Is It Really Easier To Have Short Hair?

[shortgoinglong]

Hi!
I had a conversation with a good friend that interrested me. She is very petite with feminine features, one of those women that look gorgeous in any hair style. She also has fine hair. She recently cut it into a pixie which looks awesome on her. When I asked her why she cut, she said she lives a busy life and short hair is easier to maintain. She said she loves the wash and go aspect of it. Now, I have very thick, somewhat coarse hair. Short hair for me is a pain. I get extreme mad scientist bedhead every day almsot have to use hair products and always need frequent trims. For me, my long hair was wash and go. What is your opinion on the subject?

[Quixotica]

I have rather course, wavy hair. I'm currently growing out a pixie and it was definately more wash-and-go than my longer hair. :shrug: However, longer hair was easier to care for because it didn't require the cutting maintenance and whatnot of my pixie.

[Lamb]

It all depends on your hairtype and the cut, not all short styles are created equal. The most exasperating part of longhair-routine (making sure your hair is moisturized, preventing teh split ends, treating it like old lace and all that) is pretty much cut out with a short style. You shampoo, if your hair is long enough you run a comb through it, and call it a day. Depending on the cut, you may not need any styling product. Frizz? What is that? :p

Now, if you have curly hair like me, a pixie only works like that if it's really short - but then, you need the features to pull it off.

[GlassEyes]

Depends on your hair type, how short it is, and how you want it to look. It also depends on what you term as 'high maintenance'. For some, who straighten everyday, having short hair is low maintenance because they don't have to straighten as much. For someone who has short hair, hates styling, but has to do so, it'd be high maintenance. It depends on a lot of factors. There's some truth to short hair being easier, and some truth to long being so. It really just depends on what you want it to look like and how much effort is 'maintenance'.

Take me for example--really short hair, anything around 3 in curly, would be easy. It's not a look I prefer, but it'd be easy. Fast forward to six inches--effort. I have to try and weigh it down, it won't lay right, etc. Get to where I am now--still high maintenance, but for different reasons, but it's more aesthetically pleasing to me. I'm willing to put in the effort for it, so for me, it isn't high maintenance EXACTLY, but for others, it could most certainly be. In fact, my short short hair, which would still require gel and CO washing, would be high maintenance for others as well.

:shrug: It depends on a lot.

[jeno]

No. It's not. When I had a pixie I HAD to wash it every day because I had to use a lot of products in it and if I didn't wash it it would look weird when slept on! And then I had to blowdry it because it would look weird if I didn't. And you HAVE to go to the hairdresser at least every 6th week.
Now my biggest concern is what hairstyle I'm going to wear that day...

[Speckla]

Short takes more work. I have to use more product and shampoo/condition more often due to the products.

[fluffybunny]

My short hair also suffered from 'extreme mad scientist bedhead' every morning :)

Even having bangs didn't work. Each morning I had to drench my hair to get it re-sculpted into something acceptable. Since I don't blow-dry, this meant drippy soaked hair around my face and neck every morning. As a grouchy morning person, this was not an OK ritual. Longer hair is spritz, finger-comb, and go for me.

[Evie]

I think if you have fine, straight hair, that will dry in a style without kinks and wavies, then a pixie is very easy to do - I however did NOT have hair like that, my hair kinks a great deal!

I have no idea why I then decided to cut a load off, so that I am growing out again, other than I have got rid of the damaged ends! ATM, I am having to style it every day.....ah well....

[krazycurlsmatt]

For me short hair is way more work. it takes me longer to get ready in the morning now than it did when my hair was mid back length, because it's at that awkward point where its hanging in the middle of my face, and i use a lot more products trying to tame it. when it was long i just needed a leave in, but now i need leave in and gel and the stars have to align properly while I'm hopping on one foot in a barrel full of.... well you get the idea, it's difficult.

[dragonfrog]

I had my hair short for many years-- not as short as a pixie, but about "ear-length." All I did was shampoo my hair every couple of days and run a brush through it before I left the house (My hair is very straight and coarse, BTW).

For my TB length hair, all I do is S&C once or twice a week, and comb and put up before leaving the house. For me, short hair was easier, but not by a whole lot-- I guess my "required hair-time per day" average went from about 3-5 minutes a day (short hair) to about 7-12 minutes (long hair).

I find long hair (on me) so much more flattering and enjoyable that it more than makes up for the slightly increased effort.

[Tinose]

It depends. A low-maintenance short cut will probably be less daily effort than a low-maintenance long cut, but in return you need to get it cut more often. And lots of the people talking about how low maintenance their hair is get it dyed, use products on a daily basis, have to wash and condition daily, etc. Personally, I don't really consider that lower maintenance than combing and putting it up and washing it once or twice a week, but they do. And we're both right, because we're both doing the maintenance we're okay with.

If you want ultra low-maintenance, shave your head, or possibly get dreadlocks. Other than that, it's all in how you want to arrange the necessary maintenance and what your hair will cooperate with.

[Quixii]

I've never really had short hair, but I've always found my long hair very easy to deal with. I can put it up or leave it down, and pretty much wash and go. Watching my short haired friends attempting to put up their hair so it's out of the way always makes me glad my hair is long.

[Nienna]

'Extreme mad scientist bedhead'. :rollin:

That is the perfect description of what used to happen to my hair the one and only time I ever cut it short.
After an epic battle every. single. morning. I'd go out and people would coo about how cute it was.
Well yeah, NOW! :rolleyes: I grew that darned cut out as soon as I could.

Now, my sis, who has much straighter hair than I do prefers her hair short. On her a pixie or other cute shorty cut looks fab. The only issue she has is having to go for a trim so often.

[Pburgh56]

I honestly believe that long hair is actually easier. Even in a pixie sometimes u will have to still style it and gel it in the morning where with long hair just put it in a bun or ponytail quick and go. see what i mean?

[Dvips]

For me, this current short cut is the easiest I've ever had my hair in my life. I literally do nothing but wash it (MM product). No combing, brushing, or styling.

But other than this cut and one other extremely short cut, hair that is long enough for a bun is much easier for me.

:twocents:

[Addy]

Long hair is SOOOOOOOOOOO much easier and less work than shorthair so the answer is...

NO! :D

[Toadstool]

For me it is way easier. It's so short there is no styling involved - no combing, no product, nothing. I do wash it in the shower every morning but it only takes a couple of minutes.
But frequent cutting will be expensive and possibly a hassle.

[amaiaisabella]

For me, short hair is easier in the sense that I don't have to worry about it tangling or getting caught on things (I have yet to find an updo that looks flattering). So, I cut it short. Now, unless I wash in the morning, my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket if I sleep on it wrong. When it's longer it just kind of settles or hangs. I still haven't found a length I really like.

[Kris Dove]

I have fine hair with a very slight wave when it's long and gravity pulls it down... and a not so slight wave that makes it stick up all over the place at jaunty angles when it's short, so short hair was never a wash and go thing for me.

Oh no, it was a...
- wake up with serious bed head,
- wash twice to get all the styling gunk out it,
- then blow dry very quickly before it sets in silly angles (if I left it too long I'd need to spray it with water before re-attempting to style)
- then take ages tweaking into a style, using straighteners on parts until it looks okay,
- reapply gunky stuff to set style in place till satisfied,
- wash horrible sticky gunk off hands
- decide I don't look very feminine with short hair and my face-shape, and spend ages applying full face of makeup to improve self-image
- go out in rain and have all my hard work ruined

Styling products and regular haircuts are pricey too.

With long hair, a ponytail or bun is quick, all I have to style is my bangs, and they're easy, (and can even be clasped to the side if I'm in a hurry and they're not co-operating!) and I feel quite happy with my appearance wearing just minimal makeup when my hair is long. I use very little product in comparison, and get trims far less often(I can do them myself for free, actually!).

[Fractalsofhair]

Very short hair such as a short short pixie or a buzzcut would probably be easier than long hair.(And less work than shaving one's head). However, for the LHC hair method of not straightening and such, long hair is much easier than "medium" or "long" hair that is cared for conventionally. A pixie at a point was a bit of work, and still sorta is as it's grown out.

[Stephichan]

I find that with my hair, short cuts and long lengths require about the same amount of effort (as in, none). For some weird reason, my hair only becomes wavy when it reaches my shoulders, so hair above that demarcation behaves fairly well (my fringe/bangs however, didn't get that memo :mad: ).

Medium lengths require the most time for me, because at those lengths, my hair doesn't wave as much as it poofs. So if I'm around shoulders I often pull my hair into a ponytail or a half-up. I never got the hang of styling products. I have some gel, some mousse, some wax... but I can't figure out how to use them to tame my hair (maybe it's just untamable :shrug: ).

[MimiKeki]

Yes, I agree with you. I find long hair much much much more easier to manage. Sure, it takes alot longer to dry after a wash, but back when I had short hair, it was so annoying trying to style it
every day etc. Now I don't do anything to it, it's great!

[Shermie Girl]

For me, short hair is a royal pain in my arse. Having to wash it every day, dry it, style and fuss over it and worry about bad hair days. :p

Long hair is easy. And takes me much less time, overall. :D



*I am not in any way knocking short hair... A lot of people wear and adore their hair short and I am all for everyone loving their hair, no matter what length it is. :D*

[dernhelm]

For me, personally, short hair was so much more work. I had to coax and style it to get it to look presentable. Which included washing everyday and curling irons and straighteners and blowdryers...short hair was a nightmare for me.

Now that my hair is finally a little longer, I am able to wash at night and pretty much wake up and go.

My sister on the other hand has very thin, very straight hair. When she had short hair, she really could wash and go. A quick wash and a quick blow dry and she was done and it looked good.

[Amraann]

I Find long hair easier to care for.

[MadPirateBippy]

When my hair was short it always took more work, and I could never skip a day of washing, which I do frequently now.

I also didn't like how much more limited my styling options were.

[getoffmyskittle]

Yeah, I think it depends a lot on hairtype. A bob would be really difficult for me to maintain because my hair likes to go in crazy directions when it's short, but it's not curly, so it just looks like a big mess.

I don't know if I'd call my current hair low maintenance, though. I may not wash and style it every day, but I put enough time and energy into it that it probably doesn't count as "easy." It's a labor of love. :lol:

[rags]

My hair was actually not much more work short (though I am talking just above shoulder - that's the shortest I've been since a child). I could blow dry it and go. On the other hand, I did have to blow dry it or it looked horrid. But thin, shoulder length hair can be blow dried in five minutes. So really, not a lot of difference for me.

However, I absolutely detested the necissity of salon cuts every six weeks. And I had to have them, or my hair looked horrible. So that's much better with long hair!

[Elvi]

I agree long hair is easier. Not necessary to comb again and again during daytime like my short hairstyles were, and not necessary to go frequently to a hairdresser for trimming.

[DMARTINEZ]

Having just had my hair cut,I would say "some" things are easier.
1.Detangling hands down easier
2.Ponytails are great now,no tangling :)
3.Washing and air drying, easier.
4.styling.....eh, not so much, but its close. I took forever to get my updos
just right,and took them down to re-do them alot...so, for me,could be a tie? ;)
I can still do updos,so maybe I didnt get it cut short enough to compare?
hmmmm?


