Is it possible to have 'Hairnorexia'???

[BeautifulBella]

My hair is mid-back length, since its wavy it falls just past my shoulder blades.... sometimes I feel like my hair is so short..... then I see someone with shorter hair than me & feel like my hair is kinda long... then I see someone with longer hair & i find myself feeling like my hair is short again.... I won't feel like my hair is long until its waist-length... and I wont be completely satisfied until it grows to my knees

[Spike]

You're in good company--there's several posts like this.

The funny ones are where someone is posting about how "short" their hair feels on the classic to knee threads . . .

:cheese:

[Rocket22]

I wondered about this myself... Are we EVER satisfied with our hair or are we always looking for the next length. I know when I had hair down to my waist it never seemed long? But of course it was. I’m not looking for classic length but maybe waist. I wanted to post this question as well for those that have made their goal are they happy now?

[TinaDenali]

I can see how this could be. I often feel like my hair is so short, and it's about an inch past waist!

But, I see pictures here of people with gorgeous long, long hair and I feel mine is so short. But, I really am starting to like my hair a lot and I find it pretty. I just keep telling myself it's very long. I look in the mirror and smile and tell myself my hair is long and pretty (maybe that's really cheesy!!) and I feel it's been working. When I joined here in March my hair was BSL and blah, and now it's just past waist and shiny. I've made improvements and I'm trying to see that. But, I sometimes do feel like I'll never be happy with the length.

[growing2shine]

Interesting... I know that feeling. ^ :D

[WaitingSoLong]

I feel my hair is long, too long sometimes, but not long enough sometimes, too. But always long. I guess because I do not know anyone else with hair as long as mine. I was looking at pics of floor length hair one day and felt basically bald in comparison!

[Alvrodul]

*sigh* If I had a dime for every head of hair that I have envied...:rolleyes:

There is always something it seems - someone else's luscious curls. Someone else's fabulous color and shine. Someone else's length. Oh yes - been there, done that, got a drawer full of t-shirts. :p

Right now, I am at hip, I henna, and haven't abused my hair with chemicals for years - and tended to be stingy with the chemicals before that - so I know, objectively, that my hair would be considered enviable by many. Certainly my length would draw attention if I wore it down - which I rarely do. It doesn't keep me from coveting what I don't have: More length, certainly (But I am getting there!!:D). Curls - Oh how I wish for curls even though I never looked good in curls when I got my hair permed. Color - I actually like my hair color now that I henna my hair! I don't even mind the fluorescent roots stage whenever I touch up my roots! :D

[Tiina]

Sometimes I look at magazines and there are pictures of models with APL'ish hair. Then I think "That woman's hair looks pretty long*... My hair is the same length but it is short?" :confused:

*long in this case is what is considered long outside LHC

[BrightEyes7]

I know this feeling. I never felt like my hair was long until I got to waist length... now that I've been maintaining between waist and hip I don't feel like this is long anymore. My original goal was waist, but now I'm thinking about going to TB. But everytime I get to hip I cut back to waist... just because my ends were scragly.

I feel like a crazy person sometimes when I think about what length my hair should be/ should I cut it/ is it long/etc.!!!

[Anje]

I believe the term I've seen around here is "Hair Dysmorphic Disorder." :)

I still marvel at how long some of the waist and hip length hair I see around campus is. Nevermind that mine is tailbone.... I don't see my own, I see theirs. I've been at this length for a few years now and I'm getting used to the idea that I have quite long hair. But it takes a while before it creeps into your self image.

[PrincessBob]

This is so very true to my own feelings. When I went to the Portland Meetup, I was constantly fussing over how long and nice the other people's hair was and mine was only 40" long, which hardly seems like anything compared to LilOrca, DaveDecker, Airmide, JustMe, OldGreyMare and Cholera. Even if the hair on some of the others seemed shorter than my own, it all looked nicer to me than my own. I was certain that I was glowing green with hair envy. They are all super cool people, too. I felt awkward and dorky in comparison.

[Night_Kitten]

I'm at tailbone, and it still doesn't feel long... unless I look at photos of me from behind, then it looks long (but it still doesn't FEEL long)
There are times I see someone with waist or hip length hair, and think "oh, what a long and beautiful hair, if only mine was that long..." and then "wait a second, mine is longer..." :rolleyes:
I guess it's because we never see our hair the way we see other people's hair - ours is always behind our backs (and usually up), and except for rare mirror glimpses we don't see it and can't appreciate the way it moves, how the wind plays with it or the way the sun falls on the length...

