How old were you when?

[jera]

At what age did you decide not to follow the dictates of fashion and become a longhair?

I was 19 the last time I chopped my hair off in an effort to emulate all the fashion models in the magazines and the celebs on the red carpet. Blah ! :(

Since then, I've experienced sheds and have trimmed little bits at a time, but no more fashion slave major chops. :p

[coscass]

This year, when I was 20. :( I wish I'd of known about the CG method when I was younger.

[Alcenaia]

I am interested in this thread because I didn't follow this path at all. My parents didn't cut my hair when I was little. By the time I was old enough to decide for myself, people already commented how nice my long hair was, and I decided not to cut it.

It must be freeing, in a way, not to care what the current hair trend is.

I don't think long hair ever goes out of fashion. Maybe one of the few things that doesn't. :)

[FrannyG]

I think I was about 36 when I stopped caring about fashionable styles. I was 45 when I consciously decided that I am a longhair. Even though my hair still isn't terribly long at the moment (I've had to gradually cut out damage) I know that I'll never have short hair by choice again, no matter what the fashion pundits say.

[Clarisse]

I have actually always wanted long hair, but I started caring for it 100% myself when I was 13, and I decided that I didn't want my hair high lighted anymore, and that I wanted to trim it myself. My mom had my hair layered and high lighted when I was younger.

[enfys]

I am interested in this thread because I didn't follow this path at all. My parents didn't cut my hair when I was little. By the time I was old enough to decide for myself, people already commented how nice my long hair was, and I decided not to cut it.

It must be freeing, in a way, not to care what the current hair trend is.

I don't think long hair ever goes out of fashion. Maybe one of the few things that doesn't. :)

Yup, more or less my story. I fairly gradually went from classic back to BSL but that was for creating a 1940s look easier, and to see if there were any bonuses to shorter hair.

It was never about fashion; probably because I've never been in a salon as a customer, only as company.

[Sammich]

I never really followed fashion. ;) Well.. sorta, I liked the layers on this one longer haired girl's hair and I wanted it done, I only ever knew blunt cut hairstyles... so it sorta amazed me when I saw layered hair. Lol!

But anyway, it was 2008 when I decided to try and grow out my hair(I've wanted it long ever since I was 10/11, too bad I kept cutting it though). :)

[Pumpkin]

It took a few roadbumps in my life and turning 40 to not follow the dictates of fashion and to grow my hair long. :grin:

[bumblebums]

I was 31.

I cut my hair from about APL to a buzz cut when I was 16, and since then, I have cycled through every length (max. shoulder) and style you can imagine. I liked changing my look every so often because I got bored with my hair easily. Then I fried it really badly at age 30, and that was my "come-to-Jesus moment." I decided that I would try to see what my hair would be like if I wore it as nature intended. I discovered that I am pretty curly, and that my natural color really ain't so bad. Plus, keeping it long saves so much time and bother!

[HildeMV]

I chopped my hair off to chin lenght 4 years ago, but it wasn't to follow the mainstream or anything. I just thought it was cute.

It has went downhill since then. :p

It has usually been around BSL after that.

[cmnt831]

No matter that I might have tried to follow fashion, my hair refused to go with me :p. It refused to straighten, refused to conform to bobs, although it probably would have *loved* perms (but my mom said, "absolutely no perms for you!"). I've had a couple of stylists put in layers to release the natural curl with good effect, but that's about it. I'm happy with it long with no layers at this point :D. It's been left to do it's own thing since sometime in 2008.

[Kaijah]

I was another one of the ones who never really followed fashion - I've had maybe two salon cuts in my life, lol. Mostly my mother cut it, and when I was younger she didn't know what to do with my curly hair (everyone else in my family is practically pin straight, except my grandma and one aunt, and they're more shorties) and so kept it at lower chin - shoulder length since it was easier for her. Once I figured out conditioners and all that, I could maintain in myself without getting a mangled mess.

[jera]

I have actually always wanted long hair, but I started caring for it 100% myself when I was 13, and I decided that I didn't want my hair high lighted anymore, and that I wanted to trim it myself. My mom had my hair layered and high lighted when I was younger.

Wow, I envy you having such self knowledge so young and being able to stick to your principles. That's great. :)


I never really followed fashion. ;) Well.. sorta, I liked the layers on this one longer haired girl's hair and I wanted it done, I only ever knew blunt cut hairstyles... so it sorta amazed me when I saw layered hair. Lol!

But anyway, it was 2008 when I decided to try and grow out my hair(I've wanted it long ever since I was 10/11, too bad I kept cutting it though). :)

I envied the layered look too on a friend of mine and chopped my own hair to emulate hers, but what looked awesome on her looked pathetic on me. :( It's hard to discover your own individual best look when you're really young and want to look like your friends etc etc. :rolleyes:

[Anje]

Never really followed fashion... My "normal" hair length has been BSLish since at least high school. Back in 2004 I was pestered into chopping off a foot for LoL, and kept it short (shoulder or so) for a while. Let it grow back a bit and hennaed it. In 2007, I found this site and decided there was not real reason I needed to hack a few inches off my perfectly-good BSL hair, so I let it continue to grow.

[Bellalalala]

I love fashion, long hair just happens to be part of my style.

I know a number of glamorous European women with at least waist-length hair.

here are just a few glamorous longish-haired models
http://www.girlznight.co.uk/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Alexander-Wang-hair.jpg
http://www.buzzle.com/img/articleImages/298779-37721-59.jpg
http://www.greathairstyletips.com/images/beautiful-extra-long-hair.jpg

[catysue]

I had quite long hair when I was a kid, about tailbone length if I do remember.

