.

Nowadays I spend far less time fussing with my hair than I ever did when it was short. Back then I had no choice but to wash it every day, then style and blow dry. Took forever. Ugh.

[Copasetic]

My hair isn't super long yet, but I'll chime in anyway :)
It takes me five minutes in the shower to wash/condition my hair, and about one minute to put a leave in conditioner in it, and then put it up.

I know people with pixie cuts who spend like thirty minutes every morning styling their hair!

[Peter]

Washing my hair takes me 5-10 minutes. Then I blowdry for a few minutes and air dry for another 15-20. So after 20-25 minutes, it's a bit damp still, but dry enough that I can braid it and not feel really cold. To be honest it's a bit of a hassle, but I only wash once a week; when I had short hair, I was washing every other day. So overall, for me, long hair does require some extra time but not a lot.

Regarding "doing" my hair -- I just do a ponytail (half or full) or an English braid. It only takes a couple of minutes.

[Lady Copper]

Hmm... wash once a week, 5 minutes or so with vinegar prerinse, S&C, and then oil. I do it at night so it dries overnight. I usually do my hair twice a day or so, no more than 3 minutes unless it is a special occasion, when I like playing with updos. I don't know how people can stand blowdrying/curling/spraying every morning!

[lizzyjo]

It really depends on the hairstyle I do.

If I'm working with horses or doing anything that requires my hair to be out of the way and not in any way fancy, then it takes me less than a minute to put it up.

If I decide to do french braids or something a little nicer, it may take me between 5 and 10 minutes to do.

I curled it once for a Christmas party and that took at least 15 minutes.

Blowdrying takes about 5 minutes.

My showers, which washing my hair is a part of, take between 5 and 10 minutes.

My mom, on the other hand, has short hair and she said it takes her 30 minutes everyday to do it!!!

[Roseate]

Long hair takes me more time to deal with than short hair.

I've never been an aggressive hairstyler at any length, and when it's longer I do things like DT's on a regular basis that I don't mess with when short. Washing takes longer, since that's when I detangle too, maybe 20 mins (but only once a week). As opposed to <5 when short. I spend time putting it up and trying on hairtoys when long, when short I just comb and go.

So length is not a time saver for me personally. I just like having long hair.

[Themyst]

When I had shorter hair, in addition to washing & conditioning, I'd spend a lot of time in front of the mirror blow drying, curling the bangs, and spraying it. I kind of poke around a lot and take my time so I don't really know how long it took, I'm guessing 25 minutes?

Now, I wash & condition, then comb. I let it air dry for a while, then I blow dry to finish. I might spray my bangs if it's a bad day. 15 minutes maybe.

I think the big difference is because when it was shorter, I had a style. It was either APL-BSL and spiky on top (not a mullet! get your head out of the gutter) or the feathered look. Now that it's long, it's just long and no 'style' is needed - long is the style.

It does not take me as long to do my hair anymore. But I do spend a lot of time on LHC now. Does that cancel my saved hair time out?:)

[Teazel]

It takes me less than 5 minutes to wash my hair (scalp wash in the sink), about every 3 days.

Detangling takes about 5 minutes too. The hair goes up whether it's dry or damp - 30 seconds usually, but may take up to 15 minutes if I'm doing something fancy.

Hairwashing takes 10 minutes longer when I wash and condition the entire length, but that's happening less and less often.

[embee]

I only wash every couple weeks. It takes time for my hair to dry, but that does not bother me - now that I've quit using conditioner the time is about half what it was. ;)

Every morning I brush my hair and put it up into a low bun. It maybe takes 5 minutes total. Every night I brush it out and put it into a bun on the very top of my head for sleeping. That takes about 5 minutes total. Generally I do not have to fiddle with my hair at all during the day.

Lots of time there, don't you think!?! ;)

[mira-chan]

Hair wash, usually about 10 minutes, once a week. It takes a while to dry but I wash in the evening and it's mostly dry by morning. Longer wash if I get creative with treatments and herbs but that's when I feel like it.

Pre-wash oil and scalp massage, then put it up and forget it for a couple of hours.

Daily: Drops of oil and finger combing, 1 minute. Twisting up in a bun, 10 seconds. Braiding it for the night, 1 minute at most.

[lora410]

Wash at night; let dry7 during sleep; do a 30 sec or less bun in the AM. Hair is my fastest thing to deal with on a daily basis..lol

[AnneAdeline]

I only wash my hair once a week, which takes about 10 minutes. Each morning I comb my hair and put it up, which takes < 5 minutes.
So about 45 minutes for the whole week. I love not having to spend more time than I want on my hair.

[windinherhair]

I think it is easy for me to have long hair. I have people ask me about it as if it would be very time consuming. Since my hair is naturally straight and it isn't really thick, it is fairly easy to wash and I can let it air dry. It doesn't take more then a couple hours to dry. I don't have to brush it during the day to keep it looking nice. My hair has never felt heavy to where it has given my headaches. It is really easy to manage. I have started to spend more time now with learning new hairstyles and trying new products (like hair oil). What takes the most time is the hairstyles, and I don't practice those every day, but I can spend up to an hour or more just doing that.

[freznow]

Per day: total about 5 minutes spent combing/braiding/bunning.

