Is short hair on women deeply out of fashion now? [Exhibit A: female Olympians]

In My Humble Opinion
61

I keep my hair long, too, as I mentioned before, and it’s very low-maintenance - but I have an advantage: It’s super-curly, without anything in it. And it’s super-thin. These two things combined allow me to keep it waist-length without too much difficulty.

Long hair doesn’t necessarily mean more maintenance. In my case, short hair defnitely means more because of the aforementioned curls. Just because I grew up in the 80s doesn’t mean I have to have big hair like they did.

I cut my hair in layers several years ago so this spring I had it all cut back to above my shoulders so it would grow out all one length. It looked cute, I guess, and it was fun and easy to wash, but I watch it anxiously for it to grow. It’s getting long again.

The reason for this post is, you don’t know what goes into our hair. We generally don’t cut it for you, men, we cut it for us. Oh, I’m sure there are women who do so, but most of us don’t.

Now we do encourage each other for some reason. Like I said earlier, I have been told many many times I should cut it short because I am “at an age” now where it’s better short. Huh? What are you, saying I’m old? If I want to have it down to my butt when I am 90 I will do so!

Oh, and here’s my routine with long hair:

I wash about 3-4 times a week. The rest of the time I just scrub my head with my fingers.
I get my bangs cut short - like, super short - every six weeks or so. If they are long, they don’t curl, just weigh down on my head. I get it trimmed on the bottom every year or so, depending on what it’s doing.
I color it with henna, since I only have serious gray around the temples, and a little here and there. I do this about every month or six weeks, at home. Henna’s cheap.
I NEVER blowdry.
In the mornings, after my shower, I comb it all out, to get all of the tangles out (and there always are, with thin, curly, long hair). I apply gel and scrunch it, and then usually put clips in the sides to hold them up. This takes less than 5 minutes. I can still do more complicated things with long hair if I should want to, also.

62

I can’t speak for her, but to me it is a bit irritating that, despite all the women that have spoken up here about how they have fine hair that does not look good long, there’s still a lot of people, mostly men but a couple of women, that will stick their fingers in their ears “lalalala I can’t hear you!” and proclaim that all women look better with long hair. As if, despite living with our hair for our whole lives, at various lengths and styles, they’re the expert on what looks best for us, solely based on societal expectations of feminine beauty, rather than our realities.

To me, it’s just pathetic to see women trying to rock long hair to meet some unrealistic ideal, and it’s fine, stringy, and crispy. This is not a good look. Not attractive.

To all those who think all women look better with long hair- this is not true. My hair long= a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10. My hair short= an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Also, it is a very rare older woman that looks good with long hair. My hairdresser says none do- long hair tends to draw the eye downward, emphasizing sagging skin and wrinkles (note that this does not apply to me, yet!).

63

Aren’t you doing the same thing? Judging women on what you, or your hairdresser think looks best on them? Why can’t women just let their hair be long if they want to be? Even if it is “fine, stringy, and crispy”. Or makes them look older. Maybe it’s just what’s most comfortable for them. Or maybe, it does appeal to their femininity. And what’s wrong with that?

64

Fine, but don’t proclaim that long hair looks better on everyone- it’s simply not true.

65

I never did. I simply said, every woman should do whatever she wants with her own hair. People will always judge. That’s what people do.

66

I agree that women should do what they want with their own hair. You’ll note that my longer post was indicating my disagreement with those who said that all women look better with long hair. I don’t give a rat’s ass what women do with their hair- although I won’t think to myself that it looks good if it doesn’t.

67

Basically, because I have a ton of stubborn cowlicks and because my hair is fine and very malleable – whatever shape it dries in is the general shape it stays in, which can sometimes be a good thing (i.e. it keeps curl well), but can also make it the bane of my existence. Setting it first in the rollers at night reduces the amount of work I have to do in the morning to get it to look okay, mostly because it straightens out the cowlicks. If I just wash and dry my hair at night with no rollers, I’ll wake up with not only my usual hundred cowlicks, but my hair will be in complete disarray, and spraying it damp in the morning and using rollers then won’t be enough to get it to lay right. Believe me, I’ve tried! It’s really irritating and frustrating to have to set my hair twice in order for it to look halfway decent.

I’ve also tried sleeping in two French braids instead of going the roller route at night, but I still have to do the rollers in the morning so that my bangs and crown will have volume (I have fine hair and a low forehead, and I think I look much better when there’s volume on top to make my skull look more balanced) and the braids leave the ends frizzy (serums won’t fix it, and I refuse to use direct heat like from flat-irons on my hair).

I used to do a wet set in foam rollers (sometimes pin curls) and sleep in them, but after typing all this out, now I don’t know why I stopped. Probably because it seemed like too much work at the time, but compared to this nonsense, maybe I’ll give it another go.

I think this is the most I’ve ever written about my dumb hair. :o

E: But even though it’s a lot more work, I look much better with short hair than with long hair. I had to wear my long hair in a braid or bun because it wasn’t in great condition, and it just didn’t suit my face or my short body when it was worn loose.

