Former shorties, what has taken you by surprise?

[rapunzhell13]

As a former shorty, I'm now at APL and starting to feel what it's like to have long hair (I'm sure some of you veterans are stifling a laugh here, but bear with me :lol:). For those of us who are new to the long hair world, what has taken you by surprise?

I for one am shocked at how much shed hair I have to deal with. I can't stand it! My hair is getting everywhere and it's only APL! What the! I know if I put my hair up all the time and comb out the strays over a sink or whatever that I can prevent it from getting all over the place, but I'm still in the enjoying-it-down-regularly-before-it-gets-too-long-and-damaging stage (see how I made it official looking with the hyphens? :lol:). I'm not one of those people who find shed hairs super gross, but the sheer quantity is driving me up the wall.

Another thing annoying me is the tangles, OH the tangles! It doesn't seem to matter if I use cones, no cones, oiling, anything! I never knew I had such tangly hair. :eek: I try to be gentle to get them out, but sometimes in a fit of frustration I can't help but yank (just a little, I swear :whistle:).

Even DBF is starting to realise that long hair is not always sunshine and lollipops. He got a hair caught in his mouth last night, which I think grosses him out more than it would me.

Former shorties, or anyone really, share your stories here. :flower:

[Flynn]

The lack of all these things are things I enjoyed a lot about being a shorthair. XD

Also, using far less stuff in my hair than I do now it's long.

What I do prefer about long hair is being able to get it all up and away from my face without looking like I'm from Dragon Ball Z.

Also, no shelling out $70 every 3-5 weeks for maintenance cuts! O.o

[Delila]

As time goes on, you'll get into a routine, so dealing with shedding isn't quite so irksome. (or, well, that's what seems to have happened with me.)

Even though I do have long hair now, I still consider myself a relative newbie to the long hair thing. Wore basically a pixie most of my life.

For me, I think actually getting my bangs grown out was the biggest surprise. Took forever, and then it was done. :happydance: Things got easier after that.

[rapunzhell13]

The lack of all these things are things I enjoyed a lot about being a shorthair. XD

Also, using far less stuff in my hair than I do now it's long.

What I do prefer about long hair is being able to get it all up and away from my face without looking like I'm from Dragon Ball Z.

Also, no shelling out $70 every 3-5 weeks for maintenance cuts! O.o

I'm going through bottles upon bottles of conditioner. I didn't even need conditioner with a pixie!

Maintenance cuts are probably the biggest reason I started growing. I actually liked looking like Astro Boy though. :lol:


As time goes on, you'll get into a routine, so dealing with shedding isn't quite so irksome. (or, well, that's what seems to have happened with me.)

Even though I do have long hair now, I still consider myself a relative newbie to the long hair thing. Wore basically a pixie most of my life.

For me, I think actually getting my bangs grown out was the biggest surprise. Took forever, and then it was done. :happydance: Things got easier after that.

I think I've already started doing things to make my life easier, such as combing out hairs before washing so that the drains don't get clogged. It's funny how you just start to do things without even realising sometimes.

[Yozhik]

This is me, too! We have wall-to-wall carpeting, and to my disgust I've recently noticed my hair all over it! Also, I've been heavily oiling my hair, but my ends are still getting crunchy and velcroey and tangle :( Maybe it's just because I've never gone this long without trimming (7 months now)? Also, it's probably previous damage . . . well, eventually I'll get it trimmed off.

Also, I have to contain my hair when I sleep now, otherwise it gets horribly tangly, or strangles me, or DBF rolls onto it :rolleyes:

I guess I just need to get used to this longer hair :) There are, of course, also a lot of rewarding parts, like having the longest hair in my department at work, and getting compliments from DBF :D

[spidermom]

I longed for length so much that I thought it would be somehow more fun. Instead, it's a great, big, fat pain in the patootie about half the time.

Still - I've always wanted but never had extra-long hair before, so I'm going to stay with it for awhile longer, a couple of more years anyway.