Additional per week: Make catnip tea, wait, pour on head and wait 10-15 minutes, rinse out, wait to dry (or bun/braid and go to bed.)

So, about 45-50 minutes per week. Possibly an hour. Still, that averages under 10 minutes per day.

[AuntyClaus]

I wash twice a week in the shower. Takes probably 5 minutes, 7 if I've got the "slows".

I'll usually then turban it in a towel for half an hour or whatever, then let it air dry, but I can whip it into a bun within seconds if going somewhere.

Probably takes ten minutes to comb it out in the mornings after unbraiding it. It really likes to tangle at the nape, and I don't want to rip through it.

If I'm attempting a new hairstyle that feels as though it needs 3 hands, that can take me an hour before I'm satisfied, but for everyday, it can be bunned in seconds, or French-braided in a couple of minutes. Used to take way longer when it was bobbed.

[susiemw]

I agree.... long hair is easier to take care of then
short hair. People seem to think that length equals work...and it just makes no sense.

it doesn't take me any longer to wash my hair then someone with short hair. I rarely dry it. I don't use a curling iron.
I don't go running to the hair stylist every 6 weeks. I don't use a ton of "product" on it... but I will occassionally use some oil or shea butter on it.
I will throw it up into a braid or bun and i'm on my way out the door. Easy peasy!

I can't begin to tell you how many people use to come up to me when I was in my teens and twenties and say things like
"it must take you so long to get ready in the mornng"
or
"it must be really hard to wash"
or
it must be really hard to take care of hair that long!"

Nope.
and noone would ever believe me when i'd try to tell them differently.

Susan

[Anje]

Washing probably adds about 5-10 minutes to my shower, and I only wash my hair as often as it needs it. That might be weekly in the summer, and every 3 days in the winter. I usually wash in the evenings (when it's often loose anyway), so it can airdry, and this actually saves me time showering the following morning. If I take longer than 5 minutes to wash my hair, it's probably because I'm standing there enjoying the water, or doing some sort of (probably experimental) treatment to my hair, which is fun for me and shouldn't really count as time needed for haircare.

Combing hair and styling it might add up to another 10 minutes per day, if I'm going slow or having trouble getting it to look right. Considerably less most days. In any case, I definitely spend more time putting on a small amount of makeup, getting out and putting on clothes, or brushing my teeth on any given non-wash day than I do with my hair. And if I spend more time on my hair, it's because I'm enjoying playing with it, not because my hair needs more time.

[nicolezoie]

Mine can take some time to manage.. but that's the exception not the norm.

Average day - 10-15 minutes to take down yesterday's updo, comb through, brush through to smooth, comb back to position new updo, and redo updo.

Length wash - 15 minutes. 10 of which is rinsing OUT the conditioner - otherwise it seems to draw ALOT of dust - the more rinsed my hair, the less lint, which means less tangles. I NEVER comb conditioner through - that causes more tangles than cures; I squish it through, which works better for me.

Scalp wash - 5 minutes.

So, max time I typically spend in the bathroom is about a half hour. But I'm picky, and a bit of a perfectionist. With my hair type and my corkscrews popping out at my temples and around my face, I'm good enough with it that the "it'll do" comments I make really mean, "good to go" or something close to "that looks good enough" but never Perfect because my hair is NEVER, ever perfect.

But I don't length wash daily, and haven't in many years. My typicaly daily shower is about 5 minutes. If I do get it wet - 10 minutes. Not long.

[Flynn]

15-20 mins to wash and condition, including ~2-3 mins of "soaking in" for the conditioner. (i.e. as long as it takes to wash the rest of me!)

2-5 mins to brush, usually, sometimes up to 10-15, though.

~30 sec to braid.

When it was short (pixie), ~10 sec to wash (did not condition), ~1 min or less to style.

Short was easier to take care of for me.

[jojo]

mine takes say 5 minutes to wash and condition and 5 minutes to put up, the drying takes about 2 hours though, but I can cope with that. Short hair my it took fo ever to get it looking reasonably good.

[longhairedfairy]

I've never timed it. It doesn't take long enough to bother.

[spidermom]

It can take 2 hours sometimes just to get a bun that doesn't twist, sag, or pull. Other days, 5 minutes.

[losgan]

I've never timed them, but my short hair took a lot more time.

Trims took about an hour - (and cost a lot) ... I used more products even though it was less hair ... more heat ... and took a lot longer to get it "just so."

[Cinnamon Hair]

My daily hair routine is more complicated than most.

I CO wash daily and detangle in the shower. Not sure how long that takes, but most short haired people wash their hair daily too, so maybe it doesn't count.

Detangling when wet takes 2-5 minutes.

Then I quickly detangle again as I'm putting it in an updo; that whole process is 10 minutes tops which would include me trying 3-4 updo attempts and re-aligning my hair inbetween. If I'm running low on time I can do a cinnamon bun in one try which takes under 5 mins. including the pre-bun detangle and checking in a mirror / smoothing sides with a brush after.

To prepare for bed all I need to do is take down my updo and wrap the length around one hand to toss into a sleep cap.

