Reasons I've cut my hair.

[ifthemoonsmiled]

It's been about 3 months since I made the decision to grow out my hair. Again. The main difference, this time, is that I'm determined to practice patience, & growing my hair is a big symbol of that--a much more powerful motive to leave it alone than just wishing it was longer. The other difference is that I have this community to help me.

I decided it would be a good idea to list the reasons I've cut my hair in the past. That way if I encounter these situations again I'll know that they might trigger haircut urges & I'll be able to get past the idea of a chop. I've cut my hair for a lot of reasons...

1. Teenage rebellion.
2. Bad breakup.
3. Seeing a picture of a cute haircut.
4. Boredom.
5. Cutting off damage from dye.
6. Cutting off damage from combing out dreadlocks.
7. Making mistakes while trying to trim it.
8. Summertime heat.
9. Feeling like it was growing out too straight.
10. Trying to let my bangs catch up to the rest of the growth.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person.
12. Fixing a bad haircut, especially blunt cuts.
13. Other stressful major life changes.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.
15. Feeling too girly.

What are the reasons you've cut your hair in the past?

[BlazingHeart]

Up until about 4 years ago, me cutting my hair was always about change. I'd cut it short, and then leave it alone for a year or two, get bored with it being long, cut it again, so on. It was a pretty predictable cycle. I got my first short cut at 10 or 11 to even up my hair with my grown-out bangs, and re-cut it every few years after that.

Then I moved to a hotter part of the country (in the summer) than where I used to live, and I developed a condition that makes me faint in the heat. Part of my management techniques were chopping my hair short every May, and sometimes a second cut during the summer if it started getting long enough to hold heat against my neck. This is the first year since I moved here that I'm really trying to keep my hair. The annoying part is that I need another month or two of growth to be able to do most buns, so I'm really stuck with just a peacock twist. I'm trying to teach myself to do sectioned buns.

~Blaze

[HairFaerie]

1. Teenage rebellion.
2. Bad breakup.
3. Seeing a picture of a cute haircut.
4. Boredom.
5. Cutting off damage from dye.
6. Cutting off damage from combing out dreadlocks.
7. Making mistakes while trying to trim it.
8. Summertime heat.
9. Feeling like it was growing out too straight.
10. Trying to let my bangs catch up to the rest of the growth.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person.
12. Fixing a bad haircut, especially blunt cuts.
13. Other stressful major life changes.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.
15. Feeling too girly.

What are the reasons you've cut your hair in the past?

The ones in red are reasons why I have cut in the past. The last cut was because of #14. I hope I can get through it this time!

[spidermom]

I used to be impulsive - declare that I was growing my hair out to my butt, then see a cute short cut on somebody else and run right out to get it. I did this so many times!

With my 40s came patience.

[Ligeia_13]

Bad ends
Bad ends
And bad ends

[Aeowen]

3. Seeing a picture of a cute haircut.
4. Boredom.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.


#4 is probably the biggest issue for me. Particularly when my dear DH goes away on business...every time he has gone away my poor hair has suffered the consequences.

I also have very little patience for inbetween stages. Right now I have a scarf on my head attempting to ignore what hair I have there since I just cannot stand the way it looks. I know if I approach a salon, it will get chopped...so...staying away from salons is a good thing right now!

[1953Diygal]

Well these days, I cut due to bad ends but when I was a teenager and in my early 20s, I would cut and dye at the drop of a hat. Now, looking back on it, I think it was the first signs of mania (well...maybe hypomania).

[Eire]

I cut mine because of damage from when I used to heat style daily pre-LHC. Also, my much-shorter bangs were quite annoying and I wanted to get back to all one length with maybe slight layers on the bottom, but nothing more.

[Heartwillfollow]

i've continuesly cut in the past because I didn't know what to do with it longer or how to care for it which always lead to disaster conditions.. Sure fix was to cut it back up to chin

[Valdeon]

Dry brittle ends that are prone to splitting
To even up my hemline
To get rid of dye
An awkward loathed stages of growth
To change a haircut
Just for the sake of feeling freshly cut ends
oh! And summer heat! (once I just got fed up with wearing it up all the time)

[CrisDee]

Funny, just posted about this in a totally unrelated thread. :)

I've had APL-BSL hair most of my life, which is what the rest of the non-LHC world considers "long hair." :D Three times in my life, in a fit of self loathing and frustration at a life situation I had no power to change, I've taken it out on my hair and chopped it all off. And all three times, the situation has not changed, and it left me hating my appearance along with the situation. :rolleyes: The most recent time was in March of 2009, which was at the same time I discovered henna. I kept the short cut for six months to grow out the red chemical dye I'd used for 20+ years before discovering henna, and began the tortuous regrowing process in September '09.