68

Really? Because this…

…would indicate otherwise. You seem to be judging others, pretty harshly, for their choices that don’t line up with your tastes. How do you know why any given woman keeps her hair long?

Unless I’m reading a different thread, I’m not seeing this singular opinion strongly endorsed in this thread. On the contrary. There is no huge conspiracy to keep women long haired, just a couple of people with a different opinion. If you feel some real societal pressure, I’d guess it’s more projection than reality. And if you feel judged, I’d guess it’s because you somewhat harshly and freely judge others.

I’m just not seeing a lot of evidence for what you seem to be railing against, is all.

69

I cut my past my shoulder length hair to above my ears about two months ago. My hair is ok - has a natural wave but it goes poofy when it’s humid and looks greasy if I don’t wash it every day. I don’t like the feel of it pulled back into a ponytail and hate the feel of wet hair, so I had to blow dry it every morning. To me, my long hair was not low maintenance.

I’m going even shorter on my next hair cut, if my hairdresser doesn’t chicken out on me. Maybe I look prettier with longer hair, but I don’t care anymore, I just want easy and because this summer has been so hot, I want something short and cool. I’ve had my hair from none (yup, shaved to the skin, but I’m getting a bit old to rock that look without looking like a chemo patient) to half way down my back, so I’m ok with it super short, but I think my stylist is worried I’ll be upset if she cuts it ‘too’ short.

And for the record, I think long hair looks great on guys. Sadly, men my age are lucky to have any hair.

70

Agreed. Yes, a couple of people have said, “I think all women look better with long hair”, and that’s their opinion, and they’re entitled to it as well. Even if people flat out say “All women look better with long hair”, so what? No skin off my back whichever they prefer. It’s no different than the women telling me I need to cut my hair short because I’m too old to have short hair, apparently.

71

It ebbs and flows in general fashion but around here (Philadelphia) tons of young women have short hair. My sisters both have had short hair (pixie, mohawk, or ‘undershave’ with the longest parts shorter than chin length) since they were 12 and 13.

The shorter my hair has been, the higher maintenance I found it. I am super-lazy so I will never have short hair again.

I’m currently growing it out to at least waist length. I like the look of long hair on just about everyone, but especially myself, and find it much more versatile. Even if it gets very thin with age, I will just wear it in a variety of updos.

72

Maybe they don’t want to be associate with the minivan crowd (Can’t belive that was eight years ago:eek:)

73

Personally, I think that long hair in good condition usually looks better on most women than short hair in good condition. But there are a few caveats in there: First, long hair in poor condition isn’t going to look great, and some women can’t keep their hair in good condition when it’s long. Second, it’s only most women: As others have pointed out, for instance, Halle Berry looks far better with short hair than she does with long hair, even though I’m sure she has extensive professional help in keeping it looking good no matter its length.

And finally, of course, some women have priorities other than keeping their hair looking its best. If you find that your long hair is always getting in your eyes, or getting caught on things you walk past, and it’s really inconvenient and annoying, then sure, go ahead, cut it shorter. It’s your hair; you can decide what you want with it. And if that makes you better at what you do, or improves your overall mood, it might still have a net effect of making you more attractive anyway.

74

I’m hesitant to post this, because I don’t want to contribute to a pile-on of Alice the Goon, but Alice, I must admit I’m rather puzzled at how indignant you seem to be at other people’s personal preferences.

75

Yeah I’m the one who said that. It’s obviously a matter of taste. In threads like this where it is obviously a matter of taste I sometimes joke around and say in a light hearted manner that I am right and everyone else is wrong. Of course such an opinion would be silly. Maybe I should use more smilies.

I’m sure everyone has a different definition of what long hair means. I basically lump everything that doesn’t fall into the set of “short hair.” Just my opinion but I think there are very few women who can pull off the hair down to the ass look. I also think there are very few women who look better with short hair. Most look best somewhere in between. Someone who is drop dead gorgeous like some that have been linked here would look good no matter what. YMMV.

76

I’m hardly indignant. My posting style may tend towards the passionate, but it’s that way whether I’m discussing macaroni and cheese or hair or spiders. Please to forgive if I seemed indignant. My only point was to address those that did say that all women look better with long hair. If women want to wear their hair long, whether it looks good or not (and people do judge whether one’s hair looks good or looks bad), I really don’t care.

Okay?

77

I can’t figure out how to do the multi-post thing, so I’ll summarize. The “all women look better with long hair” attitude and the “women with short hair look like lesbians or lazy people who care more about attitude than appearance” attitude, well, sigh. Suggestions that “all women” should do things in exactly the same way and should all look the same, without any consideration of individuality, irritate me.

78

I would recommend not wearing macaroni and cheese in one’s hair, though.

79

I’ve had long hair forever, but recently got it cut in a short bob, and wow! This is the best I’ve ever looked! However, I will now be growing my hair long again because all this blowdrying and ironing is bullshit.

80

Okay.