[SheWolf]

I wash and condition, that's 5 minutes, 10 if I macerate in the conditioner. (only once in a while) Then I put it in a microfiber turban for 10 minutes, then I put a leave in on the lower half, comb, and let it dry. I wash at night so in the morning it takes no time at all.

[lynnala]

No time at all. I use Indian herbs to wash. I mix them in water and let them sit until I'm ready to wash my hair, then just use them like shampoo in the shower. No conditioner, nothing else. Rinse and go!

When it's dry I put it in a single braid, I don't even use an elastic band or anything, so there's no time spent there either.

Short hair took much more time in trying to make it do what I wanted it to do, which it never did. :p

[LittleOrca]

My hair routines take a long time if I am getting out of the pool. My repeative washings and CO Soak and wash takes me about 30 min out of the pool then another 10 at home when I soak again. Other than that, I am very quick in the care of my hair.

[BranwenWolf]

Washing: maybe 10 minutes because of softened water, no water pressure (old pipes) and thick hair. I wash every day because of allergies and a really greasy scalp.
Drying: overnight, but it's while I'm asleep.
Combing: two minutes in the morning with a super wide-tooth comb. I naturally have the waves that are really in style now so I don't style at all.
Combing takes me less time than brushing, actually.


For the record, when I cut my hair to shoulder-length I used TONS of products and spent more time styling because it was so unruly. My hair just likes to be long- it styles itself!

[Ndnlady]

I brush and do whatever updo I decide on that day which takes all of 5-10 minutes depending on if my updo wants to cooperate that day, then at night I take out my updo and braid which takes about 3 minutes. I will add oil to my braid tassel if needed which takes less then a minute more.
On wash days though it takes longer because I do a honey treatment for an hour before I wash then I like to leave my rhassoul mix on my head for 5 minutes in the shower before I wash it out.

[ZaBasDa]

Really, I'm pretty low maintenance even with my hair. Now my hair is always going to be a frizzball or a puffball; I just can't help it. Short hair was wash and go, while my long hair is basically the same.

If I'm washing my hair, I am probably taking a shower too; so it's hard to estimate the time for washing the hair, but I'll say 10ish minutes. I try to let my hair dry at night, so I don't have to do much in the morning. Even if I get weird kinks in my hair from sleeping on it, usually the curls hide it, especially the longer it gets.

[rose_in_bloom]

Probably my hair takes about 15 minutes total on a wash day (including washing, combing, and putting it up) , and less than 5 minutes if I'm not washing it (all I do is put it up). To me, long hair is a lot easier to care for than short hair.

[Bubbleguppy]

Oh man, my long hair is MUCH easier to deal with than when it was super short. I just wash and go! that's it! I brush or comb it in the morning, and just have to put it in the pony tail, which I don't use a brush or comb for, and can do while I'm just walking around. When it was short, I had to deal with blow drying, styling, and if I didn't style it, it looked awful. I'm so glad I grew it out! :D

[Magicknthenight]

My hair takes much less time then it used to. I was more a wash/condition and go person before. Then i started blowdrying a while back e_e. That took a while. I dunno most of the stuff i do i could cut back on but i enjoy doing it and the results. i cwc every couple of days. usually oil inbetween, after, or right before showers. ACV rinse...I also do deep conditioning treatments a lot :) i just like to. i use this burts bee's 2 minute stuff. Except i leave it on for 45 minutes. In that time i can put landry in the dryer or hang up any wet towels or set out clothes. Have a snack..ah yes my intermission time. haha. Sometimes i just CWC though. My hair on a daily basis doesn't really take a long time. I'm usually running late so i pick a hair style (out of like the 4 i wear...) and pick a hair toy. Then i don't really mess with it again until bed. When i try to figure out something to do with it. Lately its been brading bunning and using tiny jaw clips to hold it up with a satin cap. In a day i probably spend abot 5 minutes on it tops. Sometimes more when i want to try something new. Over all it is easier then when i used to blow dry and wash everyday. But wash night is what takes the longest..especially the drying...but i just put some oil in it and i can put it up. :)

[Elbereth]

I don't use many minutes either. In the morning I undo my night braid, comb and put my hair up. Maybe 5-10 minutes. In the evening, same in reverse.

Like for others, air drying my hair takes the longest. I have solved this by washing my hair in the early evening. I wear a cotton snood when it is wet, and can also add a pretty scarf on top of it if I want to look nice.

I'd say that the only length in which my hair was as easy to care for was peach fuzz length. Then it was just wash/go/shave once a week. Anything between that (including pixie cut) and well past shoulder length is more trouble.

[Arctic_Mama]

Long hair is longer for me in general - but every minute spent my hair looks nicer than it did for the same amount of time while shorter. I spent less time on my short hair out of frustration end hated how it looked, I spend two or three minutes longer now but it looks ten times better, so for me there is definitely a payoff.

I spend maybe five minutes a day detangling and sticking it up on average, and maybe five to ten minutes to wash once a week or so. Overall I'd say that I get better mileage for my time spent with longer hair, and it is so much prettier! So it's worth it for me.

[ravenreed]

I spend far more time than I did when my hair was short. I used to shampoo, condition, brush... that was it. Took 5 minutes in the shower.