Deb

[TheEndlessOcean]

For me it depends on how short we're talking. For most of my life I had the standard inch-or-so male haircut, and that required no effort whatsoever. I was definitely just wash-and-go, and when it got long enough to need combing I'd get it cut. But when I started growing it out, once it got past a certain point I spent a ton of time fighting with it to get it to lay down and stay out of my face. That wasn't helped, though, by me not realizing how curly my hair really was and not letting it do what it wanted.

But now that it's well past my shoulders I can just wash it every two or three days and leave it alone. If I'm having a bad hair day I'll throw it in a ponytail but otherwise I just leave it down. I don't even own a comb anymore and I only brush it when I put it in a ponytail to make it look neater.

So for me longer hair is harder than super-short hair because it requires more time in the shower and I use more products on it, but it's much, much easier than mid-length hair.

[Babyfine]

Short hair was easier for me when I had it cut into a certain style- one I do NOT want now. collar length in back, short over the ears with a perm. (Basically a permed mullet.) Permed to about 3b. Then I would wake up, wash or wet it and let it air dry in curls, no side pieces to get weird or bent looking. Wash, or wet and go.
Non permed short hair on me looks bad because of cowlicks, ect unless it's so short it can't look unkempt. I don't want it that short.

[kwaniesiam]

Honestly, short hair WAS easier for me. I could wash my hair, and it was dry in 20 minutes. All I needed to do was scrunch it up with a bit of aloe gel, and it never looked thin or straggly like my hair tends to when it is longer. Was it worth it though? No, I didn't think so. I much prefer how I look with longer hair, and I love the versatility even if the care I put in to it is frustrating at times.

[embee]

My trouble with short hair was that it didn't look good. I hadn't the money to spend on the trims, so my hair always looked shaggy and like it needed help. That was discouraging to me. The wash-and-wear aspect was great, but that was all.

Now it is true I must plan ahead for washing, but fixing my hair in the morning is 5 minutes tops, and that lasts until bedtime. And the product expense is maybe $5 per *year*, no kidding, plus I feel like my hair looks nice every day.

I hope I need never have short hair again, it was a Big Pain to me.

[going gray]

I just couldn't stand all the "products" I needed to keep my coarse hair looking great. Also needed to have my hair cut & thinned every month for my short style.

My biggest complaint, my hair never felt like hair!

[Carolyn]

I don't think it is but I know there are people who do :shrug:

[Ash]

At all lengths of hair I have always washed it in some form every morning so there is no difference there.
Bald was the easiest length for me but it didn't suit me.
At one time I had chin length front pieces with the back around 2 inches all over. This was a pain because it took over 30 minutes to put all the junk in to make it spiky, it looked awful left alone.
Chin length was really annoying because I couldn't keep it out of my face unless I wore a bandanna
Shoulder length was ok, could pull it out of my face, it just looked boring on me
BSL to waist was probably the easiest because my braid would stay behind my shoulders at work and it was easy to put up at home.
My current tailbone length isn't too bad but the braid gets in my way at work because I keep forgetting to double it up.

Overall, there isn't too much difference for me in the ease of caring for short or long hair, however post LHC hair care takes way longer than pre LHC care with all the oiling and treatments but it is worth it. :) If I was to have a length based only on efficiency, I would shave my head again, otherwise I will keep growing.

[RubyRose]

I have thin hair and it was a lot more work when it was short

[lora410]

With my wavy hair short hair become a pain in the arse. If my hair was stick straight I bet short would be just as easy as long.

[marikamt]

Way less bad hair days with long hair than short......... I had to WORK at my short(er) hair to get it to do what I wanted... plus, the whole bed head thing... had to wash daily, then style......
even with "icky stages" (until I hit goal), I love my long(er) hair.........

[RedJen]

With my thick and wavy hair, short is definitely way more high maintenance than long. It would have to be very short to be easier to maintain than it is now. (In terms of looking nice every day.)

[heatherdazy]

I think it depends on your hair type and what kind of styles you're happy wearing.

[inertia]

For me it's a million times easier to have short hair. I used to have a Louise Brooks-ish bob with bangs. I could wash it with a combo shampoo/conditioner, comb quickly, and in a few minutes it air-dried into a decent shape. It was incredibly easy on a daily basis.

I did have to wash every day with short hair, but my scalp gets oily just as quickly with long hair AND I have to contend with a ton of fragile and tangly ends on top of it. I estimate I spend about 4x as much time on my hair when it's long. That's okay right now because I do have the time for it, but if I had a job which required me to look presentable every day I would definitely have to cut my hair much shorter.

[spidermom]

Very short hair is absolutely the easiest for me. Wash and shove my fingers through it a few times. Long is much harder than that, but not as hard as the in-between stages.

[clairenewcastle]

Having a pixie cut in my teens proved to be very high-maintenance for me. When I had layers I was always wondering what way they were lying....or sticking straight up in the air as was the case with me.
The relief of having enough hair to pull back in a ponytail was wonderful.
As far as I'm concerned long hair is a lot easier to manage.

[MemSahib]

Ease... hmmmm.

Short hair: I am not the pixie type and that is the only short cut I can think of which would be truly easy. Well, I guess buzzed would be, but I'm not going there either. I did have a quite short cut for a couple of years and it meant frequent shampoos, tons of gel and mousse and constant hot irons. It could take a half hour to get my hair into presentable shape every day. Then it typically went flat on me or something. For a while I did have a short, layered bob which looked really great and held up well all day once I fixed it. — Great haircut.

Long hair: I now shampoo about once a week but it takes nearly three hours to dry if it's left down, so that is not "easy". (It will never dry unless it is left down. A bun just stays wet.) For styling, there are times when it goes right up into the "do of the day" and times when I fight it all the way. Since it is super babyfine it is hugely slippery and frequently tries to escape the confines of whatever I do to it.

Honestly, there are pros and cons either way. "Ease" is a perceived factor and I think it might depend partly on what I choose to dwell on. If I choose to dwell on problems, nothing will be easy about my hair. Or, if I dwell on the positives, then why worry about ease or lack of it?

[Flynn]

Hi!
I had a conversation with a good friend that interrested me. She is very petite with feminine features, one of those women that look gorgeous in any hair style. She also has fine hair. She recently cut it into a pixie which looks awesome on her. When I asked her why she cut, she said she lives a busy life and short hair is easier to maintain. She said she loves the wash and go aspect of it. Now, I have very thick, somewhat coarse hair. Short hair for me is a pain. I get extreme mad scientist bedhead every day almsot have to use hair products and always need frequent trims. For me, my long hair was wash and go. What is your opinion on the subject?

Fine, thick, and yes, definitely. A pixie was much, much easier to maintain. However, it was also very expensive to maintain, as my hair grows very fast. However, the style I had was a very pixie sort of a pixie: it was meant to be sticking up in all directions all the time. Because my hair was so fine and there was so much of it, it really looked great that way.

[ravenreed]

For me, chin length through bsl, was pretty much the same, wash and go with a quick shampoo and conditioner on while doing the rest of the shower, a trim about every six months and the monthly dye job.

Now when I clean my hair, it is a whole procedure that adds twenty minutes. Not to mention the S&D's, the fussing with oils/leave ins and the time spent with figuring out what to do with the hair for the day. It usually takes me several tries to get any updo right. Plus dyeing it takes so much longer.

[Elbereth]

For me, the easy options are very short or very long.
Very short, in my case, means peach fuzz because my hair grows naturally straight upwards. That definitely was a wash and go hairstyle for me, though in order to maintain it I needed weekly shaving. Another minus for extremely short styles are that you can only change them about once a month or so (and even so, you can't really do any major changes).

The other good option, meaning that I like the look on myself and that it is easy to maintain, is hair that is at least waist length. I don't need stylists, and have endless styling and hairtoy options to play with.

Anything in between shouders and waist length does not look as nice as hair longer than that, and the maintenance is pretty much the same from shoulders down (save some minor tweaking in styles and such to accommodate hair growth). Between peach fuzz and shoulders requires a hairstylist, heat styling, products...you name it, just to achieve a decent look. And, since the styling methods needed are so harsh, it is easy to fall into a vicious circle where one needs to start cutting and masking damange. I would never cut my hair to these lengths.

The routine for maintaining very short hair and very long hair is different. For me, my hip length hair is easy. Styling it takes very little time, and still looks interesting because I can use all sorts of nice hairtoys. Normally, my hairstyle lasts all day.
I usually wash my hair in the evening, so it can air dry while I sleep. It's not a "wash and go"-hair, but it is not difficult hair either. Perhaps, super short was a tad easier, but long hair is so much more fun that I am willing to put up with the extra work which, in any case, is very little compared to what most women do just in order to keep their one hairstyle presentable.

[maaria]

I had/have short hair and I think it is much to work with it before you can go out if you dont put a hat on!! I´m growing out my hair and I think it will be much easier to work with, just put it up.

[halo_tightens]

As a few others have mentioned...
Super-short is probably the easiest of all, but longer is MUCH easier then mid-length. The in-between stages take the most work of all to be made presentable.

Some of my past short cuts took no work at all. Even if I was running late, a little water and gel would have it looking perfect in seconds. And now, I can just throw in a quick sock bun or something, so it's almost as easy.

I DO NOT miss everything that came between there and here. :)

[mwedzi]

I think for me it would only be easier if it were really short. As in 3" stretched or shorter. Then I think the tangling wouldn't be so bad and I could probably cowash and wear a TWA (teeny weeny afro) every day. I don't know for sure because I've never had hair that short. My shortest was at 4" or 5", and that was easier detangling, but more difficult styling.

[Mutinous]

No, not for me at least! My hair grows so fast it would cost a fortune to keep in style, plus it has a tendency to stick in thousands of different directions when short!

[sally_neuf]

I had a pixie for almost 4 years.
It also requires CARE yes, maybe it dries super fast, but when I wanted to go out, I had to spend like 7 minutes waxing it, drying it, otherwise it looked all down, plain and boring (I have super fine and straight hair)

I remember when I had it long (I'm still growing it) If I had a social event, I just put it loose and that was it.

Besides, short hair needs to be trimmed quite often, and that means money.

[rchorr]

Short hair is definitely NOT easier for me. My hair has just enough curl in it to make short hair a lot of work. With it long, I just wash and go. With it short, I have to mess with it a lot. I prefer having a bit more time in bed in the morning. :coffee:

RCHORR'

[Eilean]

I do prefer my long hair, as it is a "wash and go" for me.

I used to have rather short hair and if I did not style it it looked a mess and really flat and boring. Beside that I have a round face and in comparison to the long hair the short hair wasn't flattering at all. So I decided to never go for hair shorter than should length again.

[Kat]

I don't "baby" my hair (damp buns made with distilled water, careful application of jojoba oil, etc.) anymore after figuring it that it was doing absolutely nothing for me, so my hair is definitely wash and go now. In the morning I re-braid it, in the evening I detangle (not even every day). Usually I oil lightly after washing, sometimes do an oil treatment before washing.

