Why wear it up?

[Starflower]

I've got so many questions to ask but one of my burning questions is why are there so many threads on wearing long hair up?
I'm assuming this is to help eliminate breakage and every day wear and tear, yes?
If you wear your hair up on a regular basis, are there certain situations when you'll leave it down?

[Angeletti]

I wear my hair up for reasons as you stated, to eliminate breakage whether that be from snagging on things, rubbing on my clothes, etc. Also when you get hair that is my length and longer it becomes very fragile, sometimes I miss the days when I had BSL hair because I never had to care for it as much. I usually wear my hair down only when I have to go out in public or to work and only if it's the first few days after wash day, but other than that it will be up so I don't have to deal with it.

[spidermom]

I wear mine up because it gets into everything. Nobody wants hair in their food. I don't want it snatched up in the seatbelt mechanism. I don't want the snake releasing his musk all over it. Etc.

[Spike]

It's one of the things you can only do with long hair. Short hair has two styles--"flyaway" or sleek. With long hair you can do a variety of buns and braids.

Example: A single French braid looks different than a single cage braid looks different than a single fishtail braid. A cameo bun looks different than a cinnabun looks different than a figure-8 bun looks different than a french twist.

You can combine buns and braids into updos--check out the "masquerade hair" article. It's a french braid around the hairline and a messy bun wiht some pinned curls at the crown. Also see the braided chinese bun. I think both styles look spectacular, and neither one could be done without BSL --or longer!--hair.

[Fiordiligi]

I wear it up because I vastly prefer the versatility of updos to having short hair. Being able to wear it up in as many ways as possible is the chief reason I'm growing it again. I got so bored with shorter hair - it was the same every day, and I've seen so many fab updos on LHC which I've never, ever seen in the flesh, and I aspire to some of that creativity and style. The secondary reason is that I have problems with the way my hair parts, so it needs to be pinned down in some way. Even if I wear it down, which is nice once in a while, the front needs to be restrained in some way to prevent unsightly scalp display! The fact that my DH and most of my family think it suits me better comes third. Minimising breakage is, for me, way down the list.

[tinti]

I wear it up because it looks pretty (or cool when I do the messy look, which is most days ... just because my hair won't do much else atm). AND because to protect it from wear and tear.

[JenniferNoel]

For me, vanity and practicality.
Generally, as we all know, wearing hair up helps a great deal with preventing wear and tear and breakage, and also eliminates the need for fuss and tedious detangling.
I love the way I look in up dos, and I also enjoy learning and inventing gorgeous styles as my hair gets longer. Another thing is it's a polished look no matter what, and never gets in the way. I can enjoy the windy days and convertibles without worry or hassle.

[candlesandfish]

1 part vanity and ooooh look what I can do with my hair, and 5 parts ARGH MY HAIR IS EVERYWHERE.

Until TBL or so I used to wear it down a lot with just a headband to hold it back, but it's far too long now and it drives me crazy when it's down. It's in my food, on other people, getting caught in my bag strap/car door/seatbelt/lecture desk/doorjam/everything!!!!

Also, the more it's down the more chance it has to tangle and therefore need detangling, which is annoying and hurts to begin with but also tends to break hair a lot. I've got fine hair so not breaking it is definitely a plus :)

I even wear it up (in at least a braid or a ponytail with elastics down the length) when I sleep, it makes life simpler and my hair doesn't attack me when I sleep anymore :)

[Juneii]

convenience. my hair gets everywhere and tangles itself in everything!

But I do leave it down on special occasions, or after a wash and I want my hair to dry.

[adiapalic]

By the time my hair got to TBL, I had to start putting it up for practical reasons--kept getting damaged and tangled. Now I wear it up at school/work, and wear it down to nice dinners or when I'm going shopping at the grocery store or something. :)

I really enjoy the different braids and buns I can achieve though. It's fun to play around with.

