Thinking of Cutting Way Back to BSL

[Red Rapunzel]

Hi, longhairs,

I'm really upset about the thinning of my lower lengths. I mean, what good is thigh-length hair if it's so stringy it can't be worn down with pride? I'm strongly considering cutting back to BSL length!! I was thinking of just cutting to waist-length, but my hair is still stringy at that length. Sooooo, I really want to feel like I have thick hair again and my hair looks thickest at BSL and shorter. So I'm gonna have to "jump ship" so to speak and drop back to BSL. Just can't get the nerve to do it . . . but will one day. Below is a photo of why I feel this is necessary.

Hoping that cutting back will result in thicker hair - Poof!!
:magic:


http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/1572/precuthair.jpg

[Apriori]

I can't see the picture

[MsBubbles]

As an F/ii also describing my lower lengths as stringy, I wanted to say that 'stringy' is relative and subjective :). But by all means do whatever you think you should do, to enjoy your hair more.

I don't see any photos of your hair. But I think we LHC members can sometimes be a bit down on our ends if they don't match up to some of the very thick hemlines that we see in some members' photos.

ETA: just saw the pic. What are you talking about, woman?! LOL. How pretty! I don't see anything wrong with your ends. But as stated, do what you want, to enjoy your hair.

[sweetestpoison]

Cutting back would definitely be in your best interests if you desire the thickness. Several weeks ago my stylist friend cut me from waist to bsl, and i was really upset with the length difference, but couldn't help but notice and enjoy just how much thicker it was when she cut it. I can't speak for somebody going for such a drastic length change, but if you want that feeling of thickness back, there's nowhere to go but shorter.

[Apriori]

Maybe you could take it in steps. You could start by cutting it back to waist, and see how it feels and if you still thing it's too stringy after a couple of weeks at waist then you could go for BSL :)

[Red Rapunzel]

Thanks, Longhairs, for the suggestions! MsBubbles, thanks for the kind compliment - but I just don't see it in the same way. Sweetestpoison, yep, the only way to go is shorter for more fullness. Apriori, your suggestion to cut in stages has merit. Maybe I will just do waist length first. I'm so conflicted because I want the length, but also want more fullness. Apriori, I was having a "technologically challenged moment." My resident techno-guru had to come to my rescue - which is why the photo suddenly appeared later.

[jacqueline101]

I do hope you find the solution that makes you happy. Your hair is a beautiful color by the way. I would hate to see you start all over again.

[jeanniet]

I think your hair is very pretty, but I also understand your point, and what's most important is what makes you feel good. I don't think you should cut back to BSL, though--that would be drastic and maybe not necessary. What I would do is cut back to about hip, and then maintain at that length for six months or so, doing regular trims and seeing if that helps your hemline to thicken up. You can always cut shorter if you're not happy with it at that length.

[Mairéad]

I'd say apply the 2 week rule.

Some here are types that will try to trim and thicken that way hoping to meet in the middle, others such as myself will just want to get it over with in one whack and grow from there.

Maybe a substantial cut will jump start it. I know the scalp can't tell when hair has been cut but I think cutting can eliminate issues like splits and breakage that can make it look like hair isn't growing.

[missoj]

You would be losing a lot of length of that gorgeous locks. Like Mairead said, wait two weeks and think about it. Decide from there on.

[Carolyn]

How about cutting half way up to BSL? You could take your time getting used to it and it wouldn't be such a shock. You can always cut more later. I totally understand what you are saying about wearing your hair down. I almost never wore mine down when it was hip to tailbone length. I'm wearing it down a couple times a week now that it's about 3" above waist.

[turtlelover]

That is a lot of hair to cut at once, but I can see why you would want to cut it, and I agree that it would look thicker at BSL and think that you might actually feel like you have MORE hair in the end if you have nice thick ends.

[Sillage]

I would cut it to waist and go from there. I think chopping it all off to BSL at once would be too much.

[ChloeDharma]

At the very least i'd use the 2 week rule.

On the one hand i understand as i've cut alot of length off quite a few times now because of extreeme taper. On the other hand, i like your hair and i like how it forms those lovely tapering curls.

Whatever you decide your hair will look lovely i'm sure. It is a lovely colour and has that movement and shine :)

[Long_hair_bear]

I'd wait and think about it were I you. I've always regretted cutting afterwards.

