In mourning for my hair

[wiggleit76]

I went to my hairdresser, yet again moaning about how many split ends I have, how I can never seem to get past APL etc and he finally convinced me that as my hair was splitting up the length for several inches I'd just have to bite the bullet and chop it off.

So I let him cut 5 inches off my hair, to the nape of my neck. But I forgot how wavy it gets when shorter, so now my hair is really wide and looks just under jaw length :(

Has anyone else gone for a chop? How have you coped?!

The only silver lining is the weather is crazy hot in the UK right now, so at least my head doesn't get as hot as it used to.

[lora410]

I am sorry. I haven't been in for any chops because I do my own trims. I do get occasional few inch breakage but I just deal with it unless it is affecting the thickness of my hemline. It will grow faster then you realize.

[ReddishRocks]

Aw, I know it's hard when you chop off a lot, but now you get to start fresh and baby your hair the way you want to! How have you changed your routine so that you can prevent so many splits in the future?

[Bunnyhare]

Yes, to go forward now is the thing!Treat it well and let it come in healthy! CHeck out the chop in my album, although it was planned i still grieved..but it grows back!!YYEEAAA!

[feralnature]

wiggleit76 now you are here at LHC and are in control. You have a nice fresh hemline and can baby your hair as it grows out! Happy growing and welcome!

[jojo]

Go to my album mine got cut short in dec 2005, the same length as your by the sound of it. It hurts I know but it will grow back in no time at all and i envy your cool head, my head is boiling hot in this heat!

[Addy]

I'm so sorry you lost all that length!

Baby your hair and be gentle with it and try to enjoy the shortness. It won't be short forever!

[Flynn]

I'm going to agree with everyone here. If your hair was splitting in a way and to a degree that you were sufficiently unhappy with that you let someone do the chop in the first place, this is a great thing! Now you can approach in a new careful way and get the best hair you've ever had XD

Edit: There's a shorties thread floating around which has some styling ideas if your hair is being wavy and misbehavhing. I grew out wavy hair from a pixie, so I know just what that's like! Just some days....

[JamieLeigh]

I personally think that if my hair was splitting several inches up the length, I'd chop too! (and I did, 2" this year. VERY happy with the decision too)

Don't think of it as hair you've lost...think of it as a blank slate. Now you've got a good starting-over point, and you can take care of it and avoid what happened last time...this can only be a good thing from here! :flower: Good luck!!

[bigdreamer]

Me me me I'm here! I chopped off 2" inches 2 weeks ago and I still haven't gotten over it. Feels better but it looks like crap since going cone-less as well. I win the FIRST place prize for most hideous triangle head, I wish I had my camera so I could take a hideous pic to show you how bad it looks. Absolutely Horrific!!!! I'm not kidding

But it's okay, I smile inwardly because i'm on a personal journey that I'm trying to stay faithful to and this is a great place for inspiration. :cheer: Hang in there, we're on the same anniversary then

[Tap Dancer]

Focus on the positive things:

* You have a nice "cool" cut for the summer.
* Hair usually grows a little faster in hot weather.
* You have healthy ends now.
* You can pamper your hair with all the info you learn here and maybe you won't get so many split ends in the future.

I had my hair cut into a jaw length bob in November. That's not my most flattering length. (I look better when it's a mid-neck length bob at the very shortest.) But hair grows faster than you realize. You'll be past this awkward stage before you know it. :)

[Elettaria]

I had 45" hair a couple of months ago and now it's 30", of which 4" came off on Tuesday. After always wanting to get my hair to thigh length, it crept there when I wasn't looking and was a bit of a nuisance (though I wish I'd photographed it then). I've got severe ME/CFIDS, and I'm having a crap year, so I decided the time had come to be practical. Tailbone length turned out to be great, the ends were far thicker than I expected and it's a nice practical length. I'm not sure how much I like waist length yet. It hasn't been this short since primary school, and I keep reaching for hair that isn't there. But I intend to enjoy it, every length has its pros and cons, and I'll probably let it grow back to tailbone straight away. I haven't told my partner yet, he's been away this week and will be back home in a few hours. I hope he's not unhappy about it! He kept on telling me much he liked it at tailbone length.

