Ladies Why Did You Cut Your Hair Short?

[Markxxx]

OK it seems to be that the as a woman ages, the likelyhood she'll cut her hair short increases. You usually see older woman in shorter hair, or if they do have long hair they tend to pin it up.

Of course there was that period in the early 80s where short hair (Pat Benatar, Olivia Newton-John, Sheena Easton) became very popular.

But if you were a woman who had long hair in your youth, why did you cut it as you got older? If you're an older woman who still has long hair, do you pin it up?

[Leaffan]

I, for one, welcome our short-haired cougars. In fact I prefer it that way.


Geeee-rowwwwwllllll!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sticks and Scones]

Personally, I cut my hair short when I'm angry and heading towards depression. I guess I just get so completely sick of myself that I figure I'll try anything. Which is kind of funny because I immediately regret it as soon as it's cut. I look MUCH better with long hair.

I might not be your target audience, though, as I'm only 35. :D

ETA: I tend to pin my hair up because I work in foodservice.

[Markxxx]

I, for one, welcome our short-haired cougars. In fact I prefer it that way.


Geeee-rowwwwwllllll!!!!!!!!!!!

But why? :)

Just 'cause it's easier to take care of? Or you like the way you look?

[ZipperJJ]

I finally figured out how to keep my hair curly, instead of poofy. If I comb it, it straightens out. The longer it is, the straighter and poofier it is. This took me like 18 years to figure out.

I only get it cut about every 5 months. I don't notice how long it's getting until the hair on the top starts straightening out and goes into my eyes. Otherwise, it just becomes an extremely thick mass of curls in the back and sides...not growing down but growing OUT.

So, short is the way to go with my hair.

[MaddyStrut]

My hair is finer and thinner than it was when I was younger. It just looks better shorter these days.

[Ferret Herder]

Because maintaining long hair sucks ass.

I have extremely thick hair. Blowdrying it even when it's short (jaw-length atm) takes 15 minutes. I could spend well over a half hour, easy, blowdrying my hair when it was long. Your arms get cramped after a while. When I was in college in the dorms, we had the heat cranked up so high that in winter, in Wisconsin, you could walk around in a T-shirt and shorts. I'd wash my hair before bed and go to sleep with it wet, and wake up with it still wet.

It's heavy, it gets split ends easy, it's hard to keep out of your face. It gets in the way in sports. (I used to do kendo, and trying to tie down the helmet over a ponytail was a pain in the butt.)

My male housemates in college whined when I cut my hair off. I told them I'd give them the leftovers to take care of, if they loved it that much.

Screw that. Any woman who keeps long hair has thinner hair or waaaaay more patience than I do. I admire her for it, but hell if I'll go down that path again.

[Rushgeekgirl]

It's just easier to take care of for me. I had hair down to my waist but I cut it short when I was pregnant. In a fit of freak-out I just snapped the long braids off. Felt free and so easy to take care of!

But it was UGLY AS HELL on me, because my hair looked like Rhea Perlman. Blech.

Now it's medium length and is finally moving past the Carrot Top phase and I plan to keep it this way. Easier to take care of, less Bozo the Clown. But I still get an itch to cut it all off again to feel that freedom. I didn't even have to run a comb through it. Just some moussed fingers. I bet I'll give in within the next ten years. I'll be fifty.

[Polly Glot]

In addition to all of the above, try having youngsters who think that pulling your ponytail is the neatest toy EVAR!

[kapri]

I am an "older" woman, I guess. Am I? I'm in my early 50s. My hair is just below my shoulders and is thick and blonde (not natural blonde, of course). It's styled in the hairstyle you see on many newscasters and so forth, not because I want to look like them but because it is a good cut for my particular type of hair. It takes a lot of maintenance, but I like it this way. I've had short hair before, but I felt less attractive with it, plus I work out a lot and like to put my hair in a ponytail when I do; that's actually cooler than short hair. I basically never wear it up otherwise--always down.

Plus, when it's short I have to have it cut more often, and I hate getting my hair cut.

