The official 2-week rule thread!

[Lady Stardust]

barnet_fair there’s a lot to think about there! That thread you linked was interesting too.

Some of those thoughts you mentioned really stuck a chord with me - choosing an outfit and feeling that your hair didn’t look right in a protective style (I get around that one with flower clips!) and worrying that the ends would still get damaged after a chop anyway. I definitely think about those things myself.

Is maintaining an option? I get the feeling you want to make a change right now instead. I only mention it because you said you would like brown classic length hair, and you might not get there if you have a significant trim. It’s worth thinking about how many years it would take to grow back to where you are now, and then on to classic - it might not be long enough for colour change to really come into the equation. (I’m nearly 50 and my hair still looks predominantly brown - there are plenty of silvers but they’re more like highlights It hasn’t really changed since I was 45 when I stopped using henna, but I know at the time I was convinced I would be much more silver by this age!)

[lapushka]

I cut (well yeah, chopped) my hair from classic to BSL just the cusp of the NY, and I am not sorry. It's about 2 weeks now, and guess what? I am keeping my hair like this, very probably, most likely. Highly so. I love it. It's so versatile. I can wear it down. I can wear it up, and my texture doesn't suffer, neither does my hair (no excessive pulling due to me not bunning right). I honestly would need at least knee to not tightly bun the way I don't lose hair in the process. And I just can't do that, so I guess I have the best of both worlds now, with my loose peacock twist. Now to find some nice little claw clips. I have one or two that fit, but they so easily lose their prongs (sad to say).

[Ylva]

That is a game changer! It seems like it would help organize your thoughts so much better than a traditional Pros/Cons list.

Agreed! Already as I was reading barnet_fair’s thoughts I felt I gained more clarity over my own. This system will be quite relevant to me this year as I figure out what I want to do with my hair. I’ve scrapped the henna option for the time being, but I’m seriously considering cutting my hair up to a length I was always happy which: between hip and BCL. It’s not long on me at all but it’s very practical and easy. It would also see most of the bleach gone. However, I’d likely highlight my hair then, because that’s probably my favourite colour look on myself, did it many times and always loved it.

Either way, I’m giving myself at least until September to just grow and enjoy fashion colours and whatever else. At least I’m not impulsive; actually, being a little more impulsive at times would do me good, I think.

[hanne jensen]

[QUOTE=lapushka;3975275]I cut (well yeah, chopped) my hair from classic to BSL just the cusp of the NY, and I am not sorry. It's about 2 weeks now, and guess what? I am keeping my hair like this, very probably, most likely. Highly so. I love it. It's so versatile. I can wear it down. I can wear it up, and my texture doesn't suffer, neither does my hair (no excessive pulling due to me not bunning right). I honestly would need at least knee to not tightly bun the way I don't lose hair in the process. And I just can't do that, so I guess I have the best of both worlds now, with my loose peacock twist. Now to find some nice little claw clips. I have one or two that fit, but they so easily lose their prongs (sad to say).[/QU

In mid December last year I chopped from classic back to hip. My hemline was so thin and scraggly and it took eternity to get it combed out. My ends were almost clear, you couldn't see them. I'm happy and have no regrets. I'll keep growing, but will now trim 1 cm every 3 months.

[lapushka]

I cut (well yeah, chopped) my hair from classic to BSL just the cusp of the NY, and I am not sorry. It's about 2 weeks now, and guess what? I am keeping my hair like this, very probably, most likely. Highly so. I love it. It's so versatile. I can wear it down. I can wear it up, and my texture doesn't suffer, neither does my hair (no excessive pulling due to me not bunning right). I honestly would need at least knee to not tightly bun the way I don't lose hair in the process. And I just can't do that, so I guess I have the best of both worlds now, with my loose peacock twist. Now to find some nice little claw clips. I have one or two that fit, but they so easily lose their prongs (sad to say).

In mid December last year I chopped from classic back to hip. My hemline was so thin and scraggly and it took eternity to get it combed out. My ends were almost clear, you couldn't see them. I'm happy and have no regrets. I'll keep growing, but will now trim 1 cm every 3 months.

I totally understand!!!

[Ylva]

Inspired by barnet_fair, I will use Henrietta’s framework to map out my thoughts a little bit.

I’m in no hurry to make a decision and I’ve decided to wait it out until at least the end of August. But for a good while now, I’ve wanted to cut out a considerable chunk of my bleached hair. Last time I took off 5 cm and it didn’t really make any difference in how my hair felt and behaved. So I’m thinking of having my hair cut somewhere between hip and BCL - which was actually my starting length when I started actively growing my hair. I had my hair around that length for many a year and enjoyed that length a lot.

