Fine/Thin Hair Heads & wearing your hair down

[MClass]

I have very fine and thin hair. My daughter was playing with it when it was wet recently and said "Mom it looks like a spiderweb!" I thought this was funny since I have read other people on LHC say this before.

I used to color my hair often (and reapply to the ENTIRE head not just the roots), shampoo/condition every night and use heat on my hair daily...sometimes even twice if I went out that night! Long story short my hair started to break and I cut it to chin length. I am not longer coloring it or washing it everyday. So my hair has improved condition wise.

My question is for the thin/fine hair heads... at what length did you feel comfortable wearing your hair DOWN?

Mine gets so stringy I always joke I look like one of the Hanson brothers. It is stick straight. In my mind I believe when it is waist length I wont have to put product and a lot of manipulation to make it look good and can wear it in its natural state. Right now I do rollers, caruso and braid it at night, along with up-dos but I dont like the shape of my face enough to do that on a regular basis.

Wow that was a lot of rambling. Thanks for listening. :)

[Calanthe]

Never ;). No, seriously. I don't like to wear my hair down, except maybe at home for a time. I don't feel comfortable when it's down outside. So fine and fragile, I don't want it to rub on my coat, get tangled by wind and movement or get trapped in safety belts, purse straps...I don't have that much hair to snap a single strand of it ;). Plus, it looks good all of five mintues, then it's just a sad mess, a bit like a soufflé which sagged in the middle.

Of course, other fine hairs will feel differently, that is just my "hair-insecurity".

[Annalouise]

I always wear my hair down but as it gets longer (and now its about 1inch from waist) it gets harder and harder to detangle it. I don't like wearing my hair up because it gives me a headache and I look really plain with it up. I do wear it up when doing outdoor activities though.

Also, I have always felt that updos look more attractive when you have a good size bun. So, I wear my down. And spend copious amounts of time detangling it every night.

I might go back to silicone conditioners because they do prevent tangles.

My hair is like cobwebs too!:) Exactly.

[AspenSong]

I rarely ever wear my hair down. Not that there aren't times I wouldn't LIKE to, but it's not worth it in the end when I think of how supremely easily it tangles and blows around and gets caught on a zipper on a jacket or one of my rings etc. It's usually down before I CO wash, covered in conditioner and down while it dries. lol.

Considering how fine and easily broken my hair is, I have no idea at what length or if I'll personally ever feel really comfortable leaving it down. =/

[pepperedmoth]

I don't. Truly honestly, that's not why I have long hair. I keep my hair at least at BSL for practicality- I hate hair in my face the way some folks hate Brussel Sprouts or acne, and nothing accomplishes this adequately for me other than a buzz cut or a bun.

I grow my hair longer than BSL for the same reason I wear pretty underwear. It's beautiful, and even (especially!) when others can't see it, I enjoy knowing it's there.

[luxepiggy]

My hair isn't fine, but it is thin, and like yours, it's stick straight. I know exactly what you mean about being able to wear long hair in its natural state. As I'm constantly trying to explain to people, one of the reasons I refuse to try short hair is because I know it's going to be a disaster - it will just hang there, looking rather limp & flat. But with long hair, a bit of magic happens: boringly limp & flat ===> enviably smooth & sleek! Abracadabra! Hocus pocus, bibbity bobbity boo, etc! \(^(oo)^)/

I would guess the magic moment will probably occur a bit past BSL, somewhere in the mid-back range (^(oo)~)

[Nini]

It's been a few years, but I think I wore it down occationally until somewhere between waist and hip. I braided most of the time though, until I figured out bunning:)

[Fairlight63]

My hair is fine & thin & delicate. After BSL I have not worn it down much. My hair is waist length. I usually wear it up because it gets in the way of things & I don't want to get it caught & pulled. If I am going to wear it down, I put it in a loose braid to keep it confined.

[Angelica]

My hair is very fine and thin and I wear it up all the time because it looks better up. If it was thick and strong I would be wearing it loose most of the time.

[Rocket22]

I hate my hair up... I'm trying to learn to like it, but I always wear it down. I have very fine hair and think once it gets longer I will be able to wear it in it's natural state without too much fussing with it. I would say my length now is almost there.. BSL to me would be the beginning of a more fuss free hair.

[Olde Soul]

I refuse to wear mine down unless I've had it in a bun long enough for it to have some curl (and therefore volume) to it. I find that even in the best of circumstances, the ends go to hell in a handbasket within a couple minutes and I end up with the dreaded spaghetti ends. I think the last time I was comfortable wearing it down regularly, it was waist length or shorter.

