Length over health?

[CosmoCat]

Health was my main goal and due to insisting on perfection, I was alway happy to cut...which kept me neck to collarbone length. I’ve only recently accepted that my hair will never be perfect. It has some waves and curls (prone to frizz), it’s thin (more w/age), have issue w/ trichorrhexis nodosa (believe genetic & friction) and nutrition too. So, I’m going to try to find a balance between the two of them.

[CosmoCat]

(I’m naturally auburn. In my late teens to early 20’s, I would prelighten the entire length instead of root touch ups. I don’t know how my hair didn’t snap off...years of it! I sometimes wonder if that had a lasting affect, even though I stopped in 1998.)

[Begemot]

Right now I'm prioritizing health. It's a little difficult for me to find good balance: I'll either let my hair grow wild and trim very rarely or I'll fixate on my hemline and quality of my hair, S&D obsessively etc. Of course I want long hair quickly but I won't enjoy it much if it's not in good condition.

[Scyphozoa]

Health absolutely.

[NicoleJean]

I’ve been wanting to grow my hair long for probably 20 years but always ended up cutting it shorter once I reached around mid back because of damage. Now finally after all this time and after having learned a lot about proper hair care I am finally able to go longer without it looking damaged and being tempted to cut.

I was originally thinking of going as long as possible or I guess terminal but now I’ve decided to go more for tailbone or classic. However I think I’ll go longer as long as it looks healthy. But if the ends start to look too damaged I think I will keep stick to the length were it still looks healthy.

When I see very long hair that does not look healthy I seem to be more focused on the damage than the length. I don’t think “what beautiful long hair” instead I’m thinking “wow look how dry and damaged that hair looks”. I want to feel like I have long and healthy beautiful hair. So I’m looking for the perfect balance of long and beautiful and healthy. I still don’t know exactly what length that will be so I’m taking it month by month and continuing to search and destroy damaged ends weekly which I feel helps a lot.

[MusicalSpoons]

I’ve been wanting to grow my hair long for probably 20 years but always ended up cutting it shorter once I reached around mid back because of damage. Now finally after all this time and after having learned a lot about proper hair care I am finally able to go longer without it looking damaged and being tempted to cut.

I was originally thinking of going as long as possible or I guess terminal but now I’ve decided to go more for tailbone or classic. However I think I’ll go longer as long as it looks healthy. But if the ends start to look too damaged I think I will keep stick to the length were it still looks healthy.

When I see very long hair that does not look healthy I seem to be more focused on the damage than the length. I don’t think “what beautiful long hair” instead I’m thinking “wow look how dry and damaged that hair looks”. I want to feel like I have long and healthy beautiful hair. So I’m looking for the perfect balance of long and beautiful and healthy. I still don’t know exactly what length that will be so I’m taking it month by month and continuing to search and destroy damaged ends weekly which I feel helps a lot.

Over time here you'll probably find that what may look or feel like damage is actually just dryness, easily solved with a bit of extra TLC and extra moisture of course splits where you can see the branching of the hair are damage, but what hairdressers and the general public call 'split' or 'dead' ends usually aren't! If you reach points when you feel like you need to cut because of damage, come here first and tell us, maybe even show us, and you'll get honest opinions about whether or not it really is damage and if not, how you can make it feel better again. The 'two week rule' is often invoked here, especially for decisions about cutting, so definitely go to that thread before making any big decisions

[Also bear in mind that everyone's hair will naturally start to taper at some point - not usually before waist and quite often not until after hip or TBL, but everyone is different - without being damaged. (For good examples and a discussion about this, have a look at the 'knee-length and beyond' thread.) Again, hairdressers will usually equate 'thin' with 'dead/damaged and needs to come off' when it's not actually the case. Personal preference might be that you genuinely don't enjoy your hair once it tapers after a certain length so you may feel you *want* to cut back a bit and that's fine, but that's different from *needing* or being pressured to cut any off.]

[Nox_Inber]

It depends how damaged the hair is. A little bit of damage I'll grow out but heavy damage or split ends have to go. I'll usually choose health over length because I feel better with healthy full hair than I do long but damaged hair. However, I will not cut my hair to chin length or shorter because I would be far too unhappy. My hair would have to be nuclear levels of destroyed before I'd ever consider that. I've gone that short once before and it doesn't suit me at all. So there is a point where I'll choose length instead, but I'm not likely to ever have hair that damaged again.

[Messyhair95]

Length is always more important to me.

[Strwberryfields]

I wish length was more important to me than health. But seeing some people around me who neglect their ends makes me paranoid. I don’t like how it looks at all. I’m
Talking people who aren’t on this forum and just have neglected ragged ends. It looks terrible to me...

[xkambyx]

I used to be length over health since my teens (I am now 36) but looking back at my own hair journey and the fact that even though my hair was long it was in a permanent state of damage I am now I am a convert to health over length! I think you can have both although health will win over for me now and have this past week took drastic action to chop all m by damage off and I did an oiling straight after and today after washing with a gentle shampoo bar and rinsing with acv my hair has never ever ever looked so healthy I am sure it will be a journey still and I am shoulder length now so a long way to go but boy does health feel better