I got a pixie cut in 6th grade to kick off my goth/"I'm different!" phase. For the next three years I bleached regularly to a white-blonde and grew it out to a quite cute shaggy style with sideswept bangs (I always wore red lipstick too, it was a very distinctive look for me. In middle school!) Then, my freshman year of high school, I got a nice sleek bob cut and dyed it dark brown. That was nice at the time because I was a lot thinner and the bob showed off my bone structure well. Now, my bone structure is obscured by fat hahahahaha. I haven't cut (except for trims) or bleached since then, and I started henna'ing my hair last... uh.... spring/summer. I'm a senior now and my hair is soooooooooo close to waist!

ETA: Both times I cut my hair short it was definitely NOT for fashion purposes. I've always been a little kooky. I used to be very much in to that whole 'Japanese street fashion' style, and gothic lolita as well. In fact, I dress a LOT more normal now than when I had short hair.

[pinkbunny]

I've always liked longer hair, but after an unwanted short haircut at age 6 I consciously decided to be a longhair. It still took me several years to earn the responsibility and learn proper care...

[MandyBeth]

Ummmm, 28? I guess.

I NEVER had long hair as a kid. My mom kept it cut short. Given my fine hair and mass of it, I'm not sure I'm going to let my hair get to the real long lengths shown here because it may drive me batty before then.

But following losing my hair to PPD reaction 6 years ago, it's been growing out from that.

[RoseRedDead]

I can't say I've ever "followed the dictates of fashion". I'd always had a shoulder- or chin-length haircut, though.

But I decided to grow my hair out to waist December 31st, 2006 (New Year's Resolution). So I was about 14 1/2 years old.

I'm 17 1/2 now, have achieved my goal, and am growing longer. :D

[tralalalara]

My momma kept my hair long until a disagreement when I was ten. She said I was too obsessed with my looks and that's why I didn't care about school. It grew from there until it was at my hip, but then I cut it chin length so I could be on the school wrestling team, and I wasn't allowed to have hairpins because they could hurt somebody. After a year of that, I decided to grow it all out again! I've always wanted mine to be like Angelina Jolie's hair in the Tomb Raider movies, her braid is so thick and it just whirls all around in the fight scenes!

[teela1978]

I think I'm still following the dictates of fashion :)

I refuse to do the skinny jeans thing though.

[Quixii]

Very very young. So young I don't even remember making the decision. :)

[Bellalalala]

I think I'm still following the dictates of fashion :)

I refuse to do the skinny jeans thing though.

I said this until I accidentally tried a pair on when I originally wanted a pair of straight leg. I always assumed that they would make my enormous bum and thighs look even bigger, but much to my complete shock, they looked AMAZING.

My fiance goes nuts and says that my legs look a million miles long when I wear them.
Who would have guessed???

[LittleDreamer]

When I was 15 I went from TB to BSL, kept it for a year, hated it. Decided last year to grow it back long. I think I cut my hair because I had never had it short and the girls at my school always looked so good with their layered short hairstyles! Ah well :P

[Fiferstone]

Used to have the bog-standard shoulder length blunt cut as a "young professional." Last one was in 1987 when I was 25. Poverty pretty much put a kibosh to regular haircuts and benign neglect led to long hair. Now it's totally by choice and preference.

[jesamyn]

My decision to have longer hair was not dictated by fashion. As a curly or wavy since puberty, I couldn't be fashionable most of the time anyway without more work that I was going to put into things. ;) My hair has been longer or shorter simply as my mood dictated until a couple of years ago, when I decided I wanted waist-length hair.

[Mutinous]

I was 15 when I first grew it from a buzzed head to shoulder, 20 when I joined here and decided to grow out virgin hair to BSL!

[Liss]

I can't say that I ever really tried to copy hair fashion, since all the in-styles were never designed for fine & thin hair.

I did chop it to shoulder at 21 in an effort to look more mature, but ended up just looking like me with shorter hair! That was when I made a conscious effort to grow it long again, but hairdressers always managed to take over.

So, technically it was June 2008 (profile pic) when I turned my back on conventional cutting so I can have full & complete control to finally become a proper long hair.

[EdG]

I grew out my hair several times in my late teens.

I became a longhair on a permanent basis at age 25. :)
Ed

[ecologystudent]

Well, I never really followed fashion at all. I've always done what I wanted with my hair and clothes. I had long hair when I was a child, a teen, and now a young adult. Of course, I did have sort hair during those time periods as well.

But it was always because I wanted short hair, not because I was following some fashion. And I very rarely had "normal" hair, besides when it was growing out. It was either long, or up above my ears.

[ravenreed]

I have never followed fashion's dictates, whether for hair or not. I use what I like and don't use what I find unattractive. I had long hair in my late teens and early twenties. I cut it back at one point for something different. I accidentally grew long hair again by being too sick to keep track of when to cut my hair. Once I was at waist, I met a friend with classic hair and decided to see if I could get longer myself.

[sft88]

I have always loved long hair. I had APL hair till I was 12. Then I cut it to my earlobe and haven't had it much passed my shoulders since. I just get mad at my hair because it's so frizzy and tangles so easy. I want to grow my hair really long now because I know that it would be easier to handle it then.

And I never thought that long hair was unfashionable. Everyone I know likes it and complements people who have it.

[Juneii]

I always thought long hair was quite fashionable :] if worn right and taken care of properly your hair can pretty much be the $5000 handbag that everyone wants :D

I started growing out my hair again when I was 16

[Xandergrammy]

I was 40 when I decided to grow my hair again. The first time I had long hair was in the 70's, when it was actually in style.

[smilinjenn71]

I second previous posters that don't really fall within fashion 'dictates' for hair.

In all honesty, my pixie was probably more flattering for my face and features than long hair. I just got bored and wanted something different. So, the choices were to shave it bald or grow it out. I chose the latter.;)

[sft88]

Oh, sorry I didn't really answer the question. I have wanted to grow my hair really long since I was 19 but I keep getting in crazy moods where I just can't keep from cutting it. I think this forum might help me and I look at photos for inspiration.