At this point, it's past the awfulest point, and finally getting to the length where I can put it up, which I do every day of summer, and every work day all year. I hope to have it long for the rest of my life. :)

[battles]

Generally, seeing a cute haircut and deciding I NEED it.
Boredom.
Too hot.
Awkward growing stages.
Getting to shoulder and just feeling the need to cut it.

[celebriangel]

I have to admit, I never really feel the urge to cut. Maybe when I get to more extreme lengths... but I don't think I'll ever go above BSL again. I do not like it. I feel sad that my hair is short.

The only two reasons I've ever cut are:

1) dragged to hairdressers by my mother, and
2) wanted to know what really short hair felt like

Now I don't live with my mother any more, and I know what short hair feels like (it feels sucky), I don't see any reason why I would cut again. I have a very round face, and I know none of the fashionable cuts I see would ever suit me, nor do I actually like them at all.

I think, when I get to longer lengths, I might be tempted to cut back to waist if I ever felt very frustrated with my hair. I had almost-waist hair once, and I loved it. I can't wait to be back there again.

[Mymagicfairy]

I actually found having short hair..pixie ..gave me confidence...as not too many can pull it off
I liked looking different
I also had some medical concerns where my hair was falling out more than usual
So keeping it super short was easy
I liked having blonde hair ...short...less damage
But now after having short hair for more thAn a few years I am bored...
I am hoping to grow it out to waist ...and I don't bleach it anymore...natural henna
My hair isn't falling out anymore either!!,

[newbeginning]

The reasons I've cut my hair have been illness and to get rid of damage.

[Heian Beauty]

1. Teenage rebellion.
2. Bad breakup.
3. Seeing a picture of a cute haircut.
4. Boredom.
5. Cutting off damage from dye.
6. Cutting off damage from combing out dreadlocks.
7. Making mistakes while trying to trim it.
8. Summertime heat.
9. Feeling like it was growing out too straight.
10. Trying to let my bangs catch up to the rest of the growth.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person.
12. Fixing a bad haircut, especially blunt cuts.
13. Other stressful major life changes.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.
15. Feeling too girly.

There's my reasons for radical chops so far. I'm not sure why I thought that long hair couldn't fit with my tough martial artist and re-enactor image, since so many male Historical European Martial Arts people and re-enactors that I know have hair longer than mine!
When I was younger, I experimented a lot with my hair, and seemed to change it according to my moods. I dyed it every colour under the sun, fried it a few times and had to cut it all off, shaved it when I was having a "screw the system" phase, all that sort of teenage punky-gothy stuff.
I'm glad that I did play with it, but now I want to grow it long instead. Maybe someone could get some psychobabble about reaching a more stable stage in my life and so on, but I think I've just decided that I look better with my hair long and dark.

[Cimorene]

Reasons I've cut my hair:

--Wanting to "redefine" myself after a bad break-up
--Summer heat
--Wanting a cute, spiky style
--My mother telling me, "You look so much better with short hair!"
--Thinking that short hair is easier to take care of
--Cutting out dye damage
--Getting rid of an awkward growing out stage before a big trip

Luckily, I have since found a way around/through these issues:

--Haven't dated in over a decade - takes care of that one! :p
--Once it's grown out to the point that putting it up is easy, long hair is actually cooler in the summer, IMHO. I can get every single hair up off my neck. Also, when you wear it up all the time, you can just wear it wet, which is really refreshing when it's hot.
--Short styles may be cute, but I've come to the conclusion that they're WAY too much money and work. You have to wash it in the morning to get rid of bed-head. Then you have to blow-fry it. Then you have to use half a bottle of gel/putty to spike it up. And it still goes flat halfway through the day. THEN, you have to get expensive trims every month to keep it looking decent. No thank you. I'll keep my low-maintenance, wash-every-couple-of-days-then-put-it-up-and-forget-about-it long hair. :D
--I've come to the conclusion that my mother is wrong. Short hair doesn't do me any favors. I also have a round face (and I'm fat, which makes it even rounder), so long hair suits me best. And all my friends agree. Of course, I usually wear it up, so maybe it's a moot point, but when I'm in the mood to dress up, I at least have the option of leaving it down, or partly-down, in a flattering style.
--Long hair is definitely easier to take care of, as I have explained.
--I've sworn off hair dye, so this is no longer a problem.
--My hair is now, thankfully, out of the weird growing-out stage. For those of you there now: yes, it will happen! Have patience! :cheese:

[Mesmerise]

For me the biggest reasons are boredom and frustration, as well as cutting out damage. Also the deluding idea that I will look BETTER with short hair (not sure why I would ever think this... once should have been enough to tell me this is NOT the case).