[rapunzhell13]

This is me, too! We have wall-to-wall carpeting, and to my disgust I've recently noticed my hair all over it! Also, I've been heavily oiling my hair, but my ends are still getting crunchy and velcroey and tangle :( Maybe it's just because I've never gone this long without trimming (7 months now)? Also, it's probably previous damage . . . well, eventually I'll get it trimmed off.

Also, I have to contain my hair when I sleep now, otherwise it gets horribly tangly, or strangles me, or DBF rolls onto it :rolleyes:

I guess I just need to get used to this longer hair :) There are, of course, also a lot of rewarding parts, like having the longest hair in my department at work, and getting compliments from DBF :D

Yup, I still have lingering damage that I've gradually been trimming. Hopefully once it's gone, the tangling will ease up a bit.

My DBF rolls onto my hair too and I'm like owowowowowowow 'til he gets off. :lol: I'm a restless sleeper, so I get a bird's nest on the side of my head I slept on. These are the worst!


I longed for length so much that I thought it would be somehow more fun. Instead, it's a great, big, fat pain in the patootie about half the time.

Still - I've always wanted but never had extra-long hair before, so I'm going to stay with it for awhile longer, a couple of more years anyway.

So true. :lol: I'm hoping once it's longer and I'll have more updos to choose from that I'll enjoy keeping it up most of the time anyway.

[Flynn]

I'm going through bottles upon bottles of conditioner. I didn't even need conditioner with a pixie!

Maintenance cuts are probably the biggest reason I started growing. I actually liked looking like Astro Boy though. :lol:


Hahaha, yeah, Astro Boy was a good look. Mine was quite, well, big most of the time, because my hair grows pretty quickly, so it went way beyond Astro Boy. XD

[SHELIAANN1969]

I am still new to long hair too, all my life I had the same haircut since I was 6 years old, a shag, yes, it looks great on me, even 35 years later, but it makes it complicated for up dos.

Most of my layers are gone, I want to cut them in, but I know it will make it worse for my hair.

Biggest surprises:

I don't need to use as much shampoo as I thought I did.

I don't need a brush.

I do need gallons of conditioner, yes, I said gallons. I buy them at least 4 gallons at a time.

I do need my oils to keep my hair under control (well, somewhat under control) and use lots of leave in as well.

My hair is curly! Yes, I was flattening those poor lil curls into non existence!

People don't notice my hair as much as I though they would.

It can be a pain in the arse, lol.

I am still finding ways to aide my hair into not attacking me or me not attacking it, lol, sleeping is a trip, I need a new method, I fight it every night.

[Roseate]

This is the second time I've grown my hair out, so I kind of remember things this time around, but last time it was all a surprise.

I remember the first time I clogged the vacuum cleaner with shed hair... eewwww. I'm still not back to the "getting-caught-in-my-armpits" phase, but I'm not looking forward to that one.

[rapunzhell13]

I find myself nodding along to everything everyone has said so far. Thanks for contributing!

[JenniferNoel]

For me, just the general length getting caught in everything, especially between the wall/car chair/chair and my back. Takes some getting used to. :p

[Siava]

What surprised me most was finding out I had actual curls instead of waves! Before the big chop, I either blowdried my hair almost every day or put it up when it was wet which pulled the curls out (and still does). After the big chop, there was no need for me to blowdry my hair anymore and I couldn't put it up. The curls were everywhere and I thought they were so cute! My mom couldn't believe it and kept jokingly accussing me of having a perm.

Another thing that surprised me was realizing just how much damage I had done to my hair before cutting it so short. I can't imagine ever treating my hair that way again.

[Pixna]

Having grown out from a super-short pixie, I forgot how much I shed and how my hair gets everywhere. I also forgot how very much I LOVE having long hair. Although I used to wear my hair in an English braid almost every day when it was long before, this time around I'm surprised by how much I enjoy wearing it UP every day. I'm getting so much pleasure from my old hair toys, which I never wore as much as I do now. I'm also surprised how much easier my hair is to take care of than it was when it was short (and when it when through all the growing-out stages).

