Wearing hair down all the time?

[pinklemonade]

Not sure if there's another thread on this topic but, does anyone else on LHC keep their hair down most of the time? I just read a recent thread about keeping one's hair up all the time and I realized: I always wear mine down! I just put it into braids when I go to sleep but other than that.....I let it loose.

Ever since joining LHC though, I realized that by doing so, maybe I have been damaging my hair? My hair is a bit longer than BSL and I'm aiming for waist or longer. Does anyone else feel that putting hair up in a pony or bun just doesn't suit them? I look so much better when my hair is down, and it's not just because others have told me. It could be my face shape but I don't feel comfortable when my hair is tied in a pony tail and my face is softer looking with hair down.

What are the main issues with keeping hair down? I'm always careful now about bag straps, and while sitting down I'm careful not to lean against my hair. What else could I do to lessen the possibility of damage? I love putting the upper half of my hair up, or tying the first two strands framing my face back, but I know that's just the same as leaving all of the hair down....

[jackiesjottings]

I must admit I am so tempted to! I always have it down at the weekends and even if I put it up for work, I like to let it down when I get home. I suppose the reason I sometimes wear it up for work is to keep it tidy, but down is what I like best :) I do braid it at night though.

[Svenja]

I had worn my hair mostly down before I read into how damaging the constant rubbing on clothes can be - still, I do wear it down from time to time at home. Not at the moment so as I have been facing a challenge of keeping it up :D
I ALWAYS feel like buns or updos do not suit me very well, but that's quite subjective as I have received quite a few compliments already.

The main issues for wearing your hair down are rubbing and therefore the risk of split ends and breakage, tangly hair, knots, etc.

[joiekimochi]

I look better with my hair down too, but I find that the humidity makes my hair clump together and get stringy fast, plus it keeps getting caught and pulled and rubbed against on other surfaces like clothes and bag straps and other people. I only wear it down on special occasions and when DBF comes over. Luckily I've sort of retired from modeling and have gone into a profession where it's best to look plain and unattractive (teaching) and it's allowed me to pull my hair back and give the products a rest. My hair looks and feels so much better now that I'm a teacher than when I was a model, what an irony!

Bottom line is, wearing hair down might not be damaging on its own, but is exposing you to possible damage from external sources like abrasion and the wind and getting it caught in train doors (happened to me).

[anrems]

I look better with my hair down too, so I've been trying to find some softer and messy looking up dos that will still give my face a softer look, but keep my hair protected. I do wear my hair down most days, but I'm getting better! I always braid at night too, and now that I have a baby who discovered pulling hair, I am more motivated to keep it out of reach!

[Tomato]

I can't stand my hair being down all the time, it always seem to hang in front of my eyes. I put it down for special occasions.
Regarding damage: I have two colleagues who wear their hair down all the time, at least at work I have never seen them with an up do. In both cases it's well beyond bsl and I can't detect any damages.

Kind regards from sunny Vienna,
Tomato:eyebrows:

[Angela_Rose]

For me, it's just impractical, though I would love to wear it down more.

Usually, I'm found with it all up in a bun, though today I opted for a five-strand braid.

[LoveMyMutt]

There was a thread somewhere about this; seemed that a lot of the ladies with waist or shorter wore it down regularly. I think once you get past waist that is where it becomes impractical to wear it down w/out it getting caught in things or rubbing against stuff constantly.

My daughter is almost at waist but she hates wearing it up (she wants to grow it to knee length). So I taught her to pull it over her shoulder when she's sitting in a chair or in the car to keep it from getting damaged from the chair backs.

I'm only just past shoulder so I wear mine down during the winter but during the summer I tend to wear it up most of the time as it is makes me too hot. And it does seem to grow a lot better during the summer...

[ilovelonghair]

I wear my hair mostly down, unless it's a hot day. In winter it's nice and warm to wear it down LOL. But I also wear it down when I sleep and I think that might be the reason why my hair doesn't seem to get thicker (while it grows fast)
I am very careful not to break any hairs during the day.

I don't know if anyone has this problem, but during really hot nights if my hair touches my neck, the skin of my neck sweats and starts to hurt badly.

I just don't like the feel of having my hair up when I sleep. I toss it over the pillow, but it won't stay there as I tend to move a lot in my sleep.