[Anywhere]

5-6 years ago, when I was about 10 or 11. Unfortunately I've been the victim of hairdressers who cut off too much. no more hairdressers for me. I've learned to become independent in my hair trimming/styling. :p

[violeteyes]

I never had short hair because I believed it was "fashionable", but more because my mother thought that long hair was too much work when I was little. Ever since I could take care of my own hair, I've always kept it at BSL or longer :)

[MissManda]

Well, since I have had long hair for most of my life, I think it started with my mother, actually. She always took exceptionally good care of my hair when I was very little, despite how much my dad's mother nagged and nagged her to cut it. :D She (my mother) always told me how very thick and beautiful my hair was. All of the girls in my class were very jealous of my hair and they used to love to come up behind me to touch it. I loved my hair very, very much and I would literally kick and scream whenever my grandmother decided it "needed a trim."

So when I moved in with my grandmother after my mother abandoned my my dad, my sister, and me, it all went downhill from there. My attitude about my hair changed because all my grandmother would tell me how disgustingly long my hair was and that it was fine and "Eww, straight!" Before that, I never thought there was anything wrong with my hair; sure, it was straight, but that's just the way it is! Straight hair is beautiful, too, but not according to my grandmother. Not to mention, my mother didn'tt teach me how to care for my hair, so my grandmother took over.
I don't ever remember my mother washing my hair every day, or even every other day. In fact, I don't remember washing my hair more than once a week. Now all of a sudden, I had to wash my hair every other day and my scalp started getting excessively greasy because of this. So not only was my hair suddenly "nasty looking," but I somehow got a really oily scalp, even though it had never, ever been like that before (and now that I have stopped washing every day/every other day, it isn't even that greasy on wash day. My teachers started nagging me to wash my hair every day (even though I already was) because my hair was greasy and I was just totally confused because it wasn't like that before I moved. In addition, my grandmother made me get some incredibly unflattering haircuts and always discouraged me to have hair that was beyond chin length.

So after I got a horrible, horrible perm at age 17 (I looked like a fuzzball/little kid becuse I have so much hair), I decided that I was done with all of the conventional stuff, and I started growing my hair out.

And a little under two years later, I happened upon LHC, and here I am regaining my previously tailbone/classic length hair! I don't ever, ever want to go back to short hair again!

[may1em]

I was 23 when I decided to grow my hair out on purpose - I had been letting it grow out of neglect previously

[Twil]

My father would always do the big puppy dog eyes and say "pleeeaaase don't cut your hair" so I never really did, until a couple years ago when I cut it to chin because of all the damage

[Olde Soul]

I was homeschooled, so naturally I've never had a trendy haircut in my life :D

[Cinnamon Hair]

You mean long hair isn't fashionable? Who knew! ;)

[Zaane]

i was 12 when i decided i wanted to start growing out the hideous haircut ive only known as a child :) now at 17, i have hair almost to my butt and i get more compliments about the length than negative comments so im happy!

[Fireweed]

I was about 12 years old when I had the last short cut.

[Yozhik]

My father cut my hair until I was about 14. Then I went occasionally to hair salons, but not more than twice a year. In college, I went a little cut-crazy (because split ends were driving me nuts), but after then, I decided I wanted to grow my hair out because it's much more challenging to take care of, maintain, and be money and environment conscious. I love challenges and the idea of a long-term commitment, and so far I'm loving my journey to long hair! :)

[Ven]

I think I was 30 years old. My hair was in a layered shoulder length cut at the time.

~Ven

[shadowclaw]

I was never really into fashion at all. I was a big fan of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and stretch pants (the kinds with the stirrups on the bottom) when I was in elementary and middle school. I think in 8th grade I decided to start wearing jeans, and after that I almost exclusively wore jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers. Mostly boyish stuff. Sometimes I wore girly jeans, but I still wore baggy t-shirts.

When I was 17, I bought a few girly peasant shirts, but they were uncomfortable and I only wore them to things that I needed to look more dressed up for. I did have a few really cool sets of gothic clothes for a while, though. I suppose now I dress a little girly and wear nice tops half the time and the occasional skirt.

But we're talking about hair! I was always a long hair. I never cut my hair to fit into any fashion. I did three big chops in my life. In second grade, one of my friends had long, straightish hair, and when she cut it above her shoulders, it got wavy. So I decided that my hair would get wavy too if I cut it. Well, it didn't and I was mad and didn't cut it again until 7th grade. I was growing out my bangs and wanted to try something different, so I cut it above my shoulders again. I hated it and didn't cut it that short ever again. My third big chop was to cut off damage from dying my hair black, bleaching it a few times, stripping it, and dying it blonde again.

I became more serious about my hair after the last big chop. Then shortly before joining LHC, I decided I want to go really long... the longest I ever had it was waist, and I wanted to go longer.

[Rivanariko]

I've always pretty much pretended that fashion didn't exist... I think I cut it short a few times when I was a small child because my best friend did and I wanted to be just like her because we liked people thinking we were twins (two little blond girls), but the last time I did that was when I was in 3rd grade. I had bangs for another two years after that I think. Since then it's just been letting it grow and cutting off damage as it occurs. Only reason it never got past waist was because I wore it down all of the time and never took care of it, lol.

So... I guess I was 8? I honestly had no idea that long hair wasn't fashionable until I joined LHC. That's how little attention I pay to the world of fashion. It's just recently occured to me that most people you see on magazines who are considered to have long hair is only APL, maybe BSL. I never thought of my hair as that long or as a statement, it just was there and was pretty when it was behaving and a pain when it wasn't.