[Superfine]

I almost always wear mine up or back in some way. Now that it is BSL I wore it down to go out to lunch. I pulled it over 1 shoulder with my hand (no pins,etc.). I probably won't do it again as I was constantly pulling it back over my shoulder & fussing with it. Also I think I combed it 3 times while I was out. A bother. It really wants to tangle & is so lightweight. And, the bit of curl on the ends that I started the day with (result of large pin curls) had falled out in a few hours so the length was straighter but not super straight. And, my purse on the shoulder was a bother too.

[mellie89]

Mine looks a lot better down at BSL than it did at shorter lengths. (Although it also looks good down when it's in the shoulder - collarbone range. It's really just the APL region where mine looks awful down.) You'll definitely find that it lays differently as it gets longer! More length = more weight, which can be a blessing for fine/thin/flyaway hair. :)

[FluffSpider]

I have ii hair(8+ cm circumference) but to me it feels thinner than i hair, but I wear it down happily. I grew it to enjoy it, so if that means it'll get caught in my bra strap twice a week, so be it!

[cherokeesaint]

I wear my hair down mostly but if I chose to wear in an updo it would mostly be french braided and curled under.

[joyful373]

Currently my hair is somewhere around BSL. I don't wear it down any more except for special occasions. (This is mainly because my son will play with it at the moment) Also, it tangles pretty quickly unless I make sure to do it on a totally wind-free day. When my hair was hip length it was almost NEVER down because it would tangle constantly. I used to wear my hair down before I found LHC- and I hated the way my profile looked with all my hair up- but now that I have experimented with updos it has become a challenge and a way to embrace all aspects of my appearance. My hubby likes my hair down, but finds me equally attractive when I wear it up, so that was a total support :) I also am in looooove with Moroccan Oil. It is expensive, but a little goes a long way. It is a great protectant and gives awesome slip and detangling. :) wow. That was long... sorry ;)

[Qamar]

My hair is a couple of inches shy of classic length and I love wearing it down, but there are limited occasions when I do. Its almost always up at work because I'm a nurse and it'll get in the way. I don't want it falling into wounds, on sterile fields, into body fluids, etc for obvious reasons. If its going to be windy, my has to be up because I won't want to spend over an hour detangling, plus its too much wear and tear on the fragile ends. If my top is made of a grabby fabric, up it goes lest I have nape tangles. You get the picture. When I do wear it loose, I love the feel of it on my back, shoulders, hips etc and the drape makes me happy. I make a point of bringing my boxwood comb with me though so I can comb periodically and keep the tangles to a minimum. It tends to get worn down on weekends more than any other time.

[Masara]

I hate hair in my face the way some folks hate Brussel Sprouts or acne, and nothing accomplishes this adequately for me other than a buzz cut or a bun. .

I love this comment!

I don't like hair in my face either. I let my hair down to show some pupils last year and I managed 20 minutes before I gave up and grabbed a hairstick.
This means that as soon as it was long enough to bun (around shoulder) then up it went and I've rarely worn it down since.

My hair is "floaty" and tangles easily, so wearing it down means that it will look good for half an hour and then start rat-tailing or I'll have to brush it out all the time.

[heidihug]

I wear mine down once a year. Not kidding. Like Masara and lots of others here, it's utterly impractical, uncomfortable and damaging for me to wear my hair down other than around the house when it's drying. I wore it down occasionally from shoulder-length to just past BSL, but after that it went into an updo every day, all day. I'd never have been able to grow it to the length I'm at now without ultra-protective care.

[SwordWomanRiona]

I also have very, very fine hair, which gets easily tangled, but I wear it down (loose or in a half-updo) twice a week at least. I also wear it in ponytails, braids and half-updos (full updos have been rarer lately), but I want to have it loose sometimes, I don't like the idea of having my hair this long and not wearing it down :). After all, Sword Women usually wear it loose!
But yes, I always wish it were a little thicker, I'm sometimes mortified because it looks too thinnish, kind of stringy below hip-length (I'm nearly fully at classic):wail:. Thank goodness my hair is sleek and silky, though.

[SwordWomanRiona]

I love this comment!

I don't like hair in my face either. I let my hair down to show some pupils last year and I managed 20 minutes before I gave up and grabbed a hairstick.
This means that as soon as it was long enough to bun (around shoulder) then up it went and I've rarely worn it down since.

My hair is "floaty" and tangles easily, so wearing it down means that it will look good for half an hour and then start rat-tailing or I'll have to brush it out all the time.

I usually "force myself" to wear my hair down some days, but if I give up by lunch-time (the tangles, etc, etc, etc), I just braid it or do a half-updo, and then maybe at mid-afternoon I loose it again. And that's my general routine :). Yesterday, for example, it was loose - half-up - three strand braid - loose again with slender headband (and some braid waves :D).

