View Full Version : Family reunion and no long hair
Curlsgirl
June 11th, 2008, 06:51 PM
I went to a fairly big family reunion last weekend and there was NObody with long hair past the shoulder and only a couple even that long. The whole family on that side is where I get my curly, thick hair so I wonder why no one ever grew their hair? No one I know of on my Mom's side ever did that I know of. They ALL had short hair. I wonder if they didn't know how to take care of it. I wish they had known about LHC. Maybe next time I'll pass out cards ;) It did feel nice to have the longest hair though at my length. I am seeing that more and more as everyone cuts. There is no long hair at my church anymore. I think I am probably the longest hair there too including the young people. I know one little girl that has longer hair and it's about waist or a little longer. That is out of about 400 people! Not sure the reason for this post LOL
Comments?
kwaniesiam
June 11th, 2008, 06:52 PM
I used to have some of the longest hair, thats an awesome feeling, isn't it? ;)
Your hair has gotten so long too, especially in that pic where it's blown straight. I do love the curls though :)
Curlsgirl
June 11th, 2008, 07:00 PM
I used to have some of the longest hair, thats an awesome feeling, isn't it? ;)
Your hair has gotten so long too, especially in that pic where it's blown straight. I do love the curls though :)
Thanks! It's weird but everyone keeps saying that lately. I must have had a growth spurt. Someone said my hair grows so fast today at work and another woman I know commented on how long it is later. And it's even curly today! I love it! But I can't see it. I think it hardly ever changes at all.
Lamb
June 11th, 2008, 07:19 PM
Well, I have a fair amount of curly relatives, and I can think of a few reasons why they never let their hair grow:
1) it was not fashionable (aunts when they were young - long straight hair was fashionable in the 70s, but curly? no.)
2) it's a major annoyance to deal with our mega-fine, curly, unruly hair once it grows out of a style
3) curly hair is fragile - unless you either practise benign neglect or treat it with extra care, you get one gigantic ball of frizz instead of long hair - not pretty...
No wonder after almost a year at LHC, I am still only at a bob. Layers grown out, okay, but I still hadn't learned enough by March to prevent a major trim necessitated by a long winter and bad haircare choices. :( It's not a walk in the park to figure out what curly hair in the growing needs.
Curlsgirl
June 11th, 2008, 07:27 PM
Well, I have a fair amount of curly relatives, and I can think of a few reasons why they never let their hair grow:
1) it was not fashionable (aunts when they were young - long straight hair was fashionable in the 70s, but curly? no.)
2) it's a major annoyance to deal with our mega-fine, curly, unruly hair once it grows out of a style
3) curly hair is fragile - unless you either practise benign neglect or treat it with extra care, you get one gigantic ball of frizz instead of long hair - not pretty...
No wonder after almost a year at LHC, I am still only at a bob. Layers grown out, okay, but I still hadn't learned enough by March to prevent a major trim necessitated by a long winter and bad haircare choices. :( It's not a walk in the park to figure out what curly hair in the growing needs.
Very true Lamb! It took me a very long time too and I trimmed quite a bit the first year especially. I have just really finally settled into somewhat of a routine and STILL have challenges with seasons changing etc. I have to say though it was quite fun experimenting. Without this site though I daresay I really could never have done it. I think being a FINE curly, really makes it harder too. You are doing great though. It gets SO much easier when it gets long enough to wear it up and where the weight pulls it down a bit.
Stagecoach
June 11th, 2008, 08:27 PM
Well I'm glad that you've discovered that you like your hair long!
Curlsgirl
June 11th, 2008, 08:47 PM
Well I'm glad that you've discovered that you like your hair long!