Granted, washing and drying after washing takes longer, so I don't wash my hair as often as I would if it was short. But that's not a big deal. The only thing is that it does mean I rarely go swimming, because I'd either have to keep it out of the water or wash it right after (getting my hair wet without it having been washed means awful tangles).

Yes, sometimes long hair can get in the way (if I don't want to put it up); can't tell you how many times I get annoyed by bending over and having my braid flop down and hit the floor (which sucks if I'm outside and don't want my hair dragging in dirt/mud/snow or inside, say in a bathroom, and don't want it dragging on the dirty floor, or if I'm bent over the tub washing something and don't want it falling into the water) but usually tucking it into the back of my shirt takes care of that problem. And I also can't tell you how many times, when I had chin-length to shoulder-length hair, I got annoyed because it would get in my face (mouth, eyes, etc.) and was too short to pull back (and no, I don't think the "my hair is too short for a ponytail so I pulled it back to the sides and am holding it up in little bits with bobby pins all along the length" style is in any way attractive).

Part of the reason I grew it long was because unless I spent lots of time washing, blow-drying, and curling under the ends of my hair (which this not-a-morning-person wasn't going to get up 1-2 hours earlier in the morning to do), it wouldn't look nice. It would just hang straight (when it wasn't flipping UP at the ends, a look I hated) and boring and stringy. I figured if it was going to hang straight and boring (because I wasn't going to bother with the fancy stuff on a daily basis), then it might as well be long and hang that way because it was SUPPOSED to.

I admit, after looking back at my high school senior pics, that chin-length hair looked nice on me WHEN I made the effort to make it look nice. But I never wanted to put in that much effort. Very short hair (like boy short) would probably be easy maintenance for me as long as I didn't try for something that required styling to look fancy, but I'm not a very pretty or very womanly-figured person, so I think it's entirely possible I'd be mistaken for a (quite gay) guy unless I was wearing clothes that made my (tiny) boobs obvious. But I just don't wear tight clothing, or skirts, very often.

[rhubarbarin]

In my case, short hair is 100% harder than longer (past shoulder).

It depends on the individual and their hair. With my poofy hair, it needs a lot of work not the stand straight on end when it's short. Also, my hair does not tangle, so I don't have the labor involved with combing/detangling that many people with longer hair do.

[JamieLeigh]

My mom has a pixie cut, and she loves it......but she has to blow-dry it every morning to get it into the position she likes best. If she were to just wash and go, it would kink up and stick out. And she has a fringe, which means constantly having to maintain a length. Plus she colors her greys, which is also pretty high-maintenance.

It all depends on the particular short style one likes, and whether one is reallllllly ok with wash and go, which is kind of like Russian roulette for hair - it could look one way this time, another way that time. If one is trying to maintain a specific style, then it wouldn't be wash and go, and could end up being much more work than a longer style....which really IS wash and go for most people I know of, except for those exceptions who blow-dry or color or keep trimmed layers.

Or maybe wash, put up and go, if you're like me. :p

[darkwaves]

With my dramatic crown and weird growth patterns, short hair is a trial! (Daily wash, dry, gel, style... Okay, that's not a lot of work -- I've even rinsed it under a stand pipe at a campground with great results... But it's even easier now!)

[Themyst]

Really, I think most people say short hair is easier to take care of is because that's the social myth. Anyone I've known with short hair has always fussed with it more than my own, and in addition, if you don't wash and primp it every day, pixie hair has a tendency to get a puffy lump in various places. I've seen it and it looks like the person just woke up or something. Hee hee ... I really don't like short hair.

Now for me, what's easier than waking up with your hair already in a bun? No fuss at all. :shrug:

[may1em]

For me, APL would probably be the least work - it would be short enough that it wouldn't tangle too much, easy to wear down, and still long enough to put up and forget on days I didn't want to deal. It would also be long enough for the wave pattern to develop properly.

Anything in the shorter-than-collarbone range on me requires heat styling to look good because the wave pattern makes it stick out funny, and I have to be pretty careful with my can-I-call-this-iliac? length hair to avoid tangles. I find my long hair also can be a pain to wash sometimes, but at this point in my life the joy of having so much of it outweighs the extra time constraints.

[frodolaughs]

When I had short hair it was very easy because at the time I didn't mind it looking really messy. Now that I prefer a neater look long hair is actually easier for me. And it's definitely cheaper. I could by a lot of hairtoys for the cost of a years' worth of haircuts.

[Bellona]

I think it depends on your hair, like everyone else has said. I have coarse wavy hair and tons of cowlicks, so even just maintaining bangs is a chore. I cut shorter about once every three years, but I think I'm just done with it. I hate having to wash and heat style just to prevent "mad scientist" hair, haha.

[Wind Dragon]

Depends on the cut, depends on the hair, depends on who it's on. I kept a pixie for about eight years, and mine really was less trouble. Strictly wash and go, sometimes a little conditioner right on the ends in the winter. Brushed it back away from my face except for a teeny bit of fringe I pulled forward to frame my face and soften the look (if I was feeling feminine -- often I just brushed it back and let it go,) and let it dry that way. Morning bed-head (if I wasn't washing it) could be fixed in a couple of minutes by just wetting it again. If for some reason having it long gets to be too much of a hassle, I'll probably go back to it again. Stupid hair doesn't just follow me around and grow like it did when I was a kid; these days, I have to take care of it and stuff . . . .

But, that said, keeping the pixie looking really good would have required having it trimmed every three to four weeks, which would have been more trouble (and expense) for me than it was worth. :lol: I usually had it cut a bit too short and then grew it a bit too long, so I only had to see the hairdresser once every two or three months (whenever I could no longer keep it out of my eyes. :silly:)


I've seen it and it looks like the person just woke up or something.

Now for me, what's easier than waking up with your hair already in a bun? No fuss at all. :shrug:

To a lot of people, I probably looked like I just woke up or something. :shrug: I didn't much care. Heh-heh. I so envy those with long hair that behaves. Mine starts trying to escape its confines in minutes even if I'm sitting still with no breeze. If I sleep in a bun, I wake up to a horrid mess. Different hair, different folks, different results.

[23_seconds]

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[jesamyn]

Depends on the cut, depends on the hair, depends on who it's on.

That sums it up, imo. I had to wash AND condition my hair at pixie length and I do now too. OK, so it takes a little longer at BSL, but not appreciably. I only wash my scalp, so 30 sec longer to slather on conditioner - not a big deal.

I've had several short cuts. One of them, I could literally get up out of bed, run my fingers through it, and scrunch in some gel. That was it, and it took maybe one minute. I miss that haircut and have never managed to get it again. Most of my short haircuts required being straightened in addition to whatever gel was required. I could thankfully get away with using largish hot rollers, but it still got tedious. I've even had a pixie that wouldn't behave without my doing something to it in the morning.

My longer hair does take longer than the one perfect haircut that I had. However, it's FAR lower maintenance than having to heat style every day. I stick to the fast updos, and the most I need is a bit of AVG to keep my baby hairs from going bonkers. It's still only a few minutes. I also don't need to get it trimmed every 4-6 wks, which is just fabulous.

I think the societal view that short hair is easier is falacious, but I think the automatic rejoinder that long hair is easier is equally incorrect. It just depends on the person and hair.

[Armelle]

I've got thick, wavy hair. When it was short, it looked all bent and wacky from the cowlicks. Long hair pulls it down and I've found it much, much easier to deal with...or not.

[Shastrix]

For 22 years I had various typical short men’s hairstyles. As to whether I find short or long hair the easiest, I think it is swings and roundabouts...

Short hair is great because you don’t have to be careful with it, it dries with the rub of a towel, you can try lots of different styles almost at a whim and you not worry about damaging it. However, I used to spend ~£12 getting it cut every 4-6 weeks and as my hair never seemed to sit where I wanted it to, I’d spend farcical amounts of time in the morning with gels and waxes trying getting it to look “just right”. :o

With long hair I don’t have to worry about hair styles and fashion trends so much and in the morning it is ready with the flick of a brush. I also think I probably spend less money on my hair now than I did when it was short, despite frequent indulgences. On the downside, I miss just jumping into the shower and not worrying about getting my hair wet, it can be a pain to get it washed and dried when I am in a hurry, and it can sometimes be impractical.

But for me, the main advantages of having long hair over short hair is that I am now more self-confident, less stressed, and don’t worry so much about what people think of my appearance. I now actually take time out to relax and indulge myself, even if it is silly little things like finding the time to sit down with a cup of tea and trim split ends or stick on a hair mask and read a book whilst it works its magic. :D

[windinherhair]

For me, I feel that short hair is harder to maintain. When my hair was short it didn't set right and it looked better when it was styled. Since my hair is long I just have to wash and let air dry. It looks nice when I don't do anything with it. My hair isn't thin, but I also don't have extremely thick hair either. so I find it really easy to keep long. I have had people ask if it gets in the way. It never bothers me.

[Leena7]

For me it was easier to have a pixie because i have fine, straight hair. I had shaggy bangs though so it wouldn't be obvious when it grew out. I like my hair on the messy side, so I would basically ruffle my hair to style it. It worked out pretty well, except somedays I would freak out and decide that I needed a haircut because I noticed that the hair near my neck was getting too long and mullet-ish. Overall, the pixie was an enjoyable experience.

[Flynn]

Really, I think most people say short hair is easier to take care of is because that's the social myth. Anyone I've known with short hair has always fussed with it more than my own, and in addition, if you don't wash and primp it every day, pixie hair has a tendency to get a puffy lump in various places. I've seen it and it looks like the person just woke up or something. Hee hee ... I really don't like short hair.

Now for me, what's easier than waking up with your hair already in a bun? No fuss at all. :shrug:

Speak for yourself!

[Vianka]

It was easier for me to have hair that is at least long enough to put in a bun or ponytail. In my experience as a short haired person, I can tell you that I cannot ... absolutely CANNOT live without a blow dryer or flat iron. I have to wash my hair every single day and blow dry from damp hair or else it is really out of control. However, the worst hair length for me is that stage in between short and shoulder length when it's not long enough to put in a ponytail or bun and I can't dry it naturally because it flips up in a all different directions.

[vanity_acefake]

Short hair for me was way more work, more cleaning and styling. Long hair is way more practical as if it needs washing i just put it up.

[JCFantasy23]

It just depends on the short cut. A friend of mine always has short hair. She got a cut one time where her bangs annoyed her to style so always just wore the bangs back.

With short hair it IS easier to maintain where you don't have to worry about mechanical damage, wind flying it around if it's not up, etc., but I would think for detailed styles you'd have to keep cutting when it starts growing. Some short styles require a lot of styling in the morning to look their best.

[Pegasus Marsters]

This is going to vary from person to person, by hair type and style.

For me, yes. My hair LOOKS high maintenance but it takes far less time to style than it did when it was long. It goes up into the style, stays there all day, and normally the next day I can simply brush it back into the same style even after sleeping on it. Where as with long hair I'd be constantly combing, braiding, bunning, de-tangling... it took forever. Sometimes an odd bit puffs up after sleeping on it but I just put a bit of mousse in, give it a brush, and it goes back to where it's meant to be.

So for me, short hair really IS easier.