[LindainCO]

I am like Heidi and Sword Woman (!), but I didn't realize that was one of the issues.
My DH hates it up. He loves my hair down. But when it's down
it gets messy, feels hot, and within 30 minutes, usually, I pop it up.
I hate hair in my face. I didn't identify this as the main issue, but....thank you! Now I realize that hair in my face drives me crazy, err.....
My hair is very fine, but thick, and maybe it's the fine-ness that makes it annoying? I love the silkiness, but I know when it gets longer I'll have some of the issues everyone else has. Also, I hate in cold weather when it gets tangled in my scarf or in wind, whips around and gets tangled.
I think I'll start putting it in a loose braid to the side on really cold days where I have to wear a hat.

[lundmir]

I only wear it up when the weather is hot or I am doing a physical activity, otherwise, it is always down. I didn't like updos most of my life, so I don't do them often.

[CaityBear]

Rarely. I'm tailbone right now and don't wear it down too often. If I do wear it down it is in summer when there is no wind and I'd be standing most of the day. Then it doesn't get as tangled. But otherwise I wear it up almost all the time. It's just easier. And sometimes I can't stand the look of my hair down because it's so thin. :(

[CarpeDM]

I liked wearing my hair down when I had an all one length bob that hit my chin. Ever since then it is too stringy to wear down so I usually braid it so I don't have to look at it and deal with the snarls, pulling and tangles that instantly happen once it is down.

[girlcat36]

I don't like wearing my hair down as it gets longer because it doesn't hang like the beautiful curtain of hair I envisioned. It's babyfine and sticks to my shirt and splays out and generally looks unkempt.
I am terrible at updos. The combination of fine, thin and curly makes updos difficult. Slippery near the roots and tangly on the length.
I don't even like how I look in an updo. :(
It's usually in a plain ponytail, I guess.

[musicallberrii]

My hair is rather fine and thin too. I wear it down sometimes at home, but ever since I have gotten past shoulder length, I get overheated really easily by my hair and have to put it up. I wear my hair up pretty much 24/7, and braid it at night.. if I do have it down and loose, its usually just after I washed or I had a concert or something that I had to bun my hair damp for. I find that if I do damp bunning too, it gives it more of a curl and wave so that it doesn't just hang there or look really thin. If you are self-conscious about wearing it down, try a single braid over one shoulder, or two braided pigtails. They protect you hair but show off length and look cute too.

I wouldn't be self-conscious about it though. Any time that I've ever worn my hair down, I just get compliments on it. When you wear it up a lot though, it is kind of a shock factor to people when you let it down =)

[Angeletti]

To answer your question I would say I was more comfortable wearing it down when it was shorter, right around BSL. I am right around classic now, and it seems like all my hair does is get stringy if I don't brush it every second, it's rather annoying and makes me feel paranoid that it looks bad. I'm guessing it's a combination of fine hair, naturally stick straight hair, and thin ends from not cutting over the years. When my hair was shorter I had a thicker hemline and didn't notice it getting stringy as much so I'm hoping once I maintain for a while and get rid of these thin ends that I won't have to deal with it as much!

[pepperedmoth]

My hair is a couple of inches shy of classic length and I love wearing it down, but there are limited occasions when I do. Its almost always up at work because I'm a nurse and it'll get in the way.

Me tooooo! Even up, it can drive me crazy at work. Two days ago at work 3 of my 4 patients were isolation rooms 'cause of MRSA or whatnot. I kept having to pull gowns off and on, and of course whenever I got into the iso room my (fine, silky) hair would pull loose of its bun and get in my face and I COULDN'T SCRATCH AAAARGH!

It'd be beyond all reason if I tried to wear it loose.

[azhie]

My hair is only down when it's drying. Used to be daily, now it's about 2x a week. I also don't like having hair in my face, or my neck. In hot and humid weather, hair on the neck is so uncomfortable! The moment it was long enough to tie up, around shoulder or so, I stopped wearing it down.

My hair doesn't look good down a few hours after drying, anyway. No volume, so lies flat on my head. But I'm much happier with it up-- easier to maintain and less handling/playing.

[musicallberrii]

I noticed something today I wanted to add to this thread.. I haven't worn my hair down during the day (outside the house going to do something) since it was shoulder length. I am now at BSL and wore my hair down all day today at classes (5 hours) and didn't have any flatness, tangles, or stringyness. I think part of it has to do with me going to CO the past couple days and specifically trying a new conditioner combo last night, but I also braided my hair in pigtails before bed (my hair was still damp at the time). My hair is naturally wavy with some random curls in it, so it gets tangled quite easily.. I took my hair out of the braids this morning though and was able to wear it down with no issues today. I'm guessing that the braids add just enough shape and body to my hair that it doesn't tangle as bad and doesn't just hang there. I don't know if this is the case with others too, but when I damp braid or bun my hair it is sooo much silkier and smoother when I take it down eventually than if I just let it air dry while hanging there. Anyone having issues with tangling or limpness might want to try the braids before you wear your hair down though =) If anyone tries it, I hope it works as well as it did for me!

