Why have long hair if it's always hidden?

**spidermom** · December 24th, 2013, 07:00 PM

Long hair for me was a nuisance and always in the way if left down, but I still enjoyed taking it down at night and combing it out before braiding and going to bed.

I want to wear my hair down more often these days and had it cut shorter.

**trolleypup** · December 24th, 2013, 07:17 PM

I like having it down, blowing in the wind, etc. etc. But...it is up most of the time. Usually in my regular lazy bun. I work around heavy equipment/machinery, so not risking that. When I am hiking or doing trailwork, it is impractical to have it down (or anything but up AND contained (yay! ponyscrub)). I don't care to have it down when I am in crowded locations for obvious reasons.

At calf length, I've gotten very good and holding and moving my body so that my hair doesn't catch on things or get stepped on, etc, but those are very real and painful hazards.

That said, I do sometimes let it down at home and in public...when I am at leisure, going out on minor errands/eating/walks I often have it down. I'm willing to pay the price of this in damage...balancing protection vs. accumulated damage. Of course it tangles when it is down, but it is coarse and tough enough that I can keep the long lengths without 24/7 protection. Which is not to say that I don't need to spend 12 hours in a sunny window doing S&D.

I like having it down, I like doing stuff when it is down. Yes, I get a certain amount of attention, but in SF it is mostly positive, and presenting as a healthy straight male, I simply don't get the pernicious negative attention that others get, so I can also be an example for others that anyone can have long hair, and it is OK.

**Crumpet** · December 24th, 2013, 07:21 PM

In addition to what others have said...the TOUCHING!

I took my hair down briefly (upon request) on Friday. Immediately, a stranger started stroking my hair. Ewwww! On Saturday, people again asked me to take my hair down briefly. I did so and as I did, I was telling the Friday touching story...as I was doing that a friend started stroking my hair...he was a good friend and I didn't mind *him* doing it (and he apologised!) but that is a standard reaction.

Yup...lots of creepy guys out there who just want to stroke and roll around in our hair. I'm not having it.

**AspenSong** · December 24th, 2013, 08:54 PM

For me, I wear it up for many reasons. One of my biggest is of course, protection. My hair is super fine and thin, it's very floaty and flyaway and wearing it down for very long when I'm out and about just results in terrible knots or it getting caught in things I walk by. There's not enough weight to it to weigh it down at all. So it's all over. I wear it up, so I can keep it long. And one of the reasons I keep it long is for me. Just because I like it and enjoy it. It's like protecting or caring for anything pretty I like to wear or have...I take precautions to keep it safe.

I wear it up also because I do like the look of a lot of the buns I do.

In hindsight, unless my hair was ever at such a short length I couldn't put it up....I've always worn my hair up anyway. Maybe it's changed from being in a ponytail everyday or a claw clip but I've always drawn to keeping it styled in that sort of way anyway.

**BlueMajorelle** · December 24th, 2013, 08:57 PM

I once made the mistake of wearing my hair down in college for a party. It was finally to my waist. It made friends with a candle and badly singed the ends, so I had to cut most of it off. Luckily there was enough where I could donate the non-singed bits but it goes to show. I also teach art to children and it would be covered in paint and clay and glue of I wore it down. Messy!

I agree with these ladies, although you might be able to put your hair down once and awhile for special occasions, you risk damaging it by wearing it down. You don't get knee length hair by letting it make friends with candles!

**Ferryl** · December 24th, 2013, 10:01 PM

Putting my hair up during the day and down at night for my husband makes it feel special. ^_~

**jasper** · December 24th, 2013, 10:13 PM

I started wearing my hair up. It got a lot longer during those years of being up all the time. Now if I wear it down, it irritates the heck out of me by getting caught on stuff.

**dulce** · December 24th, 2013, 10:17 PM

I wear it up a lot but sometimes down,am getting close to classic and at 61 years old,I get a lot of stares and sometimes very disapproving verbal comments from strangers when it is loose due to my age.

**BlueMajorelle** · December 24th, 2013, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by dulce

I wear it up a lot but sometimes down,am getting close to classic and at 61 years old,I get a lot of stares and sometimes very disapproving verbal comments from strangers when it is loose due to my age.

Pish posh! They should tend their own gardens. My grandmother is 91 years old and has hair down to her waist and it's the most beautiful snow white so I'm hoping my hair ages like hers. Yasmina Rossi is a beautiful mature model and has gorgeous long silver hair. Just because a person is older doesn't mean they need to get a granny cut.

**Cheyne** · December 25th, 2013, 12:34 AM

I work with commercial chemicals and fertilizer, along with spinning machinery. I would be scalped and not have to worry about any hair if I wore it down at work!

My hair is thick and curly, if I wear it down in warmer weather (anything above 70 degrees) it feels like I have an animal pelt on my back.

I am almost TBL and at 51 in the same boat as dulce. Many people hate seeing older women (who aren't models) with long hair-and they don't mind telling you so! I don't care what they think, but if they catch me at the wrong time they may lose some teeth.