Now I CO, rinse, acv, rinse, catnip, rinse... detangle. Adds about an extra 20 minutes I think. If I don't rinse enough, I smell like an herb vinagrette salad and my kids comment. Takes forever to dry! Braid before bed. Fuss with it in the morning... Sometimes I spend 30 minutes trying to get the bun or braid, or braided bun, to work.

I am washing every other day, so I guess it works out. But on the days I miss, sometimes I still have to put cornstarch in my hair to try to get through.

[marzipanthecat]

Washing my hair - all of about 20 minutes. And I just leave it to air dry. Pretty much everyone I know spends more time on their hair than I do.

I am lazy!

[Niphredil]

Unless I dunk my hair in water it takes up to 5 minutes to get it thoroughly wet (standing upright in the shower), even with good water pressure (I loathe the camping trips with low pressure showers when I was young because I barely got my hair wet by the time the rest of my family was already completely finished).

I CWC-wash so putting on the conditioner takes about 30 sec, massaging the shampoo about a minute or 2, rinsing it about 2 minutes. Then the second C, which I keep on while doing other showerly duties, minimal 2 minutes and rinsing all for about 5 minutes I guess.
So, a full wash keeps me in the shower for a minimal of 15 min.

After washing I put it in a towel, then dry the rest of my body and take the hair out of the towel (max 2 min). I comb, add leave-in, comb again, (max 2 min) and then blowdry my bangs (I will stop when they are long enough to stay in an half-up) for maybe 2 minutes. Then I let it airdry in a half-up.
So, styling after washing takes about 5 minutes

I wash 2-3 times a week (when I feel like it, when my hair needs it or when it has to look decent the next day :) ). On non wash days I either (finger)comb or gently brush my hair in the morning for about a minute. My hair is healthy now and doesn't tangle like it used to do when it was full of splits. Then I put it up, in a braid, in a half-up, which takes less than a minute usually.

Non-wash days take me no more than 5 minutes, unless I try out something new of course.

To summarize (all times are approx) :
Full wash (CWC) : 15 min (2-3 times a week)
After wash styling: 5 min (2-3 times a week)
Non-wash styling: 5 min (remaining days)

[Noctifer]

On a none shower day and if the hair behaves it takses about 10 minutes and most of that time goes the get the fringe looking good, On a day where it dont do as i like can i end up spending an hour to try to get a updo to work before i give up and put it in a pony tail.

On a shower day i spend like 40-50 minuets in the shower but thats because i CO and the conditoner thakes like 20-30 minutes to rinse out completly but then i only was more hair twice a week so it really dont bother me so much and i have a good exuse for taking a long shower

[shayly-fyanna]

It is easier to have long hair than short for me. I wash twice a week in summer, It takes me about 10 minutes to wash and condition my hair in the shower, ( and that only because i leave my conditioner on for about 6-7 minutes.) if i wash in the morning i usually bun my hair wet after detangling and go about my day, then take the bun down when i get home. when i wash at night i usually let it air dry a bit before going to bed. air drying takes about 30 minutes depending on weather and styling takes me about 5 minutes. ( brushing my hair and braiding or bunning.) now for special ocasions (weddings, and such ) takes longer, like 15 to 30 minutes depending if i will curl my hair or not. normally my usual daily (not wash day, ) routine takes about 5 minutes between brushing and bunning or braiding my hair. and my hair is just about Bra strap length. the longer my hair the less work i need to do. and oiling and hennaing my hair is the longest time i need to dedicate to my hair. ( heavy oiling takes about 15 minutes, hennaing takes about 2 hours. )

I would guess that it would take a little longer for those with hip length and longer hair to untangle, bun or braid their hair. Haven't had hair that length for a few years and did not know about TLHC back then. and also depends on whether the person has straight or curly hair, but for me it is much easier to take care of longer hair (below waist length.)

When i had short (shoulder length) hair and before TLHC it could take me an hour to style my hair. and about as long to wash and condition in the shower.

Yay for long hair.

[KatKeRo]

Washing takes about 10 min. I rinse very long after my shampoo. I wash in the morning so I can let it loose to dry, if I have to put it up it's no big deal to do it damp.

Every morning I brush quickly with my Tangle Teazer and put it up or let it down. The longest I spend on an updo is 5 min.

Braiding for bed takes 15 sec maybe (I never timed it).

[Flynn]

... Am I really the only person who actually found short hair quicker and easier?

[Lucky]

I wash my hair every other day, it takes maybe 5 minutes total between washing, conditioning and rinsing everything out. It doesn't tangle much after washing since I de-tangle before I wash and I rub a drop of oil through my ends. That's pretty much it, I don't like to fuss with a hairdryer unless I'm really rushed or I really want to "style" my hair. Once it's dry, I either bun or just leave it down, it depends on my mood. Non wash days are even faster, I just comb my hair, put it up and I'm done.
My hair isn't that long yet (it's just creeping past my collar bone), but even now it's so much easier to deal with than when it was above my shoulders - I had to wash and style it more often for it to look good. Long hair is definitely easier for me.

[Gypsygirl]

Washing takes me 15 minutes, I think, and then I usually put it in a couple of braids and just let it dry while doing other things. (On rare occasions I'll use rods or heat-style it, which takes a little longer.) The rest of my routine is basically just brush and go! I almost always wear my hair down.

