I donated 15 inches to Locks of Love last summer. That left my hair at shoulder length–still long enough to pull back if necessary, but not so long that my husband rolls over on it in the middle of the night.
I’ve heard that it’s the stylists who suggest haircuts for new mothers because it will be “easier” (BS, as LauraLittlePony says) After hearing about several people who went in for a trim and were pressured to cut their hair off, I avoided salons like the plague after I had my kid, and if I did go, I made sure she was not with me to give my “mother” identity away! I’m glad that I didn’t cut my hair until I was good and ready.
I’d go for shoulder length…you can always get it cut shorter afterwards if you want. Also, if you donate your hair to http://www.locksoflove.org, many salons will cut it for free (see the list on their website).
Every few years I go nuts and in a moment of irrational thought, have my hair chopped off. The first time I went short ‘short’ it was about a 1/2 inch long all over. (I was mistaken for a boy from behind on more than one occasion, from the front there is no mistake.)
I like my hair long. It finally passed the in-between stage, the one where you can put your hair in a pony tail and it no longer looks like someone bobbed the pony’s tail.
I usually wear it in a twist, kinda defeats the long hair look. My hair is also fine but has gotten thicker as I reached my 40’s. And I love wearing it in braided pig tails, make me look ten years younger, at least.
Summer time my hair has more body than I know what to do with.
Truth be told, my hair does look better short. I’m fighting cutting it at the moment, Hubby finally (after 16 years) expressed an opinion on the matter, he thinks it looks better short.
As to why new mothers cut their hair? Don’t know. My two sisters didn’t and my best friend didn’t. Two of the three have waist length hair, the third just past her shoulders.
I had hair several inches past my shoulders, and I had it all chopped off in the Audrey-Hepburn Sabrina pixie cut. At its longest point it was maybe two/three inches?
I loved it. I didn’t even buy conditioner anymore; I just washed it and blow dried it in about five seconds. Hair never got in my eyes, wind never blinded me, I never had tangles, etc. I got lots of compliments on it, too; I was hostessing for a restaurant at the time and my hairstylist got many referrals who said they wanted their hair cut “just like Audrey, that hostess at X Restaurant.”
There is a brief period of “hair mourning,” though, I’ll warn you. You may miss the variety of styles you can have with longer hair, and for awhile you’ll run your hands through your hair and freak out that it isn’t there anymore.
I grew it out after a couple of years; I was sitting in class in college and I saw a girl twirling her hair–she had very pretty, thick, shiny hair–and all of a sudden I just wanted my hair back.
:shrug: It grew. No big deal.
[sub]Okay, so there was a brief 3 month period in which I had truly awful hair–I don’t even have pictures from that “in-between” period because I got so desperate I finally cut it myself in an attempt to at least “even it out”–but hey, it passed quickly.[/sub]
I’ve always wished I could get away with Annie Lennox’s haircut, however, I look far better with it long. When it’s long, I grow tired of having it in my way all the time and I start thinking of it as a scraggly mess. I dream of having it short, cool, controlled, in good condition, etc. Once it’s been cut, I see that it’s not quite as flattering, it bends oddly, and if it’s really in better condition, it doesn’t look it. Then I miss my wild, bushy, luxurious mane…
I’m currently growing it back. But I know next spring I’ll be back in the shop.
No backlash from me, either. I didn’t have any problems at all with the first two kids pulling hair. Yeah, it happened, but it was not a big deal and it never occurred to me to cut my hair. Baby # 3 was a boy, so maybe the hormones were raging in a different way than with the girls. I am 43 or 44 now, (I can never remember) and my hair now is about to the middle of my back and very thick. It’s been longer and it’s been shorter, but I pretty much intend on keeping it the length it is now ( or a little longer), til I’m 90.
Basically, I am feeling really dated w/my current do. I have been wearing my hair the same way for years. Plus, I have very fine, wavy/curly hair and live in Humid, USA. It’s just a constant battle with just the right conditioner, just the right leave in conditioner, and it still looks like a frizzy mess sometimes. The question is this: it will sort of make my face naked. What if I’m just too much face? I guess literally, my face will be in everyone’s face.
Basically, I am feeling really dated w/my current do. I have been wearing my hair the same way for years. Plus, I have very fine, wavy/curly hair and live in Humid, USA. It’s just a constant battle with just the right conditioner, just the right leave in conditioner, and it still looks like a frizzy mess sometimes. The question is this: it will sort of make my face naked. What if I’m just too much face? I guess literally, my face will be in everyone’s face.
My hair, while never really thick, thinned out drastically after having kids. I went from mid-back length to shoulder length, then to a pixie cut last year with thick bangs. It’s currently right below my ears.
Yeah, I know a lot of men find it sexier long, but it was so pitifully thin that it looked terrible.
I had long, thick, wavy brown hair pretty much since puberty. Once on a humid summer day I asked my hairdresser to lop it all off: she refused, saying it wouldn’t suit me.
For years I contemplated it. Hair like mine looks really stupid (without a whole lot of care which I’m not interested in putting into it) at any length between “pretty short” and “pretty long,” so I knew that once I cut it off, that was it, I couldn’t just grow it back without two subsequent years of hat-wearing. What if it turned out that my head is funny shaped, or just looks stupid bald? I hadn’t had short hair since I was a kid. Being pretty tall and a fairly androgynous dresser, I was also somewhat concerned about being mistaken for a Big Dyke, although I suspected that was due to trace homophobia on my part (as well as teenage insecurity), and was not a major factor in my decision.