[FrannyG]

Whenever I see at someone here or in real life who has hair the same length as my own, theirs always looks longer to me than my own seems to be. Always.

[jojo]

I never actually realise just how long my hair is until I see a photo of it from behind but other than that I think I have hair anorexia as to me my hair is way too short, will see how I feel at hip!

[Igor]

Yep, definitely. I had it reverse though!
When my hair was a good BSL my mind was completely stuck at flip length and every time I took it out I was like omgwhattheheckhowdidthathappen… oh wait. Right. My hair is BSL now…

Weird how your mind plays tricks on you… And your hair

[princessp]

Yeah, I got one of those "wow your hair is long!" from a group of folks the other day. All I could think of was, not long enough! I'm not sure I'll ever be completely satisfied either.

[Maverick494]

Being someone who has had anorexia, it´s funny to report how your way of thinking changes along the way. When I was at my thinnest, I would notice every pound of fat on other people, even if they were in great shape. When people were as skinny as me I would marvell at their thinness, while I was no pound heavier. It was when I got back to a normal weight when I realized how strange my view was.

Same with hair. When I had shoulderlength, someone with BSL hair had `long hair´ in my opnion. Now I am almost at waist myself, and everything looks short. When someone comes with hair at my length, I keep thinking about how long that is, while I think my own length is normal. I think it´s because you get used to it. Your own length, whether it´s BSL or classic, becomes the standard and is no longer special because you see and deal with it every day. It affects the way you look at other people's hair.

I even view colour differently now I'm a brunette. As a blonde, everyone with a shade darker than I had "dark hair". As a brunette I keep thinking how light some of the blondes are, while I was just as light.

When I was in Indonesia (as a brunette) people kept calling me blonde because compared to their jet black hue, I am light haired. I guess it's just the way the brain operates. It needs a standard to put everything else in perspective. When that standard changes, so does everything else.

Uh....anyone left? Helloooo? *echoes* Sorry for the novel sized post guys...

[Pixna]

Yep. I have hair anorexia. The other night my husband said, "Your hair is getting so long! It's halfway down your back!" And I said, "Really? It still feels very short. Maybe it will be long in another year or two." Of course, by then, I'll probably think another one or two years of growth is needed for it to feel long. And on and on it will go ...

[enfys]

Whenever I see at someone here or in real life who has hair the same length as my own, theirs always looks longer to me than my own seems to be. Always.

Yup. And even when it's shorter than mine I get that with real life hair. Not so much on here though.

[Anywhere]

This is so very true to my own feelings. When I went to the Portland Meetup, I was constantly fussing over how long and nice the other people's hair was and mine was only 40" long, which hardly seems like anything compared to LilOrca, DaveDecker, Airmide, JustMe, OldGreyMare and Cholera *snip*

Only on LHC.. :rolleyes:

I feel this way too. I see people with BLS hair and think "its so long!" even though mine is at hip length. I see thick hair and wish my hair looked like that, and thin hair and am glad im not a super-thin haired person, otherwise my layers would look worse than they do.

[tinti]

I'm not there yet. But I remember in middle school when a girl in my class had bsl lenght hair. She asked me to measure her hair (just with my fingers) and I said it was touching her bra strap. But now that I'm 2 inches below BSL myself I still think my hair is short and that I can't wait for it to grow longer.

[Embrace1913]

*Looks around and raises hand* :waving: I'm sure that I have hairnorexia. My hair is almost waist length when straight but I wear it curly so most of the time it looks only a few inches past shoulder length...

Sometimes I check out the long hair girls at school and mine is almost as long or even longer but I always feel like theirs looks better than mine. I have horrible hair envy lol :brickwall

My friends and family say my hair is long but I don't think I'll "feel" like its long until it hangs at waist length when curly. . . :shrug:

[May]

I honestly never envy anyone elses hair...I might think "hey I should grow my hair that long" but that's pretty much it. I admire others hair but I rarely compare. I just don't think that way.

[KittyLost]

The strangest thing for me is I see people with APL hair and think wow their hair is so long! Then I see someone with BSL or Waist length hair and think it's short or I don't even give it proper attention as if it's common (which it isn't where I live, shoulder and above is most popular hair style atm) and then I see someone with Hip or Tailbone length hair and I'm back to thinking the hair is long again!