[SwordWomanRiona]

To answer your question I would say I was more comfortable wearing it down when it was shorter, right around BSL. I am right around classic now, and it seems like all my hair does is get stringy if I don't brush it every second, it's rather annoying and makes me feel paranoid that it looks bad. I'm guessing it's a combination of fine hair, naturally stick straight hair, and thin ends from not cutting over the years. When my hair was shorter I had a thicker hemline and didn't notice it getting stringy as much so I'm hoping once I maintain for a while and get rid of these thin ends that I won't have to deal with it as much!

We have the same hair! The same happens to me, but I'm scared (:D) to go a step further than microtrims! Maybe with some more frequent microtrims I can reduce the thin ends...:pray:

[SwordWomanRiona]

Yesterday I wore it down for the whole afternoon, and I felt good! No tangles or uncomfortable coiling, or anything!:) So today I said, let's have another go at it, so I wore it down for the whole morning. Unfortunately, before leaving university I made a three strand braid, as my hair was behaving worse than the day before...There are days and days, I suppose.

[patchoulilove]

So a lot of people here write that they wear hair up. How does everyone make their updos look nice despite thin hair? I have a hard time getting my hair to lie correctly without my scalp showing. :( I have APL length and a twisted bun at the back of my head or French braid are my go to updos at the moment. As the day progresses, my part will show through at the top and the jaggedy bit of part the tries to peek out at the back of my head. I really dislike this and end up feeling unattractive in updos. This means I wear my hair down often.

Does everyone here stretch washes or do some have to wash more frequently? I'm trying to stretch washes for better moisture and protection to my length, but I'm wondering if this contributes to the unkempt and "scalpy" appearance of my updos?

Any insight or advice from fellow thin hairs would be grately appreciated!

[Kherome]

So a lot of people here write that they wear hair up. How does everyone make their updos look nice despite thin hair? I have a hard time getting my hair to lie correctly without my scalp showing. :( I have APL length and a twisted bun at the back of my head or French braid are my go to updos at the moment. As the day progresses, my part will show through at the top and the jaggedy bit of part the tries to peek out at the back of my head. I really dislike this and end up feeling unattractive in updos. This means I wear my hair down often.

Does everyone here stretch washes or do some have to wash more frequently? I'm trying to stretch washes for better moisture and protection to my length, but I'm wondering if this contributes to the unkempt and "scalpy" appearance of my updos?

Any insight or advice from fellow thin hairs would be grately appreciated!

The right hair toys.

[Marika]

I don't have problems with my scalp showing if I wash my hair every other day. My scalp definitely shows if I stretch my washes. I once tried to stretch my washes to 3-4 days but that was a disaster. Ugly hair, itchy scalp and lots of shedding. To tell you the truth, I've never found washing to be that drying in the first place :shrug: I just thought I have to stretch washes but I don't! :p My hair has been tbl+ as its longest and this time I'm trying to go even longer.

[ravenheather]

My hair and scalp are happier if I wash every other day. But I use clay and amla not shampoo.

[Nadine <3]

My hair is very thin and fine and I almost always wear it down. It's not that long yet though.

[Lirona]

So a lot of people here write that they wear hair up. How does everyone make their updos look nice despite thin hair? I have a hard time getting my hair to lie correctly without my scalp showing. :( I have APL length and a twisted bun at the back of my head or French braid are my go to updos at the moment. As the day progresses, my part will show through at the top and the jaggedy bit of part the tries to peek out at the back of my head. I really dislike this and end up feeling unattractive in updos. This means I wear my hair down often.

Does everyone here stretch washes or do some have to wash more frequently? I'm trying to stretch washes for better moisture and protection to my length, but I'm wondering if this contributes to the unkempt and "scalpy" appearance of my updos?

Any insight or advice from fellow thin hairs would be grately appreciated!

If you figure out that it does contribute (which seems likely), you could try washing your scalp by itself and see how that goes. LHC member LauraLongLocks has a tutorial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VBOVM-dHlc).

[UP Lisa]

I don't think I've worn mine down since it was probably shoulder length. It just tangles too easily. The only time it is down is when drying. The only way I could ever wear it down would be with a silk/satin top of some sort. And even then, I better not let any breeze touch it!