[Visual Purple]

I've generally had it short. I tend a bit to the butch as straight women go. I go to the gym with my husband four times a week, and I like that it gets me out of the locker room relatively fast, so that he doesn't have to wait forever. The hair right at my hairline is particularly fine and fragile, so that, with any long hairstyle, I have a border of frizz around my face. Mostly, it's just easier.

[troubledwater]

Let's see, when I was very young I had it short because my mother didn't know what to do with my hair. Once I had the chance I let it grow long, and then longer, and it is very very thick and was thus a lot of work. When my mother was undergoing cancer treatment and I was sucked into long-distance caregiving at age 35, something had to go and it was the hair. After a few years of having it short I am growing it out again because, likeZipperJJ, I am finally figuring out what to do with curly hair, and yeah, two decades to figure it out is about right. My mother, who had hair about the diameter of spider-silk, was right to not try to do anything with it herself!

Even knowing better how to care for it, it its still a lot of work. I have it long now with the understanding that as I actually get old and feeble I will have to keep it short.

[picunurse]

I'm 63. I've had short hair since I was a child. My husband likes it long. Even though it looks like hell, I now keep it long and down for him.

[Alice The Goon]

Some hair, particularly fine hair, does not look good long- it gets weighed down and looks limp and straggly. I wore mine short for years because of that- a good cut and it has body and bounce and looks and is healthy as hell- but now I'm growing it out a bit so I can change it up and I can't stand this in-between stage.

Some women and men out there think that any long hair on a woman is good. I strongly disagree- damaged, brittle, stringy hair doesn't look good on anyone, and actually adds years and pounds. All women should be free to have the hairstyle that looks good on her and works for her lifestyle.

[Cat Fight]

Don't forget the texture completely changes for a lot of women as they age. It gets really coarse as it grays, which doesn't look great down unless you're willing to do a lot of styling.

[dba Fred]

<clipped> All women should be free to have the hairstyle that looks good on her and works for her lifestyle.
If her lifestyle includes me in a fun manner, it'll look good to me! :D

[Ruffian]

I cut my hair because forEVER I was "Laura with the long dark hair." When I graduated from college, it was time for a change, and I saw cutting my 2' of hair as part of growing up. My hair wasn't super-short once cut, though, FTR; it was a chin-length bob.

Now, at the NOT old (thankyouverymuch) age of 36, I'm too freakin' grey to have long hair that'd look good. I get my hair colored, which helps, but my hair has definitely changed.

My hairdresser is of the opinion that no woman over 30 looks good with long hair. (Although I think lots of Hollywood ladies over 30 look awesome with long hair.)

[missred]

I wore my hair waist length from the late eighties until about a year ago. It's curly and took regular trims to keep the split ends from making it woofy. Mostly, I wound up putting it up or pulling it back into a ponytail or braid to keep it out of my way.

Last year, during a month long stay in the hospital and rehab, I was in no shape to take care of it (not even to pick it out or brush it), so I called my cosmetologist niece in and had it cut to shoulder length.

I LOVE it!

I wear it down almost all of the time now and it frames my face nicely.

missred (47)

[Zulema]

On a lot of older women (and men) longer hair tends to emphasize sagging facial skin and make them look older. Hair worn up or in a pony tail for men makes them look younger.

[koeeoaddi]

Because ten years ago my neighbor, the chi-chi overpriced hairdresser, put a sisterly arm around me and told me that it ain't 1968 anymore. I left the hagdo behind and never looked back. Waist length then, collar bone, now and not one of my loved ones seems to have mourned the loss.

[Flutterby]

Because I thought it would look cute.

Okay, that was the pixie cut which got me called sir at least once a day for months.

Actually, it looks better short on me. I have fine and oily hair, if I wear it long it thins out on top because I tend to pull it back all the time and I look like I'm 15 again. Last time I grew it long was for my friend's wedding (bridesmaid, I had a lovely updo), and the following week it was all chopped off again. I do not have the time nor inclination to do all I would have to do to look good with long hair on me. I prefer beauty sleep to good looking long hair.