[Margeaux]

I always wear mine down, during the day, at night... It's why I wanted to grow it in the first place! :D The only exception is when I play sports or when I've oiled my hair (just to make sure the stickiness doesn't get into my face). The statement that wearing hair down damages it is pretty much anathema to me: as long as I get regular trims and treat my hair well overall I don't notice any special damage, and nobody has ever pointed it out to me, either.

[countryhopper]

There's a "Wear Your Hair Down" challenge, but I can't remember if it is on this board or another one.

[spidermom]

I wear my hair down when I have time to enjoy it and pay attention to it. Otherwise it needs to be up and out of my way, otherwise it drifts around and grabs stuff - like the edge of the light switch cover plate as I walk by, yanking a few hairs out.

The last time I saw my stylist, I was complaining about how plain I look with all my hair pulled back into a bun. I asked her if she thought some face-framing pieces would be a good idea. She looked at me from several angles and said "No - you're fine." This would have been an opportunity for her to create something I'd need more maintenance for, but she didn't take it, so I assume I look better than I think I do. You probably do as well. Definitely wear your hair how you like it, but as it gets longer, you might find that keeping it put up becomes necessary.

[missmandy]

I always wear it down. That's why I'm growing it long, because I well.... like the look of it! And I look better with it down. If it's a bit damaging, well, that's just too bad.

[bjt]

I always wear it down. That's why I'm growing it long, because I well.... like the look of it! And I look better with it down. If it's a bit damaging, well, that's just too bad.
This pretty much me, too. I do keep a couple of sticks at work so that I can throw it up if its getting in the way while at my desk, but otherwise, I pretty much have it down. If I'm really hot or I'm wearing a lot of winter gear I might braid it some, but even when I do that, I leave most of it hanging free. I look better with my hair down, I *like* my long hair, and I get compliments when its down. When I first got to LHC, I bought a bunch of toys and kept it up in buns for almost a year. but I was pretty unhappy about it, my hair was no less damaged because of it and I thought I looked pretty terrible that whole time. so, I've sold off a lot of those toys and just wear it down!

My hair is at my tailbone. I keep it trimmed so it doesn't get any longer because the only time it drives me nuts is when I can sit on it. so I make sure I keep it just short of that point.

[VitaR86]

I have BSL hair too and almost always have mine down too. I have a round face and I don't like the way the front of my face looks when my hair is up. I find that it makes my face look larger. I also find that having my hair up to the damaging to me. But I suspect that has something to do with the cheap hair ties I have. But hey, that's what I'm here to learn. Better ways to take car of my locks.

[Frying Pan Paul]

When I wear my hair down it gets tangled much more which results in damage when trying to get a comb through my hair. It ends up being more work and more hair in the sink. If there is absolutely no breeze than I may wear it down, but it at the end of the day it is more manageable when let out from being tied back.

[Athena's Owl]

i'll wear it loose the first day after a wash, but after that, up it goes. my hair is far too curly to be flinging about day after day.

though in the summer i wear it down more often because the conditions are better for washing it more often.

[Lemur_Catta]

I wear my hair down when I am at home and when I am out with my boyfriend, but even that depends on what I am doing: if I am cooking or cleaning, or if we are going to a very crowded place, I usually wear a braid.
When I am out for other reasons, like university, tkd practice, everything else :D I usually put my hair in a bun or a braid. It's more practical, and I don't want to show off my hair all the time anyway, it's like an ornament to me, there are places where I want to wear it down, and places where there's no reason to.

[Topaz]

I wear my hair down most of the time, with certain exceptions. For instance, when I go outside, if it is windy or very humid, I braid or bun it. I braid or bun when I'm cooking or doing housework, or doing anything physical where it might get in my way. But the rest of the time, MOST of the time, it is down and loose. I've simply become very proficient at keeping it out of harm's way. Granted it has only just reached waist length and I may change my tune as it grows longer, but for now I'm enjoying the feel of my hair flowing around my arms and down my back. I don't have many split ends or damage, so I don't think I'm harming my hair at all by wearing it down. As long as you take proper precautions, I think you can wear your hair however you like best :)

[Eniratak]

I have classic length hair, a little longer actually, and my hair is constantly down.
If you like it down, then wear it down.

That's why I have long hair. It's not so I can hide it in updos (though I do occasionally put it up when it's hot).

Damage will happen whether you wear it down or wear it up.

Do what you feel like doing.