Me too! :) Every time I see your picture signature I go :thud: by the way!
florenonite
June 12th, 2008, 08:40 AM
I suppose it's just that long hair takes so much time and effort to grow, especially in our instant-gratification culture. I don't think that once it's at a particular length it would be any more difficult than short, "styled" hair to take care of on a regular basis, but it's getting there that's the problem. Now, I know that some short styles really are easier to care for; when I had shoulder-length hair, I just washed it every couple of days, but then when I tried to put it up it was a pain (one of the reasons I chose to grow). However, many women with shorter hair need to cut it more often to maintain a style, tend to highlight/dye it, and blowfry and straighten regularly, which takes more time each morning than just combing and putting it up. If you're maintaining at a length you could easily either self-trim or have a trusted family member or friend to do it, and this would deal with some splits, the rest of which would be taken care of through S&Ding. Essentially, I think that, although once you have long, healthy hair it's not a great deal of effort to care for, getting there, especially if your hair's short, curly, and unhealthy, is a daunting task and it's easier to just give up. I know if I hadn't found LHC, although my hair was reasonably healthy to begin with (although LHC has increased my standards) I'd never have made it to BSL, because I did try, but realised it would take so long and found it easier to just chop.
Delenn
June 12th, 2008, 08:46 AM
My family is microscopic so I definitely have the longest. My second cousin is in her 50's and she has gorgeous greying BSL hair, her daughter has BSL dreads that she takes care of. That's pretty much it for us.
Toadstool
June 12th, 2008, 08:48 AM
Quite a lot of people don't actually LIKE long hair so that may be why theirs is short.
wintersun99
June 12th, 2008, 08:49 AM
..............
Cichelle
June 12th, 2008, 08:51 AM
No one in my family has long hair either. I think shoulder length is about it. My cousin says her hair "doesn't grow". I've tried to give her tips, but I'm really not sure it's that important to her. It's hard for me to imagine, but some people don't want long hair. :shrug:
florenonite
June 12th, 2008, 08:54 AM
Quite a lot of people don't actually LIKE long hair so that may be why theirs is short.
True, although I'd imagine in an entire family there's more than one person who likes long hair. Although of course there are some people who do not want it for themselves, or even wholly dislike it.
Siava
June 12th, 2008, 09:30 AM
All of my family has relatively short hair as well. Those of us with the long hair ... it's only just past the shoulders, but I'm workin' on being the longest. :)
To me, it's cultural to have short hair now and I do 100% agree with the instant gratification statement above. Also, it's not just a matter of attractiveness; it's a matter of social status. A woman who can maintain a short, colored hairstyle (which gets expensive) is often seen as successful. She must be in order to incorporate such a luxury into her lifestyle, right? There are other reasons too though and I believe they stem back from the 20's when women having short hair really took off. It's a show of rebellion or something new to try which turns into a vicious cycle because most women don't want to put up with the ugly stages of growing hair back out. It's a want to be revered as equally powerful and/or intimidating as men are in the business world. It's a false notion that having short hair is easier to maintain. There are just so many reasons and a lot of them revolve around money and power IMO. Tis a shame really.
spidermom
June 12th, 2008, 10:14 AM
There hasn't been much long hair in my family either. The only one who had really long hair was my maternal grandmother, who had hip-length braids so I'm sure it must have been at least tailbone length unbraided. That's about it. I remember my mother and several of my aunts complaining that they couldn't stand the feel of hair on their necks, so they kept their hair short-short.
Now I live more than 3000 miles from my family and seldom hear from anybody, so I have no idea what my cousins are doing with their hair.
For some silly reason, it always makes me feel good when I have the longest hair in the room, even if its up and nobody but me knows it.
Lamb
June 12th, 2008, 10:32 AM
It's hard for me to imagine, but some people don't want long hair. :shrug:
Hahaha. :lol: It takes all sorts to make a world, doesn't it?
Some people just want hair that looks good, both in itself and on them, and can be kept looking good without too much hassle. For some people, this is long hair, for others, short or medium.
And more than some people (myself included) find the in-between period incredibly trying and tend to give up growing their hair out at that point.