[shwankie]

Mine is much, much faster long than short. I have fine, thin hair. If it's short, I have to wash, blow dry, use product, and style every single day. It takes me about 30 minutes a day, and there's no leaving the house without it--my hair sticks up at weird angles, lays funny, etc. It looks awful unless I spend time on it.

Long:
-Less than 2 minutes washing & conditioning a day (I work out daily, hard, so need to wash it). I scalp wash only. I use ACV, which takes me all of about 15 seconds.

-It either goes into double Dutch braids, which take me less than 5 minutes (I am very fast, and my hair is thin, so it's probably a lot faster than for those ladies with thicker hair, even at almost waist length). Or, it stays down. My hair is straight and shiny, so all I have to do is let it air dry.

So, less than 45 minutes a week, or less than 10 minutes a day (some days as little as 6-7 minutes). For me, it's a HUGE time saver. Though, to be fair, that's not really the main reason I have long hair--I just like it.

[Carolyn]

The actual washing doesn't take much longer than when it was shoulder length. I think I spend a little more time rinsing now. I don't count CO's and SMTs as time consuming as I am free to do other things when my hair is up and soaking in the conditioner. Putting the stuff on my head probably takes less than 5 minutes.

I don't think any of my styles takes more than 2 minutes. I live in simple quick updo's or a single braid.

[Islandgrrl]

Not so much time, really. I can shower in under 10 minutes and that includes normal shower things plus washing and conditioning. Shaving my legs, even! Add 30 seconds to put in some leave-in conditioner and maybe another two minutes to detangle everything, then another 30 seconds to put it up and that's a grand total of 13 minutes on wash day. On non wash days, I wake up, detangle (usually not even a minute since I braid for bed, which takes about 30 seconds) and bun. Under 2 minutes, easy. I spend more time choosing a hairtoy than I do actually putting my hair up.

I don't count specialty stuff like henna days or SMT days, since I don't shlep to the salon and get my hair cut. I figure that time spent is a wash....

[JamieLeigh]

I'm in the shower when I wash my hair, and since I don't use shampoo more than once a month anymore, I don't have to leave my conditioner on for ages and ages to make sure I don't dry my hair out. And the ten minutes I leave it in flies by when I'm washing my body, shaving, etc... So no time lost there at all.

Once a month I'll do a honey-conditioner mask, but it literally takes maybe 20 seconds to mix it up and another minute maybe to apply the mask. 5 seconds to put on a plastic cap, and then I can spend the next 2 hours doing whatever I want until shower time when I wash it out. No time lost there either.

I don't brush or comb until my hair is completely dry (unless I fingercomb while it's barely still damp to straighten it), and I sleep with it loose. I don't get tangles much anymore, so it takes less than a minute to BBB it in the morning. No time lost there either.

It takes less than a minute for me to do most of the hairstick styles I frequent, and less than 5 minutes to do a French braid and bun it. No time lost there either.

Beginning to see a pattern here? ;)

[marialena]

Since many people think long hair takes ages to deal with, I think it'd be interesting for readers to see just how quick/easy long hair is to manage.

For me? Washing takes all of 5 minutes (I wash at night), and to get ready to go out, I just brush, use whatever hair accessory I chose, and go. I'm a wash and go gal!

So, for me, it takes no more than 10 minutes for me to do my hair--and most of that time is me searching around the house for the hair toy I want to use! :)

Washing, comb, dry etc ... hardly 20 minutes, usually 10.
And I'm always searching around the house to find my comb as well. :)

[spidermom]

... Am I really the only person who actually found short hair quicker and easier?

You are not the only one. Short hair for me was rub vigorously with a towel, dab of gel spread through it with fingers in the direction I wanted it to dry, and I was done for the day.

[rhubarbarin]

My hair routine is pretty darn easy. In contrast when I had very short hair, I would sometimes mess with it for up to an hour before I liked the way it looked (didn't have that time every day though, so mostly I would just have to go to school hating it).


It takes me maybe 5-8 minutes to load it with cheap conditioner and fingercomb/detangle, shampoo, rinse, condition, and rinse. It wouldn't take so long but I do very thorough rinsing and let the conditioner sit for a minute.

Then I squeeze excess water with a towel, bun loosely at my nape while I do other things, and squeeze in a little gel to finish.

Total time for 'ready-to-go' hair is maybe 10 minutes with about half of that time spent letting it drip, and I wash every other or every 2 days.

I don't detangle dry hair - in fact I don't handle it at all between washes except to put it up. Very occasionally I will apply a little coconut oil.

[HairColoredHair]

.... wash day takes about twenty minutes (because I love a long shower...)

Any other day it's maybe five minutes to style my hair if braiding and two if not....

[Katla]

On average, I'd say fifteen minutes a day, including updos in the morning, hunting for split ends and damage when I'm in the mood for it, and oiling it when needed. To that, add about half an hour every 1-2 weeks for hairwash.

[janeytilllie]

I wash my hair once a week and it takes about 10 minutes to do.

Brushing hair doesn't take long at all, about 3 minutes

Putting my hair into a cinnamon bun takes about 2 minutes :D

[AJoifulNoise]

It really depends. Most days it takes about 15 minutes in the shower (and I multi-task, so I'm shaving and all while my hair is conditioning). 1-2 minutes oiling and detangling and 2-10 minutes putting it up. That's about 99% of the time. Wash, detangle, put it up.

