Knee+ Question

[WaitingSoLong]

For anyone who has had knee+ hair, is there anything you prefer about that length over Classic or shorter?

I am debating whether to keep growing. At this point maintaining my standards of hair health/liveability (manageability+looks) at my current length seem too tedious to be worth it. Having never been past Classic, though, I don't know what would be different. So far all I predict are cons, not pros.

[lapushka]

Maybe it's just another awkward phase?

[WaitingSoLong]

Possibly, but I don't see how wear-down-ability would improve with added length, for example.

[Madora]

Possibly, but I don't see how wear-down-ability would improve with added length, for example.

Apart from having to watch it like a hawk to keep it away from snags and anything harmful, knee length would take longer to shampoo and dry..not to mention the detangling process.

And, you'd have to accustom yourself to thinking about how to safeguard your hair whenever you sat down, bent down, worked around the home/outdoors..driving.

Knee length is drop dead gorgeous..but you REALLY have to be proactive in making sure your hair is protected. (Of course, a lot of the tangles and worries can be avoided by wearing your hair up..but I don't know if that would appeal to you).

[spidermom]

I either have to find a way to avoid split ends/damage or not care, else I'll never get out of the tailbone-classic abyss. I gave up about 3 inches in length this morning because of bad ends.

Knee length looks so awesome, though! If I have the genes for it, I'd sure like to try it.

[Chromis]

I don't find knee length much harder at all and like it a great deal. I can do more cool things with it! It stays in place better! And of course, it has more wow factor on the odd time I decide to take it down.

I found mid thigh a bit awkward, so I'd try growing to knee and seeing how you like it. That's really the only way to know if you like a length after all :D

[ladyfey]

For me, if I'm gonna go long, I'm gonna really go long. SO I would say that it is much more care at knee +. Like Chromis, I think it has way more wow factor. As for wearing it down, not really possible if you have kids or pets or are active at all. If you are gonna be sitting on a sofa all day, maybe then. It gets much more in the way than it did at classic.

[DragonLady]

I've just hit the crease of my knee when my waves are pulled out, but have a way to go before 'visual knee'.

Honestly, it's no different now than at classic. I still have to keep it up most of the time, and have to make sure it's not tangled around stuff when it's down. It probably takes a bit longer to comb out, but not much. I do use more conditioner, and it takes longer to braid.

But when do I wear it down, it's absolutely worth it to me!

[snowcloud]

Wow your hair looks truly beautiful in your signature though! Keep it coming!

[gossamer]

At knee+, I'm not noticing much difference from mid-thigh except that I almost NEVER wear it down anymore, whereas at mid-thigh I'd do it a couple times a year for the novelty of it. Maybe I've gotten sick of having the same conversations about it, or maybe the real worry over damaging it has taken over, but it's almost always up in a bun now. Sometimes I'll leave it in a simple braid to go out, but often find I feel more comfortable with it up.

So - why do I have my hair this long? I'm hoping to grow to terminal just out of curiosity to see where it is on me. After that, maybe back to classic length?

Although, I had a nightmare a few nights ago where I'd cut my hair back to hip and was horrified at the change :lol:. Having knee+ hair has made me a little crazy, I think!

[WaitingSoLong]

Thanks for all the input!

Gossamer, I have dreams about my hair from time to time. Last night I had a dream my hair was about mid-thigh and it NEVER got in the way...just sort of magically moved out of the way when I moved LOL.

I had trouble last time I hit Classic and ended up cutting back to TBL because my ends were damaged pretty badly. This time, my ends are healthy but a bit uneven, however you would never notice. I am trying to decide whether to grow past this awkward phase again, to see if it IS just a phase. I really enjoyed my hair more back at about waist. But there is no WOW factor there, it is very common now around my area. In fact, I am seeing more and more hip length+. Do I really care about "Wow"?

I don't want to feel eternally engaged in some race to have the longest hair, which is how I sometimes feel. Yesterday I saw a girl with straight hip length blonde hair. It was clearly not natural blonde, but having considered a cut so often the last few weeks (by cut I mean HUGE cut), I felt a tinge of envy when I saw her hair and then realized my hair is longer. LOL. Yet I don't wear my loose because of the length, I had mine in my paranda, which garners lots of stares and comments and makes my braid appear to be Classic +.

So last night I detailed every reason I want to cut, every reason I want to have long hair, and all the pros and cons. I came up with some conclusions to think about. At any rate, I am enamored with the look of my hair at "extreme" lengths (for me), yet sort of unwilling to put up with the hassle of it all. I can only foresee the hassle becoming worse with length.

I have to wear my hair up for work (food service), and I do a lot of yard work or gardening and basically wear my hair up all the time. For my leisure days I wear a braid. I only wear it loose for a few hours during things like weddings or whatnot or going to the movies. My kids are teenagers so no issues there. I already have to locate and place it when I sit down. It's kind of like having a baby on my head. Instead of baby proofing things, I have to hair-proof things. There are certain textiles I will not wear due to abrasion, I avoid zippers. My hair has caught on my keys which I normally hang from a belt loop. ETC.

But even at waist it still needed to be put up for most things. sigh. I don't know.

[natt i nord]

If you're thinking about cutting, what about cutting inch by inch to see at what length it gets maintainable again? That'd prevent a bigger cut you might regret.

[Chromis]

I don't see putting mine up all the time as a hassle personally. It lets me try new styles and justify lots of hair toys! I like to match my outfit, so I treat my hair as an awesome accessory in its own right.

[heidi w.]

I suggest going for it, and seeing how it is for you. You can always cut back to classic if you want. I wouldn't spend time thinking about it too much. Just grow and see how you like it. Hair does tend to tangle evevn while detangling, which is a way of aligning hairs. Washing the full length takes a bit more time. I do wear my hair up all day, every day. You will have more shed hair about the house, too. And you'll likely get more toe wedgies, that is hair wrapping around toes while you're in bed. Kind of a weird feeling.