[verene]

I don't think I've ever managed to be "in" with fashion. I decided I wanted long hair when I was 6. I also was opinionated about my dress and felt at that age that orange hawaiian print pants, pink fuzzy socks, where well combined with a glowingly neon pink-purple-green patchwork pattern on a jacket. (My mom tried to put a stop to my more hideous fashion endeavors but eventually gave up because if I didn't care and liked the bright colors, why should she waste energy fighting me?)

In high school I wore jeans, screen-printed t-shirts, over sized sweat-shirt if it was cold, no make up, and hair down to my waist.

It's only in college that I've started paying attention to fashion just enough that I manage to look professional and put together though not necessarily trendy.

[Alcenaia]

Rivanariko, it has also occurred to me that the "long-haired" people in magazines and on fashion websites have awfully short hair compared to what is here.

Googling "long hair styles" just doesn't work. XD

[pepperminttea]

I stopped reading magazines when I was fifteen and realised they were the cause of much of my dislike for myself physically. Didn't start to grow my hair properly until five years later, but I never really realised before then that long hair wasn't fashionable to be honest. It still seems odd to me that it isn't fashionable, but then, I love how it looks and feels.

[Loreley]

I cut my waist length hair to neck length when I was 4. I saw a girl on TV and I loved her hair and decided I want that style as well. Two weeks after my haircut I fell asleep with a chewing gum in my mouth. By morning it was in my hair. I had to cut to very short, like boys' hair. That was the moment I decided I want to grow my hair very long, and I've never cut more 10-15 cms since then. I dyed my hair 4 times because I got bored with it but I won't dye it till it will be grey because it made a lot of damage.

[hanne jensen]

I was 49 when I decided to be a long hair and to ignore fashion and other people's opinions.
Thanks to the LHC I've saved a fortune on hair care and all the junk needed to maintain a short hairstyle. Now, if only it would grow faster...

[PorcelainHorror]

3 years ago. Before that I bleached my hair platinum blonde, cut it shoulder length, and flat ironed, severely teased, and coated it in hairspray. Every. Single. Day.

[bte]

I have never cared about what was fashionable in hair or anything else. The idea of following someone else's dictats is completely alien to me.

I remember when leaving home to go to college my mother said to me that I'd have to see if anyone else there had hair as long as mine. My reply - "Why does that matter?".

[LadyNihilia]

The only time I've ever cut my hair to be like someone else was when i was really really little and found the scissors. I figured I'd cut my hair to look like my dad (who had a buzz cut haha) but fortunately my mom caught me before too much damage had been done. The only other time in my life where I did anything extreme to my hair was when I was about 16 amd I put it into dreadlocks. I had gotten so tired of fighting with it's knots and never getting it to look good in any style other than wearing it down. A year after having the dreads put in I cut them out and had super short hair, which was a fun experience for me (the short hair). I really liked when I was able to do the cute short hair styles and dye it funky colors, but I was pretty set in letting it grow back out as long as I could get it. I've never felt the need to have hair styles like the models or anything like that though.

[Lemur_Catta]

I always ignored fashion: the only "fashionable" things that I did with my hair was dying it, but always with henna or temporary dyes, and put some lightening lotion with a little peroxide. I never heat styled (although I blow dried, but just to dry, not to style) and I rarely used curling irons or flatirons, because I hated wasting so much time on my hair. I also wore very little make up, and male\unisex clothes. I was a tomboy :D
Then I discovered my feminine side, and at the age of 17 I decided to go to the hair stylist and have "fashionable" hair. This didn't include cutting too much - the cut itself was pretty, between apl and bsl, slightly layered. But the color was AWFUL. I had henna red hair, and wanted medium brown hair with golden highlights. I didn't know henna was permanent, and I ended up with reddish hair and orange highlights. I was traumatized. Then I decided to cover that mess with henna, and start growing my hair again.

[Naava]

I have never made a decision like that. I still do like fashion, but it I have never felt like it's something that controls me.

It was about two and a half years ago when I decided to finally grow my hair long and not just dream about it.

[CrisDee]

From the time I was a toddler, my mother always whacked all my hair off as short as possible, because she didn't want to have to spend the time caring for it, and because she didn't want me to become conceited (she told me this about 15 years ago). Since I was about 5 or 6, I always longed to have long hair - but it took another 2-3 years of begging before she finally stopped cutting my hair. Had waist length hair (but very damaged) by the time I was 12; cut it to chin length to get rid of the splits when I was 13. Had waist length again by 16. Cut it to APL at about 19 or 20, never had it much longer than BSL since. I've whacked it all off to pixie 3 times as an adult - all 3 times have been in moments of extreme emotional turmoil, and I've regretted all 3 times. Hopefully now, by the age of 51, I have learned that cutting my hair doesn't fix anything, and I won't do that again :)

[Alexannee10]

Humm I loved long hair since forever. But I started to grow it when I was .. 14 or 15!

[squiggyflop]

well i never really followed trends.. but i was 18 when i stopped dyeing my hair funky colors and chopping it off all the time.. my hair was pink for a long time... it was so damaged that it just broke off at the shoulders.. im pretty sure pink hair isnt trendy.. so ive always been an oddball.. but at my age alot of girls have longer hair so maybe im giving in to trends for young women having long hair..

[Little_Bird]

At 15 I remember I had awkward stage lenght hair. I cut it to a pixie style trying to look regular and fit on the pattern... I hated that...

It was at 16 I discovered braiding technics and long hair possibilities afterwards. I was enlightened :)

[lapushka]

When I was 6, I wanted long hair. Not just long, really long hair. My grandparents loved short hair and they were always taking me to the barber shop. The barber was a really nice man BTW, and there were these big old-fashioned leather seats to sit in. I loved it. Then when I was 6, I noticed most of the girls in my class had long hair and I wanted to grow mine out as of that moment. I got it to classic in about 4 years, and it was mostly worn in pigtails. At about age 11, I had a drastic cut to a short page style. I was tired of sitting on my hair, even going to the bathroom was awful (try getting two long pigtails out of the way in a good way). I never got past BSL since, always going from styled, short hair back to almost BSL or APL. I had trouble with hairclips too, as my hair used to get stuck in barrettes.