[Arya]

If you were to cut in a deep v, and layered it slightly, you could keep your longest lengths at waist or hip without it looking odd. The other thing you could do is keep the length you cut off and turn them into extensions you could wear to blend the longest layer with the shorter ones. After all, it's still "your" hair, right?

[torrilin]

I have a perhaps stupid question... how long have you been at your current length?

See, if I grow full speed ahead, no trimming at all, my hair will thin out in a similar way. Some is good, because my hair is pretty dense and super blunt ends are no fun at all. But too much means more tangling, and I hate tangles. So I try to keep a balance between tangles and easy to put up hair.

The longer I maintain at a given length, the thicker my ends get. If I trim so I get half to 3/4 my normal growth, my ends stay relatively thick looking, but they're not maximally annoying.

Obviously, we're going for different looks here :). But if your current length is fairly new and you like it apart from the stringy... try maintaining for a while. You can always trim back further if it turns out you feel maintaining isn't doing enough. But growing back to your present length is... not a fast process. Not from waist or BSL anyway. It's not a big deal to trim off 1-2" every 2-3 months, and you might find that thickness travels down much faster than you expected. And if it turns out that you're not happy, it's pretty easy to trim an extra inch or two when you're due for a trim. A lot of the time, a really small change will make a big difference in your overall look.

[trillcat]

I think the ends are beautiful! The problem I see is that the hair doesn't really match up, what I mean is that the top is kind of a wild wave situation, with a little bit of frizz, that tapers down into smooth, more even waves. I am wondering if some sort of leave in condish, or something smoothing on the top to give it a more gradual transition into the longer smoother waves might make you happier with the way your hair looks.
As an aside, when I saw your pic, my first thought was that your hair looks like beautiful Christmas ribbons. :)

[jasper]

If that was my hair and I was going to cut it to the fuller length, I would want to do it all at once and keep that cut off length. It looks so beautiful and is a lovely color. I would braid it and wear it when i had my hair up, securing it around my remaining hair in a bun.

Anyway, I wouldn't call it stringy. More like ropes than strings. Best wishes on your decision making process.

[Lissandria]

I just love your ethereal fairytale ends. To me they look ethereal and beautiful and not at all stringy. I would KILL for my hair to look as good as yours does at your length, FWIW.
Please use the two week rule, and if you do chop, cut to hip or waist. You may be surprised how much thicker it looks at those lengths. HTH and good luck with whatever you decide for your hair :flower:

[CurlyCap]

I don't know. I've seen a lot thinner ends at your length. Most of the problem seems to come from your hair clumping. What does your hair look like if you appy conditioner after wetting and then fingercomb. It would both smooth and define the top while breaking the bottom into smaller clumps.

Either way, I say cut halfway back and maintain. If you cut to BSL and then grow your hair the same way again, you'll see thinning again and be upset. Halfway will be around waist where the tapering will be more fashionable while you wait for it to thicken up.

[gretchen_hair]

I honestly think your hair looks beautiful, I love the curliness of the lower half. :flower:

To me, it doesn't appear *thin* it just looks like formed curls. It's a lovely color and looks fine to me, it's a head of hair that I would sport with pride!

Of course, do as you wish....but *I* think it looks fine, there's nothing shabby about it!

[dwell_in_safety]

Apply the ol' 2-weeker as everyone else has been suggesting, and if you still desire thickness over your length, chop it off.

Were I in your position, I would probably end up cutting to waist and maintaining there for a couple years to let the rest of my hair catch up in length.

[trillcat]

Another poster mentioned this, that we see pics of people's hair here that look like a freaking wall of perfect hair with perfect blunt ends and nary a taper down to their knees ( I paraphrased a bit there, lol, my apologies) and no, your hair doesn't look like that.
I think we forget sometimes that we all have different hair, a lesson I am struggling with a bit myself, (My pics need updating if you go to take a peek, it is a lot longer and A Lot thinner) But that doesn't mean it is not beautiful. Ultimately, we have to do what makes us happy with our hair, but please don't judge your hair based on some ideal of "has to be thick, has to be this or that" It has to make you happy is all.
I think it looks unique and beautiful, and I would not cut it, but, it isn't on my head, I would be sad if you cut it though, it in not stringy in the least.

[Emmental]

I think there is something to be said for the texture change, as others have mentioned. However, I would cut back to waist if it were me and take it from there.