[LoveMyMutt]

How much easier it is than short hair! Even with the combing & oiling and conditioning, it is SO much easier than having to blow-dry every morning and get cuts every 4-5 weeks.

I can go for 4 days without washing if needs be; and if my hair isn't cooperating it is now long enough to have various options for putting it up.

The downside is I have to be more careful not to damage it; when it was super-short I could change colors dramatically on a regular basis, and it all got trimmed off within a month or two. Now I have to think more long-range.

[HairyCarrie]

This is the first time being a long hair since I was in my 20s (decades ago). I budget more time to get my hair the way I like it as I frequently blow dry and heat curl.

But I especially love how my hair *feels* so it's all worth it to me. I'm still in the honeymoon stage about having long hair so not much irks me. :gabigrin:

[XcaliburGirl]

Even DBF is starting to realise that long hair is not always sunshine and lollipops. He got a hair caught in his mouth last night, which I think grosses him out more than it would me.

Just wait until he's in the shower and starts finding looong hairs caught in other places. :bigeyes:

I was surprised how soon I could get my hair into a ponytail and updos. I used to think I needed APL to get a decent ponytail.

[GlassEyes]

Ye gods, the shedding.

Surprisingly, my shedding has just STARTED to slow down--but for the last three-six months...christ. o-o I'm surprised I still HAVE hair.

Then there's my hair getting caught in things--especially backpacks. It's a pain, but I'm getting used to it. It's a bigger surprise when my hair is straight and it starts getting caught in my armpit and stuff--though less painful than a backpack. :eyeroll:

It's also just at that length were I have to keep yanking it out of shirt collars. -_- And then it winds up RIGHT back in there.

[mattt]

i guess like a lot of others i found the shedding a surprise last time. I thought I was losing my hair for a while.

[spidermom]

Also, I had pictured myself with long, flowing hair discretely staying behind me, not swinging into the oven when I open it or reaching out to grab the crack between the wall and the light switch cover or twirling itself around cabinet hinges when I stoop down to pet the dog and give her treats. I've learned it must be contained (bunned, braided, or at least dropped down the back of my shirt), especially in the kitchen since nobody likes shed hairs in their food, which I didn't realize at all when it was short. I mean - yes, I realized that nobody wants hair in their food, but I didn't know long hair gets into everything (shed or not) and makes a nuisance of itself.

[ReadingRenee]

Im short again but I was a shortie who grew to waist length last year.

The shedding was a huge surprise. I had long hair as a child and I just didn't remember that aspect of it.

Also, once I can actually pull my ends in front of me and look at them, they ALWAYS looked bad and damaged to me and it wasn't til I cut my hair short and started fresh that I realized that that is just how my hair ends look. Ooops, all those unnecessary inches lost over the years from constant trimming that I didn't need.

How hot long hair is and how much heavier.

How my hair constantly had to be up and how annoying it was to want to lay back but never being able to because of my hair clip or stick or whatever.

How it got thinner at the bottom.

How some days, any updo caused a headache, no matter what I did.

[ArienEllariel]

This long hair venture is has been interesting so far. I'm noticing the "hot" aspect and I'm only at APL. My neck sweats outside in the summer now if I don't get my hair up.

Unlike others, I actually shed less now than I did (cause I'm taking better care of my hair) though the hairs I do shed are obviously longer.

Sometimes I pin my hair between my chair and my back by accident and have to free it to turn my head.

Um... otherwise, I like it better than short hair and haven't had too many annoyances because of it (but I know I will when I get to my goal of TBL). ;)

[goodenough]

A word about shedding, it will drive you crazy, but it's only really bad seasonally. I shed twice a year, and in summer/ winter, it's not too bad.

I was waist, then cut to chin last fall. I am now shoulder in back, with slightly shorter sides.

Swimming with shorter hair is awesome! I think i'll go back to apl each June until my kids are older and I don't take them to the pool every day in Summer.

For me the most annoying thing was my tangles at the nape. Grrr. They are back with a vengence. But it's not damage, because this is brand new hair:)

And my hair doesn't dry any quicker long or short, because it's thick.