[rapunzhell13]

If I had to choose which was easier overall, I'd say pixie. What I didn't like about it though was the frequent haircuts and washing due to styling product use. I don't want to have to spend that much money on my hair. Now I could spend a lot more on my long hair, but I don't have to. It still looks good with very minimal maintenance. I get my mum to trim my hair for free now. I wash less and don't use any styling products anymore. I now use henna, which is very cheap compared to regular dyes. When I had a pixie, I was always very tempted to change my colour frequently, which meant spending more $$$. Does long hair take more effort for me? Yes, washing and styling do take more effort now than it did with a pixie, but for me it's worth saving money. Plus, I just plain enjoy having it long.

[misspriss]

For me wavy/curly hair is impossible to keep looking good short. I had it short and it almost never looked good unless I washed it the day before, let it sit overnight, flat ironed it, and loaded it with product. Then it looked bad quickly.

Long hair is relaxed, the only time it looks bad is when I get lazy and go too long between washings. I wash, let air dry or damp bun, and go. That's it. I don't even brush it.

[Cherry_Sprinkle]

My short hair also suffered from 'extreme mad scientist bedhead' every morning :)

Even having bangs didn't work. Each morning I had to drench my hair to get it re-sculpted into something acceptable. Since I don't blow-dry, this meant drippy soaked hair around my face and neck every morning. As a grouchy morning person, this was not an OK ritual. Longer hair is spritz, finger-comb, and go for me.

Same here. :)

[Toadstool]

Originally Posted by fluffybunny

My short hair also suffered from 'extreme mad scientist bedhead' every morning

Due to recent colouring and further cutting disaster my hair is no longer long enough to achieve extreme mad scientist bedhead, and it is a state I can only look forward to!

[Chanterelle]

Definitely not for me.

When I had a short cut I had to style it after each wash and refresh the cut every 3 or 4 weeks.

Now with long hair I just wash and blowdry and it looks good.

[missjessiecakes]

I am really missing my long hair right about now. I am in an awkward stage. I've been everything from Classic with beautiful fairy tale ends to pixie. Short looks amazing on me as long as I've had a trim. But as soon as it grows an inch or so it looks horrible and no way to fix it. My hair doesn't get easier until I can put it up and I find I dont look truly beautiful again until I hit waist length. Pixies are so much harder when you have curly or wavy hair. If its straight most of the time its wash and go but if its curly or wavy its wash style get wet style again feel like a boy wet style finally happy and go. It being easier all depends on your hair. Personally my long hair was easiest, I trimmed it myself or had my mom do it. Braid at night, bun/pony during the day. I washed every other day just because that was my thing. With my hair now its annoying me and well I am so happy I honestly dont have the money to get it cut because if I did it would be gone in a flash.


In short. Ha ha ha short. It all depends on your def of easier and your hair.

[DecafJane]

Ultra-short was easier for me, but not by much. Plus, at least now I can do something different with my hair. When it was ultra-short, the only thing I could do was put product in, and I did that normally anyway, so it was really no different.

Going to the hairdresser every 4 to 6 weeks isn't easier, either. :p

[MerryKat]

For me anything shorter than armpit length is an absolute pain in the proverbial! Shorter hair equals constantly having to fiddle with it to keep it looking good, loads of products, daily washing.

Now that it is longer it is a breeze:

Morning - scritch, massage, preen & comb - put into do for day (half up for weekends and updo during the week)

Over weekends - I may comb it through during the day if I notice it is getting tangled

Evening - during the week take it down when I get home from work and shake it into place

Bedtime - scritch, massage, preen & comb - put into scrunchie bun to sleep

Washing - I follow NW so the scritching, massaging and preening are what keep it clean and moisturised by the sebum

[Lemur_Catta]

I think it depends on the texture, and how short is short. A friend of mine has a pixie - which looks beautiful on her - and she doesn't have to do anything to style it, because her hair is naturally straight. Even when she had longer hair, she could shake her head, do whatever she wanted and her hair always looked perfect :D
On the other end, if someone has wavy or curly hair it may not be so easy to find a short style that doesn't require styling. Think of a bob, for example. A bob only looks good and tidy on straight hair, so it would require straightening after every wash, or even more often.

[Tap Dancer]

It depends on the cut and/or how much styling the person is willing to do. "Short" is such a broad term.

For me, shorter is easier. My hair is just below my shoulders. I consider it medium length, but most LHC members would say my hair is short. Anyway, I've always been a wash-n-go girl. Less length = less tangles for me.

Now, if someone has a short cut that requires frequent salon visits and lots of styling to make it look good, no, it's not going to be easier than long hair.

[noelgirl]

I view long hair as easier for me simply because I view a bun as fail-safe. As long as my hair is longer than APL, I can get it into a nice-looking bun in a minute or less. Humidity-proof, klutz-proof, and very polished. With short hair, I don't have that as a fallback.

[Alexannee10]

I think people who never had long hair think this is a lot of time and work. I think the opposite. It take less time for me to "do my hair" than when I had a short hairstyle. And now I'm happy about my hair and I'll never go back to short :)

[No excuses]

Never short once again :mad: I remember the period when I was growing form chin lenght to arm as most horrible days of my hair :P It took so much work to make it look decent... Long hair is much easier to style!

[wimitlee]

For me, short hair was fussy and time consuming. It seemed like each hair had to be in place.

I spend so little time styling my hair now that is as APL then I did with shorter hair. And since that has been my experience, I'm keeping it longer.

[Pumpkin]

I think that short hair is more work. I know if was for me. I have saved a ton of money by not getting my hair cut into a pixie every 4 weeks, not shampooing a bunch to get the product out...oh the money spent on product!!! UGH!

Now, I just put my hair up and go. Much easier for me.

[morguebabe]

yeah my hair is to my thighs and I wash and go, sometimes skipping brushing/combing.

[justme]

Very short (1-2" and shaved in back) was super easy for me. From there to about bs was very difficult. BS to tailbone was easy. Tailbone to classic was a little harder, and classic to knee was harder yet, but still easier than above bs.

[friskybiznus]

I have wavy and rather thick hair. It looks OK in a short cut, but O! the maintenence! Daily washing, blow drying, flat ironing --- and praying it's not too humid outside --- not worth the trouble. For me, long is much easier.

[nowxisxforever]

My long hair is "wash & go". It took more time when I was younger and it was shorter, but I generally neglected it when it was shorter because I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it.

[Pixna]

For me, short hair is substantially more work than long hair. I need product, I need frequent cuts to maintain it, and I need to spend time at least once a day (but usually more often) "fixing" and styling it. Long hair is simple -- comb and go. What could be better? Of course, if someone has the features and "right" hair for a short style, and the money and time to spend on keeping it looking nice (and they don't mind paying someone to trim and/or shape it at least once a month), I suppose it could be relatively easy to care for. But with my hair type, it definitely isn't easier than long hair!!

[longhairedfairy]

For me, long hair is pretty much wash and go. Short hair would be such a hassle. I don't like having hair in my face and long hair can be tied back. The short hairs that escape are the ones that bother me. If I had that all over my head I think it would drive me nuts. Short hair has to be professionally cut every little while and is more likely to need styling. That's a lot of money (not to mention time) for the salon bills and the styling products and tools. That said, everyone is different and if you're willing to spend the money and time then you should wear it how you like.

[Bene]

For me, short hair was a pain in the ass. By my standards, short hair is the length that spans bald to shoulder, and the whole time my hair was "short", I had to blow dry it and comb it and pin it back and make sure it wasn't all over the place.


If I tried to blow dry my hair now, it would take me 3 times as long to do it, but since it's longer, I don't need to. I just damp bun and go. I always laugh when I see comments from people who are critical of longer than BSL hair. They make it sound like it requires hours of effort and manpower just to make it look decent. They imply it's a sort of vanity or foolishness. I find usually, they're bald bitter miserable types who torture their own hair into being short.


I've lived in short hair land long enough. I have no plans to visit ever again.

[Radulfr]

No, short hair bloiws around and gets tangly, always needs combing. I hated my hair short when I couldn't pull it back.

[Renbirde]

I had short hair and decided it was* low maintenance. It became long hair. 1+1= ?


*read had better be, or else

[Bunnyhare]

i have had both and short hair is ABSOLUTELY more work for my head...like others have said, it requires wash,lots of product,style and heat everyday! there is no bunning, third day updos it is alot more expensive and lots more work AND less versatile! I am a long hair for life-er!!
I really love you all!

[invisiblebabe]

The last time my hair was even shoulder length, I was 5. :) So I have no idea! I think it was pretty easy then, though, at least I don't remember my mom having any problems helping me with it. Haha.

[Xandergrammy]

Short hair is way more work for me. Daily washings, lots of gel or mousse, blowdrying. It took alot of time. And the frequent trims were expensive. Long hair is much easier for me.

[daydreamer]

Short hair was far more work for me, as well. I'd call long hair "wash and go" in my case. I used to blow-dry and curl my hair with a big fat curling iron to get a bend in it when it was short, every single day. Plus you have to keep up with trims.

[Flynn]

Short hair was far more work for me, as well. I'd call long hair "wash and go" in my case. I used to blow-dry and curl my hair with a big fat curling iron to get a bend in it when it was short, every single day. Plus you have to keep up with trims.

Wheras my short hair was just "... and go." I washed it about as frequently as I do now, when I did wash it, I could dry it completely in seconds with a towel, rather than hours and hours for long hair.

The only problem I had was the cost of going to the hairdresser's for maintenance.

[Toadstool]

Wheras my short hair was just "... and go." I washed it about as frequently as I do now, when I did wash it, I could dry it completely in seconds with a towel, rather than hours and hours for long hair.

The only problem I had was the cost of going to the hairdresser's for maintenance.

Yes mine's the same. I wash it in the shower every morning by choice, not because I need to, and it's way too short to blow dry, or curl, or straighten. And I don't need product, I just rub some coconut oil on it after washing to slick it down a bit.
But my hair has never been super long or even APL. So if it were really long I might find it easier in the sense I can't stand having hair in my face either as some have said. But having very little hair achieves this goal also!
Yes it costs to have it trimmed but only £10 in the salon or £5 if a mobile hairdresser does it.
Having super thick hair I always found washing it when it had any length a real pain,due to the time taken to rinse it. It would make my arms ache even at shoulder length. And take quite a few hours to dry.
I may well grow it out again but not because it would be easier.:)

[WaimeaWahine]

Bald was easy because a regular bar of soap was enough. Dry head and put on skull cap for warmth.

I had the hairstyle Demi Moore wore in Ghost for ages and it took less than 2 minutes to dry. A little pomade maybe and you're good to go. I was taught to cut hair so salon visits were rare.

With longer hair... ugh. Braiding is time consuming and cumbersome to me and buns and ponys have caused tension hair loss. And I hate having hair in my face. So it's always back or up and that's not versatile for me. At least with the Demi cut I could spike it up or smooth it back. :o

[Dreams_in_Pink]

well, i have coarse hair too and cutting my hair to an angled short bob was the biggest hair mistake of my life.

Long hair, especially waist-length and longer, looks impressive even if it's frizzy. Nuff said.