[Arctic_Mama]

It just depends. Course, fairly straight hair? That's going to be a LOT more resistant to damage than fine, curly hair. Some hairtypes are just more fragile, and if your nape hairs are prone to tangling to rubbing and twisting with the movement of walking, the mechanical damage or tryig to detangle that hair WILL cause more damage than if it didn't incur that treatment.

But the level of damage depends largely on the hairtype, the condition of that hair, and the exposure it is having while down. My hair personally takes a beating when down - those ends need babying to remain attractive the few times I really want to show them off! But many gals wear their hair down without an appreciable amount of visible wear and tear.

[Capybara]

I wear my hair down about 50% of the time, whenever I feel like it.

I've never noticed any mechanical damage, but I guess I always keep my hair where I know it will be exposed to the least damage possible - it's become second nature to flip it onto the other shoulder when I'm carrying a purse, or drape it over the back of a chair rather than lean against it.

I like controlling when and where I have my hair down :)

[AriaDraconfly]

I can't stand having my hair up, It's very rare when I do, and when I do it usually comes down halfway through the day!

[Mariah!!]

I don't put my hair up very often. I mostly just straighten it and leave it down. sometimes I throw it into a quick pony but I never braid, or bun. I don't think it looks good on me. And my hubby doesn't like it either. but I love it on other people! Plus I don't have enough hair toys!! and I'm not comfortable with my hair anything but down to sleep in

[ilovelonghair]

I noticed that a large part of my hair near the nape is in much better shape than the hair from the top of my head. Which is weird because you'd think that would be more damaged due to wearing it down.

[Neddy]

I have about waist length curly hair, and don't take any special pains to keep it up all the time. I generally forget about how I am wearing my hair and just do whatever. Some situations (sports, windy days, hot days) it's easiest up, some days it's easiest down. I'm noticing I seem to take a much less involved hair path in that I don't measure, don't take pains to wear it up, etc.

I don't see any huge damage resulting from wearing it down, so I think I'll just keep going with how I've done it. Glad to know I'm not the only one who doesn't meticulously braid or bun their hair ever morning.

[Sammich]

I don't see huge damage from me keeping my hair down all the time (which I do daily), and I love it down, makes my face seem less fat. (It's waist)
My hair isn't too resilient either and it's hanging fine. (ha, pun)
Do whatever makes you happy! :D

[Nera]

I don't like updos because I can't comb my hair when dry. So i'm stuck with a really bumpy, curly surface if I'm trying to do a bun for example. Also, trying to get hairtoys in/out of my hair is quite an adventure. I'm quite sure I would do more damage to my hair if I would wear it up all the time!

[Sara_1987]

I always wear my hair down, also for sleeping. The only time I wear it up is when I work out (at least once, sometimes a couple times a week).

I have an ugly nose and I think having my hair up accentuates it. I'm having my nose fixed this summer though so I might wear my hair up more after that.
The most I do now sometimes is a loose side braid (usually when I'm bored in class I'll braid my hair :p).

If this were very damaging to my hair I still wouldn't wear my hair up. I'd rather then just cut my hair off.

[woodlandnymph]

Leaving my hair down is my preferred style, but I will throw it up into a messy bun whenever I have to work outside or household chores. There's nothing graceful about cleaning out a litter box with your hair getting in the way...:rolleyes:

[gnegirl]

I do, but i'm at BSL and my hair still gets trimmed every 8 weeks or so.

I'm not a huge fan of having it up all the time, and don't plan to grow it much past my waist. Hopefully this will be a good length to either do a half-up or just let blow in the breeze :).

[Armelle]

I usually wear my hair down. It's just past waist length. I've found two potential damaging problems: my office chair and my own hands. LOL. I keep fiddling with my hair and it gets my hair tangled and dirty. Nervous habit I guess. :)

I look rather harsh when I pull my hair up. I've noticed two problems with this as well: My face oils spread through the front of my hair (greasies!) and the constant pulling on my hair gives me headaches (and pulls out my hair).

[pinklemonade]

Thank you ladies for your feedback! Glad to know I'm not the only one! I guess it also depends HOW long and what type one's hair is but I definitely prefer it down (like sammich wrote- it makes my face look bigger too!). And Nera, I also feel that I would have more damage from putting it up all the time lol! We just need to take good care (watch out for bags/wind/sitting down).
thanks again everyone! happy growing :)