I think medium length hair (between apl and bsl) will be the place I stay, because my hair needs to be weighed down, and I need to put it up. Because I will never be one to mess with styling my hair much:)

Also, it getting in the way when I lay down is really getting old already:)

[jeanniet]

I think I'm actually shedding less, and I've always been a big shedder. I'm not sure if it's because I'm being more gentle with it or just using more gentle products. Tangles? Well, if I'm being careful with my hair and especially if I use a really wide-toothed comb and/or a tangle teezer, the tangles aren't too bad except where there's damage I'm growing out. I do have to be more patient--a lot more patient, which isn't always my forte. I used to just yank the heck out of my hair with a brush on the way to driving the kids to school. Now I have to make sure I'm up early enough to detangle and put my hair up.

What surprises me is how nice it feels to have a choice in having my hair up or down. I like it down; I like it up. It's like having long AND short hair!

[phylsgyrl]

I went from WL to a boycut and am just past APL trying to grow to about tailbone, and the biggest thing that I've noticed about my hair growing out now as opposed to when it was long 2 years ago is the difference that my hair care regime has made. Now I actually take pride in what my hair looks like down instead of just throwing it in a bun and being done with it, and it looks SO much better now than before!

Also, I use far less product now then when I had my hair uber short.

[eezepeeze]

I am now just below BSL.

1. Having your head yanked back when your hair gets stuck between your back and the chair/sofa/car seat.

2. My hair getting stuck in my armpit. That was a new one.

3. How dry my hair is. It just soaks up the coconut oil, leave in, and regular conditioner. Even after oiling, my ends are dry. I'm just trimming off old damage a little at a time.

4. Having my hair longer does not weigh down the curl or frizz. Unfortunately.

5. How many different kinds of braids there are.

6. How much fun I am having with every step of this process. I actually think all of the above are pretty cool because I have never had hair this long before. I am enjoying all the little weird things because they mean I am getting closer to my goal length of TBL.

[-simply Venus-]

I've only had my hair... long.. once in my life, and it was for a very short while. My mum used to always trim my hair (She said it made it grow faster >> ) So it was always above the shoulder. Than it reached BSL and it was awesome! =D But I shed hairs everywhere, it was crazy! I decided a pixie would be cute and did it, and it was.. but it didn't work with curly hair that much. I saw beautiful pictures of curly waist length hair, and decided I had to do it, and am growing it out. It is currently 1 inch past shoulder! Almost to BSL again! ^.^

So, yes. Long hair is a different experience! Especially all the shedding!!

[ItalianFlower]

1) Hair in the buttcrack...and in the buttcrack of my DH!!
2) Hair getting someplace I don't expect it and me freaking out and thinking it's a bug/cat/intruder. I mean the hair attached to my head in this case, it'll fall over the couch or brush against my shoulder or someplace like that.

[rapunzhell13]

I've already reached the stray hairs in the buttcrack stage, but not the ends caught in armpits stage. :p Thanks for all the replies!

[Dreams_in_Pink]

I've been a longhair all my life (not too long though, alternating between BSL and shoulders) but after surviving all the awkward stages between pixie and APL, i must say that biggest surprise was realizing how beautiful my hair was. Believe it or not, i didn't realize that when i had waist length hair in the past and hated my hair. Now i'm APL and finally i think my hair could be beautiful.

I'm not sure if this is relevant to the topic of discussion though.

[Samitra]

I wasn't ready for my shed hairs to end up everywhere. Every carpet and blanket in the apartment has Samitra hair all over it. It forms hair balls in the laundry and it clings to our socks. I need to start combing it in the bathroom only, and not play with it in the kitchen....

And the time it takes for it to dry! I realized that one just now... I need my hair to dry up a bit, so I can braid it, and take out the braids at 4.30PM and have braid waves tonight. Well, it seems like it'll be barely dry by 4.30 :mad: Goodbye braidwaves. Looks like I'm going out with my hair au naturel tonight. :D

I also didn't anticipate that DBF would love it so much that he can't keep his hands off it. But that was a nice surprise :D