In my teens I would get a cut once a year, by the time summer rolled around again it would be to my shoulderblades and drive me nuts and I'd get it lopped off to just below (or above) the ears (depended on the stylist I got..). Now that I have an AWESOME hairstylist I get it cut every 3 months or so.

[Least Original User Name Ever]

In addition to all of the above, try having youngsters who think that pulling your ponytail is the neatest toy EVAR!

Iz not gud toy?

[SanVito]

Ugh, long hair, can't STAND it, on me or anyone else (but that's just my personal issue). It's been mentioned above but in summary, it's really about two things
1) Hair gets coarse and wiry as it greys, which doesn't look good on long hair. Then hair starts to thin, which also doesn't look good on long hair, and
2) Skin wrinkles and sags with age, and long hair just serves to emphasise this aging process. Long hair on older women looks like a witch. Long hair dyed dark on older woman looks like Grand Mistress of the witches.

[Lynn Bodoni]

I'd love to wear my hair longer than I currently do, but at certain lengths, my hair either stops growing or starts getting split ends, and those lengths are different for individual hairs. So I get my hair cut shorter than I'd like, but it looks better on me.

I can also say that a lot of my grey hair has a different texture than the non-grey hair, and a shorter cut helps the textures blend with each other a little better.

[Merneith]

I wore long hair for 25 years. I got bored with it. My hair grows really fast so it's fun to try new different cuts now.

[Anaamika]

I am happy for people who want to try the cuts they want to try, but I've been told in a few years (I'm 34) I'll HAVE to cut my hair, just because "long hair doesn't look good on older women". I wasn't aware of that. :rolleyes:

My hair is already plenty thin and always has been. Thank goodness it's curly! I really don't like the way it looks short, but if I ever did it, it would be just for maintenance, I guess, not because of any prescribed way to be.

[Anaamika]

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Ha!

[Dung Beetle]

Well, that time when I was nine, it was because I wanted to be a tomboy.

That other time when I was sixteen, it was because that perm was so goddamn ugly I needed to get it off me right now!

I do look better with long hair, but I’ve noticed that there’s not a substantial difference in attractiveness between shoulder length and down to the middle of my back. However, there is a substantial difference in having to look after it and keep it out of my way.

Ferret Herder, you forgot to mention how it gets constantly pulled by backpacks or shoulder bags!

[nashiitashii]

I cut my hair short back in November because I got bored with the long hair and all the damage I had inflicted on it during the summer. I went from hair that was elbow length to hair that was chin length, and I'm currently keeping it shorter because I want to grow out all the damaged parts before I let it grow out again. The short hair looks just as good on me as the long hair, if not better, and I'm comfortable with it at either length. I'm 27, so I've got plenty of time to go back to having long hair before it's "inappropriate", but I don't really care if people don't like the idea of a lady "of a certain age" having long hair.

[elbows]

Grew up with a Mom who liked to cut hair. Since it's pretty easy to sway your child, I spent my youth with a pixie cut. As I always looked younger than my age, as a teenager, things changed. I let it grow out, to get rid of the pixie look, (not helping), and as rebellion against my mother's controlling ways.

I worked in food service, and being able to tie it back, was very important. When I traveled to tropical countries it was much cooler to have long hair tied back/up than to have shorter hair you couldn't do anything with.

My hair is naturally wavy, and not very thick. The wavy part meant if it was short, I'd have to wet/wash it every day and style it. Too much maintenance for me.

I find my long hair extremely low maintenance. I can tie it back so it's off my face and out of my way, it's cooler in the heat, I don't have to go to the hair dresser every 6 wks and spend money I don't have.

I am in your target age range and I am struggling with the widely held opinion that women, 'of a certain age', ought to chop the locks off. I'm just not into doing daily styling after years of taking the easier path.

It is beginning to gray, very slightly and very slowly, and I am considering cutting it, but then I'll be out and see an older woman, usually ethnically First Nations or Oriental, with beautiful lengthy gray hair and think, "Hey, I kind of like how that looks!"