[frizzalot]

I was never into latest fashion hair trends either. I had long hair when i was younger and only cut it ~4 yrs ago becasue it was so damaged.

[krn2891]

I have always wanted long hair but my mom would keep my hair short when I was growing up. When I was about 12 she finally let me start growing my hair out. I grew it to about waist then cut off a lot of damage my senior year of high School, then I started regrowing from shoulder length and now I'm just past TB length

[Medievalmaniac]

I had long hair until middle school. Everyone teased and tortured me so much by then I would have done anything to get them to stop - including cutting my hair in the latest fashion. So, I did. Then I spent the next four years trying to look like everyone else before giving up utterly - it was just never going to happen. But at that point I was a 3-sport athlete, so I kept it chopped. About three years ago, I got "the Meredith" from Grey's Anatomy, loved it for a short time, realized the upkeep was stupidly hard, and let the layers grow out. Since then, I've come to truly love my longer hair, and then this July I joined the LHC which only confirmed what I pretty much already figured out - I should've stayed a longhaire the whole time, and I'm mad glad I finally got back to it!! :D

[Medievalmaniac]

I was 49 when I decided to be a long hair and to ignore fashion and other people's opinions.
Thanks to the LHC I've saved a fortune on hair care and all the junk needed to maintain a short hairstyle. Now, if only it would grow faster...


hehe...I thought you were going to say, "Now, if only I didn't buy so many hairtoys"...! :p

[Eden_Rayn]

As a kid 0-6 my mom always cut it into a short pixie/boy cut. At 6 I convinced her to let me grow it out and the longest I got was shoulder before she convinced me I looked better with short hair so I got a bob. I kept it for a while but grew it back to shoulder at 10 and it sorta went back and forth between shoulder and chin to I was 12. At 14 (I was at shoulder) I discided I wanted to grow it out and by 15 it was waist. Later that year I cut it to the nape of my neck. I stayed at the nape to shoulder for my high school years and at 19 I cut my hair into a bob and just went cut crazy. At 20 I was a pixie and after meeting my husband I started to grow it out however both of us went threw a dye die faze. I was able to to grow it to the nape by 21 and at 22 I am APL and I have not dyed in over a year. My damage is a little past my chin and I slowly cutting it out.

But I have to say I never followed the fashion trend just what my parents told me what looked good on me.

[jera]

I think I'm still following the dictates of fashion :)

I refuse to do the skinny jeans thing though.

I'm still following fashion too, but not when it comes to hair makeovers when they chop off a woman's ankle length hair because they believe it makes her look better. :( I like the skinny jeans, but with the bootcut bottom. They're hard to find. :o


You mean long hair isn't fashionable? Who knew! ;)

LOL !!!!!!!!!! :D I completely agree.

These answers are so interesting. So many of you just never noticed your hair enough to cut it? So how did you end up with the rest of us hair obsessed fanatics?

[MimiKeki]

I decided to grow my hair long again just before I turned 20, just over a year ago, around the time of my joining TLHC.
The funny thing is, I don't feel I have "given up" following fashion. Long hair is greatly admired in arab culture, especially the 'super-long' lengths. It is, in itself, THE fashion.
I hate to say, but I also still use heat styling on occasion.

One thing I can finally say is, that I'm slowly loving my hair more every day, and I will continue to oil and take my vitamins etc.

[myrrhmaiden]

I've had varying lengths of long and short. I was 28 when I decided I would never have "short" hair again.

[windinherhair]

I had long hair in my childhood, and at the age of 14 I decided to chop it off up to my chin. Since then I have grown back out to waist and longer now.

[audree_ov]

At my last major cut... 2 years ago, 3? so between 15 and 16. in the middle of the haircut I learned something about myself. I HATE haircuts... they make me cry, no matter how much the hairstyle looks good on me, I always cry... for months... So, I decided to stop crying... which meant long hair.

[wimitlee]

One day, I just realized that I wasn't going to please everyone and I stopped trying to. Then, I started to dress like I wanted to and began to grow my hair. It was...for me...freeing:-)

[LittleOrca]

I started the growing process again probably when I was in middle school. I lobbed off my hair so that it was all the same length as my bangs, then I was about... 14 when I gave fashion the bird and decided my hair was going to be long because I liked it and not pixie it because some faux fashion guru said it was the 'in' thing to do.

[KarpatiiSiv]

I never followed fashion and never wanted short hair. My hair as a child was kept at about waist length and I had it cut to shoulder length when I was about 12 but since then it has not been shorter than BSL. I've never been to a salon as my older sister trained as a hairdresser when she was younger and used to trim and cut my hair for me. My hair now is probably the longest its ever been.:D

[Bekah]

I grew mine out to BSL when I was 16 but kept cropping it back up to shoulder or chin because I found it too difficult to style with a curling iron. Grew it out again to BSL when I was 25 but it had all kinds of high lights and temporary dyes in it. Chopped it up to chin at 26 to get rid of the permanent highlights I'd gotten 3 years before and havn't cut it more than an inch or two in the 3 years since.

It's always been chin length or longer- usually shoulder length though. I just decided to stop chopping it back up when I came to terms with the fact that my hair wasn't going to hold a curl regardless of how long it was and I should just grow it out.

It wasn't until the last year or so that I've really gotten behind the idea of keeping it waist length or longer for the rest of my life though. Once I got into the habit of caring for it long I can't see any reason why I'd ever feel obligated to shorten it again.

