Long Hair: 10 Secrets You Have to Know
Like most women, I’ve had my fair share of hairstyles. Cuts and colors of all shapes and shades. Something I never had the patience to achieve was long hair.
I’m not talking about growing it out just past the shoulders. Or ‘Hey, I can put it in a ponytail!’ I’m talking legitimate length that could get you into mermaid status.
I started growing my mop out for the sake of a new look. As more time, energy and money (yes an embarrassing amount of money) was invested to grow it long, blonde, and strong, I became emotionally attached to my locks.
If you’re considering growing yours to great lengths, consider that may also happen along with the following secrets I learned of having long hair:
Hair will be EVERYWHERE
Sure everyone sheds, but the ridiculous amounts of hair all over the place was beyond any expectations. When you pull a long strand out of the fibers of your socks, you know things have gone too far. My hair embedded into all pieces of clothing of my entire family.
Schedule Your Shampoos
The amount of time spent washing, conditioning, rinsing requires thoughtful planning if you live in a home with more than yourself. I do not have a tank less hot water heater. So I have a finite amount of hot water and if I didn’t plan ahead someone suffered a cold shower. I found the best approach was showing at night before bed to wash my hair. Then a quick rinse w/o wetting my hair in the morning. This allowed everyone else a normal hot shower each morning.
You Will Pin Yourself Down
The feeling of being stuck is not a good one to wake up to. I found it a common occurrence to roll onto my own hair which made my head stuck and unable to move. I resorted to strange methods of trying to put all my hair above my head draped over my pillow when going to sleep. Regardless, I still managed to get ‘stuck’ quite frequently.
Someone Else Will Pull It
Beyond getting stuck under myself, cuddling with my child or partner became a time bomb. Tick Tick Ticking away to when they roll on it and I feel the excruciating yank (ouch!)
Feel Like A Woman
I encountered an increased feeling of femininity. Perhaps the cultural norms in western society have been embedded into my subconscious. To be honest with you and myself, when I saw myself with long hair, I felt like I had uncorked a bottle of extra potent female and I liked it!
Braids Are A Must
I do not have styling skills. At one point, my mother gave me a mullet which made it easier for her to deal with ‘girl’ hair. I am still coping from that trauma, and I did not learn any lessons of styling from her. My one ability was how to make a ponytail. I found it essential to use braids once I had longer locks. Ponytails can hurt when you have long hair! Braids are also a great way to add a wavy texture. If you don’t know how to braid and you want long hair, learn.
I also came across a handy curling product that you put in before sleeping that helped with adding curls without having to spend time figuring out the mechanics of a curling iron. The Sleep Styler was super easy to use and had great results!
Food And Hair Will Mix
Which ever way stated, it will happen. I lost track of the number of times I put dinner on the plate for my family and found a long blonde strand right in the mix. On the flip side, I have looked down hours after a meal finding leftovers clinging to my strands on numerous occasions.
Backpacks Become A New Skill
When I put my backpack on, I trapped my hair constantly. My hair would pin between the pack and my back making a simple head nod a challenge. The subsequent removal of the backpack also required skillful technique to avoid yanking at my hair while it slid off my shoulder.
Wind Equals Mane Mummy
Whether walking outside or driving with the Jeep top off, my hair became a weapon striking my face at high speeds like a whip of a lion tamer! Maybe I’m being a little over the top, but aside from essentially blinding me by wrapping my face up, when I finally get to calmer air, the aftermath of knots and general mess was not fun to untangle.
Maintenance Is Expensive
It is likely you will spend more on shampoo and conditioner by just having more to take care of. I dramatically increased that price tag with stellar results. I used only salon quality shampoo and conditioner (both by Pureology), regular Brazilian treatments, regular highlight maintenance, and other high end product for styling. In the 2.5 years of growing it out, I spent well over $2000.
In the end, I enjoyed my experiment. Women that live their lives with great lengths of hair, you have my utmost respect. I came up short at the end of it all (pun intended), and I learned valuable lessons that only those with long locks would understand.
This is my pull request, please share in the comments your own experience with long hair and if you have any questions about my journey.