I'm kind of still on the fence about it all, I suppose.

[Sigmagirl]

I have lots of hair, but it's very, very straight and very, very fine. It doesn't take a curl well, and I'm too allergic to use styling products regularly. That means my hair falls down in my face unless I either get it cut every couple of weeks (too expensive) or put it up in a very severe style (painful, and really won't stay because my hair is too fine). I'd like to grow it longer, but I keep it about collar-length.

[Ferret Herder]

Ferret Herder, you forgot to mention how it gets constantly pulled by backpacks or shoulder bags!
Ouch, yes. Or ever had the car windows down and then the driver (or you *cough*) suddenly rolls up the windows and your hair gets caught in it? :eek:

[Dangerosa]

I grew up in the 80s, so had short hair in my late teens and twenties. I've worn it "longish" (mine never gets long), but the eventual realization that I'm throwing it up or back every day because I look better convinces me that I should just wear it short and save myself the effort of having to pull it up

I'm one of those people who think long hair often doesn't look good on older women worn down. Some women can pull it off, but for others they tend to be a gentler version of 60 year old women in hotpants and low cut shirts.

[salinqmind]

I had long, long hair most of my life mainly because I didn't know what kind of hairdo I wanted. And I was lazy! Yes, I admit it, I didn't want to bother with setting; spraying; curling. When I had my baby, I got it cut (she pulled it - no, iz NOT gud toy!) in a kind of longish shag, and that has worked out very well. There's a natural wave without all that weight, I can wield a curling iron on occasion, and it's much easier to maintain - coloring, washing, styling. There's a point where every long-haired woman has to take a good hard look in the mirror and decide if she WANTS to be that adorable old hippie of 50 with graying braids; or make a topknot; or look like an old witch; or look like she's hanging onto her youth. (I do know one woman I worked with who had long curly waistlength hair, which clashed with her pinstriped power suit - she's a lawyer - all you can look at is all that hair! Saw her recently, 20 years later, and she STILL has that long curly waistlength hair!)... After all, how many MEN who grew up in the long-haired days still have THEIR ponytails, or long romantic locks blowing in the wind? Very few, they start to lose their hair and they cut it, otherwise they'd look like freaks!

[teela brown]

I find that, as I age, my hair becomes more brittle. If I try to wear it long, it breaks off and I have a lot of fine floaty ends that look like shit. Also, I don't have as much of it as I used to. This results in thin, straggly-looking hair if it's worn long.

And all the discussion upthread of the work involved in long-hair maintenance is true. I start to resent investing half an hour a day blow-drying and shaping the 'do. My arms start to cramp and my carpal tunnel syndrome starts to kick in and my fingers start getting numb and tingly.

My hair is just shoulder-length now, but in a couple of weeks I'm cutting the damned stuff off. I'm 53.

[Broomstick]

But if you were a woman who had long hair in your youth, why did you cut it as you got older? If you're an older woman who still has long hair, do you pin it up?
I'm in my mid-40's and still have long hair. By "long" I mean my braid comes down to my butt right now. Think Lara Croft, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft) but with an American accent and a lot less money

I "pin it up" because when I'm working with things like table saws and installing drywall or flooring or using power tools it's genuine safety hazard if I leave it down. Ditto for flying airplanes. Or cooking on a gas stove. When painting I want to keep it out of the paint.

I do wear it down sometimes, when doing so won't be a problem.

[Hello Again]

I used to keep my hair shorter because its so much less trouble, and my hair is HUGE, coarse, frizzy and all that other fun stuff, and I am SO not girly and hate to fuss with my hair. (additionally, at one time I cut it because it was too dense and bulky to fit under a riding helmet, in that case it presented a safety hazard).

Since I've taken the having it straightened, I wear it long. I'm 34 and its the longest it's been since I was 7 (just past shoulder length). I used to be kind of a freak about not having it touch my face, and would always throw it in a ponytail, but I forced myself to wear headbands and now I can wear it down without constantly being aggravated by it. Which is nice because the straightening isn't cheap and it's pretty stupid to spend $300 on a hairstyle you just stick in a ponytail.