[Hiriel]

I had medium long hair most of elementary school, about APL I guess, and cut it to a little above shoulder when I was 12 or 13. Since it grew out to out BSL it has mostly been around that length. But I can't really claim to rebel against fashion, as I seriously have no idea about fashion, and I'm sure I never knew I wasn't fashionable. And I wouldn't have cared if I knew ;)

[redneckprincess]

20 months ago ( I was 29) right after the tragic pixie cut

[nowxisxforever]

I tried several times when I was younger, but my mother always won out. It wasn't until I was 12 and moved in with my dad that I had the freedom to actually act on it, and I've been growing my hair out since, with only one multi-inch cut due to tangles when I was maybe 13.

[Wicked Princess]

I love fashion, long hair just happens to be part of my style.

:flower: Quoted for truth. :flower:

Once, I cut my hair to look like a page out of a magazine...but only because I was already set on cutting my hair, and was looking for inspiration. I was 11 when I had my first real hair cut...I took it from upper-thigh length to BSL. It's been between hip and BSL until the last year or so. :)

I love fashion. I've worn my hair down, at lengths between waist and classic, to events revolving around fashion. I've never been insulted for it. Nobody ever told me to cut it. Nobody accused me of not being "chique".

In fact...the ONLY people who have ever criticized my hair was by people who said they hated fashion, and liked to point out that my hair didn't fit with my style.

[masterofmidgets]

I think I decided to try growing it out when I was about 14 or 15, because I looked silly with a pixie cut and wanted to see if it would get curlier as it got longer (which it has :D ). I haven't had a major cut since, small maintenance trims notwithstanding.

I guess it was less of a conscious counter-culture thing for me than some other people here - I didn't know long hair wasn't in style, and I wouldn't have much cared if I did. I'm always pretty oblivious to that kind of thing. Now it has a lot more significance to me as a personal statement, but it wasn't a choice that I made initially. I just liked how long hair looked on me.

[Teacherbear]

When I was 13 or 14 I wanted a Dorothy Hamil style. The stylist didn't know who Dorothy Hamil was much less what the style looked like. She ended up cutting my hair so short she had to shave the hair at the base of my scalp/head. The hair in the front was so short I had to go buy a 1/4 inch barreled curling iron. When I showed the cut to my Dad (hoping for a compliment) he said, "Well. It could be shorter." I considered that to mean he preferred it shorter. It took me y-e-a-r-s to realize he meant it literally, it "could" be shorter (but then it would have been a buzz cut).

There and then I vowed to always have "long" hair. My definition of long, at that time, was longer than the shoulders.

I am proud to say that I've had long hair (that definition) ever since. The next shortest cut I had was a Kelly McGillis cut (after Top Gun came out) with a perm. I looooooved that style.

Anyway, I decided to grow my hair out because of personal preference, not to thumb my nose at the "dictates of fashion".

[Unzadi]

I always knew I was a longhair from as soon as I could have a preference. My parents kept my hair around shoulder for most of my childhood except for a chin legnth cut when I was eleven. I hated it and vowed I would never have hair that short again.

[starlights]

ive always wanted long hair since i was a kid... but i had no idea what it took... so i gave up and kept my length apl for years!!

finally at the age of 27 i decided enough was enough... i will do what it takes and grow my hair long!! im glad i made that decision... im enjoying the journey to success!

[Naamah]

I've always had long hair. The only time it wasn't long is when I cut it to about chin length when I was 11. Immediately after, I grew it out again. It's been around waist length for years.

[Devon77]

8th Grade.. My Mother hated it so it went.

She still hates it! So I guess I will have to die with it! ;-)

[LadyVictoria]

I only cut my hair short once in my life (shoulder length and my poor mother cried). I was 12. Other than that it has always been long. My longest length so far has been TB, currently at waist and growing to terminal length, however long that may be.

[sakuramoon08]

Since I was a child I decided I was a long hair. Unfortunatly my mother decided i should have my hair cut chin length to "see" how it looked. I was very angry at her and my father, because they had not told me they were going to cut it so short. I still burn with resentment at that. It never grew back with the same thickness again. I had beautiful dark brown thick hair. Now it's many sizes and thicknesses. Thanks alot parents. T_T

[ilovelonghair]

I was 3 when I decided I wanted long hair, took till 6 when I was allowed to grow it out. My mom always complained that I didn't have enough hair, so I had a big hair complex. She made me have this horrible ear to ear fringe so half of my hair was basically short, of course the rest is going to look thin if half you your hair is not in the ponytail!

[Kirzja]

I have never cared about what fashion told me...

As a teenager, I decided to cut my hair short and dye it red, because the 'popular girls' (who I did not like) all grew their hair out and bleached it. I didn't want to look like them.

At the age of 19, I came to terms with my natural hair color again, and started growing it out from scratch.
Not because it was any more or less fashionable than what I had before. Just because I like the look of long, healthy natural hair.

[Qadupae]

:rolleyes: I was actually kind of opposite and cut my hair short in an effort to thwart fashion sense. The last couple of times I wanted to grow my hair were actually to follow fashion, but this time I don't want to grow for fashion but just to feel the long hair again that I used to have and treat it better than I ever did.

[lesbia]

i start take care of my hair 2 years ago, when i was 16. My hair was layer, at shoulder lenght. After a year they was blunt at bsl, now after 2 years i'm around the midback :) i'm waiting for waist :)

[Gypsygirl]

I have had long hair my whole life- the longest it has been is past my waist when I was 12. At that point I made the mistake of cutting 18 inches off of it. Bad case of peer pressure, I guess... :rolleyes: Never again! I love having long hair...it is more than just a physical part of you.

[Chamomile betty]

I was 27 when I found the hair boards and decided to grow out my hair.
I had done a lot of damage to my hair, it was heavily layered (and shoulder length). I've had a few to,es when I gave up and trimmed the layers back in. So there was a lot of bad habits to break :eek:

It's been a long process for me but I have enjoyed the journey to where I am now.