I think it's a little harder to attract a guy with super long hair like that. Because it's so far out of the norm that most people don't really know how to relate to it.

heidi w.

[saffy2yrs]

I have knee length hair, and I leave my hair loose on the mornings I wash it so it can dry naturally, but then I braid it and let the braid hang down my back.

I have not noticed any major differences in hair care from waist to now, but I also do not do much other than wash/condition my hair.

[RitaCeleste]

Mine is barely waist but it stays down a lot. I don't have a job where I have to put it up. If it snags, I untangle it and go on. It gets caught in my car windows too much (No AC! What a mess, windows down all the time, hair everywhere!) I deep condition and oil it, but I don't have to do much else to it. I've been thinking about how long I want to let it grow too. I'm just going to see if gets long enough for me sit on and if it annoys me to move it if it does. I've never been much longer than this so I don't know. Maybe it'll fade off into that annoying little rat-tail again and never grow much longer the way I treat it? Cutting is easy, growing takes so much time though. I love the texture of your hair, something mine will never be at any length, straight and silky. Still, on my fuzzy head, you expect to see the multitude of lengths and so a few broken hair just blend in with all newer growth that is in a constant state of sticking out everywhere. I suppose my not so polished look is easier to maintain even if it makes hair lovers go "YIKES!" when they see it. (Lately I've been convinced that people must think I stuck my head in a blender to achieve hair that looks like it has been handed this much abuse.) I complain that gentle care really never did pay off for this hair at all, it still looks much the same even if it is babied like you wouldn't believe. At least when you baby yours it looks awesome!

[Sidani]

I LOVE my knee length hair! And I do wear it down when I go out. I love the "wow" factor, as everyone has put it. I get so many people complimenting me and telling me they've never seen anyone with hair that long. I wear it up when I'm at home cleaning or working in my shop. Other than that, it's down most of the time. I do wear it up when I have the top down on the car, though. lol I'd love to see what it looked like flying out behind me, but I'd NEVER get the tangles out! lol

I say, if your hair will go to that length, give it a shot. You can always cut it back if you don't like it. ♥

[Panth]

I'm about 5" from knee now (I was maybe 2" from knee a few hours ago, but a little trim was needed!). As far as I can tell and from listening to advice from here, for super-long hair there are two main game changers: sitting on your hair and your hair getting longer than your arms. So far I've done the former but not the latter yet (as I have weirdly long arms for my height).

Sitting on your hair:
- increased damage (in my case, once I get past about TB I need to wear it in a bun nearly every day or my length loss from wear equals my growth rate, resulting in a false terminal)
- increased annoyance when loose and perhaps also when in unbunned plaits (you sit on it, other people sit on it, it gets stuck down the back of sofas, it gets caught on door handles, etc., etc., etc.)

Outgrowing your arms:
- combing/brushing becomes more difficult and takes longer
- styling becomes more difficult and takes longer

However, if you adapt to those game changers fine, then the rest is just the usual incremental increase in length which you can adapt to easily as the rate of change is so slow - similar to the adaptions you make between shoulder, BSL, waist and TB.

*shrug*

But then I now have to wear my hair up and off the neck for work, so unless I have shoulder-length or less I don't get to have loose hair everyday any more even if I want. If I could wear my hair down whenever I wanted, like I did for the previous 10 years or so, I might not be so keen on growing to knee and (maybe) beyond.

I think making a pros/cons list is a good idea. And even if you cut it and change your mind - hair grows. It may take a while, but if you've already got to classic you know you have the patience and resilience and hair-tending skills to get back there if you change your mind.

I was hoping for classic to knee in 2 years (theoretically possible with my growth rate and no cutting). But, hey, I just trimmed 3" off today. It's all about being pragmatic and enjoying both the length you have and the journey you're on - not some race to terminal or competition for the longest hair at the expense of your own enjoyment of it.

[EdG]

I think it's a little harder to attract a guy with super long hair like that. Because it's so far out of the norm that most people don't really know how to relate to it.Oddly enough, I have the same feeling about my hair. :agree:

The usual reactions from strangers are surprise :bigeyes: and curiosity :confused:. Attraction is not one of the first reactions (LHC members excepted). ;)
Ed

[WaitingSoLong]

Ed, you have "double-take" hair (we need a double-take smiley). I have never seen a man IRL with hair as long as yours. As a victim of the 80's, though, my natural preference is either long hair or bald.
(I am not sure why on the bald thing but I find men with receeding hairlines or natural bald petterns attractive. Only a few men can seem to pull off the shaved bald thing in a way I find attractive.I also think gray hair is sexy, especially on younger men...by younger I mean not in their 60's)
Anyway, long hair on men AND women is only attractive, IMO, if it is clean and groomed. But extreme lengths always catch my attention. Ok, I am just rambling. Sorry.

[trolleypup]

My hair is almost always up. However, I haven't noticed much difference in what I have to do between upper thigh and knee. The reflexes that help me avoid stepping on it or snagging it are pretty much the same. Washing is about the same, ditto detangling and preening and S&D.

I don't think the Wow factor has changed much...I'm already so far past normal long hair for men that it would need to be ankle/floor to reach the next Wow level!

Bottom line is that I like and enjoy it long (and longer). After my years long stall, I have no expectations...if I get more length I am not complaining, but it would totally be a gift!

@Sidani - yeah, convertibles...I did a wonderful road trip a few weeks ago, but the hair was in a pony scrub the whole time. The last time I didn't have to pay the price for convertibles (or roller coasters) was above mid-back!

[kellyannpow]

just to say.. YOUR HAIR IS AWESOME. :D