I do still put it in ponytail when I'm cooking, doing close work with my hands, if it's really windy out, and when I go to sleep.

[Jeep's Phoenix]

I'm 27; I got my hair cut short when I graduated from high school. Short hair is a lot easier for me to maintain, and it's a lot easier to style. I have a lot of natural curl to my hair; this wasn't nearly as noticable when it was long. My hair is also very, very fine; as others have mentioned in this thread, that makes for a terrible-looking ponytail.

[Polly Glot]

Iz not gud toy?

It is. TEH. PANEZ.

[elbows]

???

[Susie Derkins]

I used to have long, naturally-spiraling curls. When it started going gray (at 27) I realized that my hair wasn't curling the same and was more apt to stick out in strange directions. It was still long, but I had to pin it up for it to look decent. This year (I'm now 36) I decided I'd try a shorter shag cut, and I love it. It put some of the curl back in and, since I don't have all that heavy hair pulling down on my head, I stay much cooler. It also dries in a fraction of the time.

[Swallowed My Cellphone]

Both my fiancee and sister have short hair, in both cases it's because they are so active that it's either easier to deal with/maintain or because long hair gets damaged from being tied up all the time, or washed too much (post-workout), or chlorine damage, etc.

Come to think of it, when I had my sensitive artsy-fartsy hippie-dude long hair a) I looked like a girl, and b) it was a snarly mess from all the sporty stuff I did, so I'm pretty sure I got my Forrest Gump cut for that reason too.

[Tastes of Chocolate]

I tend to cut mine short before any overseas travel. I just don't want to deal with it while I'm on the road. I've got better things to do.

Hmm, my hair is getting long again. Must be time to schedule another trip.

[phouka]

My hair is currently down to my bra strap. I can't seem to get it much further, because of all the split ends and breakage. While I like the way my hair looks long, I'm constantly tempted to cut it shorter.

When my hair is long, it tangles all the time and gets weighed down with scalp oil very quickly. It gets caught on things. It tries to strangle me in my sleep. The dog tries, and sometimes succeeds, in eating strands of it. Eighteen inch strands of hair in dog poop is a bad, bad thing. I'm also having to unplug my bathroom drain every month or so.

The only time I've gotten a compliment on my long hair was when I mentioned that I wanted to cut it. Gentlemen, if you really like the way it looks, you need to give positive reinforcement more often.

[Coalcracker0]

I'm 55. My hair has turned from dirty blond to ash blond, and it 3 or 4 " below my waist. Taking care of it is easy for me: Wash, condition, blow-dry when it's cold out. I usually wear it down, unless it gets in the way of whatever my project is (painting comes to mind). No plans to cut it any time soon. It's actually longer than it's ever been.

[troubledwater]

I tend to cut mine short before any overseas travel. I just don't want to deal with it while I'm on the road. I've got better things to do.

Oh, yeah! After 10 weeks of backpacking to places with only cold water and/or the kind of setup where you have to shower with one hand because you are using the other for the shower spray, I went to a hairdresser in London and told them I'd pay them anything they asked to wash and comb out my hair. After they finished wondering what kind of crazy Yank had wandered into their shop, they got down to business and two people spent three hours just getting it cleaned and combed!

A little more on the topic of why long hair is work - if you have never had long hair you don't really know. When your hair is short and you take a shower you can dunk your head under the spray and call it good (at least some of the time). Some of us actually need all those special shampoos and worse, conditioner (probably lots of it) and, for curly hair at least, probably some kind of leave-in product afterwards. It runs into real money and time. This means having to rinse and rinse and rinse or else you get greasy film on your scalp.

Going short isn't necessarily giving up or rebellion - we just found better uses for our time. (Mine is still long - for now. Only because I have some time on my hands, though.)

[Katriona]

For me, there are usually two reasons: Either I get bored, or...well, my hair is my "control" thing. When other things are out of control, I change my hair, and that usually means either changing the color or cutting it shorter, because my hair's not good when it gets much longer than my shoulders.