[Jennie80]

I had short hair when I was 18 and it`s awful. If U wake up in a hurry then U have fix the hair for a looong time. Now when I´m late I just brush it and braid it..Finisht

[dukkelisa]

I have fine and straight hair. For me, very short or very long work best for ease of care. However my hair grows fast and frequent haircuts are necessary, so in the end long hair is easier AND cheaper. When very short, I liked that I could wash it and with a bit of gel, could run my hands through it and have a bit of style. But it doesn't compare to the infinite variety I can do with buns, twists, tails, wraps, and braids. I can have my hair in a braid or bun in minutes without styling goop. My vote would always be for long hair!

[jlpearce]

My hair was about the same level of difficulty. Then, I washed, put some gel in it and left, now I wash, put it in a ponytail and leave! :)

On the other hand, the frequent trims I had to get to maintain the style were both annoying and expensive.

[cleanbug]

for me, its about the same (level of work) having short or long hair. when my hair is short, the showering is soooo much quicker. i would put a dollop of gel in my hair, smush it around, dry it, style it & then be ready to walk out the door.
with short hair, you do have to maintain haircuts once a month (which is annoying) and if you go swimming or something, i hated always feeling like i had to pack a hairdryer, gel & hairspray or else someone might see me looking a fright.

with long hair (only shoulder length now but have had it mid back before) the showering routine is much longer but once that is done & the hair is combed out, i just let it air dry & do NOTHING with it.

short hair: short washes/long time styling
long hair: long washes/short time styling

time conclusion: takes the same time in the end
cost conclusion: long hair less expensive because can go longer between washes & no monthly haircut.
just my 2 cents.

[MAO]

Absolutely NOT. At least not with my wacky hair. I always have weird fluffed up/matted pieces when I wake up in the morning. If I wet it and try to scrunch it back to its former glory all I get is frizz. So I usually pull as much back into a pony as possible and tuck the strays back:rolleyes: I can't WAIT for my hair to get past my shoulders again!!

[missmagoo]

Short hair, for me, is more work than long hair. I always had to "do" my hair when it was short, and like a pp mentioned, when you go swimming or something you pretty much look like a wreck until you can 'do' your hair again.

Also, I tend to wear my hair up more often than down. With longer hair, you can kind of dress up even just a ponytail, but with short hair, hair up just looks like you didn't have time to do it.

I do think the difference is between having super-short pixie-cut hair, which probably is much less work than long hair, and short, ear or chin length hair, which to me is absolutely more work.

[Hairtada]

Short hair is an enormous amount of work for me. I have to wash it and curl it daily when short and use lots of hair condiments . Even then the slightest amount of moisture in the air and it becomes an instant Brillo pad on my head. Long hair I can put up when it gets unruly or tie it back . I can air dry it and get waves and curls that do not happen with short hair. It is much more wash and wear for me with my crazy hair type than short hair.

[Nyghtingale]

For me, I found short hair to be alot more work. I did love my pixie, but the upkeep was a pain.

[julya]

Short hair is much less time and effort for me. Pixie was an easy style to maintain, I washed or wet it whenever I showered. A bottle of shampoo would last a year for me, and I never used any other products. And I would often trim it myself.

I would say my hair started to be significantly more work around bsl, because of tangles. I do love my long hair, and think it is worth it!

[jocelyn anne]

Having a short hair is tricky. When I had to cut my hair once, I gave too much time on styling it so I will not look like a "boy"

[Groovy Granny]

IMHO...no!

I have had long hair a few times in my longlife....now it is the longest ever (hip)

When I had it short it needed daily shampoos and styling,regular salon visits, as well as damaging heat and products.

Unless you have a wash 'n go pixie...it is work and money.'

I will stay a long hair thank you :wink:

[lapis_lazuli]

I don't think so... the constant upkeep would drive me crazy!

[khryz]

For years I did not keep my hair long because I felt that it was too troublesome. At chin length, I could hop into the shower, wash my hair, get out and be on my way to school/work. With long hair, I couldn't wash my hair in the morning cause it'd take too long to dry and I hate using the blowdryer. At night, my mother would discourage me from washing my hair, or sleeping with damp hair.

As I got closer to shoulder length, I had to start styling my ends before I stepped out of the house, and even tying it up in a ponytail meant I needed to run through, God forbid I ever do that again, a fine-toothed comb through my hair to smoothen things out and rid bumps.

Well, that was before I realized there isn't a need to wash my hair everyday, and of course joining LHC.

Now that I'm growing my hair out, I care less about styling my hair. Maybe I've grown sensible enough to not give a hoot about looking good for other people. And now that I'm swearing off regular 4-6 week "trims," bleach/dye, the blowdryer, and styling products, I do feel that having my chin length hair now is a lot more convenient than long hair. BUT that's not stopping me from wanting to grow my hair long.

I'm looking forward to the days when I no longer have to wash as often, be able to put my hair up and out of the way when it gets too warm, and be able to brush my long shiny healthier hair like a mermaid sitting on a rock.

[HairFaerie]

I've had both really short and also waist length hair in my lifetime along with everything in between. I would say for me, really short and anything past APL was easiest. Those in between stages were horrible for me! When I start to grow out a pixie, I usually cave at around shoulder and cut to pixie again because that in between stage just really frustrates me. I feel like there is no style and it's just hanging there mocking me! If I could just have patience and wait for it to grow past APL, I know it would be easy and nice looking again. Hopefully this time I can do it!

[yahirwaO.o]

I found so hard to keep my short hair looking good and the MAINTAINCE (Damn!). Its pretty common for a boy to go to barbers pretty much every month or every two. My hair grew insanely fast like grass that I had to in a month two times!!! UGH. That's why I much prefer long hair, it can take as little as 5 min putting it in a bun and having my style fairly great without so much effort.

[Kake]

I think it depends on hair type. My hair takes a lot of work short. I've not had it properly long before, so I'm not sure how it will be. Being able to put it up properly is great, but I'd love a bit more weight so I can easily wear it down.

But I think there are different hair types that work with long or short hair. The lovely swishy, shiny types. But that's so far away from what I've got, I could be wrong.

[Daydreamer.]

I think short hair is easy to care for. It only gets difficult when you decide to grow it out. The "awkward lengths" can make it very hard to work with.

[Garnetgem]

I lived with short hair for a few years and no it was not easier it was so much work and hassle,the extra washes it needed just to make it look decent then the extra trims to keep it looking tidy all the gels and sprays to make it sit still and most of the time it didn't work so always looked wind swept,it was just so much work so i grew it very long and the funny thing is the longer it gets the easier it is to care for it,now its wash every week to 10 days and brush twice a day,it always looks tidy and of course you can create all kinds of styles by the way you wear it so much more choice and all without a salon visit!

[Loveisaverb]

I find pixie length hair much easier than long hair, but when it gets to becoming more longer and reaching chin length is when it starts to get hard. You can't really put it up and bed head is so much harder to deal with. With long hair you can put it up and forget about it. With shorter hair its kinda harder.

[Tabitha]

I had my hair past waist for a long time, and I now have it in a layered cut just grazing my shoulders. I find it far easier to care for and it's way more flattering to my features worn "down". I can wear it in a low pony or a French twist if I want the "up" look. I am very happy for having cut.

[browneyedsusan]

Define "easy".

I had a pixie for 15+ years and loved it, but my hair is straight. I woke up, wet it down, combed it into place, and it dried--looking good-- by the time I got dressed and my face fixed--under 5 minutes. The downside is the maintenance and cost. I was at the hairdresser every 4 or 5 weeks for a haircut. That was a hassle and got expensive. I could go out in the wind and rain, and finger comb it back into place. I never worried about damage, colored every few weeks, and it never tangled or got stuck in my lipgloss.

Now my hair is WL+. Detanging is harder. It takes longer to dry. It gets in the way and caught on things--unless I wear it up = a functional pixie.

IMHO, long hair is way more fun, because I can style it a million different ways--with the pixie, it looked exactly the same. Every day. Until I got a different haircut. But, you asked about ease, not fun. :)

[Miss P]

I think it varies from person to person depending on their hair type and lifestyle...that said short hair was a mistake for me since it would fluff up and was constantly gettiing in my eyes and my nose and my mouth every time there was the slightest breeze. I also miss braiding my hair :(

[Agnes Hannah]

When i had a pixie or bob, I had to wash it every day or I would have awful hair cleavage which looked nasty. The ends were damaged through constant blowfrying and colouring. I had a bleach streak in the fringe. It was HIGH MAINTENANCE!!!!! And then there was the regular trims, which cost an arm and a leg!
Now it is long, I wash it twice weekly, it dries itself. I put it up in a sleep braid and often just clip that up the next day if I'm feeling lazy. Therefore, I comb less and brush very very rarely, I can't remember the last time I did brush it. For me LOW MAINTENANCE. Using pretty hair toys is a bonus not a chore, and practicing different buns etc means I'm not tied to one style. I trim myself so that is free. For me long hair= less time consuming, easier to look after and cheaper!

[gregh]

Short hair is easier on the whole I think. The down side is getting it cut all the time and if it isn't real short then having to add some gel etc. Long hair is not nearly as much work as I imagined, but I do have to comb it and washing/waiting of fit to dry takes significantly longer. It's definitely worth a little extra effort. And I agree with the others who said that the in between lengths are the most work.

[Brunettebybirth]

Short hair is easier on the whole I think. The down side is getting it cut all the time and if it isn't real short then having to add some gel etc. Long hair is not nearly as much work as I imagined, but I do have to comb it and washing/waiting of fit to dry takes significantly longer. It's definitely worth a little extra effort. And I agree with the others who said that the in between lengths are the most work.

^^my thoughts too.

[Petulia]

I really didn't enjoy having short hair because I couldn't braid it anymore :(

[lapushka]

Pixie? 3 pretty heavy cowlicks, and having to wash 3 times a week. Waking up with hair sticking out all over the place and having to restyle. No good.
Bob? Wash 2 to 3 times a week and having to style with a hot styler to curl it under every time.
It only got better with APL, then BSL. At BSL, I could stretch washes to 2 times a week without being a greaseball.
After BSL, I was slowly able to stretch washes to a week. All that needs to happen is to throw it up in a LWB, takes 15 sec. and that's it. It got better and better with length but passing BSL was a chore. I had so many LHC experiments (with henna, and dye and bleach), that I had to have it cut back to chin twice!

I'm glad I am now classic (layered), and loving every minute of it. Short is not for me! Too much upkeep. Now all that needs to happen is to "pamper" myself once a week with a wash day, the rest is just bunning it every day. A matter of seconds.

[DeadlyUnicorn]

I think the easiest short hair style I had was a buzz cut.. Other styles past that until about somewhere between shoulder length and bra strap length were just awful. Not to mention the bangs I had. If I slept on my hair weirdly I would wake up with it looking odd, that doesn't happen with my long hair.. I don't feel the need to heat style my hair or use other products like hairspray (I've never been good at that type of styling...) with my long hair either.. It's just much easier for me to keep it long :p To me, it's easier to throw some oil on the length of my hair and put it up than to try and get all the short hair on my head looking just right..

[Belle Paix]

No, definitely not. My short hair was fun, but much more maintenance than my currently longer hair.

