Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think most women keep hair long to be attractive to the opposite sex?

999 replies

Ilovegreentomatoes · 19/07/2020 22:33

It's always been said men prefer long hair it looks more feminine etc.
I know many women hate having their hair short and are devastated if their hairdresser cuts of more than an inch.What is the obsession with long hair? I have fine hair and cut it short because long hair looks crap on me but I'm definitely in the minority. Even women who look better with short hair because of their hair texture insist on keeping it long. Do you think that's because we are subconsciously taught mainly by men that long hair is more attractive. Plus all teen girls have that uniform ultra long hair there is no diversity. And no I'm not jealous because I have short hair!(well very short bob to be fair.)

OP posts:
Thread gallery
24
Spaceprincess · 20/07/2020 13:59

I love my very long hair, also love long hair on men, I'd hate to have to keep having it cut or styling it every morning like a lot of short hair cuts need.

JoachimH · 20/07/2020 14:01

So going to bed with wet hair will make it messy in the morning is a delusion? Cos I didn't hear it from a man. I'll tell her she's delusional if that makes you feel better.

Seriously, grow up.

NameChange84 · 20/07/2020 14:03

I'm guessing you know I meant waking up with a tangled mess, but judging by how you've managed to take offence to just about every one of my posts in this thread, it seems you actually take offence to me being a man and having any opinion at all.

I genuinely thought you meant the old myth of “if you go to bed with wet hair you’ll wake up with a cold that my Dad seems to believe is gospel truth.

My hair looks better if I sleep on it wet. It tames the frizz and goes into lovely waves. Not a tangled mess. Not unique to me either.

ComeOnBabyPopMyBubble · 20/07/2020 14:05

I'm guessing you know I meant waking up with a tangled mess,

Unless really thick, dry and/or curly... just brush it? That's what I do.

betteliefsen · 20/07/2020 14:06

I have to go to bed with wet hair, if I wash my hair when I get up in the morning it's still not dry by evening. It is still shiny when I get up, I usually wash it at night.

turquoise50 · 20/07/2020 14:07

@thecatsthecats Agree about a bob, but that's not what I’m envisaging when people are talking about short hair here.

Personally I wash my hair more often when it's longer, because it's quite greasy and I find that becomes more noticeable when it's long. Especially if it's in a bun with 'tendrils'. Greasy tendrils are the worst!

JoachimH · 20/07/2020 14:08

@NameChange84

I'm guessing you know I meant waking up with a tangled mess, but judging by how you've managed to take offence to just about every one of my posts in this thread, it seems you actually take offence to me being a man and having any opinion at all.

I genuinely thought you meant the old myth of “if you go to bed with wet hair you’ll wake up with a cold that my Dad seems to believe is gospel truth.

My hair looks better if I sleep on it wet. It tames the frizz and goes into lovely waves. Not a tangled mess. Not unique to me either.

Hadn't heard that one. There are so many things that old wives tales say will make you ill. I wonder is a single of of them are actually true. Probably as I always seem to be ill Grin
stayathomer · 20/07/2020 14:09

Sorry to have not rtft but no. My hair is long because short hair makes me look like worzel gummage!!

CMOTDibbler · 20/07/2020 14:13

I just cba with short hair. I hate going to the hairdresser, and drying/straightening it is a complete bore. I have waist length hair at the moment, trim my own fringe and front layers, and all it needs is the fringe drying which takes 2 min even with the most pathetic hair drier, and if I wash just the fringe after 2 days, easily goes 4 days between washes.

formerbabe · 20/07/2020 14:15

Gosh, this thread is like a top trumps of who cares least about their appearance...ok, my turn

I hack at my hair every morning with garden shears because it's so practical and easy. I then wrap myself in a bin bag instead of proper clothes because it's so practical if it rains and is just easier than having to do laundry. I occasionally scrub the filth out from under my nails with a bread knife but I do that for me, not because I give a shit about what men think about me.

Do I win?

ComeOnBabyPopMyBubble · 20/07/2020 14:20

Gosh, this thread is like a top trumps of who cares least about their appearance...ok, my turn

Having a style you consider low maintenance (short or long) or not wanting to faff and fuss too much with it doesn't mean people don't care about appearances.

Bouledeneige · 20/07/2020 14:23

I've had all lengths of hair. It's much easier to maintain long and it looks better as I have a fatter face. No men in my life.

excuseforfights · 20/07/2020 14:23

Ooh that's true about long hair being low maintenance in some ways.