ETA - I'm 41.

[River Hippie]

Love, love, love really short hair on women if they have the face to pull it off.

[Sue Duhnym]

I have a long neck and a narrow face so long hair would make me look even longer. I need volume. Plus I have a nice jawline and good chin, coupled with fine hair; I just look better with chin-length hair.

I'm not nearly as hot as these women, but for examples of people with my predicament, see Tea Leoni (http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&rlz=1T4SNNT_enUS358US358&q=tea+leoni&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=5S12S83LO42CswOemMG8Cw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQsAQwAA) and Linda Evangelista (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&rlz=1T4SNNT_enUS358US358&um=1&sa=1&q=linda+evangelista&aq=0&oq=linda+evan&aqi=g10&start=0).

[Layla01]

I'm 45, and I find the long, vertical lines of long hair emphasise the vertical lines on my face. That's not really what I want to draw the eye to so I have a layered, shoulder-length cut.

[monstro]

1. It was hot. I was tired of having a hot, sweaty neck.

2. I used to have trichotilomania(sp?). It didn't go away when I cut it, but it lessened to a degree that I no longer had a bald spot.

3. I'm not a "hair" person. When I was a kid, I would cut off the hair of all my Barbie dolls. It took me years before I learned how to braid my hair to keep it managenable, and even once I learned I was never good at it. I hated going to the beauty salon, hated the regiment associated with straightening kinky hair, and hated people constantly remarking about how wild my hair always was. I'll never forget the day, in the 12th grade, my English teacher sat me on the floor between her knees and combed my hair in front of the whole class. I found it hilarious at the time, but I should have felt embarrassed.

4. I was curious what I would look like with short hair. It took some time before I finally found a look that suits me, but I am happier with short hair than I was with long hair.

[Harriet the Spry]

My reasons related to less maintenance and a more professional look. However, my husband also prefers short hair on women.

[eleanorigby]

Hmmm... I am 47 and have tried to have short hair several times in my life. It doesn't work.

I look like shit in short hair. I have very thick, wavy-curly hair. It is actually hotter when it is short--I've been known to drip sweat onto my blouse/shirt when my hair is short. When it's long, I can wet it down and then French braid it, and voila! instant-all day cooling. I find short hair unbearable in the summer.

At present, I wear it collar length (I just got it cut this way 2 days ago--it was down to my bra strap). I confess I don't understand the "long hair is more work" position. IMO, it's no more work than a short hair style. Obviously, mileage varies.


I have often heard that "older women" should not have long hair. IMO, it all depends on the long hair. I know a woman in her late 60s who still wears her hair the way she must have in college. It no longer suits her face and it makes her look older (center part with one barret on each side). If she'd try a bun or a braid or a page boy, something! She was my HS math teacher and now I see her around town--her hair hasn't changed in all that time. :eek:
Whatever length your hair, as long as it is clean and groomed, I don't think there is any hard and fast rule to who can wear what length etc.

[kunilou]

When my wife was in her 20's she wore her hair so long that she actually sat on it.

In her 30's it was midway down her back.

In her 40's she went with the big hair look, but combed out it was still below her shoulders.

In her 50's it barely covered the back of her neck.

Now that she's turned 60 her hair is even shorter. Everytime I've ever asked her why she cut it she's always answered "because it's easier this way."

[DivineComedienne]

I have very fine, nearly straight hair, and when I was a kid my mother kept it cut short "so it will grow thicker'. I looked like a boy, and my hair never got thicker. As an adult, I went blonde, back to brunette, red for a while, back to brunette, and every length from 1" long to just-skimming-my-shoulders.

I am now in my late 40's, and in the past two years I have let my hair grow, mostly because I don't know how I want it cut. It is now officially "long" for the first time in my life, and I am torn between feeling like I'm too "old" for long hair, annoyance at what to do with it to keep it out of my face, and feeling that it's kind of cool to have a real, live 12" ponytail instead of a little stubby one. I can actually flip my hair like Marcia Brady!