Guenever
June 12th, 2008, 10:52 AM
I have 2 longhairs in my family, actually:
My sister: BSL
One of my cousins (age 11): approx. waist now.. It has been hip. It wouldn't surprise me if it became even shorter with time.. She has no wish to have long hair - it's my aunt who is crazy about long locks, and my cousin's a bit annoyed about it actually.. this is why I'll never force long hair upon my future children..
The rest is pixie short - shoulder..
SylphideNoir
June 12th, 2008, 11:14 AM
Reading this made me realize that short haired women are the minority in my family! Never saw that before. Even my grandmother has waist length hair.
Islandgrrl
June 12th, 2008, 11:33 AM
Short haired women are definitely not a minority in my family. I have one aunt in her 70s with shoulder length hair. And then there's me. Even my sister whose hair used to be waist-ish has chopped her hair into a chin-length bob (which looks stunning on her, actually). And everyone's always harping on me to cut my hair short again :shudder:
florenonite
June 12th, 2008, 11:42 AM
My hair's currently the longest in my family, I believe, bar an aunt with a waist-length plait and two cousins I haven't seen in years but seem to recall having roughly BSL-ish hair (they could be anywhere from shoulder to BSL by now). My dad and his brother used to both have APL hair, though :)
Siava
June 12th, 2008, 12:19 PM
Short haired women are definitely not a minority in my family. I have one aunt in her 70s with shoulder length hair. And then there's me. Even my sister whose hair used to be waist-ish has chopped her hair into a chin-length bob (which looks stunning on her, actually). And everyone's always harping on me to cut my hair short again :shudder:
GRR. I hate that! My mom is always on me, too. "Oh, you looked so cute with short hair. Wasn't it easier to wear? But it was adorable." Blah blah blah.
c23
June 12th, 2008, 12:41 PM
To OP: That is odd
I see so many long haired people at school, my job and on the streets. Perhaps there are just a lot of LH people here, more than average...Something I can't complain about as LH rocks :)
bex487
June 12th, 2008, 01:33 PM
I find that, in general, I don't often see too many women with long hair IRL. At college a lot of girls have hair that's bottom of BSL (and shorter from there). My aunt has gorgeous, thick long hair and I'm striving to get to her length.
Isilme
June 12th, 2008, 02:55 PM
Maybe it's because people keep damaging their hair all the time. In beauty magasines I see pictures of women with long long hair, sleek and shiny. Normally it's in some advertising about a flatiron or hair styling products. The other day I saw one with a woman with looong red hair, in a flatiron advertisment. But we know that heat styling damages hair, but maybe other people doesn't know exactly what it does? Or maybe they want long hair but can't be bothered to take care of it. Other people doesn't have to be so into hair as we are;)
Example, I would like my house to be clean, but can't be bothered to vaccum since I'm tired. Something like that maybe?
Enjoy being the only longhair, I enjoy it in dance class when we are doing the hair dance :lol:
susiemw
June 12th, 2008, 08:23 PM
short hair. Wasn't it easier to wear? .
I never understood that. I feel Long hair is much easier than having short hair. Oh well,
Luckily as I was growing up I always heard "you have such beautiful long hair, don't ever cut it"
trust me, after hearing that over and over again... it's ingrained. That and I've only run into one hair stylist that actually ever had a clue with regards to cutting my hair.
My neices all have long hair. and I have a couple cousins who I haven't seen in a few years and they've always had hair somewhere below shoulder length.
My mom, aunt and grandmother's were always short
Susan
paper
June 13th, 2008, 08:51 AM
I had the opposite experience during a family reunion. It was in Sept 07. I got my hair cut short the week before. I had been wearing it short for about 5 yrs. Anyways 2 of my cousins, my age, still had long hair. Probably BSL or longer. It was pretty and youthful looking. It was shortly after that I decided to grow my hair. That was the last time cutting my hair short. :)
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