[Mike]

It's up at night so it is not a mess in the morning plus it keeps my scalp warm which equals more circulation to turbocharge growth. I do an occasional bun during daytime especially if it's really windy outside.

[MrsGuther]

I wear my hair up so my 1 year old daughter won't rip it out. :)
I also just enjoy wearing it up. I don't particularly like the feel of my hair being down on the back of my neck. That probably sounds weird seeing as I am trying to grow it long hence it would be even more aggravating, but oh well. I just enjoy wearing my hair up and out of the way. The longer it gets, the easier it seems to put it up and enjoy different updo's. I suppose it protects your hair from getting tangled during the day too.

[excentricat]

Partly because it gets hot to have down at work, and partly because I'm vain. I like showing off my fancy updo (aka pencil bun) to everyone who wears pony tails and half through pony tails. Especially when they then complain that even in a pony its hot on their neck.

[MsBubbles]

I just started a 'wear your hair up challenge' to take my mind off my roots growing out. Since I don't want to cut from waist up to neck, and the dratted demarcation line is less visible in updos, this'll work great! Otherwise I like to wear my hair down.

[GlassEyes]

I wear it up when I get frustrated with it, or something. It's usually not to prevent damage. :shrug: But yeah, that's one of the reasons that people do use it.

[Rivanariko]

A large part is to prevent damage.

Another large part is that my hair is very fine and slippery, and I have very narrow shoulders. My hair gets in the way if I want to actually DO anything when it's down. I need at least a pony tail in order to be at all functional.

Another part is that updos and hairtoys are fun :)

I'm also required to have it secured up and back at work. I work with cakes, so even a braid wouldn't be a good idea because it could fall over my shoulder and plop in someone's cake.

And, on the vanity side, I LOVE the look on people's faces the first time they see me with my hair down. Because it's so fine, it doesn't make a very large bun, so when I pull the stick out and let down my almost TBL hair... I get some reactions :D And I feel like some sort of movie star when I pull the stick out of my hair, tug on the ends, shake my head and my hair falls down over my back.

[frizzinator]

A number of members complain that they don't know how to wear their hair up, therefore, I think there are not enough threads about how to wear it up.

I've worn my hair up all the time (day and night) for over 3 years. The circumference of my ponytail (thickness) has increased by one inch.

[LittleOrca]

It the seems that as soon as a thread asking about why we wear our hair up arrives again as soon as the last one has faded. Maybe it should be stickied, lol. <3

[aksown]

I wear mine up cause it's my hair and I like it that way! ;)

[Jezerellica]

A number of members complain that they don't know how to wear their hair up, therefore, I think there are not enough threads about how to wear it up.

I've worn my hair up all the time (day and night) for over 3 years. The circumference of my ponytail (thickness) has increased by one inch.

Wow! That is great to hear. It encourages me to wear mine up more often! Thank you! :D

[Dragon]

I'm thinking about starting to wear mine up. It's getting to hot to wear down and the wind makes it fill of knots. And it gets caught under my back pack straps every day.

[Anje]

Bunsen burners.

[clichepithet]

Don't let the man keep you down! Fight the power!
(= gravity.)

[Gumball]

Mainly the situations I wear it down are either while I'm washing it in the shower or prior to putting it back up (such as combing it in the morning after I slept on it braided). I grew it out to enjoy wearing it up, so that's my reason. The added protection is a definite plus.

[pepperminttea]

Less tangles, less damage, convenience, hiding those 'oily' days, pretty updos, practicality... and sometimes I just want it out the way, too. I like how much choice I have with updos. :)

[Kris Dove]

It's practical, and uniform rules when I'm at work.

One of the things that annoyed me about short/mid length hair was the fact it got in my face and wasn't long enough to simply tie back- plus the fact I had to faff with it to look tidy if I was in a hurry- being able to just tie back longer hair in a pony or bun is quicker.