Ohh and while posting to another thread I thought of another reason. I've cut my hair in the vain hope that when it grows again it will grow "normal" and not be part straight, part wavy and part curly. Yes... stupid hope that lol. I mean, if I cut it really, really short it's harder to tell that my hair is weird... but errm... it never fixes the problem and I just have to grow it out again!

[sugar&nutmeg]

I love this thread!

I've always had conflict about my hair. My mother got fed up having to deal with my long hair when I was a kid, though my dad loved it. She dragged me off to the barber when I was seven and got a short 'boy cut'. My father didn't talk to either of us for days. Yikes! That's a lot of guilt for a seven-year-old to have to take on!

Unfortunately, knowing the start of my hair neurosis didn't help!

In the past, I've cut off lovely long hair:

Because I was going camping for a week. :confused:

Because I got bored and wanted a huge change.

Because I regularly forgot that I do not have a cute 'pixie' face, and a short 'do makes me look severe-to-butch...which is simply not the look I'm going for.;)

Because I regularly forgot that "wherever you go (or however you cut your hair)...there you are." Changing my hair never changed or redefined me (at least not in a positive way). It just made me more feel like a short-sighted dumb@ss.

More recently, I cut (argh) my almost-waist hair to just below shoulders because I became insecure about being 50-something with looong hair. Because I thought it would look 'better', more 'pulled together', more 'age appropriate'. Wrong again! Long hair is part of who I am, and I miss it.

I'm hoping this community will help me remember those things, too!

[archel]

Ohhhhhhhh man. Bad breakup = me cutting my waist length hair off to a chin length bob. HOWEVER. I am lucky I did this as I had been coloring the *heck* out of it and this gave me a chance to grow out the dye. Now I'm becoming a subtle renegray :)

[archel]

By the way, if you want to scare the absolute bejeebus out of a hairdresser, get that much chopped at once. She was terrified that I was going to freak out and cry and yell at her - I kept saying, no, keep going...keep going...SERIOUSLY KEEP GOING! It was like I was cutting my ex boyfriend out of my hair, LOL!!!

[lilasianvixen77]

I once cut my hair just to have some change in my life! While growing up, I always had long hair & when I came home from college, chopped it off with a pixie cut! But now I've been happily growing my hair out for 2 years! I wish it was this length when we got married 2 years ago! LOL!

[Laululintu]

I've always had fairly long hair (as in I can't remember a time when it's been shorter than APL), but I'm still not immune to mini-chops or dye.

I got my first highlights when I was heartbroken.
I had to cut my hair from almost hip length to above my waist once to remove damage.
Most recently I had my just short of classic length hair cut to between hip and tailbone length, as I was bored of accidentally sitting on my hair, and the almost blunt ends weren't doing my hips and bum any favours :p

[oktobergoud]

I used to be impulsive - declare that I was growing my hair out to my butt, then see a cute short cut on somebody else and run right out to get it. I did this so many times!

With my 40s came patience.

Yup, this! I hope my patience comes earlier than my with 40's :P

[McFearless]

1. Hairstylists who would not respect my wishes
2. Thinking cuts would make my hair grow faster. This myth was burned into my brain by everyone
3. Trying to get rid of damage

[long&blonde]

Even tho I know the point of this thread was to share reasons you've cut your hair in the past; I couldn't help but post here: I couldn't stop reading everyone's posts and admiring everyone's bravery!
I have no clue when my last trim was, have decided to call salon & ask them. Its been years,definitely. I so admire even the threads on here about snipping one's spli ends off.
To me,all length is good length.
I've actually freaked & ran from salons a few times. The "no trim during 2011"challenge threads always amaze me too, as I don't even recall what year I got my last trim. Was due to saw stylist thru window w/waist length hair himself. He since cut & donated.
From one who is afraid of scissors; hang in there! But, I admire your courage,all of you,& willingness to venture into the unknown & change!

[lapispimpernel]

Lessee...
1. Teenage rebellion.
2. Bad breakup.
3. Seeing a picture of a cute haircut.
4. Boredom.
5. Cutting off damage from dye.
6. Cutting off damage from combing out dreadlocks.
7. Making mistakes while trying to trim it.
8. Summertime heat.
9. Feeling like it was growing out too straight.
10. Trying to let my bangs catch up to the rest of the growth.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person. (there was nothing fleeting about it, really)
12. Fixing a bad haircut, especially blunt cuts.
13. Other stressful major life changes.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.
15. Feeling too girly.
16. Damage



Because I was going camping for a week. :confused:


Oof. Sweaty hair is the worst. You've just gotta push through days 4-6, and then it's almost alright again. :rolleyes: :)

[elbow chic]

1) hot weather

2) not knowing how to style it. Ponytail, half-up, and down. whoo hoo.