My BESTEST, favorite hair look was a cut a'la late 80's Madonna, that chin-length scrunchy-curly bob. But after waiting for so long to grow it out, I don't have the heart to cut it again, and I think I have to wait a few more years for that look to come back in style - I'm seeing too much of this Demi Moore-Courtney Cox-Jennifer Anniston long straight hair now, I think I would feel that my bob would look "dated".

[wolf-alice]

I'm not the age group you're looking at, but my mum is at 57.

Mum used to have extraordinary black curls, which looked amazing longer, but as she's aged they've got coarser, as they do, and the curl's dropped out. It just doesn't look good when it's long. With her bone structure, she could look fantastic with about an inch all over, Judi Dench like (http://cotocrew.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/judi_dench_01.jpg).

Her hairdresser annoys the hell out of me, actually (and my mum - she's got some customer loyalty thing going on, though), because she sits her down in the swivel chair and thinks "Oh, fifty-seven year old woman", and gives her something inoffensive and wispy - totally ignoring the fact that mum's amazing looking and could absolutely pull off something stronger. Wisps on her look like a tassel on a hammer, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.

[lynne-42]

Love those who listen to hairdressers who say older women should never wear their hair long - it's called "vested interest" - of course they say that! Some people look great with short hair. Some don't. I don't. Plus I hate the lack of flexibility of short hair.

I'm late 50s and wear it long. I had it short as a child for a while, and again in my 30s, and have never liked it cut - although it is important to trim the ends. It naturally grows to mid back length, no longer. I'm dark, going gray, and find the mixed textures fun and just add thickness. I like the way the grey streaks curve with the natural wave as I catch it in combs to pull it back from my face. I sometimes plait a scarf through, or pull it back into a loose pony tail. Depends if I want to add accessories to pick up on whatever I am wearing. I love playing with colors in clothing and accessories. Occasionally, especially if it's very hot, I wear it up.

[Green Bean]

I haven't heard the "older women should cut their hair" very much lately. Hm.

I'm another one who finds long hair easier to deal with than short hair. But, yeah, everyone's mileage varies. I wash, condition, and throw some gel in and I'm good to go. I don't bother to blow dry. Short hair tends to require styling and more cuts, which annoy me far more than a couple of extra minutes rinsing in the shower.

I'm 38. I'm a natural redhead who has never colored or permed, so my hair is pretty healthy. I have no gray. It's 3-4" below my shoulders now, and I need to get a couple of inches cut off, not because it's inappropriate but because it looks better that way. It has some long layers in it which work well with my natural wave.

I sometimes wear it down, but it's usually up in a twist with a barette. I hate the way it looks short-short, so don't ask me why I think it looks good all pulled back and pinned up, but I like it. As I grow older and get some gray, I'll reevaluate.

Anyway, there are a lot of good reasons listed in this thread. I'll add/elaborate on a few others:
--It's easier to use color if the hair is shorter. Less to color. Less fading. And it can be easier to camouflage roots.
--Shorter styles can seem more professional, which is important for many women's careers.
--As women age and their faces change, they'll probably pay more attention to finding a style that's flattering. When you're 18, you'll usually look good no matter what. When you're 45, you need to try a little harder to make the most out of yourself.

And in the end, women will gravitate towards styles that they find easier to maintain. Even if we did have the time to fuss with our hair, who wants to spend the time on that every day. There are many more interesting things to do.

[Wednesday Evening]

I first cut my hair short when I was in my late 20s. I went away from it for a few years after I had kids (didn't have enough time to get haircuts to maintain the short cut). I got back to it last year, at age 38. I mainly like short hair because my hair is very fine and it gets damaged and scraggly very easily. So with the short haircut my hair is a lot healthier. Plus I like that it dries quickly. The only downside is that I have to get a haircut at least every 2 months.

[TruCelt]

I had hair down to my elbows until I was in my late 30's. When I cut it I gained an hour per day. (shampooing, conditioning, rinsing, drying and styling add up.) That's right, an extra two weeks every year. If I had realized that sooner, I would have cut it off sooner.