[Athena's Owl]

I have tailbone length 3b curly hair. if i didn't wear it up most of the time, i assure you i wouldn't have half the length that i do. I wear it down right after wash day and perhaps the day after that, but then up in a bun it goes, or else i wear a long asymmetrical braid (i laugh that this is high hair fashion, i've been doing that as my Don't Care hairstyle for years!)

[Chamomile betty]

I began wearing my hair up to grow out short layers. It was just easier to focus on growing my hair when it was up. It also helped grow out color and damage. I wear a bun everyday to work. I am a teacher and my hair would just be in the way. I love being able to wear my hair in updos. Anyhow, only a few people get to see me with it down and I like that.
So I guess it's practical and personal reasons.

[Chamomile betty]

Less tangles, less damage, convenience, hiding those 'oily' days, pretty updos, practicality... and sometimes I just want it out the way, too. I like how much choice I have with updos. :)

That's it exactly ;)

[emmebean]

So many reasons. It looks professional pulled into an updo i.e. bun or french twist or the like. I love hair toys. I love doing something different everyday. I can't stand the feel of it on my face or neck, so shorter hair is completely out of the question. I've had it up for almost a year now, next Friday will be 1 year for me wearing it up, so I don't really notice how fast/slowly it's growing.
And of course the shock value, lot's of "did you get extensions" when my coworkers do see it down if I ever have to redo an updo :)

[Pixna]

I never wear my hair down except to sleep. I love using a wide variety of cool and fabulous hair sticks and forks. I think I look a lot better with my hair up and off my face. Buns fascinate everyone (they look so much more complicated than they really are). Wearing my hair up keeps it protected and out of the way. Updos are fun. My earrings are more visible when my hair is up.

[enfys]

Because I can and 98.4&#37; of people can't.
Because I like winding up people who tell me to wear my hair down.
Because Down is one style and Up is...200? 300? More?
Because I don't have damage taper and don't want it.
Because I hate the feel of my hair loose on me.
Because my hair floats where it pleases.

And mainly because:
I want to.

[Starflower]

You guys are cracking me up with all these varied responses =)
I love the because I CAN answers lol!

So I see that there are practical reasons for wearing it up such as to eliminate breakage and help it grow healthy. I get that. I'm going to have to go through some of the archives and find some updos that will look decent on my crazy hair. It's out of control though, I have all these weird curls that look like a lions mane when I pull it off of my face.

And in response to the one poster...YES, there needs to be a sticky on this! I signed up in 2005 and lurk around here off and on and I have never been able to figure out the WHY of people wearing their hair up. I figured there were personal reasons of course but wanted to know the practical reasons for doing it, the advantages so to speak of wearing it up and the growing out process. So a sticky would be great coming from a newbies pov.

[lippleyluv]

I work in a windy environment and if I wear my hair down I must constantly comb and untangle the bushy mess it turns into:mad:. So, an updo stays looking sleek and professional, with much less damage.

[Starflower]

It the seems that as soon as a thread asking about why we wear our hair up arrives again as soon as the last one has faded. Maybe it should be stickied, lol. <3

Btw, my dd is convinced that you have a real true life mermaid in your avatar lol!

[FrannyG]

I wear my hair up for a variety of reasons.

First, it protects my hair from everyday damage (and nightly damage--I wear a bun to bed).

Secondly, I love trying new styles and wearing pretty hair accessories.

Thirdly, it keeps my hair from getting all over the place and into everything.

Fourthly, it keeps me sane in the summer.


Having said that, if I'm going out to meet a friend, or going out for the evening, I do love to wear my hair down. I feel more "like myself" with my hair down.

I don't know if my hair will ever be prohibitively long to wear it down, but I would like to think that I will always be able to wear it down when I want to feel good.

[daaisychains]

Because my hair gets damaged so easily!
I only wear it down maybe twice a week if that.
You really see the difference -well i certainly do- if you wear it up continuosly : )

[Kelli Kat]

In addition to all the reasons stated by everyone else, I have 3 words for you on why I wear my hair up, make that 4 words, "really cool hair toys" :)