[SwanFeathers]

NO! Short hair is high maintenance! The constant styling and trimming + products takes a tremendous amount of time and money.

[meteor]

Well, I find shorter hair more high-maintenance for any purpose other than sports.
For one, I had to wash my hair a lot more frequently when it was short. Otherwise, it wouldn't take the shape I wanted (it was actually curly and poofy when it was short). And of course, frequent cuts to maintain a style were a necessity...!

Longer hair can be high-maintenance if one can't or doesn't know how to bun it or braid it or otherwise contain in. And it's a bit more challenging than shorter hair from the point of view of some active sports, as well as detangling and washing/drying times and it isn't as forgiving to damaging chemical treatments or heat styling. But the awesome thing about longer hair is that it seems to require no styling (unless you want to manipulate the texture). It's definitely a personal thing though and a lot depends on your habits and expectations for haircare: what may seem like a challenging and high-maintenance routine to some can be completely normal and par for the course to others. ;)

[Jo Ann]

In my case, shorter hair is a nightmare! http://illiweb.com/fa/i/smiles/icon_eek.gif

Think This Guy:

https://ragrobyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/funny_hair-1.jpg

[longmane]

I find short hair frustrating to deal with, especially lengths that are too short to be tied back.
Some of the reasons why I find short hair frustrating to deal with
1) It is high maintenance as it needs to be styled everyday
2) it is not easy to "hide it" on a bad hair day
3) an uneven haircut is more noticeable
4) Bangs are awful to deal with during the growing out phase when they start to touch my eyelashes but are too short to be pulled back comfortably
5) it keeps touching my face

[SandyBottom]

No! The shortest I've had was shoulder/armpit and I HATED it! It was always in my face because it wouldn't stay pushed behind my shoulders, got greasy easily from touching it more, and I didn't feel like "me" at all since I had never had short hair. It also made me break out on my face. It would bunch up at the nape and make me hot whereas when it was long and loose it just hung straight past that area and create a pocket of air which kept me cool. And the nape knots...ugh! Long hair is way easier for me. The one positive of that length was that was how I discovered my hair had curl potential. It had a really nice curl to it when wet and would dry straight. That was something new to me.

[Lady Winchester]

Absolutely not! It's nothing but a nuisance if you have natural curl. When I was growing it back from chemo, I had to use mousse all of the time. I was glad when it finally reached shoulder length so I could ditch the mousse (I gave it to my mom to use up). Then, there's the dreaded "poodle dog" look if it doesn't have enough length to spiral, so never again! And screw those "age appropriate" hairstyles! Looking at my last license picture blown up, I look older with a Bart Simpson style hairstyle, so I'm keeping my hair long no matter how old I get. I would rather learn a new way to style my hair than chop it off to a length I'll regret and get those annoying compliments of how "cute" I look with short hair. I don't care how "cute" it may look, it won't be long before I get tired of it and grow it back out again because I can't style it the way I usually do (even a ponytail doesn't stay in as well as it does when it's longer). My grandmother's mother had long hair until the day she died, and she lived until she was 97. It was thinner and she usually wore it up, but never cut it.

[luxurioushair]

No short is not easier. It's easier to just throw your hair into some hairstyle when it's long

everyone have a nice day

[Bat]

It depends really on what your definition of short is, if you are talking buzz with clipper guards then yes it's much easier, buzzing once a month or whatever it's done and takes 2 minutes to dry when you wash But if you are talking any longer than ear length then yes it can be more annoying to tame and defies gravity.
I'm stuck In this never ending buzz cycle for a reason , the sticking up stage is a nightmare 😫

[cadaverinna]

I'm late to this but yeah, it's what Bat and longmane said. If its a buzzcut or you wear week-long styles like fingerwaves, sure, easier, but everything else needs constant styling(wouldn't say care) if you don't like your hair exactly as it is naturally. Also, bed head and bad hair days... Yeah, you're washing it.

Shortest I had was an ear-length bob w a shaved nape and the first month after I cut it it was already pretty much another hairstyle... It needs constant maintenance, which can't be DIY if it's a straight bob or a pixie. Can't say much about first hand experience w care itself back then bc my hair was ruined by bleaching and I was obsessively trying to keep it from tearing apart and melting away, but the styling part was awful. Heat-free methods wouldn't work, heat tools and/or a ton of styling products are a must.

I find long hair much easier on me. There's a sweet spot between shoulder and BSL where I can style it when I want and I can still put it up when I don't want to deal w it. BSL down I don't feel the need to do anything besides the basic and it doesn't get kinks if I sleep w it in a loose rope braid. I might loose a few minutes of detangling or when I use heat tools but that's it, doesn't bother me on a day to day basis.

[Jovana]

No. I had to style it twice a day, I couldn't do ponytails or buns and used to touch my face and neck annoying me full-time. Was the worst phase of my life.

[Dark40]

I agree with the rest that short hair is more work than long hair. My hair is long and all I do with it is wash and go. I'll slap a couple of products on it to help my wavy/curly hair to look smoother, and that's it.

[ArienEllariel]

Unless you're doing wash and go with a more traditional men's cut, I can't imagine it being "easier". I guess if you're talking about heat styling long hair it takes a lot longer but since that's not how I style my hair barely ever, long hair for me is way easier. I don't even really have to bother with regular haircuts like people trying to maintain a shorter style would. Braiding and going is so incredibly easy and convenient. I can't imagine it being easier than that.

[~MoonChild~]

It's easier to wash and dry! Lol
I found I had to use more heat on my short hair to get it to cooperate, so it was definitely not low maintenance.

[fairy_hair]

I used to think shorter hair was easier when I cut it, but soon realised it's way easier to maintain and style my long hair than shorter hair. When my hair was near shoulder length, it always had to look acceptable down, and had to brush it more through the day as it was down, it was harder to secure into any kind of bun or plait or any style really. With waist length+, it takes about a minute or two to secure into a bun with a claw clip and forget about, and these days I use a satin headband to keep my fine front hairs back. Also trimming is way easier, as with long hair, it's not necessary to even trim it very often, and when I do I can reach to cut the ends myself and again, it takes about 5 minutes or less. People often think long hair takes a lot of time and effort, I would say the longest thing is waiting for it to grow, and waiting for it to dry after washing (only every few days or even less often). No styling products or special hair accessories needed. Bedhead is dealt with using the headband and bun or braid. Really very easy for straight hair. I can imagine very curly hair could be hard because of the tangles is all I can think of. But myself, leaving it to grow in my bun while I get on with other things in life couldn't be easier to manage, and then I get a treat at the beginning and end of the day when I see the growth!

[Glitch]

It's definitely not easier for me! My waves are more unpredictable the shorter the overall length is, especially as my fine hair is on the lighter side in weight. I can't really hide bad hair days either with not much hair if most of it is cut off :p With long hair, I can throw even the worst hair days right into a super cute bun and you wouldn't even know it! Even if I wear it down, it's still easy to mask any "unruliness" in for example a wavy style, a side braid, a bobby pin, on and on! I won't ever be going back to short hair for so many reasons, this included.

[embee]

Wow, I've not seen you around in quite a while, Glitch - I hope you're doing ok. :)

[stardust lady]

Here was my impression at each length:

Buzzed: easy, obviously.
Pixie: daily styling products and heat tools, annoying but fun.
Long pixie to bob: absolute worst length ever - I was stuck wearing a poofy helmet at all times and had to use tons of products, clips, etc.
Shoulder length bob: finally starts getting easy again as you can tie it back.
APL: starting to get annoying again because it's long enough to be heavy and hot and in the way, but too short to bun and braid. Living that jumbo hair clip life 24/7/365.

I think easiest will probably be waist length, as it's not too long and difficult to wash, but long enough to style in a variety of ways.

[longmane]

Here was my impression at each length:

Buzzed: easy, obviously.
Pixie: daily styling products and heat tools, annoying but fun.
Long pixie to bob: absolute worst length ever - I was stuck wearing a poofy helmet at all times and had to use tons of products, clips, etc.
Shoulder length bob: finally starts getting easy again as you can tie it back.
APL: starting to get annoying again because it's long enough to be heavy and hot and in the way, but too short to bun and braid. Living that jumbo hair clip life 24/7/365.

I think easiest will probably be waist length, as it's not too long and difficult to wash, but long enough to style in a variety of ways.


Just curious what braiding styles do you find hard to achieve at APL? I am able to do french braids at SL. But I agree the braiding options are limited at this length.

[stardust lady]

Just curious what braiding styles do you find hard to achieve at APL? I am able to do french braids at SL. But I agree the braiding options are limited at this length.

I didn't think about this when posting, but I suppose the main issue is heavy layering. All the layers in the front fall out of the braid in the back and it looks silly. I realized today that I can do 2 braids on each side though, and everything stays secure! :)

[pumpkinsage]

I had short hair for many years and it was more of a pain for me than it was easy and wash and go. I have curly hair so styling is super important. When my hair is pixie short, I have more waves than curls but my hair is very voluminous and fluffy so product is a need. I thought having short hair was more troublesome than long hair. My hair now is slightly longer than shoulder length and all I need to do is put it up in a claw clip and a few bobby pins but when I had shorter hair, I had to style it every day so it looked nice because I couldn't simply put it up and back. I often wore head scarves to cover my ugly hair days which were often. Wavy curls never sit right.. for me at least.

[angel-baby]

I had chin length hair in 2018 and 2019. It wasn't easier at all! If my BSL hair is misbehaving I can just throw it in a braid or claw clip. With short hair I had to either just deal with it being weird, or completely wash and re-style it.

[TatsuOni]

Buzz cut was easy and comfy, but trimming it so often? No thanks! Every other lenght until it's "really" long. No thanks! It was just in the way and hard to keep in any updo. I find classic and longer to be the easiest lengths for me.

[cackle]

I had just-above-shoulder-length hair a handful of years ago, and while it didn't do things like...get stuck in doors...it did fuzz up dramatically and needed the usual cutting and styling that I just wasn't into doing. Thanks the gods for long hair and hair sticks!

[dancedance]

Personally I do find short hair to be much easier than long. Easier to wash, brush, and dry, which is the majority of the work I have to put into my hair. I find this to be true for pixies up through all the short lengths, in my experience as long as I get a pixie cut that suits me and my natural hair texture then it looks good when I wake up without much or any styling.

There's also virtually no damage to worry about at short lengths, so I don't have to bother with any maintenance related to hair health - no need for hair masks, stretching washes (which I find super uncomfortable and bad for my scalp, necessitating additional scalp care), or protective styling. I can even wear it down when I sleep at short lengths.

I do think shoulder length hair is the easiest, because shorter than that requires semi regular trips to the salon to keep the cut looking good. Once I get to shoulder I can take ages between cuts.

[baanoo]

What’s your definition of easy? What’s your hair’s personality? I know a woman who swears she has never had a bad hair day - she has MC/iii 1C hair and tbh I believe it! For her, a shorter cut is the ultimate wash and go so semi-regular trims are no big deal. For me, a shorter cut requires not only the semi-regular trims but also a lot more work to get it to consistently look good as the floof/wave pattern is bananas when it’s shorter. This is yet another prime example of YMMV/you do you, baby.