[Chamy]

I was 16 i got dreads, later i shaved my head. But since i didn't like anything about having short hair, i got dedicated to growing my hair long. I was just last year that my perception of what is long hair changed, and now my goal is at least TB. I love the idea of my hair not being like everyone else's. :D

[jasper]

At what age did you decide not to follow the dictates of fashion and become a longhair?

I may not have reached that age. . . or actually, the dictates of fashion may have called me to the longhair journey. I started growing my hair out of shorter styles to emulate a longer hairstyle I saw in a movie when I was in my 20's. And since then I have been inspired by long hair in different media on models and actresses, who I presume follow fashion trends. . . .

[AstrayStar]

My mother kept my hair between neck and shoulder length my whole childhood and I hated it. I have been growing my hair out since I was teen but have chopped it several times, not because of fashion but either because it was damaged or it was annoying me. Crazy I know! But I have never known how to do any updos or anything, hated long wet hair in the winter, and hated getting my hair caught in jacket zippers once winter hit. I am determined to figure out how to deal with longer hair in the winter!

[Belisarius]

I was 27 when i decided i liked long hair and was going to let it grow no matter what.
Before i had grown for about a year and then had it cut, because i couldn't handle it.

[Avalin]

"I was just last year that my perception of what is long hair changed, and now my goal is at least TB. I love the idea of my hair not being like everyone else's. "
Exactly.
When I was a toddler my hair was like a mushroom (curled under ear length), yuck! My sister had long perfect hair (naturally jet black! And SHINY) and I was jealous of her all the time. Fashion took over me in my teens. I last got my hair chopped to shoulder when I was 14 with short, short layers that were only a few inches long in the back. I curled and teased it and stated hi-lighting. I thought it looked awesome. Then a boy I liked told me he liked my long hair before. My Dad was also angry that I cut it. My mom loved it. I then became torn and didn't know if I personally loved it or hated it (I still don't know). I grew it out back to bsl, then dyed half of it dark brown underneath (age 15) and I also thought it looked good after I cut it. Now I think that it was a stupid idea. Half blonde and half brown hair is ridiculous. Now when I see someone like that I am like, “make up your mind!” Haha. Anyways, it was demi-permanent so eventually it faded and I never dyed it underneath again (main motivation was that I had to pay for it myself). Then when I was 16 I made the worst trend mistake ever. I was “bored” with my hair and so I decided to dye it strawberry blonde because I saw a picture of a pretty girl with strawberry hair and I fell in love with how beautiful she looked. Well, I have brown eyes and yellow toned skin and it looked horrible on me. The worst part of it was that after I washed it (yes, with color-safe shampoo) it turned ORANGE. Bright orange! My mom was not happy and I was crying all the time. I refused to go to school until it was fixed. I went to another salon and they put a toner in to “tone down the orange”. It worked a bit, but then she convinced me to “break up the color with highlights”. I ended up broke (not hard for a teenager) and looking like a STRIPED TIGER! Eventually my mom was nice enough to call the woman back that had ruined the color in the first place and asked her to fix it for free. I got it dyed brown to cover the orange. It took almost 8 months for all the orange to fade so that I could stop putting demi color on top of it. Fast forward to now, about 2 years since I stopped dyeing it and I have been all-natural since with only trims.
This year (about 2 months ago, I am 18) I stopped using any heat and started using hair sticks. Now that it is basically at waist (my original goal) my opinion of long has changed and I want it much longer. My end goal is to never dye it until I go gray, only curl it a few a times per year or less and to get to the point where I start sitting on it. If it becomes a problem after that I will start trimming more off so that I can manage it. Needless to say I hate “fashionable hair” now. At least on myself… my sister’s hair is now a pixie and has been for five years. It does suit her.

[Cholera]

Earlier this year was when I really got into growing my hair. So, 16. :) It'd be neat to see a poll of this :O

[Keildra]

14, I already wanted to be different and to do that for me meant either super long or super short, the sad part is that I decided to go super short first. huge mistake for me I am glad I learned but also sad that I could've been like classical by now if I hadn't made that mistake

[JamieLeigh]

When I was 9 years old, my mom gave me the quintessential French poodle 1980's home perm. This led to HUGE tangles, some of which were right at my neck and were unable to be removed other than through cutting. So at ten, I had a shoulder-length style. And bangs. My mom gave up after that and just let me continue to grow my hair. By 17, it was nearly knee length, and I cut it off to about mid-back to be able to march in the college band. (Their policy was no hair could touch the collar of your uniform, unless it was long for religious reasons - which mine was not) I didn't have the benefit of knowing any good long hair styles other than the bee-butt bun which could not fit under my band helmet. I had to march in order to keep my scholarship, so there you have it. I've been growing it out ever since and trimming often to keep it even and thicker-looking, and also to get rid of old dye and heat damage from high school (which was gone finally in 08). And here I sit at roughly mid-thigh at age 29.

So.....I guess age 10. ;)

[Magelet33]

I think the last time I cut my hair to look like the styles in the magazines and on tv and stuff I was... 14? it was too much work. I told my hairdresser to cut my hair to like peyton sawyer on one tree hill, and she said "are you sure, you'll have to use product every day". Of course I didn't, but it didn't look good without product, so it's been almost 6 years since I stopped trying to mimic fashionable hair. Turns out, long long brown/auburny curls are MUCH more striking and impressive than looking like everyone else. LOL

but in terms of concious decision to be a long hair, and see how long I want to go (longer than I'd ever considered as a child/teen), about 2 weeks, since I found lhc lol. I chopped off past waist hair in a quest to rid myself of split ends (oh, had I known of s&d) a couple months ago, and my DP's viceral response (he was very upset when he cut a couple inches to get rid of trims) to my cutting off more than I meant made me decide I wanted to grow it back. now I'm thinking I want it long enough to sit on, which I never thought I would want. Maybe even try for terminal. lol.