3) dry ends (I've cut my hair so many times because I had literally no idea that dry ends weren't necessarily damaged or how to moisturize them. Crazy.)

4) peer pressure (I'm still sort of kicking myself for getting my hair cut a couple years ago when I knew I wanted to grow it out. "c'mon, it's girls day out and we haven't seen Jolene in aaaages!" Couldn't I have just gotten my nails done in honor of the occasion? :laugh: What am I, 13?

5) enjoyment of the polished, stylish look you get from the salon.

6) desire to change SOMETHING in my life when all other options seem cut off

I've figured out how to deal with 1 through 4, though 5 and 6 are temptations I've yet to resolve. ;) Maybe getting a professional makeup consult done for that "polished" look, which I really do love but doesn't belong in my everyday life, would be better than going for a new cut that I won't keep up long term and will eventually regret.

As for that desire to change SOMETHING, I think that's something everyone has from time to time. I have felt stuck at a few points in my life and I can't say getting a chop has ever really resolved them, though probably the boost in confidence that a good cut gives you can help you face yourself and your fears head-on.

"Do I even know how to make money anymore?" is my current question. When I was 21, it was "Do I have any idea how to pick and keep a good husband?"

[elbow chic]

Because I regularly forgot that I do not have a cute 'pixie' face, and a short 'do makes me look severe-to-butch...which is simply not the look I'm going for.;)

B

haha. I kept mine really short for a few years, and indeed the line between cute-pixie and "butchy hair" is quite fine. I'll never forget the time I tried to save a few bucks on a cut and got the latter 'do. It was kind of clipped on the sides and kind of.... mushroomy... on the top.

"This is a really bad haircut but surely the boys at work will never notice..."

Oh, they noticed. Much laughter the next morning. And for the next three months while I tried to grow that monster out. aiiiiii.

Moral of the story: this is not the place to save fifteen bucks.

[turtlelover]

My big chops were mostly related to depression and bad breakups where I just wanted to THINK ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE -- fixating on my hair seemed easier than thinking about what was really bothering me.

[x0h_bother]

-mom
-damaged ends from flat iron
-"feels too long" time period after a trim when you run your hands through it
-college experimenting
-hairdresser shopping
-layers

[2peasinapod]

I used to think it didn't look good long and that long hair is too much of a hassle. Of course, that was before tried it. ;)

[UltraBella]

I have cut my hair because of :
boredom
a bad haircut resulting in needing another haircut to fix it
split ends (high school)
too much hair
desire for more layers
just needing a change

[jasper]

Reasons for my haircuts:
Trying to achieve a certain style
Trying to maintain a style
Wanting to get rid of a previous style.
Liking fresh cut ends
Donating hair
Improving hemline

[RitaCeleste]

I have cut my hair for a few reasons, mostly bad.

1. My friend's grandmother cut hair. My friend said I needed more style in my hair.
2. My friend's grandma sprained an ankle while I had perm solution in my hair. The fried stuff had to go eventually.
3. I tried to go past brassy to blond using only peroxide and turned all my hair to elastic.
4. I was manic and it took too long to wash and care for it. Short attention span you know, longer than five minutes is too much.
5. People telling me to do something with my hair. I'd go in, pick a cut. None of those people liked it anyway. I didn't like them either, the haircuts and the people!!!!
6. Wanted to look DONE! You know like a pro had cut the stuff. Chasing the good haircut.
7. Manic with scissors and do it yourself flare! I saw something in a magazine.
8. Cutting out layers from haircuts gone wrong, damage from perms, fried ends, at the moment I want to trim it again for scraggly ends!

[Anywhere]

1, I was too scared to tell Mother I wanted to grow my hair out.
2. I got sick of how thick and in the way my hair was (I wish it could be thick again. ugh.)
3. I wanted bangs and knew Mother would go beserk and tell me they look terrible if I cut them myself (that woman sees a few 1/4 cm pieces of hair on the counter that I forget to clean and tells me I did an awful job cutting my hair and should let her cut it...). I ended up with unwanted layers as well.
4. Seeing cute choppy cuts and cutting myself some side pieces.
5. Thin ends.

[growingpains]

Ends: damaged ends, tapered ends, different colored ends, dry end.

I am very frustrated with ends right now.

In the past: boredom and whimsy.

