I donated 24 inches of hair to Locks of Love, and I haven’t regretted it for a second.
It’s super-short now, and super easy to take care of, and the compliments! They just don’t stop!
If it’s a pain in the ass as you say, why would you NOT cut it? Yes, it’s nice hair, but no hair is worth feeling that your hair is a big fat giant pain. No amount of “pretty” is worth having to deal with a pain in the butt every day and every night. You can cut more than a foot off and you’ll still have long hair.
Loach, not sure if you mean your wife should NEVER get her hair cut but in case you don’t know - those women who NEVER cut their hair? It’s ugly. It’s too-long, grown-out, whispy-ended split-endy hair. It’s hideous, in fact. A good haircut can leave anyone with long yet well-groomed hair. A good haircut can put lots of long layers in hair, which will take soooo much weight off yet still keep the look “long.” That never-cut look is really bad. Crystal Gayle should have cut her hair years ago.
FaerieBeth, I’d find a good hairdresser and tell her you want to go shorter without going bald. It looks like you have thick curly hair and someone who knows how to cut it will do you wonders.
Nope, from the Locks for Love website:
"Hair may be colored or permed, but not bleached or chemically damaged (if unsure, ask your stylist). "
http://www.locksoflove.org/donate_hair.php
I have an appointment on Dec. 17 to cut off my nearly-waist length hair. I grew it deliberately extra long so I’d have a little “buffer” after my Locks for Love donation. After having long, curly hair for 2 years, I have no idea how I’m going to get it cut.
I second those who say go for shoulder-length first, then see how you like it. Do NOT go ultra-short the first time. You’ll love it for about 24 hours and then cry yourself to sleep every night for a week!
(I’d kill for hair like your’s. Mine is baby-fine and stick straight. I generally keep it somewhere between shoulder-length and chin-length).
I’m in the same situation- eh, I was even keeping it long because I thought my husband liked it best this way. Fortunately for both of us, he caught wind of this assumption and set me straight 
While he likes my hair long, he’s apparently not all that attached to it.
Since it’s really verging on the monstrous long, and my styling options are pony tail, braid or bun, it never really frames my face well, I made an appointment to go see a fancy-pants stylist.
I say, go for getting it cut if that’s what YOU want. It doesn’t even have to be cut short, a few inches off can make all the difference to manageability. Me, I tend to go for dramatic cuts, then grow it out for a few years. I’d like to find a medium length balance this time.
Well, it seems the consensus is to go for some kind of change, and I can agree with that. I am making an appointment at a stylist, and I will have it cut. Just maybe not drastically. I’m thinking of maybe getting it cut back to my shoulder blades, then it will be more manageable and have some bounce. I’ll have to measure and see if that will still be an acceptable length for a Locks of Love donation, though.
On the other hand, if I just let my hair keep growing, it could come alive and develop superpowers like Sedusa on the PowerPuff Girls.
Thanks for the advice, everyone!
Interesting to see mostly women advocating a cut and men protesting against it…
Can’t talk you out of it either. I had long, dark hair which ended a couple of inches below my waist. Like you, I struggled with keeping it from getting tangled and went through conditioner at an absurd (and expensive) rate. Finally, earlier this month, I got nearly all of it chopped off and donated the ponytail to Locks of Love. I can’t tell you how much nicer it is to have short hair! It’s so easy to maintain, and I actually get more compliments with my hair like this – I think this is down to the fact that I’m not either having it in boring braids out of the way, or in a mass of windswept tangles around my face. Go for a brave, drastic cut – I’m sure you won’t regret it. 
Aaaah, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
I had butt length hair about 10 years ago. Used to get all the compliments on it, people telling me not to cut it, etc. I look back at photos now and wonder WHY. While the hair itself looked all right, it was totally unflattering to my face, and at the length it was, my figure as well. I looked shaggy and unkempt, even when it was brushed, and judging now, it made me look older. I also recall that I constantly dipped it in my morning coffee.
I got it cut chin length (no easing into it, just chopped it all off at once, my hairdresser was tickled) and haven’t looked back. It looks far better cut very short, and it’s so easy to take care of! I went several months without more than a trim once since then, and it grew to about shoulder length. I mentioned to a (male) colleague that I was going to cut it short and he was nearly horrified. “Don’t cut it! Long hair is so pretty!” I told him, 'You’ll see." When he saw it, he simply said “…oh.” like a man who’s just had an epiphany.
This is not to say that a short cut is perfect for everyone. FaerieBeth, your hair looks much better in your photos than mine ever did, but the hassles sound the same. You know if it’s time to get it cut off, and it sounds like you know how much you want to keep. Enjoy your new cut!
Old ladies with long hair? Beg pardon, it all depends on the lady and her hair. That myth only pertains because some women stop looking at what their hair actually looks like–thin, dry, dull–vs. what they remember it once looked like. One of the most gorgeous women I know is 60 yrs. old with a thick mane of glossy silver hair. She braids it in a crown or hanging free, wears it in a Gibson Girl poof, in a chignon–all stunning. Forget “rules”.
Your hair looks healthy and full, so don’t do anything drastic just for the sake of fashion and change-for-change, FBeth.
As a former wearer of very long hair, don’t jump into a drastic change. Odds are you won’t feel right with it, no matter how convenient it may be. Experiment around some with styling your hair up to get the idea of what various lengths look like with your face and frame. Try on wigs, funky as that sounds. Yeah, it’ll grow back but it’ll seem endless if you hate it.
Since you’re tired of caring for all that length, why not consider somewhat shorter–collar or shoulder length, no more–but styled by an expert? He/she could give you options on various looks, and how to produce them.
I now have short hair, mainly because it won’t handle more length well. Let me tell you, it’s convenient as hell but not versatile at all. A short style is SHORT, and that’s what ya get.
Consult a really good stylist, one who’s concerned with making the you happy with the result.
Veb
Who once had her long hair butchered by a stylist who regarded her head as a walking advertisment for a trendy cut
Other formerly long haired people, did you ever try to lean forward towards your desk only to get stuck halfway there because your hair was caught between your back and the chair?
Just another thing I don’t miss about long hair.
Your hair is absolutely gorgeous.
Don’t cut it short!
If it’s a real bother, just cut 10 centimeters, or something. A beautiful face can be even more beautiful surrounded by stunning hair like yours.
[from someone who always regretted it when cutting it short - waiting a couple of years for it to grow back - getting it cut again through pressure of others - and now happily having it long again]
Sorry, I was exagerating for effect. Of course she gets her hair cut, just not drastically.
Though my lady wife mentioned this briefly, I do wonder at the difference of opinions, for the most part, between the men and women posters so far. I wonder if anyone has any thoughts on it. There seems to be a clear difference in preferences.
For myself, I think that she is beautiful with short or long hair…but I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t prefer it longer. Always had a thing for long hair, and I think she carries it off very well. I think that if she got a ‘drastic cut’ I’d be very upset with her- just as I know she’d be mad if I went out and got a crew cut.