[SilverArrow94]

As someone who went from a pixie cut to (currently) waist length hair no, I don't think it's easier to have short hair (for me, at least). With long hair, my routine is wash and go (I let it air-dry) while when my hair was short, I did find I needed to style it with hot tools a bit otherwise the hair at the back would stick up in all directions (not a pretty look and quite time-consuming if you're in a rush). Also, with longer hair, I can just put it up and it's out of my face/neck when needed. Longer hair also gives me more styling options (which I enjoy). As for products, nothing much has changed: different routine yes but same amount of bottles lining up on my bathroom shelf! I have to admit that trips to the hairdresser's are more expensive now but when my hair was short I had to go way more often; cost-wise it's well-balanced (in my country). The only real advantage for me about short hair was how much easier it was to properly apply products directly onto my scalp and massage them in for maximum effect. Overall, it all comes down to personal preference, habits, hair type and routine, I believe :)

[Kat]

Personally I do find short hair to be much easier than long. Easier to wash, brush, and dry, which is the majority of the work I have to put into my hair. I find this to be true for pixies up through all the short lengths, in my experience as long as I get a pixie cut that suits me and my natural hair texture then it looks good when I wake up without much or any styling.

There's also virtually no damage to worry about at short lengths, so I don't have to bother with any maintenance related to hair health - no need for hair masks, stretching washes (which I find super uncomfortable and bad for my scalp, necessitating additional scalp care), or protective styling. I can even wear it down when I sleep at short lengths.

I do think shoulder length hair is the easiest, because shorter than that requires semi regular trips to the salon to keep the cut looking good. Once I get to shoulder I can take ages between cuts.


What’s your definition of easy? What’s your hair’s personality? I know a woman who swears she has never had a bad hair day - she has MC/iii 1C hair and tbh I believe it! For her, a shorter cut is the ultimate wash and go so semi-regular trims are no big deal. For me, a shorter cut requires not only the semi-regular trims but also a lot more work to get it to consistently look good as the floof/wave pattern is bananas when it’s shorter. This is yet another prime example of YMMV/you do you, baby.

Exactly. I find shorter hair easier IF I don't care what it looks like. I know I've said before that my hair was between chin and shoulder length from about 4th grade up through high school. It would look nice if I'd wash it, blow-dry it, and make sure to brush the ends so they turned under. But I wasn't going to do that every morning, so my hair looked flat, stringy, and tended to want to flip outward at the ends. Also easier IF it doesn't get in my face/way (since with short hair you can't just pull it back into a braid or ponytail, and I was never a big fan of headbands or of creating some elaborate bobby-pin contraption all over my head to pin all the little bits back). If I could put my hair into, like, a Dorothy-Hamill-or-shorter cut, it would absolutely be easier, especially if it didn't matter to me what it looked like so I didn't have to carefully style it.

(I mean, my hair is determined to look crappy when long as well, but at least I can get it out of my way and it's not quite so bad.)

[dancedance]

Yeah it definitely depends on hair texture. My hair is flatter and more limp at longer lengths, so it also requires more work to look good then. At shoulder in particular, it has a lot more body just because I can easily run my fingers through it to add some lift throughout the day without creating tangles. I can also do a peacock twist or french twist for a quick updo to get it out of my face.

Braids are sadly a no until APL and even then they look a bit ridiculous for how short they are. But I love a french twist and I find it looks much better on me at short lengths than whatever I can finagle into a twist-like shape at longer lengths.

[sarana]

When I cut a pixie I didn't style or even brush it for like 2 years so yeah, it was easier.

[lapushka]

I have almost BSL right now (top of strap). And well, I had classic for a couple of years. Reached it first September 2015, cut it back to hip November 2016, which I so much regretted. Grew back March 2018 (it took that long). Then cut back to BSL end of December 2022. My mom had broken her foot end of November, was my main caregiver (next to dad, but you know women and intimate stuff) and so it was so rough on me to take my hair care on board. We tried for about a month, but... It just had to go.

Also, I noticed breakage from constant (tight, which I thought wasn't tight) bunning, 24/7 except on wash day. I have to say, at the moment, these circumstances. It is easier. I can "play" with my texture much more at this length and I discovered this "new" layered cut. Piggies to the side of the head, cut a bit off. Then Feyes, straight cut in back to even out the back.

Yeah, easier. Mom was in a non weight bearing cast for 10 days, and boy, I barely got to washing myself (which she helps me with). Honest to God truth. Thank God that did only last 10 days. She could not walk with crutches (kept losing her balance and that's no good). Anyway weight bearing cast for 6 weeks. Then a (ski boot kind of) brace, up to the knee, for months. It took 6 months to heal. Now she is back to (almost) fully functioning. She can clean. She can cook. She can help me.

And *STILL* I want to not grow my hair back out. Point being? Well, IDK, I have told myself I am "waiting" on the breakage to catch up (and when washing you can totally feel to where the thickness goes and where it's not). But really? I think I like this... a lot! I wear it up in a loose peacock twist and the waves kind of sprout out the top. It's so nice not to have that strict librarian lady style / ballerina style, which suited me, not gonna lie, but my hair really suffered for it.

Is it easier? Yes. Yes. And... yes! But I'm sticking to the fact that you have to have a style in mind. I mean I have layers. Not just all one-length, I couldn't deal with that at all. I can wear it down, and that's priceless. I have front-facing pics in my album (private, but if you're a long-time member here, I'll say yes to you). It's so nice. I'm currently loving it.

Would I have cut back if my mom hadn't broken her foot? Nope. I would have let the breakage catch up. But you know. Life!

[barnet_fair]

This thread is a mystery to me. Why would short hair "need" styling? What's going to happen if you don't? It's not going to get damaged. Short hair is certainly easier than long hair for me, because it's less at risk of getting caught in things, tangled, damaged, and dry.

I have yet to see a photo of short hair that hasn't been "styled" and looks somehow unacceptable for polite society. This is a challenge...

[stardust lady]

This thread is a mystery to me. Why would short hair "need" styling? What's going to happen if you don't? It's not going to get damaged. Short hair is certainly easier than long hair for me, because it's less at risk of getting caught in things, tangled, damaged, and dry.

I have yet to see a photo of short hair that hasn't been "styled" and looks somehow unacceptable for polite society. This is a challenge...

When I had a short undercut pixie, it sorta looked like this without products and heat: https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SRS-hair-prior-to-styling-900x601.jpg
https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Disconnected-undercut-SRS-from-the-back-900x601.jpg

I think most people don't care enough about what our hair looks like to be unacceptable for polite society, in my opinion, but it was a matter of self respect, lol.

[embee]

For me the issues were trimming and oiliness. My hair is straight as a pin so any change in length or misplaced parting really showed and looked scruffy. Plus, my hair was greasy all the darn time. I washed my bangs morning noon and night to keep them from making zits on my face. It was just a Big Pain. And all those expensive trims to cut off any straggly bits. I didn't have that kind of money and was no longer a little kid so appearance mattered. Probably I was the only one who cared, but when I look in a mirror I want to be able to smile, at least a little bit!! :D

[Für immer]

This thread is a mystery to me. Why would short hair "need" styling? What's going to happen if you don't? It's not going to get damaged. Short hair is certainly easier than long hair for me, because it's less at risk of getting caught in things, tangled, damaged, and dry.

I have yet to see a photo of short hair that hasn't been "styled" and looks somehow unacceptable for polite society. This is a challenge...

My hair isn't completely straight, so if it's too short, parts of it, like my fringe, would stand straight up if left to its own devices. So, would definitely need to use products fr a shorter hairstyle that I don't with longer hair.
With longer hair, it gets weighed down so I don't need hairspray etc.
Also, with a longer hairstyle you don't need to trim it as often. Now, I don't mind using my scissors every now and then, but once every third week or so? No way. I have no interest in that... :p

[barnet_fair]

When I had a short undercut pixie, it sorta looked like this without products and heat: https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/SRS-hair-prior-to-styling-900x601.jpg
https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Disconnected-undercut-SRS-from-the-back-900x601.jpg

I think most people don't care enough about what our hair looks like to be unacceptable for polite society, in my opinion, but it was a matter of self respect, lol.

I think that's quite cute and doesn't look out of place to me or lacking self respect. Could be cultural. Not sure my teeth would go down well in USA either, heh.


For me the issues were trimming and oiliness. My hair is straight as a pin so any change in length or misplaced parting really showed and looked scruffy. Plus, my hair was greasy all the darn time. I washed my bangs morning noon and night to keep them from making zits on my face. It was just a Big Pain. And all those expensive trims to cut off any straggly bits. I didn't have that kind of money and was no longer a little kid so appearance mattered. Probably I was the only one who cared, but when I look in a mirror I want to be able to smile, at least a little bit!! :D

Ah embee, you have unlocked my childhood memories of very oily hair. My hair was also straight as a pin as a child, and always cut in a Cleopatra bob with a thick fringe. The oiliness was absolutely uncontrollable and has legendarily ruined family photos. Do you still have oily hair? I think my sebum production has slowed down a bit, unless I SMP, which generates an infinite supply! :)


My hair isn't completely straight, so if it's too short, parts of it, like my fringe, would stand straight up if left to its own devices. So, would definitely need to use products fr a shorter hairstyle that I don't with longer hair.
With longer hair, it gets weighed down so I don't need hairspray etc.
Also, with a longer hairstyle you don't need to trim it as often. Now, I don't mind using my scissors every now and then, but once every third week or so? No way. I have no interest in that... :p

That makes sense. I wonder if it's possible to cut wavy/curly hair in a clever way that avoids the problem of sticking-up strands. You'd still need to trim it regularly though, since I'm assuming the Cleopatra bob approach is out.

[Für immer]

That makes sense. I wonder if it's possible to cut wavy/curly hair in a clever way that avoids the problem of sticking-up strands. You'd still need to trim it regularly though, since I'm assuming the Cleopatra bob approach is out.

Yeah, just googled the cleopatra bob, and the fringe is too short.
Would need to reach my chin otherwise I'd have to use mousse or gel for it to stay down.
Definitely a style that doesn't work or look good on me.

[Kat]

This thread is a mystery to me. Why would short hair "need" styling? What's going to happen if you don't? It's not going to get damaged. Short hair is certainly easier than long hair for me, because it's less at risk of getting caught in things, tangled, damaged, and dry.

I have yet to see a photo of short hair that hasn't been "styled" and looks somehow unacceptable for polite society. This is a challenge...

Well, there's a difference (IMO) between "unacceptable for polite society" and "unattractive." As I said, when my hair was shorter, if I didn't blow-dry and style it carefully, it looked flat, thin, stringy, the ends flipped up in a way I didn't like, etc. Was it "unacceptable"? No-- to me "unacceptable for polite society" would be the equivalent of going out naked, wearing a bikini to a funeral, wearing a t-shirt with something really offensive on it, etc. I suppose "unacceptable for polite society" when it comes to hair for me would be "obviously super-dirty or visibly crawling with lice or something." So, was my short hair unacceptable? Nope. Did it look like crap, though? Yup. There is (IMO) a loooooong spectrum between "unacceptable" and "attractive," and just because your hair's appearance might not have people backing away as far as possible, doesn't mean that's what you want to look like. Like I said, that's why I grew it out... if my hair was going to hang there limply and flatly, I figured I'd grow it long so it was *supposed* to hang there limply (and also so I could pull it back and out of my way when I got sick of the "hanging there limply" look).



My hair isn't completely straight, so if it's too short, parts of it, like my fringe, would stand straight up if left to its own devices.

There's that, too. Somehow at times I'd get bits of hair that would get caught on the side-arms of my glasses (like, the front part that attaches to the rest of the frames) and stick straight forward. My mom used to make fun of my "tusks." (A hint: I don't recommend making fun of the appearance of young adolescent females {or probably anyone, for that matter}, even if you think it's funny and harmless.)

[mochichichi]

I much prefer my hair long. When it was short it would catch on my glasses, get into anything and everything that I leaned over to do, too short to put up, but would get crazy in the wind. It would lay funny or get in my face if I didn't style it, and my mom and everyone else that made it their business would criticize me for being unkempt if I didn't have time to brush it and tame any flyaways.

With it long, I just keep it up and none of those are issues. If I'm in a rush, I can bun without detangling and it takes 30 seconds.

I don't want to shave my head, so that seems to be my options lol.

[tuanyiji]

If I didn’t know how to bun my hair up with a stick, waist+ hair would be a nuisance even if it’s always in a ponytail.
I’m glad I found LHC.

[Hairkay]

Keeping my hair very short would take a lot of maintenance and hairdressing visits. Tight curls get charged more to do deal with and my local salons don't do my hair. Since I can't use their products due to allergies it's best to avoid salons as much as possible. I have it long enough to plait/braid which I can manage to do easily myself.

[Für immer]

There's that, too. Somehow at times I'd get bits of hair that would get caught on the side-arms of my glasses (like, the front part that attaches to the rest of the frames) and stick straight forward. My mom used to make fun of my "tusks." (A hint: I don't recommend making fun of the appearance of young adolescent females {or probably anyone, for that matter}, even if you think it's funny and harmless.)


Yes, I've had that problem with my glasses every now and then.
Twice this last week alone. :(


Ah, am sorry to hear that about your mother saying such things.
Agree with you, and I think other people's appearances shouldn’t be up for discussion because you never know how the other person will take it.
What may be not offensive/mean by intention could for all you know ruin someone else's day. So not worth it.

[embee]

Ah embee, you have unlocked my childhood memories of very oily hair. My hair was also straight as a pin as a child, and always cut in a Cleopatra bob with a thick fringe. The oiliness was absolutely uncontrollable and has legendarily ruined family photos. Do you still have oily hair? I think my sebum production has slowed down a bit, unless I SMP, which generates an infinite supply! :)


Cleopatra bob, Dutch boy, Buster Brown. ;) My oily hair began getting better and better, but it took years. And I quit with the bangs. Went back to them once with no zit troubles, but they were annoying me (caught in glasses frames, and always needed trimming) so I grew them back out again. Now (in old age) my hair is not oily. In fact I do NW/SO - it's been 3 years now I think... :D I do rinse my scalp when I take a shower, just cover the topknot with a plastic bag.

My mother was determined that I'd have curls. Once I was beyond toddler stage and "sausage curls" it was permanent waves.... all at the salon, with a machine. OMGoodness, the stink, the burned hair, horrible. My dad complained of the smell for days after, and I hated it. Tangles, could not comb or brush, just a mess. Check this out:

https://www.gouverneurmuseum.com/permanent-wave-machine

Yikes. I assure you the photos from my youth are shocking, I knew I looked awful, and it showed in my facial expression.

..... why did my mama do this to me?..... Did she think it pretty? Was she blind? I guess that's why I ended up with these bobs, the other was so hideous. But she kept trying....

[foreveryours]

Cleopatra bob, Dutch boy, Buster Brown. ;) My oily hair began getting better and better, but it took years. And I quit with the bangs. Went back to them once with no zit troubles, but they were annoying me (caught in glasses frames, and always needed trimming) so I grew them back out again. Now (in old age) my hair is not oily. In fact I do NW/SO - it's been 3 years now I think... :D I do rinse my scalp when I take a shower, just cover the topknot with a plastic bag.

My mother was determined that I'd have curls. Once I was beyond toddler stage and "sausage curls" it was permanent waves.... all at the salon, with a machine. OMGoodness, the stink, the burned hair, horrible. My dad complained of the smell for days after, and I hated it. Tangles, could not comb or brush, just a mess. Check this out:

https://www.gouverneurmuseum.com/permanent-wave-machine

Yikes. I assure you the photos from my youth are shocking, I knew I looked awful, and it showed in my facial expression.

..... why did my mama do this to me?..... Did she think it pretty? Was she blind? I guess that's why I ended up with these bobs, the other was so hideous. But she kept trying....

That looks like somthing from Death Row! Does it actually plug in?

[embee]

That looks like somthing from Death Row! Does it actually plug in?

Absolutely! The clamps are to go over the curler rods on which the hair is wound. Soaked with horrible something that stinks. Then the electricity heats the metal clamps and cooks the hair into the curl pattern. It always seemed to take forever, sitting there with those horrible things pulling on my hair and sometimes being very hot. Cotton wadding to keep the heat off my skin. Then the rinse and then the hour + under the dryer with more curlers to make a "set". Ugh. I always felt ugly leaving the salon, and it was hard as a pre-teen and young teen to deal with.

[foreveryours]

Some type of social indoctrination no doubt

[Glitch]

Wow, I've not seen you around in quite a while, Glitch - I hope you're doing ok. :)

Aww, thank you so so much! So sorry I'm just seeing this now! I'm okay, hanging in there and hoping things really work out this year in general :D Thanks so much for thinking of me - I hope you're doing okay too! <33

[embee]

Aww, thank you so so much! So sorry I'm just seeing this now! I'm okay, hanging in there and hoping things really work out this year in general :D Thanks so much for thinking of me - I hope you're doing okay too! <33

:) Sometimes hanging in there is all we can do!

[Larki]

I had short hair once and absolutely hated it. I need to be able to put my hair up and braid it and do things with it. And I loathe the idea that you have to trim short hair so often to keep it looking ok and not "grown out". What a pain! I spend two minutes on my waist/hip length hair a day.

[Lady Winchester]

Nope, it's a bloody nuisance, especially when you have natural curl. Though my Mom recently said she was getting tired of her long hair, I'm the opposite: every time I do a major chop (over 2 or 3 inches, since anything below I still consider a trim) it doesn't take long before I end up regretting it and want my long hair back, so nope, just trims from now on. If it's any shorter than shoulder length (which is also too short, since I can't style it the way I usually do, since there's not enough hair to keep it in place), I get that dreaded "poodle dog" look that doesn't look good on anyone (except for maybe a poodle dog). I tend to get sick of the compliments when my hair is shorter like: "You look so cute with short hair!" What am I, five? I usually respond by saying I don't like it and that I'm growing it back long again, so don't get too used to it. I also get compliments with long hair, but they're not as annoying.

When my Mom goes short and people start to notice, she responds by saying: "It's easier." and I usually disagree and say: "No, it's not, it's a bloody nuisance, since you always have to get it trimmed all of the time to keep up the style." With long hair, it's perfectly fine to adopt the "benign neglect" and get trims every couple of years or so (which is more my style).

[missmelaniem]

I had a pixie cut back in the 80s and also cut it pretty short for my first round of growing out my gray hair, and it was a lot more work for me. It would stick out weird if I didn’t style it in the morning, plus it does need a lot of maintenance cuts to maintain its shape. Besides that I looked like a dude, and its not the look I’m going for. I wish I could pull off short hair but I just cant

[Jonas]

Like others have said, short hair is annoying because you have to keep cutting it to maintain that length/style. But also, you don't have to worry about it so much. Like I put so much time into growing my hair now, I worry about it more. But I wouldn't go back!!

[Helenae]

My hair was hip length and I cut it to just past my shoulders. When it was long, it was a lot harder to wash without pulling on the hair follicle a lot because it was heavier. But styling was a lot more effortless, I could just wash and go, and it would look beautiful. Now with shorter hair, I have to style it a lot more to make it look attractive. On the plus side, I’ve been told I look younger and my hair is a lot thicker.

[Chasemi]

I honestly think short hair takes more upkeep on the regular. Lots more styling than I do a day

[WednesdayAddams]

For me short hair is very hard. Half flips over, half flips under. I have to mess with it all day so I don’t look like an escapee mental patient. When it is longer I can smooth everything just by bunning, or I can wear a bun or ponytail if it isn’t looking all that great.

[Dark40]

I've had short for many years, and it was a pain, and it didn't look good on me at all. I'd say short hair is much harder to keep up rather than long hair, and there's also nothing that you can do with short hair. Like, wearing it up in buns, braids, and wearing it hanging down.

[Kelp]

I think it depends on the cut and your lifestyle.

When I had a pixie cut, I had to style it daily to be able to get the look that I wanted. If I slept on it wrong? Forget about it. Bad hair day. It also needed to be trimmed often to keep the shape. However, I never had to worry about babying it, brushing out tangles, it getting in my face, etc. so I think having a pixie is a tradeoff for long hair in terms of time spent managing it, but that could absolutely be due to my hair type.

If we're considering chin to shoulder length, I would say that was even harder to manage. It wasn't long enough to be in a pony tail, and I needed clips to keep it out of my face. I could never deal with that now because my job requires me to always have my hair up and out of my face for safety. Someone who doesn't work a physical job might not need to worry about that, though.

Long hair is easy for me because I can keep it in the same bun for days without having to worry about it. Sometimes it gets tough when my hair is down and it starts getting in my face or tangled up, but I only wear my hair down occasionally and I've started using a serum to tame it.

I think as my hair gets longer it will get harder to manage mainly when it comes to detangling, but the easiest way to get long hair is really by not doing anything other than keeping it protected.

[Arciela]

My hair is now classic length and it has become a lot of work, but only because I have migraines. I also sit on it, it gets stuck always, and if I put it up in any style, it makes the headaches worse.

When I don't have a migraine it's not terrible. My braids are very heavy though and my LWB I do with my hair stick can get heavy.

When I had short hair it was very easy for me. Wash it and it would dry nicely, I got tons of compliments and it felt effortless. However, I have no plans to cut my hair and even if it gets difficult it's here to stay :flower:

[GordonMurphella]

My hair is now classic length and it has become a lot of work, but only because I have migraines. I also sit on it, it gets stuck always, and if I put it up in any style, it makes the headaches worse.

When I don't have a migraine it's not terrible. My braids are very heavy though and my LWB I do with my hair stick can get heavy.

When I had short hair it was very easy for me. Wash it and it would dry nicely, I got tons of compliments and it felt effortless. However, I have no plans to cut my hair and even if it gets difficult it's here to stay :flower:

Tell me to sod off if you like :) but I'm curious if it's such a literal pain for you, why keep it long? Particularly if you enjoyed it short? I see this in myself sometimes and would enjoy your insight, if you have any.