One unexpected perk, apart from my hair turning out to be much thicker than I thought, is that the lovely feeling when your hair is brushing different parts of your body works in reverse too. It was nice when my hair started brushing my legs, and now it brushes against my mid-back. Also, if it's wet the damp patch ends up at my lower back, not at my bottom, which is a hell of a lot more flattering. The one thing that annoys me is that having a taper made it much easier to put up in buns, the ends keep coming out if I bun it now. I'm planning to put it into two plaits more often, it's quicker to plait now and I think that this style looks cuter with shorter hair. (Shorter being relative. I've spent the last two days moaning about how weirdly short my hair is to people whose hair is a few inches long.)

[Kiraela]

I'm sorry about the loss of your length. At least now you have healthy ends that you can work with, rather than fighting the damage that would likely have kept getting worse.

[marzipanthecat]

Ugh, it has been so hot here in Devon for the past two weeks I almost envy you having it shorter! (I get a nasty case of sweaty scalp during the day, yuk, meaning I only feel good after I wash it!)

It's cut now, so try not to concentrate on what is gone, just do your best to be kind to your hair to try to minimise future split ends. It will grow again!

I started taking Brewer's Yeast tablets daily a few weeks ago(I got them from a branch of Julian Graves) and my hair - and certainly my skin - seems to be improving. I thought I had a well balanced diet - lots of fresh fruit and veg - but obviously I needed a boost. I remember when I was taking it regularly a few years ago it seemed to help my hair grow longer. Might just be my imagination, though.

[ericthegreat]

I would have walked out of that salon and not even pay. To utterly ignore your demands to keep your length long and to literally set your growth back another full year is not only callous, its criminal.

Right now, DON'T DO ANYTHING else with your hair. Stay away from all hairstylists. Just grow it out and if you need support and ideas of what to do with your hair just keep coming here to LHC.

[wackyredtangles]

I had to do a big 4-5 inch chop before too, about 2 years ago. It was so damaged from all the dying and straightening. But it grew back, nice and healthy from oiling and staying away from heat, and now its nearly waist!

[Rzilynt]

My longest hairs were at my hips. I also am mourning my loss. My stylist cut me back to APL. I am trying to look at it like another poster said a clean slate. :(

I am trying to enjoy my new length, but everytime I see long hair, I want to shout out " My Hair used to be long too"

RZ~

[Shermie Girl]

Sometimes we just have to bite the bullet and do what we have to do. It can hurt. And it is okay to shed some tears while you adjust to your new length and come to terms with having to start over.

You have a terrific opportunity to grow your hair from all lovely, strong ends. Pamper and care for them and you will soon have long, strong, healthy looking hair that isn't riddled with splits and breakage. It will be hair that isn't just long, but hair you will really love, enjoy and be proud of.

Happy growing! :D

[wiggleit76]

Thanks for the words condolences/encouragement.

The best thing I've noticed about having all the damaged ends cut off is that when I finger comb/comb my hair I don't have hundreds to tangles and knots to unpick.

Now I just have to take as much care as possible so I don't go through the same thing in about a year's time! The hardest thing is giving up my fry-dryer, especially now that it's quite hard to just put up out of the way at this length.

I've tried lower heat/speed settings but this makes my hair go frizzy, so I've cut down on usage but I'm still using it full power - not good.

[Fractalsofhair]

Good luck with the trim, hair does grow! My hair is absolutely fried from a blow drier and is breaking off at all sorts of weird lengths in the front(Shortest bit is 1 inch, parts are at 6-7 inches, and such). Oiling really helps with my frizz so I don't need to use a blow dryer. The stylist was probably being very helpful, though it does seem a bit much. Trimming off 3 inches would have probably gotten rid of the worst of the damage, but hair does grow, and splits can travel up the hair.

[vampodrama]

Ah, I know how sad it is when the length is gone, but I am with everyone else here - it's a new, fresh, healthy start. Nothing can stop you now! :cheese: