why long hair is easier to care for!

[Katze]

...even mine!

I was really glad I had long hair today. Wednesdays are baby swim and I have to shower, feed her, and leave directly from the pool to work (bad planning when I thought my schedule was different, but DH is at home until August).

The pool, dressing rooms, and showers were crowded and I had trouble finding a place to dry my ears. I use the dryer for a few seconds on low on my hair, but focus on my ears - if I don't dry them and go out with wet hair, I get earaches.

All the dryer spots were taken by women, mostly older than me, styling and brushing and drying their shoulder-to-pixie length hairdos. I saw lots of concentration, round and other damaging brushes, hairspray, and the like. The average 'do seemed to take longer than I had needed to get dressed and feed my baby!

Me, I towel dried my hair, ran a bit of Aveda mousse through it to tame the mess, blowdried ears and a my hair briefly as described above, twisted the sides bacl, clipped with a claw clip, put the rest into a bun held by a Ficcare, and was done.

I was so proud of my hair and so glad to have it!

may all LHCers have such moments. :D

[Speckla]

Yes, long hair is so much easier. Flip, twist, clip into and updo and you're done. Short hair? Shampoo, conditioner, mousse/gel/pomade, blow dry, and then spray with hairspray. Long? Wet a little, add some conditioner or oil, scrunch and go.

[CrisDee]

Now that I have this hateful pixie, I SO miss my long hair for ease of care! Not only can you just whip it into an updo as you mentioned, but keeping short hair neat requires at least monthly trips to the salon for upkeep! That's the biggest PITA of short hair for me, i have way better things to do with my days off :p

[spidermom]

Depends on how short. My hair was barely an inch long when I had babies, and I didn't have to do anything to it other than wash it and finger maybe 1/2 teaspoon of gel through it. Couldn't have been easier.

Katze - I hope by "towel dried my hair", you don't mean that you rubbed your fine hair with a towel. Bad. Very bad.

[camirra555]

It's true! This is the longest my hair has ever been and I'm finding it pretty easy to care for. And then the days when I wear it down it falls so nicely which wasn't always the case when it was shorter

[MsBubbles]

Great story! I hope that somebody there noticed how easy it was for you and became a long hair convert!

[Tangerine]

Yes, long hair rocks :cheese:

What I love about it is that, generally speaking, you can either go for high maintenance or low maintenance. Whatever the mood or moment dictates :) WO wash, roll it up and forget about it, or do all the fun experimental updos, scented oilings, coordinated jewelry, yadda yadda :D

[Carolyn]

I haven't had hair shorter than shoulders since the beginning of 9th grade so I really can't say what super short (pixie) hair is like. I've never wanted to find out. I think waist length is a lot easier than shoulder length. I can go several days without washing and I can look decent by just whipping it up into a bun with a pretty hair toy. I can put as much or as little effort in to it as I feel like at any given time. I do not miss the days of daily washing, blow drying and then the curling iron. I don't miss salon visits every 8 weeks. I can "do" my hair in less than 2 minutes and have time to spare.

[Tabitha]

Depends on how short. My hair was barely an inch long when I had babies, and I didn't have to do anything to it other than wash it and finger maybe 1/2 teaspoon of gel through it. Couldn't have been easier.

I'm with Spidermom here. For years I had a boy-short cut and it was literally wash and go. I loved the convenience - during some of that time I was quite ill and didn't pay much attention to my appearance so it was ideal.

I like my longer hair and find it more flattering and soft round my face now I'm in my mid 40s, I enjoy the versatility of wearing it up or down and I can't stop myself buying pretty things to wear in my hair ... but even having cut back from below waist to BSL I find washing and drying (wet hair in winter for 5 hours ... yuck) a real chore.

[Tangerine]

I've had a supershort pixie. I definitely had to put product in it to make it look alright, even when I had a very structured, heavily thinned-out cut (it was cute and I liked it - but I didn't like the maintenance).
Without product it looked like a mop. Because I am lazy by nature, I often walked around looking like a mop. When I see myself on pictures from that era, I cringe :o :rollin:

[Fethenwen]

I guess I boy short cut would be very easy to maintain.

But from my own experience the longer my hair gets the less bad hair days I have :)

[elianne]

Yes, long hair rocks :cheese:

What I love about it is that, generally speaking, you can either go for high maintenance or low maintenance. Whatever the mood or moment dictates :) WO wash, roll it up and forget about it, or do all the fun experimental updos, scented oilings, coordinated jewelry, yadda yadda :D

Yes, this is exactly how I feel about my hair! I also love that with long hair you always have the option of not washing it if you're running late, putting it up into an easy bun (like the lazy wrap) and still looking pulled-together for the rest of the day. I admit to being one of those people that hits the snooze button ten times, so I often take advantage of this. ;) When I had shorter hair, I always had to wash in the morning because sleeping on my layers/bangs would make them bend and kink in funny ways.

[Speckla]

A boycut or pixie wasn't really easy as in get up and go. It takes products and heat to make my hair go in the right direction. It looks like a frizzy bush if there's nothing in it. :) And product builds up fast and has to be shampooed out regularly for me. I'll take long hair that's dirty and put it up and no one knows I haven't shampooed in ages. The flakes and whities give it away for short, short hair.

[RancheroTheBee]

When I had a really, really short pixie (think buzzcut) the upkeep was minimal. I was growing it out, so I didn't need trims or anything, and I only needed a little gel.

But chin length was awful. I'd have to be constantly watching it to make sure it didn't get really stupid looking, and my hair always looked awful. I did not suit that length at all.

Even at shoulder-length, I'm finding it easier to just wash and dry without any sort of fuss, and it usually looks fine/great after it dries. I'm just excited for being able to properly bun it and forget about it!

[ravenreed]

*sigh* Not every short hair does all this...

Nor do I have such an easy time with my hair now. Now I spend about 20 -30 minutes on the days I am trying to get some hair style or other to work. I never did that with chin length and shorter.

The point is one can spend a lot of time on either length. That is a choice not a necessity.

I am glad for the long hairs who are happy to just clip and go.


Short hair? Shampoo, conditioner, mousse/gel/pomade, blow dry, and then spray with hairspray. Long? Wet a little, add some conditioner or oil, scrunch and go.

[Katze]

Katze - I hope by "towel dried my hair", you don't mean that you rubbed your fine hair with a towel. Bad. Very bad.

No, I gently blot while my hair is wrapped loosely in a towel. Sometimes I gently squeeze, or just leave my wet hair in a towel for hours - the lazy woman's plopping.


I guess I boy short cut would be very easy to maintain.

But from my own experience the longer my hair gets the less bad hair days I have :)

Mine wasn't easy to maintain when it was short. I had a kind of Grace Jones cut in 1997 or so and had to spike the top and 'correct' the back every day.


*sigh* Not every short hair does all this...

Nor do I have such an easy time with my hair now. Now I spend about 20 -30 minutes on the days I am trying to get some hair style or other to work. I never did that with chin length and shorter.

The point is one can spend a lot of time on either length. That is a choice not a necessity.

I am glad for the long hairs who are happy to just clip and go.

I usually spend much more time on my hair too. 'Clip and go' NEVER works for me because I have so many layers, frizz, baby hairs, etc.

It was just a pleasant surprise that I COULD do my hair in under 10 minutes, even high maintenance messy hair like mine. I think the side twists made a big difference.

True, it is a choice, but I think longer hair is easier to make to look good - at least mine is, despite all its unmanageability. :)

[Dolly]

I know what you mean, Katze.....I am one who, when I had short hair, it would never do what I wanted it to....I never could just "wash and go".....it ALWAYS needed a lot of maintenance.

Now, even on wash days, it's easier for me......I live in the South, and am very well known for walking into stores in my very small town with wet hair (and I don't mean put up either....hanging loose and air drying). But, there are just sometimes I just can't do that.

BUT, I experienced a similar thing to you last week.....I was taking my fiancee for an outpatient surgery, and we had to be there at the crack of dawn.....I didn't feel like showering and shampooing at 2 am.....so, I got up, about 30 min before we were supposed to leave, quickly braided, put on a little makeup (I don't normally wear much), dressed, had a cup of coffee, and off we went.

He looked at me in amazement in the car.....he said.....WOW. I don't know too many women who could get ready that fast.....and actually look GOOD. He was shocked.

I love my long hair in the mornings!

[Speckla]

It may also depend on hairtype. I have to spend longer on shorter locks because my curls either frizz or go either way or will not lay down without the weight of products. Now my hair is heavy enough to lay down and I have a stronger curl pattern.

[faeflame]

Like most long hairs, people are always saying things to me like my hair must take a lot of time to take care of, it must take forever to wash or dry, it must get in the way, etc. I think it is actually a lot easier to care for than when I had a pixie in High School. With the pixie, it never looked right if I slept on it so I had to shampoo every day, then it needed mousse or gel and had to be beaten into submission with a blowdryer and brush. I could never be late with a trim or it would start to do weird things and I had to have my neck shaved- yeck!!

Now I wash, blow dry if it is cold, and go. How simple is that?

Oh, and for the folks who kept telling me when I was preggers with baby #1 that I was going to have to cut my hair when the baby came- obviously I didn't and boy am I glad!! My friend was preggers at the same time as me and cut her BSL hair into a not quite shoulder length bob. She regretted doing it since it was always swinging forward and getting into her way instead of staying behind her shoulder like her long hair had. We both agreed we would have to be bald to keep the kids from tugging on our hair since they reach straight for the roots anyway. I made it through 4 kids by basically braiding and ignoring my long hair. Like I said, what could be easier?

[Yozhik]

I agree that having "long" hair (which for me at this point is only below shoulders) is a lot easier than short hair! When I had my pixie, it required mousse or gel, and it always looked a little wild, because I was too lazy not to sleep on it and then just wake up and go :)
I frequently just pull back my hair, and even if it's pretty greasy or dirty it looks better that way! Also, there's the fact that then it's out of my way :)

[Speckla]

Like most long hairs, people are always saying things to me like my hair must take a lot of time to take care of, it must take forever to wash or dry, it must get in the way, etc. I think it is actually a lot easier to care for than when I had a pixie in High School. With the pixie, it never looked right if I slept on it so I had to shampoo every day, then it needed mousse or gel and had to be beaten into submission with a blowdryer and brush. I could never be late with a trim or it would start to do weird things and I had to have my neck shaved- yeck!!

Now I wash, blow dry if it is cold, and go. How simple is that?

Oh, and for the folks who kept telling me when I was preggers with baby #1 that I was going to have to cut my hair when the baby came- obviously I didn't and boy am I glad!! My friend was preggers at the same time as me and cut her BSL hair into a not quite shoulder length bob. She regretted doing it since it was always swinging forward and getting into her way instead of staying behind her shoulder like her long hair had. We both agreed we would have to be bald to keep the kids from tugging on our hair since they reach straight for the roots anyway. I made it through 4 kids by basically braiding and ignoring my long hair. Like I said, what could be easier?

Why do moms think they have to go short? I started growing my hair when I was pregnant and grew from pixie to BSL by the time my son was 2. It was so much easier to put it up each day then to try to fight with it short so it looked normal and not like a crazy clown wig. :cheese:

[Leabhar]

I used to have hair between my ears and chin for most of my pre-uni school years and hated it. I have straight hair that can take a bit of wave (or wavy hair that can lie flat, I guess!) and I always woke up with strange bumps and waves in my hair, so if I wanted it to look like I hadn't just rolled out of bed I'd have to wash and dry my hair. If I didn't wash it every 1-2 days the grease would show. I also couldn't do anything else with the hair except maybe a stiff little samurai half-pony, lol.

Now that it's longer, I can take as little or as long as I want on my hair, and do so many styles I can't even count, depending on my mood. And I can always wear it up (or "locked and loaded", as I call it) in a bun and be ready for anything from a quick shopping trip to a business meeting.

[spidermom]

Why do moms think they have to go short?

Hey - individual choice. I didn't think I HAD to go short. I did it for my own convenience. Having a sick baby puke or drool or spread snot in my hair was not my idea of a good time.

[Curlsgirl]

It may also depend on hairtype. I have to spend longer on shorter locks because my curls either frizz or go either way or will not lay down without the weight of products. Now my hair is heavy enough to lay down and I have a stronger curl pattern.

Yes! What she said!!! :cheese:

[Speckla]

Hey - individual choice. I didn't think I HAD to go short. I did it for my own convenience. Having a sick baby puke or drool or spread snot in my hair was not my idea of a good time.

Exactly, choice. You didn't just cut because it was something you were supposed to do. Kinda like when I posted the other day about someone suggesting I grow out 'til I hit 35 and then had to cut it. It's a choice and not an expectation.

[Speckla]

P.S. I didn't mean it as zingy cutdown or anything to single anyone out. I hope no one took it the wrong way. I didn't mean to offend anyone and I apologize if it came across the wrong way.

[JamieLeigh]

Love it! Kudos to you for smashing to pieces the misconception that shorter hair is easier to care for....and right in the middle of a roomful of short-haired people. :D

[Runzel]

Hmm, I think we've discovered the real reason long hair was much more common in the olden days/traditional cultures/history....they didn't have the proper products for short hair! :lol:


Yes, long hair rocks :cheese:

What I love about it is that, generally speaking, you can either go for high maintenance or low maintenance. Whatever the mood or moment dictates :) WO wash, roll it up and forget about it, or do all the fun experimental updos, scented oilings, coordinated jewelry, yadda yadda :D

Yes!!! I can turn on a dime from daily attention with oilings, CO, and plopping to WO every few weeks or so and tossing it in a bun without so much as thinking of it, and my hair has nary a complaint, in fact, I'll still get compliments on it! And then there's also the fun of knowing that the next time you want to play with it it'll be even longer after the benign neglect. It's a win/win situation! :)

[nmarie33]

Man, when my hair was a little more than chin length it looked cute as hell. *IF* I washed it, put in 3-4 products, blowdryed, flat ironed, and hairsprayed. It took me at least 20 minutes to look presentable. Today I did a sock bun which took maybe 3 minutes tops, and I haven't even gotten my hair wet in days. Definitely easier.

[skydancer7]

I must respectfully disagree here. The easiest hairct I ever had was my jaw-lenght a-line bob. It was a total wash-and-go haircut. The most complicated thing I ever did with it was tuck it behind my ears to keep it out of my face. And it looked adorable.

Right now my shoulder length hair is more difficult, because if I don't put it "up" I don't like how it looks or how it hangs so heavy on the back of my neck. And yet, my hair doesn't like to be put up; it always struggles to get free of whatever style I put it in. However, the other perks are worth it, so here I am growing it out :)

[skydancer7]

You know, on the other hand, when I had short hair I always had to wet it down daily to get rid of the akward bumps caused by sleeping on my hair. That was always a problem. With longer hair, for some reason that rarely happens. So I guess both styles had their pros and cons.

[rogue_psyche]

Not that what you say isn't true, but I think APL is easier than super short hair styles as well as BSL+. At APL I could sleep with it loose, stretch washes and put it up whenever I wanted but at the same time leave it down even when I'm doing chores. It was wash and go, I didn't have to worry about split ends or going to the hairdresser. I could dye it any color I wanted and have it appear to be healthy. My hair wouldn't tangle as much as it was less damaged.

I look cute with APL hair. But I think long hair is transforming me into a goddess. A goddess who buys conditioner often and spends a considerable amount of time sniping splits, but a goddess nonetheless.

[Wicked Princess]

I'm afraid I have to disagree. :flower: My hair has never really been "short" in the way others' hair has been. I've never had a pixie cut or bob - the shortest my hair has ever been was between APL and BSL (as someone who had classic length throughout childhood, that was REALLY short for me!).

I found that haircut to be extremely convenient and easy to care for. Now, I follow the same routine except I've added light oilings and washing/drying now takes a little longer. I don't mind in the slightest! In fact, I think it's a bit fun. But I do notice that I spend more time on it now than I used to. :)

I've always taken fairly good care of my hair, though.

[Armelle]

I actually had a bit of a 'discussion' with a coworker over short hair vs. long hair and ease of care. My hair is a complete bird's nest when shorter than shoulders (what with cowlicks and all), but she maintained that long hair was more difficult. Maybe it has alot to do with how wavy or curly your hair is.

[Katze]

I posted this last week out of pleasant surprise. My hair is usually high maintenance - stringy ends, fluffy poofy crown, a zillion lengths...and after today's swim am still feeling the same way. I am even wearing it down, and 'styling' took 5 minutes. My hair is about 28-30 inches long depending on if I measure to the very thinnest ends, which is somewhere short of waist length on me. This is easier than shoulder length because it stays in my jacket and under my scarf. I do usually wear my hair up, but am really enjoying the days when I can wear it down freshly washed.


Why do moms think they have to go short? I started growing my hair when I was pregnant and grew from pixie to BSL by the time my son was 2. It was so much easier to put it up each day then to try to fight with it short so it looked normal and not like a crazy clown wig. :cheese:

That trend seems to be less here - most moms I know have bobs or shoulder length hair, but I know one with drop dead gorgeous, light blonde, thick, straight, TB length hair, who also had NO shedding.

My baby grabs my hair at the roots anyway, so up is only a little bit better than down, but definitely better than short (she has less to grab onto). She is really into getting individual hairs between her fingers and twisting - everything that sticks up and out.


I must respectfully disagree here. The easiest hairct I ever had was my jaw-lenght a-line bob. It was a total wash-and-go haircut. The most complicated thing I ever did with it was tuck it behind my ears to keep it out of my face. And it looked adorable.

Right now my shoulder length hair is more difficult, because if I don't put it "up" I don't like how it looks or how it hangs so heavy on the back of my neck. And yet, my hair doesn't like to be put up; it always struggles to get free of whatever style I put it in. However, the other perks are worth it, so here I am growing it out :)

Yes, shoulder was a very awkward length for me too. I could not keep it back over my shoulders or really hold it out of the way easier. After APL it starts getting easier. :)

Like I say, I was really pleasantly surprised, because unlike many longhairs, my hair is NOT easy in general. But easier than all the people I see at the pool, for sure!

[dukkelisa]

I find extremely short or very long hair the easiest for me. I can't abide the very short anymore, I prefer long hair. I can bun it in seconds, even if I don't have time to comb it out first.

I see women in the restrooms fussing over their hair and I am so glad to be able to walk on out and get on with my day.

[theboredelf]

One of the main reasons I keep my hair as long as it is because I do find it easier to care for. But that's me. The shorter my hair is, the more unruly it is, the more wavy it gets, and the more care and attention it requires to look presentable. Some women can do the whole "roll out of bed, put on an evening dress, and look put together" thing but I've NEVER been able to do that, with any length of hair. Even in elementary school, my mother spent longer straightening and styling my short hair than braiding my long hair.

I spend 20-25 hours a week making candles for my store. If I had short hair, I would constantly be arranging it, and probably end up with candle wax (and pink dye!) all through it. It's just not practical for me. Each individual needs to weigh their ideal hairstyle on practicality and personal preference; I do see a lot of women doing the post-wedding or post-baby haircut because someone convinced them it was easier to care for, and very, very few of the ones I talk to like the result. It's much more difficult to keep chin length hair away from a baby than waist length, it's just logic.