I'm excited for:
- Easier care: fast washing, faster drying time, lesser conditioner use (I could get away with just one round rather than two).
- Being able to wear my hair down (but there is no guarantee I would do this much as I’d still be annoyed by hair in my face and everywhere!).
- Having my texture bloom while not being weighed down by length as much or dulled down by bleach damage.
- Having predominantly natural hair.
- Creating a contrast between me and another person. Admittedly, this is a really stupid reason but it’s something that’s been weighing on me for long now and the agony is getting more and more pronounced. I will probably write about this in a blog post or something at some later point.
- Looking more “metal”.

I'm tired of:
- Being largely bound to a style I don’t feel is me at all (bun), although this has gotten easier as my buns have grown bigger, my hair has looked messier, and I’ve learned to make them higher.
- Feeling like a cheap copy of another person (see the last point of the previous section).
- The tangles! Especially the ripping feeling on my scalp.
- Feeling like the only interesting and show-worthy thing about me is my hair. I’m using it to try and express something but I don’t exactly know what that is. I kind of do. But I don’t. I feel like meddling in music has made me understand that a little better. Like I now have a different outlet for my self-expression thanks to writing and performing.
- Being referred to as a fairy. I cannot stand it.

I'm afraid of:
- No longer being “the one with really long hair”.
- General regret and sadness over great loss of length, of course. It would take me maybe ~3 years to grow back to the length I’m at now.
- Buns not holding when I need to wear my hair in one.
- Losing the one physical attribute that makes me attractive and interesting, stand out, and be the “best” in a category, if that makes sense (I don’t have a particularly beautiful face or spectacular body, I have great breasts though but actually feel annoyed when they draw attention).
- Never seeing my terminal length or bothering to grow long again once I’ve taken the step to go shorter.
- Being worse than the person I keep comparing myself to. Again, music helps me a lot here as I am defining my worth through something other than hair.

Ehhhhhhh… Glancing over this list, there are definitely good and bad reasons in there… At least I have plenty of time to meditate on this.

[lapushka]

Ylva, it will be a freeing experience for sure. I have cut off bleach before, and was stunned at how much healthier (and to me "faster", it seemed that way) my hair grew. It felt so much different all of a sudden, and like (even though it's light as fluff) a weight had been lifted. I am not here to talk you out of this idea, that's for sure.

[Bat]

You certainly aren't cheap or a knockoff Ylva! But I can relate to not wanting to look like another person and to get lost in the crowd. And the reality is super long hair or super short and coloured hair gets you noticed and anything in-between feels too 'normal' and 'mainstream' it's why I struggle to make length gains.
I wish you luck in what you decide!

[Bat]

Not really a two week thing but I feel like doing this for a couple scenarios



Scenario one: Maintaining at 15 inches to get a bob while still Coloring pink before growing without scissors

Looking forward to..
Having a one length bob
Easier even grow out
Cutting off current severe Damage
Liking the color

Would be tired of
Failing no trims
Prolonging growout time

Would be afraid of
Getting bored
Getting depentant on Scissors
Making no length gains

Scenario Two: No trims 2023 keeping current damage

Looking forward to
Succeeding in no trims
Probably getting to shoulder
Keeping scissors away

Would be tired of
Babying hair damage
Having really ugly layers

Would be afraid of
My damaged hair decintigrating
Looking scraggly
Having to do a bigger trim at the end of the year
Losing length gains

[Bri-Chan]

Ylva you know we have the same plan, I could quote (almost) every single point of your lists.
Sometimes I feel like I've become too attached to my hair length and I enjoy all the haircare thing less because I'm so much focused on growing than on improving my hair, or enjoying it in other ways. And I hate how much attached I am to milestones. I wasn't like this before. What I would like to achieve from the cut is also the chill approach I had to the subject before actively trying to grow my hair. Sometimes I feel almost forced to have long hair, always longer, or my hair will not be interesting at all. I've never had regular, common hair and a not impressive length seems too boring to me, at the same time I'm keeping myself in a trap. And every cm I grow, my hair seems not long enough. It will never be long enough, it will always be short for the mentality I have at the moment. I don't think this is the classic LHC-itis, this is a toxic approach.
I must confess I'm also fascinated from way shorter lengths (apl for instance) but this voice inside of my head says no no, you are the one with long long hair.