I'm sure there are many men who would find me more attractive with the long hair, but then, they are probably not the sort of man I am hoping to attract.

[Ann Onimous]

I'm 45, and my hair falls about mid-back by now. It's long because I'm growing it for Locks of Love: normally, I keep it around shoulder length. I wear it up in a ponytail because it's easier to get out and walk or go to the gym with it up.

I had it long for some time in my youth, but I always had so much trouble combing it out. Thank God for conditioner.

[Salem]

I had hair down to my elbows until I was in my late 30's. When I cut it I gained an hour per day. (shampooing, conditioning, rinsing, drying and styling add up.) That's right, an extra two weeks every year. If I had realized that sooner, I would have cut it off sooner.



There's the big difference. My hair is long, thick and curly. The biggest pain is keeping the knots out of it and it does take extra time to brush and condition BUT, I never style or blow dry or any of that. I wash it and let it air dry and that's it. When I was a kid (I'm 51, ugh, now), I would straighten it, which took hours, but I stopped that around 8th grade when curly "hippy" hair was cool.

I did have it short in my mid-twenties into early 30's. I found that more of a pain because it had to be cut frequently to keep any kind of style. Otherwise, Bozo the Clown and I were practically doppelgangers, except, of course for the nose and shoes. I like to think mine are far more petite.

I had started letting my hair get long again and after my mom died, I stopped cutting it and have grown it since. I do chop off the ends now and then and sometimes get it thinned, but that's about it. It's technically down to my waist, but since it's so curly, it pops up to a few inches below my bra line.

I'm lucky to have hardly any gray, even at my advanced (!) age, but the few grays I do have are definitely more brittle and coarser than my "real" hair. I probably should cut it, just because of the whole sagging thing- I'd probably look better. But most of the time, I don't care. My hair has always been my "freak flag" and I like it.

[elmwood]

I've posted about this before, but a response to those that say they cut their hair because it's "easier": what about short hairstyles that are quite unflattering, yet still high-maintenance, like "mom hair" or "pear hair" where everything is piled above the ears, feathered and sculpted in the shape of a light bulb (http://www.parentdish.com/2006/07/26/do-you-have-mom-hair/)? Why?

[dnooman]

Aside from the above mentioned cases where short hair can be more convenient, "fashion" comes in to lay as well.

Scenario A: "Long hair is "in" right now." I couldn't possibly take your money to have me cut it, you may be unfashionable.

Scenario B: "Short hair is "in" right now." I'd be glad to take your money and cut your hair. Come back in two weeks if you want to stay stylish.

Salons, Barbers, what have you; all make their living from removing hair.

Hair extensions are another animal, but they are not the norm, and are generally considered to be "tacky".

TL;DR Shorter hair will always be in fashion, according to the people who's job is to shorten it.

[wolf-alice]

Ha, by that link I think right now I have Mom Hair. I'm twenty seven, though, and it's raspberry-pink, so perhaps I'm not ticking all the boxes.

My answer here is that on my face it is flattering - I'm slightly triangular; widest around the jaw and narrower around the eyes - so it helps to balance my features by poofing up my hair above my ears. It's why I suit big glasses, too. I've had nipple-length hair before and it didn't do too much for me.

And maintenance-wise, I don't have a problem - blow-dry upside down and I'm done. Maybe back-comb it a little (I'm still going through my Robert Smith phase, I'm sorry) or French plait or clip some bits or whatever, if I'm going out. Ten minutes, absolute maximum.

Why are you so bothered over what strangers do with their own hair, anyway?

[I Have Hippos In My Garden]

I am terrified of cutting my hair!!

I am only 25 and have long, straight golden hair that seems to stay pretty much the same long length, and no matter what I do it never grows down to my bum. However, I like it a lot and would hate to have hair that is any shorter. I need something to hide my face!

It is one of things that scares me about growing up- that my hair will become dry, grey and thin and I will have to cut it. I would, however, love to be one of those grannys who has very long grey hair and wears it up in a french twist and sits in a rocking chair....