A rant about hair aka why having long hair isnt as fun as princesses make you believe

4:43 AM Moi Sanom 0 Comments

When I was younger all I ever wanted my hair to be was curly and long.
Very long actually.
I dreamed of having big puffy hair down to my waist that curls in roundish squarish shapes and if possible in a bright shade of red.

Auroras hair and Ariels color!

Wearing my hair curly is not an issue since I have been doing that daily from the age of 17.
Thanks to hard water and some changes in my hair structure that turned it from super straight to wavy and frizzy, curling my hair became a breeze.
The length though, that was a whole other issue.
My hair is very fine and dreads easily.
If I grow my hair longer then my shoulders, it is a nightmare to brush.
I also believed that my hair was not able to grow past my boobs.
It is actually able to, but grows so freaking slow that it was hardly noticeable at all.

My hair on Halloween 2011 the year before the pact. I used to wear it around shoulder length most of the time

So when I moved to the US I was very broke and very interested in doing my own hair, so I just let it be for about a year. It grew quite a lot in that time, the same year that Johnny Clyde decided to let his hair grow out. We decided on a pact that we would not cut our hair until Halloween.
That day came and both our hair was much longer. His more then mine since it grows super fast.
We renewed the pact again and now, since Halloween 2014 we are officially allowed to cut our hair again.
Now here is the thing, as happy as I am that my hair finally grew long, I am even happier to cut it off again. I can’t believe I am saying this but I hate my long hair!
My childhood me would be ashamed!
I am not sure if it is just me and my weird hair or all long hair is just such a pain, but I thought I would share it with you in case you were thinking about growing your hair to Edwardian length.

So gorgeous!

Let me start by saying that I actually love the length and if it would not be so much work I would let it grow even longer.
I am even proud of myself for making it to here.
Now you might think that it is silly since hair grows all by itself, but let me tell you,  you would be surprised how much time I spent on grooming it and keeping it decent.

Spring 2014

Issue number 1:
Everything takes forever. 
Brushing, washing, styling, it all takes ages.
It takes me 30 minutes to brush my hair daily, washing and conditioning takes me about the same amount of time.
I might have a lot of time in my life but I honestly have better things to do than groom my hair so much.
I admit I like doing my hair but not forcibly on a daily basis, because if I don’t it becomes so messy I regret it profusely.

If I ask Johnny for help it will definitely end in certain doom!

Issue number 2:
Styling is close to impossible.
There is many styles that I love and used to do which I can not do any more because my hair is so long it doesn’t fit into my bathroom mirror. Besides that it is simply too long for my arms.
That leaves very few styling options with which I don’t have to pull my hair straight or taut and even those take so long it is hardly worth it.


Issue number 3:
Up dos are a no no.
My hair is so heavy that I can not do any up dos.
Well I can but it hurts.
No high ponytails, fancy Edwardian styles, Witch hair (my favorite daily look) and other such fun things.
Either my hair falls down within 30 minutes due to its weight or it gives me a headache after an hour.
That leaves me with the option of styles that are low on the neck, or letting it hang down.

That one time I styled my hair and naturally took it down after 30 minutes

Issue number 4:
Long hair is not good during the Winter or the Summer.
During the Summer it is like wearing a soft blanket over my shoulders.
As explained in issue 3 an up do is not an option so summers get very hot.
During the Winter on the other hand one wears a lot of big jackets and such.
Long hair simply does not look good over it.
No matter how nicely styled it is, it just looks messy.

Issue number 5:
You get caught everywhere. 
I sit on it, my husband sits on it, it tugs me while I sleep and simply is always in the way.
I read an article about a girl that decided to cut her long hair because she sat on it once on the toilet. That has not happened to me yet but I get trapped by my hair daily.
The worst time is if I am in the bed all cozy and I suddenly can’t move a muscle because my hair somehow slithered itself around me like a snake around its prey.
Since I can’t see a thing or move, it is quite hard to get out of that predicament without help.
Johnny Clyde has very recently started to get caught on his own hair.
Good luck to you my friend!

That is pretty much it!

Issue number 6:
I can’t do my hair myself any more.
I haven’t been able to do my own hair for two and a half years now.
I can’t dye it myself and with many hair styles I need help too.
I love experimenting with it and not being able to do that sucks.
Besides that, if I am able to do anything, I use so much product it gets really expensive.

Yes please!

So basically I now have really long hair I cant do anything with.
It doesn’t give me joy since it just hangs there in its braid (something I thought was so pretty until it got really dull really quick) looking boring and reminding me how much time I have to invest to keep it nice.
You would think that at least I can just wear it open and straight and walk around like Lilly Munster but if I wear it out of its braid too long it gets so tangled I will have to add double time to the brushing routine.

Even she needs to keep it in braids! What is Hermans outfit excuse though!

So I only do it on special occasions, and honestly it is not worth it. Because even if I wash and brush it and keep it in its stupid braid all day it still requires a lot of work.
I much prefer to have pretty, shorter hair I can actually do stuff with than super long hair that hangs as a burden of doom on my head.
I am super happy I did go through with the pact though.
Johnny Clydes hair looks gorgeous and I am proud that I actually managed to leave my hair “alone” for so many years.
It also is a sign of how long I have been with my husband.
When we met it was shoulder length and it will not be cut before our next Wedding Anniversary.

I will probably not let it grow longer than this length since it is still manageable.

I also wanted to talk about the upkeep of long hair, products I have used and exact routines.
Since this post became much longer than anticipated I will make another one with all the hair shenanigans and successes I have gone through the past year or two.
I am incredibly excited to make the change to shorter hair soon.
I dream of feeling light and fresh again and going back to my favorite styles. 
I haven’t decided on any cut yet, and I would love to hear some suggestions from you.

Do you have any tales of woe or wonder about your hair? 

I know I will miss it when its gone!