On the occasion that I want to wear it down, things are different. It can take 3 and a half hours to dry. That's the only time consuming part. But, I rarely wear it down.

In the evening it comes down and I spend another couple of minutes detangling.

So, in total, I spend at most (on a normal day) about a half an hour on my hair. But, usually about 20 minutes.

[enfys]

Hmm. Bath/hair takes an hour twice a week if I'm getting herbal, but that's just gratuitous soaking. If I'm pushed for time I can CWC in 5 minutes. Since I usually double up bath and hair I can't really say.

Drying takes overnight, so that's not real time since I'm asleep.

Brush and bun in the morning takes under 2 mintues including finding my brush! That doesn't get re-done in the day.

Umm...plaiting it at night and oilingthe ends less than 1 minute....

Taking supplements 30secs.

Browsing LHC 4 hours a day....

Spot my downfall!

[mooglewoo]

I wash at night. My total shower time is under 10 mins. In the morning, I bun or ponytail and that takes all of 30 second to one minute.
It's SO much faster working with long hair IMO. I hated it short. I had to style it everyday for around 20 minutes to get the ends to flip out all the same way, coated it with mousse, etc. Now I just lightly comb and up it goes. No products even necessary!

[sahiba]

I too do not take more than 5-10 min. in head bath and almost one min. every day to oil just the length . My daily hair (bun that is ) too does not take more than 5 min.

[herbgurl82]

On non wash days, my hair takes about 10 minutes tops, from combing in the morning, putting it up, then taking it down, combing, and braiding for bed, perhaps a light oiling if my hair is really dry. On wash days, it takes about a 1/2 hour to do a CWC. Sometimes I do a heavy oiling for about an hour beforehand, which may add another 20 minutes to apply the oil, and clip it up. Other then that, I feel that my hair is not time consuming at all. Except for the time it takes to rinse!

[Periwinkle]

How can you wash your hair in 5 minutes?! :O It takes me at least 20: rinse all through, shampoo (briefly) and rinse out, conditioner in and leave it while I wash my body + shave, rinse out conditioner. And then there's all the phaffing about with towels and whatnot.

Combing is quick - no quicker than brushing was for me, though.

[jay0]

Not too long - maybe about 15 minutes.

[rhubarbarin]

How can you wash your hair in 5 minutes?! :O It takes me at least 20: rinse all through, shampoo (briefly) and rinse out, conditioner in and leave it while I wash my body + shave, rinse out conditioner. And then there's all the phaffing about with towels and whatnot.

Combing is quick - no quicker than brushing was for me, though.

You probably have, no joke, about 8x more hair than me.

I have thinnish hair (2.5" circ) and a very damaged length that makes me more of an i than an ii. Plus my hair is only 25" long. Getting shampoo and condish through my hair and rinsing thoroughly is very easy!

[Honey39]

Hmmmm - takes me about ten minutes every morning to shower, and that includes CO-washing my hair. Then if I'm running late and can't be bothered, I comb out, add some jojoba oil and damp bun (takes 2 minutes)

If I'm wanting it to look good, I'll add leave-in conditioner on damp hair, soak the ends again, and scrunch dry to ringlets - takes about 5 minutes.

I do nothing else to it - no touching, no combing, nothing. I love the freedom from drying my hair. I thought it would be cold etc, but I have gone through a very cold winter and it was fine.

So this new routine is incredibly liberating to be honest.

[Peter]

How can you wash your hair in 5 minutes?! :O It takes me at least 20: rinse all through, shampoo (briefly) and rinse out, conditioner in and leave it while I wash my body + shave, rinse out conditioner. And then there's all the phaffing about with towels and whatnot.

Combing is quick - no quicker than brushing was for me, though.
I don't think my hair is as thick as yours, nor as long, but CO'ing only takes me 5 minutes. It takes about a minute to put the conditioner in, another minute or two while I wash the rest of me, then 2 more minutes to rinse it out.

I only put conditioner on my scalp though. Maybe it takes me less time because I just leave my length alone? :shrug:

[Silverlox]

... Am I really the only person who actually found short hair quicker and easier?

No, you're not! :D

When I had short hair, I did the exact same things as I do now, minus the oiling. I hardly ever bothered about blowdrying or styling, other than spreading some gel or mousse and shaping it with the comb or my hands.

Basically short hair was quicker to comb, quicker to wash and a lot quicker to dry. The quicker to dry part was important, as I'd wake up with "pillow-hair" every morning and have to wet it in order to not look like I just had my fingers in the socket. :silly:

However...!!! I'm just not comfortable in short hair. I feel.. Naked. Like something is missing. And since my longhair routine is no more complicated that my shorthair version, it's really not much extra time. I'm speaking minutes here, not hours! Minutes I'm more than willing to spend in order to enjoy having long hair. :cheese:

The most time consuming part is for my hair to air dry. But it does that hanging down my back, leaving me free to do whatever I please in the meanwhile. It's really only in the cold season I need to plan my washes so I won't have to go out with wet hair. When it's hot, wet hair is actually rather nice and cooling. :thumbsup:

Apart from washing my hair, I multitask doing everything else. I oil it and detangle in front of the computer or while reading. Same with updo's, I just check the result in the mirror afterwards. Only if there's a special occasion will I do my hair in the bathroom, with mirrors showing front, back and sides.