[Beckstar]

I think I'd wear it up for a while before deciding what to do. I like extra length to do certain updos (but I hardly ever wear my hair down).

[PixxieStix]

I think waist, as other have mentioned, would be a wise place to start with a haircut, and work from there. I can see where you are coming from, as I too would rather have a thicker hemline and shorter hair rather than longer hair with a thinner hemline (which, for what it is worth, yours looks gorgeous to me!).

After the chop, you could focus on babying your hair, wearing it in protective styles and maintaining the length to help thicken up the hemline even more before carrying on your journey for longer locks, if that is indeed what you decide to do again. Best of luck! Just remember, whatever you do, make sure it is something YOU are happy with.

[Naiadryade]

I'm going to chime in and agree that your hair is absolutely beautiful!! The color is amazing, and I too like your "ethereal" (good word!) fairytale wurly ropes. I do see how the texture change is a little awkward, but maybe try going the other way--emphasizing the bottom parts instead of the top? Have you tried a partial updo that would put your thicker, frizzy top hair in a bun and let your pretty ropes hang down from it? I think that would look just gorgeous on you.

[Silverbrumby]

I'd cut back about 4 inches below bra strap and after washing see how it reacts. Sometimes when hair is cut the removal of the extra weight and length can make it look just fine.

[Tisiloves]

I'm in for the cut to waist/hip and grow with trimming. I do think that much of the appearance of thinning is caused by the curls forming.

[kidari]

I think at one point my hair was actually at waist. It was something I wanted so badly but I didn't celebrate the huge milestone because at waist it was so stringy and pathetic looking (in my eyes) and the last few inches were so dry and bad. I hated the way it looked down and it deeply bothered me. I chopped off a few inches and have been maintaining and couldn't be happier with my hair. If it means never getting to the length I want because my hair doesn't look good at that length that's fine with me. I agree with other who say you should try chopping off less at first and maintaining. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you are happy with your hair and your decision!

[summergreen]

Your hair is beautiful, I would definitely wear it down with pride!

If you do decide to cut though, I would cut to classic first and live with that for a bit....if still unhappy, then go to tailbone and see how that feels for a while...etc.

And I would definitely wait the 2 weeks before the initial cut!

But truly, your hair is stunning as it is.

[Manzanilla]

I really like your hair! I think it's very unique, but if you don't feel comfortable with it, I think you should cut it, the most important thing is the way you feel about it!

[lapushka]

I would cut it to waist and go from there. I think chopping it all off to BSL at once would be too much.

This. Up until WL, I can still see it's pretty okay, just curly and clumpy. Beyond that it does get quite thin (but still lovely).

[spidermom]

I like how the ends form separate curls - very pretty. I don't think you have to cut all the way back to BSL, especially if you love the length. Try regular small trims, see if your thickness moves down.

Whatever you decide, you have gorgeous hair. Enjoy it!

[Calaelen]

The first thing that came to my mind seeing your hair was "ethereal" "goddess" "fairytale" It just looks so mystical and out if this world. Something straight out of fantasy.

I wouldn't cut if it were my hair, I'd start micro trimming using Morrocco Method's lunar hair care chart. (the difference is mind blowing) I'm using this year to thicken up my hemline using this chart, and already I've noticed a change after two micro trims.

Another thing to look into, is http://www.beyondclassiclength.com/longhairjourney.html She really is on to something with the micro trimming, and you can see it in her pics. It changed my whole perspective on terminal length, trimming, and maintaining.

Please at least go with the two week rule here. A cut that big is sure to have a shock with it, and having experienced something like that before, and crying, and hating myself for chopping it all off, I always recommend waiting, and then cutting in stages.

[Deborah]

I think BSL would be a great idea.

[RapunzelKat]

I like how the ends form separate curls - very pretty. I don't think you have to cut all the way back to BSL, especially if you love the length. Try regular small trims, see if your thickness moves down.

Whatever you decide, you have gorgeous hair. Enjoy it!


This! :D Your hair is beautiful, it's like ethereal delicate ribbons at the ends :) I love your color!

If you do decide to make a bigger cut instead of trimming and maintaining, I am putting in another vote for starting with a smaller amount, maybe classic or tailbone, so it will be less of a huge change. You might like the thickness better, and you can always trim more in stages if you want. :)

You have beautiful hair no matter what though :D

[millyaulait]

I think your hair is really beautiful - like something out of a fairytale...! :)