A rant about people giving unneeded comments concerning long hair

Hi There! Thanks for checking back in on me. Today I feel like talking about hair. Not just any hair, women's' hair and the length they choose and a why that's been on my mind. Now me, personally, I have about waist-length hair. I've been avoiding cutting it for a while now, but I have noticed something I find rather peculiar. The last month or so, since it reached the length it is at, whenever I wear my hair " down" like in a pony tail or just with a simple hair band, I get comments of " You should really think about getting your hair cut shorter." or " You would look so cute with one of those short, trendy do's".

My question is this : Why are so many people pressuring me to cut my hair? Oh a little note: Most people who are mentioning this are women with short hair. Now, on the other spectrum, Most women who either have long hair or HAD long hair ( and for my purposes, long hair is bra-strap or longer, shoulder length is medium) Say don't cut it, you will regret it, and it takes a long time to grow back".

I have worn mostly medium length hair, and I've had it shorter. My thing is just this: I love styling my hair in different fashions. Most of the short hairstyles out there that are 'different" 1. are done on young girls/teens, which I most definitely am not in that category. 2. Don't look like an "every day" wear-if-you-are-scrubbing-something AND "go-out-on-the-town-with-only-enough-notice-to-dress-your-kids". I like hair to both, be somewhat age appropriate AND situation appropriate. Now, you can do this with Medium-length hair, but variety is lacking. I mean, sorry but you can only style 4-5 inches of hair so many ways. Oh, and for the unavoidable comment, for myself, I'm NOT going to get my hair dyed or unnaturally highlighted. If I want highlights, I can spend a few sunny days at the park with my kids and viola, it's highlighted. Along with that, no perms. I did get one previously. The look wasn't worth the damage it did to my hair.

Now, I've heard some interesting arguments for cutting my hair "you can just cut it shoulder length, that's still long." You have already heard my counter for that one. But my favorite is one I heard just yesterday. I was on the phone, discussing plans for an up-and-coming wedding, and the subject came around to hair styling. Now, I have my plans laid for my hair, subject to change and opinion after practice, a lace-french or dutch crown worn headband-style with the center of my hair done with accent braids, maybe some hair jewelery (butterflies or something, we'll see). I mentioned that I was practicing braiding french and crowns, and she said "If you are going to wear your hair up all the time, why not just cut it short?" My reaction was... HUH?!?!?!? So If I choose to wear different braids and up styles, which I have taken to both because I LOVE the look, and to avoid comments, I might as well cut it? Sorry, but that doesn't make much sense.

Now for those that are arguing about the TIME involved, let me run you some facts. Long hair SHOULDN'T be washed as often as medium to short hair is. I wash it about 1 time a week, condition 2-3 times, if you do it right, your hair isn't dirty/greasy. So that's some saved time. now for those that wash hair daily, and style in the latest fashions, a lot of you spend 15 or more minutes getting your shorter hair just so. For medium length, it may not take long, if you decide to do it wet-ish, but you are still limited, and I get bored with the same stuff day after day. Now, here's a run down of MY daily hair routine.

I brush it out thoroughly, maybe 2 minutes, max of 5 if it's tangled. I can do a variety of different buns, basic braids, french braids, dutch braids, and twists. very basic stuff takes less than 5 minutes. More fun stuff may take 10, and if it's a completely new look that I haven't researched, it can take long, but a new look that I've thoroughly researched and know HOW to do it, just have never APPLIED it, it may take 15. Some of my hair styles that I'm learning to do now the first go are longer, but they won't always be that long. So in 7-20 minutes, typically, I can do 1 of hundreds of looks that look age appropriate AND situation appropriate.

Take today. Today I decided to go simple and plain-ish. I brushed it out.. it wasn't tangled. I did a "modified' french twist... modified in that I twisted it from about the nap of my neck, to high-ish pony tail position, pinned it in place, and left the rest hanging is it looks like a flipped ponytail outwardly.Total time on hair- 5 minutes. I did do a good dose of hairspray so it lasts. I think I'll call it my french-twist pony. Oh, note to anyone who tries it, the do will settle down a bit it looks right at pony tail - height.

So here's my thing. If you like short hair, Good for you. If you are satisfied with your hair, good for you. If you like medium hair, good for you, if you like longer hair, Good for you. But people, if someone asks you how their hair looks, they are generally talking about the STYLE they are wearing, not LENGTH. Unless they say some variant of "how does long/short hair look on me" DON'T mention, hey, did you ever think of cutting your hair. It kind of gets ... yeah..That's like saying to someone who is pregnant "did you ever think about going on a diet?". Huh? I'm not fat. Huh, my hair doesn't need to be fixed, dope, leave me alone... Yea. That's what my 'rant' for today is. Let's play nice.