[princess]

It takes time to wash the hair. Mine is not so great now but still it takes about fifteen minutes to wash and rinse it.

As for oiling before washing the hair leaving it on for at least thirty minutes is good for my hair. This I have found from experience and so I try to leave it on for the half an hour if not more.

Henna conditioning if one does it takes about five to six hours if not more. But that is once in three months or so.

[Rosepatrice]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?

[julya]

My hair takes a long time to detangle, at least 30 minutes. I don't always have time to detangle before I put it up in the morning, but I do detangle before bed each night, or else I end up with massive tangles that make me want to cry! Doing a full wash is probably about 20 or 30 minutes. I like to rinse very well, which helps to minimize the tangles.

When my hair was very short, I didn't even use shampoo that often. Just wet it in the shower, and it was good to go, with shampoo a couple times a week. I started using more products, like conditioner when it was about BSL. That's when it started to get more difficult to care for.

[rhubarbarin]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?

I only know because I prefer to shower in the morning after chores (I have a lot of dirty chores like brushing my dog, scooping the litterbox etc), and I leave myself 20 minutes before work to take a shower, wash hair, face and body, do a bit of shaving, put on lotion all over, and do my hair. :)

[longhairedfairy]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?

I don't time my hair routine either. It doesn't take long enough for me to bother.:shrug:

[NeilTheFuzz]

I'm sorry but for me it's not a myth. My hair takes about 40 minutes to brush. It takes 10-15 minutes to wash and condition, but it takes a good few hours to air dry. It takes at least half an hour to dry my hair with an air dryer.

[Rosepatrice]

I only know because I prefer to shower in the morning after chores (I have a lot of dirty chores like brushing my dog, scooping the litterbox etc), and I leave myself 20 minutes before work to take a shower, wash hair, face and body, do a bit of shaving, put on lotion all over, and do my hair. :)

That would take me at least an hour!! You're fast!

[Flynn]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?

To try to reduce the amount of time you take, bacause you need to reduce the amount of water you use, because your country is running out of it.

[LadyEliza]

I wash my hair about once a week, wash, towel dry, leave alone.

I comb it at night while I'm watching tv. Just once through to untangle, then leave it alone.

In the morning I twist up and stick a hair stick through it. Usually leave it until after dinner when I comb it. Sometimes if I take the hairstick out during the day I'll re put it up again. Takes me less then 30 secs to put up with a hairstick.

I guess if I'm going out somewhere really fancy - like my son's wedding in a few weeks, I'll spend more time on it. I will probably even wear lipstick - but not in my hair :)

[LadyEliza]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?


Not sure about elsewhere, but here in Australia we have 4 minute showers because of the water shortage. This might be eased soon, as we (Queensland at least) have had some good rain and the dams are much fuller. However, every family in Australia was given a 4 minute egg timer to put in the shower. Bit of a joke, as some of them went for 3 minutes, some for 8! But the idea was there.

It's not hard to have a 4 minute shower if you don't muck around. Washing hair in that time is a bit of a challenge, and I'm sure that I cheat on washing hair days. However, if you wet your hair, turn off the shower while you lather, turn on, rince, turn off, condition, turn on rince - it's possible!

Easier in summer when you don't get cold without the water running over you, fortunately winters here aren't that bad! (well, in Queensland anyway!)

[Loviatar]

Washing:
Dairy whip alone or s/c: 5 mins.
CO (short): 5 mins. (long) 30 mins to an hour left on, but I clip it up and go do something else.
CWC: 10 mins. I'm fussy about my last C.

Air drying: an hour or more, I dont like to put it up wet or damp because my bun curls are so annoying. I like having straight hair so I air dry down. I had a microfiber towel but my ex-BF washed it with fabric softener and it doesnt work too well now. Might as well be a normal towel.

Styling: 3-15 mins. Aloe gel in the bangs and left down is quickest. Aloe and a braid maybe 5 mins. Buns can take longer as they are so slippery now I am a conehead again.

[MerryKat]

When my hair was short it was washing at least every second day and the blowdrying and products were ridiculous.

Now that my hair is past bsl, it is so easy. Henna once every 6 weeks or so, No Washing in between (and if I do it is WO). Finger comb and brush twice a day. At night I twist it into a scrunchie bun on top of my head and for work it is so easy to bun and put a toy in it. Over the weekend and at home I wear it loose and it is now long enough to stay put behind my shoulders.

For me the longer my hair gets the easier it is to look after and the more it behaves when down.

[ravenreed]

My bathroom gets so cold in the winter! I have a vaulted skylight and all the heat goes up there. No fun.

My normal shower, without doing anything to my hair is about 10-15 minutes. I don't know how to make the hair days any faster. If I don't rinse enough, I get greasy hair and the acv smell lingers all day!


Not sure about elsewhere, but here in Australia we have 4 minute showers because of the water shortage. This might be eased soon, as we (Queensland at least) have had some good rain and the dams are much fuller. However, every family in Australia was given a 4 minute egg timer to put in the shower. Bit of a joke, as some of them went for 3 minutes, some for 8! But the idea was there.