I wonder if it's because BSL and Waist are common hair extension lengths :s so that's why I don't think WOW long hair when I see it although my own goal is virgin waist after mantaining tailbone for a while haha.

[jojo]

Yep, definitely. I had it reverse though!
When my hair was a good BSL my mind was completely stuck at flip length and every time I took it out I was like omgwhattheheckhowdidthathappen… oh wait. Right. My hair is BSL now…

Weird how your mind plays tricks on you… And your hair

I do that when I lose weight, the eyes say fat but the labels say smaller!

[LaurelSpring]

I am constantly amazed that my hair is longer than its ever been and it still feels short. Im not sure when it will actually feel long. Some days it does more than others.

I hate to admit that I do compare my length to others. Is mine the longest? Actually now most of the time it has been other than a few occasions (you can get an idea of length in an updo).

[DivineComedian]

I have definitely experienced this. I keep getting the feeling that my hair is horribly short compared to everyone else's, and then do a double check and realise that it's actually not. My hair also tends to look shorter because I have a fair amount of curls in it, so it always seems to take longer to grow than everyone else's does. I'm working on it though.

[Jenn of Pence]

Yep...even just looking at it from the back vs. from the side makes a huge difference on how long my hair seems!
I've kept longish hair for most of my life, so right now my hair seems short to me compared to what it used to be. I straightened it to oblivion a year ago, and after 5 total inches of trimming, I started at just past APL in April...the shortest it had been since probably 8th grade! I have just in the last month or so felt back to "normal." Of course, all those years I hovered between BSL and waist I always wished it would get longer and it never did (kept trimming it and it never got longer...shocking! ;)). So my hair won't feel "long" until I get between waist and hip.

[Alcenaia]

I'm at tailbone, and it still doesn't feel long... unless I look at photos of me from behind, then it looks long (but it still doesn't FEEL long)
...
I guess it's because we never see our hair the way we see other people's hair - ours is always behind our backs (and usually up), and except for rare mirror glimpses we don't see it and can't appreciate the way it moves, how the wind plays with it or the way the sun falls on the length...


I never actually realise just how long my hair is until I see a photo of it from behind but other than that I think I have hair anorexia as to me my hair is way too short, will see how I feel at hip!

This is me exactly. I have a lot of "put it up and don't think about it" going on in my routine. Seeing it down, especially in a photograph, is weirdly enlightening. Also, we don't have to deal with the bad hair days of other people...;)

<concern> There is actually a disorder along these lines. If one's feelings about hair are as intense as truly having anorexia, I do hope that one seeks appropriate help. :(</end concern>

I do love that surprise when my hair falls and I feel it against my legs for the first time in a long while. :p

[Charlotte:)]

You are not alone!

[MissMB]

Maybe we can't accept when we meet our own goals and just appreciate it. It's not good enough and we have to set a new mark to meet. Sometimes I wonder if it's less about the hair and more about how we feel about ourselves.

[julliams]

We can't expect our hair to be all the things we love about hair. It's ok to look at someone elses gorgeous hair and think "that is gorgeous hair" without necessarily wanting it for ourselves. I love my colour and how my I can wear my hair so many different ways but I'm not 100&#37; on the texture and the way it frizzes if I run my hands through it.

I do have the length issue thing too but only because I WANT it to be long and have done so for over a year now. I'm kind of getting impatient.

Don't forget - even the people with the most amazing hair have bad hair days and probably dislike a couple of things about their own hair. Human nature I guess.

If it's becoming an obsession, focus your attention on something else for a while and see if that helps.

[UltraBella]

I honestly never envy anyone elses hair...I might think "hey I should grow my hair that long" but that's pretty much it. I admire others hair but I rarely compare. I just don't think that way.

I feel the same as May. I haven't experienced hair envy, at least not yet. I think I have great hair - and many many others have great hair - and so it's just not a big deal to me. I am probably weird that way.
I feel like this : if all my hair falls out tomorrow, I will still be me. Maybe it's because I volunteer weekly with women who are actively fighting cancer. I just don't take my hair as seriously anymore.

[Athena's Owl]

I think it's possible, and I kinda felt similarly in the past. I can remember thinking "my hair is not long enough. I don't feel right. I don't look right."

I remembered having a lot of dreams where my hair grew longer as the dream went on, often as i was trying to accomplish something, and when I got close to the whatever it is I was trying to do, my hair would be at the "right" length and I knew i'd succeed.