And last year, about six really hot women I know shaved their heads, or almost. And ALL of them looked even hotter - to me, and to everyone else I asked. I coveted their bare necks and hassle-free mornings. They looked awesome.
So I did it, went to a salon and almost shaved it, and I love it love it love it ! I’ve had really positive responses, and I do, indeed, look pretty dyke-y. Women hit on me quite a lot now, which is a bonus, as far as I’m concerned. I did go super-super-short, it could be made much more “feminine” with more styling products and a slightly different cut, but I love it the way it is - short and spiky. I wish I did it ten years ago.
Only problem is that it actually is more effort than when long. Instead of trimming it myself twice a year I have to go to a salon every few months. Instead of throwing it into a ponytail I have to grease it up or pin it down or tie on a scarf or something to make myself look presentable. Bed-head is something I hadn’t planned on. But all in all, it’s awesome. I loved my long hair but I really, really love my short hair !
Mrs.Greenback cut her mid-back length hair to maybe neck length about a year after we got hitched. I didn’t like it but she said it was more comfortable. Well, it looks like I won cuz she’s got a beautiful head of shoulder length hair as I type this
What can I say, I like long hair.
I had long hair from the time I was 12. My hair naturally formed 5 perfect tight ringlets in the back so it never looked as long as it was (at least mid back, the ringlets were more than shoulder length).
I had it hacked 3 times. The first 2 times were hazings for hockey teams. The third time, I just got tired of all the knots while riding motorcycle. Haven’t grown in back since, although I am considering growing it one more time before a mid-life crisis.
I had hair halfway down my back through most of my twenties. One night after a bad date, I shaved it all off. That was over five years ago and I haven’t had hair since. Obviously it’s different for guys, but I don’t know how I lived with the irritating stuff for so long. Now I can shower and be ready to go somewhere in 10 minutes if I need to be, and I never have to worry about how I look.
I’ve had long hair and short hair. I had short hair for about ten years and decided to grow it out; when I told my mom that, she said, “Oh no you’re not!” (I was, oh, 22) and I said, “Oh yes I am!”
It’s a couple of inches past shoulder-length; long enough to pull up but not long enough to be a major pain. I like it, though Mom still thinks it looks better short. But having it long does save on the haircutting bills…I can trim my own bangs inbetween actual haircuts, if I so desire. I didn’t last time because they’d gotten just totally out of control so I figured I’d let the professional take care of it.
I like having the option of having it up or down, which was obviously not possible with it short. I also dread the thought of ever having to get through that inbetween period again. It was incredibly awkward!
Yup. When I was eleven I went from knee-length to shoulder-length in one afternoon. I hadn’t had much more than a slight trim since I was two or so and just got tired of it, so off it came. Over the next couple years, my hair went from wavy to ringlets. The longest I’ve had it since is just above my waist maybe four or five years back. The shortest it’s ever been was chin-length, which was a total disaster. Now I keep it somewhere between shoulder and bra-strap length depending on season and mood. Short enough to curl, doesn’t get in the way too much, and still long enough to do things with.
I went from butt-length to short poodle-perm at the end of high school. I loved the feeling and how easy it was to care for, but the style didn’t really suit me all that well.
I’m back shoulder blade length now. I have no patience with styling implements of any sort and would probably really resent the time and expense needed to maintain a good short cut.
I’ve done it twice. The first (and more dramatic) time was when I was a junior in college. I went from mid-back-length to pixie (2-3 inches). Loved it. Kept it short for several years, then grew it out again, to just past shoulder length. Then I got sick of it again and did the same thing. Within the last three years, I’ve grown the pixie out – it’s still short, but long enough so my curls show. I’m often tempted to go back, though. Having a pixie is saucy.
I did it once. The winter before I graduated from college, it occured to me that it would be much, much easier to find a job as a (male) engineer without a ponytail, so off it went. I went from waist-length hair to a conservative off the collar, off the ears haircut.
It was fascinating for a while. I wandered around for days looking up just to feel it on my collar, and it’s certainly easier than having long hair. But it’s just not me. It’s long again, and I just feel more comfortable this way.
I went from mid-back to taking a razor to the neck when I was a firefighter(had to be above the collar). When I switched over to EMT, I let it grow. It got to about butt-length and then I chopped it again, the shoulder length.
I like variety in my hair. And especially the ‘light’ feeling you get right after they snip it all off.
I cut it short (1/2 - 2 inches) every summer. It’s nice and cool. At the moment, it’s blonde. I mean, what the hell, it’s not a tattoo; it will be back in a couple of months.
And? Believe it or not, some women do things based on what they want, not what random man #3 will prefer.
To answer the OP, I’ve hacked all of my hair off a few times (from below my shoulders to about two inches). I’m thinking about doing it again, because for me long hair is a pain to take care of, my ends are fried from a bad bleach job last year, and I really like the way short hair looks on me. I never had the problem some people have with short hair taking way longer to handle. With my hair long, it takes me conditioning twice, adding spray on detangler, and spending 5 minutes combing to get the knots out. Past that, or when that’s not an issue, I’m a pretty low maintenence girl. When it was short, I washed (no conditioner), ran a comb or sometimes just my fingers through it to get some semblance of order to what the towel left, occasionally added a little gel, and never spent more time on everything than I do just detangling it now.