It's not hard to have a 4 minute shower if you don't muck around. Washing hair in that time is a bit of a challenge, and I'm sure that I cheat on washing hair days. However, if you wet your hair, turn off the shower while you lather, turn on, rince, turn off, condition, turn on rince - it's possible!

Easier in summer when you don't get cold without the water running over you, fortunately winters here aren't that bad! (well, in Queensland anyway!)

[Flynn]

No, you're not! :D

When I had short hair, I did the exact same things as I do now, minus the oiling. I hardly ever bothered about blowdrying or styling, other than spreading some gel or mousse and shaping it with the comb or my hands.

Basically short hair was quicker to comb, quicker to wash and a lot quicker to dry. The quicker to dry part was important, as I'd wake up with "pillow-hair" every morning and have to wet it in order to not look like I just had my fingers in the socket. :silly:

However...!!! I'm just not comfortable in short hair. I feel.. Naked. Like something is missing. And since my longhair routine is no more complicated that my shorthair version, it's really not much extra time. I'm speaking minutes here, not hours! Minutes I'm more than willing to spend in order to enjoy having long hair. :cheese:

The most time consuming part is for my hair to air dry. But it does that hanging down my back, leaving me free to do whatever I please in the meanwhile. It's really only in the cold season I need to plan my washes so I won't have to go out with wet hair. When it's hot, wet hair is actually rather nice and cooling. :thumbsup:

Apart from washing my hair, I multitask doing everything else. I oil it and detangle in front of the computer or while reading. Same with updo's, I just check the result in the mirror afterwards. Only if there's a special occasion will I do my hair in the bathroom, with mirrors showing front, back and sides.


I'm sorry but for me it's not a myth. My hair takes about 40 minutes to brush. It takes 10-15 minutes to wash and condition, but it takes a good few hours to air dry. It takes at least half an hour to dry my hair with an air dryer.

Hurrah! Thank goodness!

[Niphredil]

Am I the only one who doesn't pay attention to how long it takes to do my hair routine? I've NEVER timed it...maybe I missed something? Why do people time their showers?
I never timed my showers either, but I'm guesstimating based on total time spend in there.


Unless I dunk my hair in water it takes up to 5 minutes to get it thoroughly wet (standing upright in the shower), even with good water pressure (I loathe the camping trips with low pressure showers when I was young because I barely got my hair wet by the time the rest of my family was already completely finished).

I just used a bucked (10L, half filled) to wet my hair. Wow, that was easy !! I never get it all wet at the scalp with just rinsing. This did not only safe time but also a lot of water as I did the first bit of rinsing in the same water. Then I rinsed some more using the hand-held showerhead. I might buy me a bit smaller bucket just for this (as long as my head fits in) !

[Phalaenopsis]

I'm sorry to say this, but shorter hair was easier and less time consuming. My hair in layers, a bit longer than shoulderlength, was really easy to cope with. A lot less tangles, less drying time...

Because of the layers it had a "cut", so I didn't look boring when my hair was loose. I also just washed it and let it dry. I didn't need styling, my hair fell in its place on its own.

Sorry :o

[Poppy Seed]

Wash once a week.
Shower takes approximately 30 minutes to do all the weekly things I do in a shower (including de-gunk the cubicle while the conditioner sits.....!)

Comb each morning, about 5 minutes.

Put up each morning: about 2 minutes more

Plait for bed each night: about 3 minutes?

Put up, I don't need to think about it all day - no matter what the weather, or what I'm doing.

(More time spent combing in teh evening when I've worn it loose, but as I rarely do that, I didn't really count it.)

[heidi w.]

It takes me about 10 minutes to comb out my hair and put it up. IF I braid it before putting it up then about 15-20 minutes. Then I don't think about it all day long.

Truth is that often I sleep in a braid so just put that up and never detangle in the morning!

So that then takes about 3-5 minutes, then in the shower, dress, out the door!

If I wash all of my hair, we're talking 20 minutes of washing, and then about 15 more minutes for a leave-in and some minimal organizing....then air dry takes me about 1 hour...full air dry is around 2 hours now. It used to take longer. The products I use help with air drying time.

If I go in the shower and scalp wash, that's around 10 minutes.

So I full hair wash around every two weeks, sometimes once a week. Scalp wash at least once a week, around mid week or so.

Truthfully, I fully detangle about every other day since a braid will last me two days and the one night in between.

heidi w.

[lailmil]

I spend a lot of time washing my hair (about 30' in oil massage+moisturize+wash+comb+dry it a bit) but I have to say it's just once every two weeks or more
+5 minutes max every day just to massage the scalp and the ends and to make a nice hairstyle

[KatKeRo]

Washing takes about 10 min. I rinse very long after my shampoo. I wash in the morning so I can let it loose to dry, if I have to put it up it's no big deal to do it damp.

Every morning I brush quickly with my Tangle Teazer and put it up or let it down. The longest I spend on an updo is 5 min.

Braiding for bed takes 15 sec maybe (I never timed it).

On top of this the longest I spend on my hair is when I henna once every 3 months. I let the henna sit for 5 hours before I rinse it out.