[Crinita]

In 1990 I vowed I would never cut my hair short again. I am a woman of my word.

Pax,

[ArienEllariel]

Probably when I was 19. I've just let it grow out some with minor trims occasionally to even out the layers I had cut in at the time. Now I've determined that I really don't care to follow the current fashion trends. I've never been good at putting on makeup in a "trendy" way or styling my hair with heat appliances. I guess I've always felt a bit out of the loop when it came to modern fashion. Even the clothes that are propular now I'm not really in to. I guess I've just decided to have my own style and ignore what people tell me I should or shouldn't do when it comes to fashion.

I prefer a more natural look with comfy clothes. I've always been more of a t shirt and jeans kinda gal anyways. I mean, I like dresses, but it's rarely that I find ones that I like. Sun dresses are cute and I really like Regency style dresses as well. I'm going to have to make some for myself (though I'm only a beginner at sewing). :) I like doing things my way and dislike conformity. Anywho, I've just decided on being me and if that means going against the flow more often than not then so be it. ;)

[MadPirateBippy]

For me it was a cash thing. I LOVED my crazy purple hair but was too broke to get it done professionally. I never liked the look of Manic Panic style dye jobs and they never stayed well, but my salon went from $20 for the color to $180- it was worth it, my colorist had a masters in chemistry and mixed all the dyes custom in-shop, and I handed her card out to everyone until I ran out of them, but there was no way I could do that to touch up my roots.

So, since I had had long but uncared for hair before then, I decided I'd grow it back out and actually pay attention to it this time. There was some other stuff about my grandmother's death, etc, etc, but one day I shaved half my head and said that was it, I'm growing it all out.

[jera]

In 1990 I vowed I would never cut my hair short again. I am a woman of my word.

Pax,

That is frighteningly awesome commitment Crinita. I hope I can do the same. :)

[Svenja]

I was 29 already :p - I think the fact that I'd turn 30 made me realize: You're not getting any younger, but that does not mean you must look raggy :laugh:
Plus I met this woman who had the most amazing hair, and I must admit I became jealous and wanted hair like hers too.

[Yellowmoon]

When I was 18 and finished school.

[PhillyGirl1978@]

Man...I think I came out of the womb with the desire for long hair!lol My mother was white and had long blond hair for the first few years of my life, growing up in the white side of my family, all my cousins had long straight hair, so that is what I wanted. I put towels and sheets on my head, I wanted a wig and everything!lol Growing up I damaged my hair a lot trying to make it straight, or change the color so that didn't really comply with my want for long hair. My hair never grew much past shoulder length. But I always knew it was a goal of mine ever since I could talk! Since I finally realized how to care for my hair, and joining this site I can finally actually see my goal becoming reality.

[walterSCAN]

I ALWAYS wanted long hair, but it wasn't until the 'awful cut of 2001' that my mother relinquished control and I started really growing... so my answer is both age 1 and age 13-ish.

[skydancer7]

Honestly, I have always been painfully ignorant of the current fasion. In high school, I would wear this oversized african-print quilt style button up shirt,from the Value Village, because I liked the colors. I never had a clue about what was fasionable. I did keep my hair long during that time (BSL or so).


Sometimes I wish I was just a little more fasion-savvy. At this point I rarely know if or when I am breaking any fasion rules! I just wear what I like :)

Ok I guess there was one time I used my hair to keep up with the fasion. When I was 8 years old (late 1980's) i got one of those awfull perms everyone was getting. It was a disaster! The curl fell out within a few days and I was left with crispy fried hair. Nice.

[Tovah]

My hair has been longer and shorter all my life. I remember as a young girl my mom sitting me on the dining room table and being frustrated with my tears when she combed my hair, cutting it off. It stayed at the puffy at ears short bangs (Mamie Eisenhower style-for those who remember) throughout my childhood. When I was a young teen, I cut it very very very short and honestly it looked much better. I grew it 'long' toward the end of college (19 years old-21) and had it between BSL and waist for some years until I was maid of honor at my sister's wedding and she insisted that I layer it. I ended up growing it again and cut it off when I was 29 when I was pregnant with my first baby....I permed it too- Talk about a poodle cut! Why did I do that???????????? It's been up and down since, but for the past several years I've been wearing a bob because my 'friends' and my hairdresser convinced me that it was the most appropriate style for my age and my shape face and my fine hair. So I colored it and blow fried it and kept it about chin length. After seeing a photo of myself from the back on a particularly hot and humid day, I had an epiphany.

Soooooooooo........at the tender age of 61, I have decided that no one else will dictate what I look like. Stopped cutting, stopped coloring and determined to get to that waist length hair no matter what. A colleague at work has given me a good 'mantra' to recite when I get the urge to cut. It's "Remember the Summer". It works.

[CaityBear]

I never really had that moment. When I was young, my parents let my hair grow for the most part. My mom did give me a mushroom cut once because my hair was insanely thin (still is a bit on the thin side) but I'll forever be grateful because it's been much thicker after that. Otherwise I've grown it out for the most part. I cut it to shoulder and chin length once just because I wanted a change, not because it may have been a trend.

Hah, I've never actually ever followed trends. Fashion or beauty trends.

[Red_Head_Reader]

I liked my around-APL hair when was 15, but it felt uncontrollable because it was big and frizzy when I didn't straighten it. So I got a short cut, and I liked it most of the time, but then decided to grow it out again, and hated it for a long time when it was around shoulder length. So I had it cut back to short again! But I decided after that, at 16, that I would grow it out. So here I am at 17 with a-little-past-APL hair and loving it, but can't wait for it to grow more :)