I remember the first round of those dreams as the right hair length being around BSL. when i got there, they stopped, but then started again, and the right hair length was hip. i've been at hip for years, and those dreams have been gone for as long, and i'm pretty much done growing my hair. i'm past hip, i'm at tailbone, and i'm maintaining that length for a year while i think about wither trimming it back to hip or letting it get a bit longer.

but the feeling that my hair wasn't right and that I didn't look right went away years ago, and it wasn't ever as pervasive a feeling as I imagine a body image disorder would be.

[Niwa]

Yep. I have hair anorexia. The other night my husband said, "Your hair is getting so long! It's halfway down your back!" And I said, "Really? It still feels very short. Maybe it will be long in another year or two." Of course, by then, I'll probably think another one or two years of growth is needed for it to feel long. And on and on it will go ...This is me. When I first started growing my hair (from just 5"), armpit length seemed so long to me. When I reached armpit length, it seemed too short to even count as long. Bra strap length was what was long then. Well, I am at waist length now and I still feel silly calling my hair long.

Right now, I keep thinking that only when my hair is long enough for me to bring it over my shoulders and have all of it drape to my crotch will I feel my hair is long. I think that length is tail bone length.

[lajsa]

I do the 'oh it's not long enough, I need to extend my goal length!' even before I've reached my goal length :D

[DecafJane]

Occasionally I forget that I have cut my hair off (as I can now wear it up again) so when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and peek in the mirror, I get a rude (but deserved) shock at how short it is. It is almost at shoulder now. Stupid haircuts.

[Jenn of Pence]

Oh, the thing that really gets me is buns...mine just seem so tiny! Unfortunately, I am always comparing mine to those made from classic-length or longer hair. :o

[VitisVinifera]

If there is such a thing, I have it! I look at actresses with apl hair and think, "Why does her hair look so long, and mine seems so short?" But my hair is pretty thin, maybe not having any weight to it makes it seem like there's nothing there:confused:

[jera]

I know what you mean. Most of the time I feel like my hair is really long, especially IRL. But when I come here, I feel very challenged. :p

[Aria]

I thought I was pushing it with my hip-length hair, especially since it likes to split and tangle all the time, and I shed worse than most cats. Then I came here.

"Wow...look at that lady's pretty hair. It's in better shape than mine, too."
"Oooh, that one's pretty too. And that one. And that....wow, that's long! But so shiny...."

Hip's pretty long by most people's standards, especially in Bleachfry central, but all those classic and onwards shots made me hair-envious. Even the ones close to my length do, since most of them are so much fuller and less tangly-looking.

[Dreamkitty]

I think I really do, ever since I was 6 years old I would daydream about having long hair, I must have looked like freak but I would stare at the little girl who had long, fine, silky hair in my school.

Even though my hair is APL, 5inch I still feel like I want more, still feel that is not good enough for me.

But then I see people here with the same hair length as me and I think their hair looks longer.:confused:

I also feel as if everyone has such long hair here and I just feel like I have a long journey to go to reach this length, it makes me frustrated.

And my hair is wavy and dark but I always wished my hair could be super straight and fine, also a lighter shade.

With my hair, I never let it out (I feel self conscious), just a simple braid or pony tail I have done for the past few years. I feel as if I can style my hair more when I reach waist length. :(

[Astarte_1980]

Well I am also thinking a lot about my hair. It is to short, I dream of longer hair. And I know the frustrations of growing hair, it is so slow.

[Vermelha]

I'm pretty self-conscious about my length too. Like, I've never had hair much longer than what it is now. Unless it's curly, I wont wear it down because it just seems much too short for me.

[Angeletti]

I can't help but look at others with the same length and feel that it seems so much longer on them. I'll stand in the mirror and think wow it seems short so I know how you all feel even though I have long hair. I guess it could just be the fact that I'm 5'8" so it's going to take longer for it to reach classic than someone who's shorter or the fact that I have a V shaped hemline at the moment that seems to eat some of my length away, who knows : )

[luxepiggy]

Actually, with both my weight loss and my hair length I have a definite range that I like to stay in. Sometimes I'll get a bit too thin, and I'll look in the mirror and decide it's time to have a burger for lunch. Same with my hair - after a certain point it's time for a trim (^(oo)^)v

[surfguy87]

Hair can be shortened but never lengthened. The more I care and treat my hair the more obssessed I am about it!