cutting off long hair - when and how?

[tilder]

I have been reading the thread on greying hair and whether or not to use hair dye with interest. I have long, thick, wavey hair and so far little grey. It's just at some point I will want/need to cut it off. I am in my late (very late) 30's.

I still love my hair and its easy having it long but have started thinking about going shorter. Just very nervous! I can't be faffed with styling but don't want my thick hair to be gravity defying.

How do you manage going from long hair to a shorter style?

I just did it all at once - mid length to short pixie crop. I have really thick hair too, so I was worried about how it would turn out. But it's great . I do need to get it cut regularly, but it's much less work on a daily basis.

I went for a transitional cut (just below shoulders) so if I hated it I could still tie my hair back and still look like me, IYSWIM. But in hindsight I would have gone shorter, as I have done subsequently

Why will you need to cut your hair off?

I've been thinking that way for about 15 years now, I'm late 40s and those few grey hairs I developed in my 30s have still not really spread, so I've kept the longer hair. I have gone short a couple of times but grown it back again within a couple of years, no need to go short just because of your age. I keep telling myself to make the most of it because one day I will go short again, but can't see it happening any time soon, if you love it, keep it.

I guess its just convention. I don't want to have long grey hair (my hair is very long) and as women reach their 40's they tend to cut it all off. Have also been told as you get older, hair looses its shine etc.

I don't really know why I am thinking of going for the chop, just that it will probablyhappen!

I think lots of women find grey hair thicker and the texture to be different/ more difficult to style.

If it is very long it can make your face look long too.

I'd just go short enough to give it some movement. Longer hair is more youthful imo

When I approached my 40s I had it cut short and I bloody well hated it. I felt like crying everytime I looked in the mirror. I re grew it. Now it is below my shoulders . I am just about 50 and it is below my shoulders. I have it coloured and styled regularly and keep it in goo condition.

I really hate short hair on me and there is no reason for m to have it. Just get a fantastic hairdresser to look after it.

I'm in my mid 40s my hair is half way down my back. I have very few very hairs and my hairs very thick and in good condition. I can't imagine cutting it off

This woman in her 40s has long hair and that's unlikely to change. I recently had it cut from waist length to bra strap length purely because it was getting in the way. I'd only let it get so long as a bit of an experiment to see what it was like!
I have always had it layered and shaped round my face, and it's great, up or down.
Long hair doesn't just have to hang straight down your back, speak to your hairdresser about getting some layers or shape cut into it

My hair started going grey when I was 21 and was silver all over by the time I was 30. I have very long, straight silver hair with no plans to cut it.

Oh no, don't cut your hair short because you feel you should! I cut mine short because I really wanted to, and I knew (hoped ?) that it would look great.

Thank you. Am going to keep it long for now. I guess am nervous about looking like my mum if I cut it off. My hair is very similar to hers. The thought of having it cut more often than 3 times a year also feels quite decadent!

I guess its just that I hardly know any women over a certain age with long hair, it just feels inevitable at some point.

there's no legal requirement for short hair over a certain age. Bugger that for a game of soldiers.

have it cut if you WANT. If you do go for the big chop, look into donating it.

OP, I think the reason women get their hair cut is that they can't sustain the long growth and it's going grey, not because of some magic age line, after which you have to have short hair.

I plan on keeping my long hair, and I'm in my mid 40s. I have some grey at the temples, but see a lot of friends who have gone completly grey and gone short so they can colour it without it looking like a dried up bush from the hair dye.

If you don't need to Colour it, then keep it long, and if it's thick and bouncy, it's not eniviatable that it thins and looks straggly- they happens to some women because of thyroid problems, or hormonal shifts with the menopause.

If your hair is thick and shiny and bouncy and you don't need to dye it, then wear it long forever- A lot of my aunts had long, strong and not grey hair into their 90s. They didn't need to cut it, so they never did. It was fab on them.

There are no rules about hair length and age.
If you have thin, wiry hair going grey, then it's proabbly easier to get the chop so that it can be dyed and kept in condition by trims.

You sound like your hair is in top condition, so leave well alone and enjoy your healthy mane!

inevitable