[rapunzhell13]

- restlessness, wanting a change

- anxiety, feeling out of control

- wanting to be different, go against the grain

- thinking I'll look cute with a short style (despite past experience)

- thinking short hair will be easier (forgetting how much I hate going for haircuts)

- cutting out damage (haven't had to do that in long while though)

- evening up the hemline

- wanting that fresh feeling that comes with a haircut

[owlathena]

4. Boredom.


Mostly. And to even out my bleach streaked damaged ends.

[Vani1902]

The only times I have ever cut my hair is to remove damage from chemical relaxers. I have never been the type to be interested in pixie cuts or bobs. The last time i had a bob was because a relaxer melted my hair and I needed to cut. It was traumatizing.

[MissAlida]

Many years ago I cut my hair to a pixie. It was because my hair would never look good loose, so I always worn it in a ponytail, and I got bored of taking care of something I didn't even like. So I chopped it off, and rocked the pixie for 3 years. I loved it. Then got bored with it, and went trough all the awkward phases of growing my hair out. It was hard, but now I have wavy/curly hair that I adore loose, and I'm going for MBL or waist, I'll see. :)

[CurlAhead]

1. Feeling bad about my hair
2. Feeling sad, not pretty enough
3. Seeing great hair everywhere, and then seeing my own hair
4. Boredom.
5. Cutting off damage from dye.
6. Trying to S&D, and then ending up cutting off half of my hair
7. Having all these stupid layers irritating me
8. Stupid, stupid STUPID impulsive behavior
9. Having crunchy ends, and instead of clearifying, cutting them off
10. Trying to let my bangs catch up to the rest of the growth.
11. Fleeting desire to feel like a different person.
12. Fixing a bad haircut, especially blunt cuts.
13. Other stressful major life changes.
14. Annoyance at awkward growth stages.
15. Having a really stressful time, especially with school etc.
16. Seeing the scissor laying in front of me and just thinking "gotta make a change"
17. Believing my hair will look better if it is short and uneven (yes, I am THAT smart)
18. Just doing it to go against my mother, as the rebellious teenager I am.

I can go on forever. But this hair-cutting thing started 3 years ago, when I had it cut short against "my will". Since then, I can't seem to succeed growing it out. It has been shoulder length (well, only the longest parts...) ever since. :(

[Lostsoule77]

Usually because it's been over a year since I've had a trim so I always felt a cut was due. Either that or I've had enough of people telling me to get it cut so I do. Now that I've found this site I'm thinking neither will be such an issue. :)

[Rosake]

I've actually never cut my hair short. I seriously was about to, but then I stumbled upon LHC and I changed my mind :p

[Djinmonet]

...
--Once it's grown out to the point that putting it up is easy, long hair is actually cooler in the summer, IMHO. I can get every single hair up off my neck. Also, when you wear it up all the time, you can just wear it wet, which is really refreshing when it's hot.
--Short styles may be cute, but I've come to the conclusion that they're WAY too much money and work. You have to wash it in the morning to get rid of bed-head. Then you have to blow-fry it. Then you have to use half a bottle of gel/putty to spike it up. And it still goes flat halfway through the day. THEN, you have to get expensive trims every month to keep it looking decent. No thank you. I'll keep my low-maintenance, wash-every-couple-of-days-then-put-it-up-and-forget-about-it long hair. :D
--I've come to the conclusion that my mother is wrong. Short hair doesn't do me any favors. I also have a round face (and I'm fat, which makes it even rounder), so long hair suits me best. And all my friends agree. Of course, I usually wear it up, so maybe it's a moot point, but when I'm in the mood to dress up, I at least have the option of leaving it down, or partly-down, in a flattering style.
--Long hair is definitely easier to take care of, as I have explained.
--I've sworn off hair dye, so this is no longer a problem.
--My hair is now, thankfully, out of the weird growing-out stage. For those of you there now: yes, it will happen! Have patience! :cheese:


Just happy to see I'm not alone in the world with these thoughts! :D

Reading this thread has made me very grateful that I have never seen a "cute hairCUT" in a magazine, or anywhere. I have only ever seen "styles" and all of those required some good length of hair to work. LHC has either the style I admired or close enough, with a number of tutorials, so I can work at it from different methods if need be. Not that all haircuts are ugly, just any that I thought looked nice, obviously also took so long to fuss with. I knew myself well enough to know I wasn't going to bother with all that.
As I am unlikely to cut my hair now, for anything other than a medical crisis that gets in my hair, somehow, I don't have a list to add.
Good luck, and I wish all of you whatever you need to have your hair be whatever length and style works best for you.