I hadn't cut my long hair cut it in a year, until lockdown where I trimmed an inch off myself. And no one can tell it I cut it.

MulticolourMophead · 20/07/2020 14:26

I'd love my hair to be long again, but it's the inbetween growing out phase I hate. Plus long hair takes more colouring.

I tend to keep it shortish and bleached blonde. I like it like that, my ex hated it like that, but I didn't give a fuck, and still don't. I do my hair for me.

woollyheart · 20/07/2020 14:35

I've got fine hair that is easily damaged. When I was a child (60s), a lot of parents seemed to object to long hair. This meant we were forced to have it cut at home or go to the hairdressers regularly. This together with the really harsh shampoos of the time, meant that I always had short hair even though I would have liked long hair.

As an adult, I mainly had short hair, usually pixie cut or bobs and that was acceptable at work.

Now at last I have let myself grow my hair, and it is definitely low maintenance compared to keeping a short cut tidy. I hate having it in my face, so it is tied up while I am doing things in the day. In the evening, I might let it tumble down. But it is possible to have a variety of looks, unlike with short hair.

I'm fairly sure that I don't look particularly attractive in the day, but I don't care.

SerenDippitty · 20/07/2020 14:52

There's a big difference between saying "short hair doesn't suit me" and saying "all women look ugly with short hair".

Evelefteden · 20/07/2020 14:55

@formerbabe

Gosh, this thread is like a top trumps of who cares least about their appearance...ok, my turn

I hack at my hair every morning with garden shears because it's so practical and easy. I then wrap myself in a bin bag instead of proper clothes because it's so practical if it rains and is just easier than having to do laundry. I occasionally scrub the filth out from under my nails with a bread knife but I do that for me, not because I give a shit about what men think about me.

Do I win?

Grin

Thread winner!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

RufustheRowlingReindeer · 20/07/2020 15:03

Why do people go from the sublime to the ridiculous 😀

I don’t think many people on here don’t care about their appearance

Or ive missed those threads 🤔 actually thats more than possible 😀

excuseforfights · 20/07/2020 15:09

i hate having it in my face, so it is tied up while I am doing things in the day.

This is true, I used to have fringes or feathering around my face, but it just got too annoying not to be able to tie all my hair away from my face.

GinDaddyRedux · 20/07/2020 15:16

@formerbabe

Gosh, this thread is like a top trumps of who cares least about their appearance...ok, my turn

I hack at my hair every morning with garden shears because it's so practical and easy. I then wrap myself in a bin bag instead of proper clothes because it's so practical if it rains and is just easier than having to do laundry. I occasionally scrub the filth out from under my nails with a bread knife but I do that for me, not because I give a shit about what men think about me.

Do I win?

haha this is spot on!
Bibijayne · 20/07/2020 15:17

It's easier maintenance for me. My hair grows too quickly for short styles.

SurreyHillsGirl · 20/07/2020 15:25

@Ilovegreentomatoes
I wish I had posted it on another board as AIBU isn't the right place for a good debate and mature discussion

I take it you are new to AIBU as it has never been either of those things.

@formerbabe Grin you hit the nail on the head

BinkyBoinky · 20/07/2020 15:26

My hair is currently a bob but I can't wait for it to be longer because it just looks better. Feeling a bit mumsy at the moment tbh. It's easier to take care of when longer and I just like the way it hangs. Short hair is so boring on me (and in general).

IMO long hair looks good on both men and women. Short hair looks good only on some people. Why do we ask why women have to have long hair, but not why do men have to have short hair? I guess different expectations of our "roles" in society. To me, there's nothing more manly than a bloke with long hair (think Eddie Vedder or Chris Cornell Blush).

Older women can and do look good with long hair, esp long grey hair. It's such a cool look, it's a shame we in society have been trained to believe long hair isn't "appropriate" for over 40s. Well, I intend to be breaking that rule soon.

LeahDownTheLane · 20/07/2020 15:35

Well I don’t have short hair because it doesn’t suit me. My hair is ridiculously thick and needs length to balance it out. If I cut it shorter it would look as wide as it does long.

MaryShelley1818 · 20/07/2020 15:39

I just prefer mine long, I do think I look prettier with it longer but that's prettier to ME. I have fine hair and a fat face, when it's short I resemble a bald potato. I prefer to look nice. Short hair just doesn't suit me.