Published on 12, July, 2020
I'm a 35 yr old female with long, wavy hair.
I keep it tied up 100% of the time, day and night and really struggle to get around to washing it (actually, washing is a whole nightmare, but I won't go into that here).
I don't like it dangling about in my face or being caught up in clothes, I hate it getting in the way while I sleep. Do we think I should just chop it all off?
Do any other ladies or others with long hair know how I feel? It is sort of part of my identity, I've always had long hair and have gotten lots of compliments on it, but maybe it is time for radical change?
Thanks for reading :)
I've always struggled with haircare. Fortunately my hair looks ok if I don't style it, wavy or curlier depending on humidity. I used to scream having my hair washed when I was little, which came up in my autism assessment - it's very common for autistic girls to have sensory issues around hair washing and brushing.
I've stuck with medium to long hair because I can put it up off my neck and face when it's hot or windy. I rarely blow dry it because I can't stand the hot air near my face, it feels like I'm suffocating. I only blow dry my hair if it's too cold to have damp hair for a couple of hours while it air dries. Anything shorter than medium for me needs styling every day and I can't be bothered with that, or tolerate blow drying it several times a week. I've tried various lengths over the years, including an undercut. The problem I have with shorter hair is that if you want to grow it back you have to go through the stage of it not being long enough to put up and it blowing in your face, which irritates me so much. I also hate going to the hairdressers, the smells, making small talk, sitting in front of a mirror for ages, and being around women that seem to love hair and makeup feel totally alien to me. Anything that requires little input from me and minimum styling and a trip to the hairdressers once or twice a year is what I stick with now. I'm going to try to find a hairdresser that does home visits, which is what I used to have.
I'm sure there are probably apps you can try to see what short hair would look like for you. You could do it in stages to acclimatise - medium length, then bob length, then try an undercut before commiting to really short. If your hair grows quite quickly you can grow it back to bob length in about 14 months. Hair grows about half to one and a half centimeters a month.
Hi Ottillie - ah it's kind of nice to hear you express so perfectly all the things i dislike too. I loathe the hairdressers! I hate hate hate having to look in the mirror for so long. I hate the small talk. I hate the heat.When I used to live in a big city I had a home hairdresser but now I live in the countryside I doubt there is such thing. Could probably find a good sheep shearer though!
Autumn_Trees said:it's kind of nice to hear you express so perfectly all the things i dislike too
If I did it's because I've been thinking about sensory issues for 18 years and then writing notes for my own diagnosis for the past 2 years.
Home hairdressers are the answer, or cut your own like I do some times. There are tutorials on YouTube.