From hip length to shoulder - starting over

**Molly_Marie** · August 6th, 2023, 06:00 AM

Hi everyone!
I signed up here a few years ago but I kind of forgot about it so I have not been active on here since. I’d like to change that because I am sort of starting over in my hair growth journey. In December 2022 my hair was the longest it has ever been at hip length or a bit longer.

About my hair: it is pretty thick, mostly straight but with some very slight wave to it at times. Definitely wouldn’t classify it as stick straight at all. It has medium thick strands and it’s very heavy/smooth…I think it holds onto moister well when it’s wet and then dries. Because it takes forever to dry. It’s basically the opposite of more porous hair that dries quickly.

In December it was also very healthy with a thick blunt hemline. I ended up getting it cut very short (for me) at shoulder length for a few reasons.

One reason was because putting my hair in buns started to hurt my head. I tried it in different ways and different buns but the hair stick buns hurt the most. Plus I wasn’t even able to do many hair stick buns because my hair was so thick and slippery most styles couldn’t hold well because my hair still wasn’t long enough yet.

The main reason, besides loving the long length, I wanted long hair in the first place was because I wanted to be able to do fun long haired styles. But I was having so much trouble with that as well. Like I couldn’t even do those milkmaid/Heidi braids where they cross over your head because the ends are so thick and blunt it is super hard to hide them and secure the hairstyle especially with the slippery heavy hair I have.

So in January I decided to cut really short in hopes of doing more vintage styles instead with curlers and pin curls etc.That has not turned out well either….mostly because my hair is still thick (obviously) and I’d need to cut it into a vintage cut to even be able to really achieve the looks I want and even then because my hair gets oily after 3 days of not washing, it just takes too much time and effort to curl my hair every 2-3 days to achieve the vintage style.

Also I’m very low maintenance…that’s one of the things I liked about long hair. It takes a minute to put it in a protective bun.

So here I am again with a goal of having knee length hair. (That was my original goal).

Any advice for me for those with similar hair types?

Currently my hair is now about APL with a few layers.

I am honestly thinking of not trimming it for a long time…most people like a thick blunt ends but I’m thinking that if I let my hair more naturally fairytale it would make my updos actually work way better for me.

**Kingsdaughter** · August 8th, 2023, 10:27 PM

Hi there, welcome back! I'm very new here, but I do have a suggestion about buns. When my hair was shorter and I wanted to do a bun with a hair stick, I would braid the hair in a loose braid and then bun it. It held super well and looked amazing. Just an idea, good luck on your hair growth journey!

**TatsuOni** · August 9th, 2023, 08:45 AM

Welcome back!

**Molly_Marie** · August 9th, 2023, 05:55 PM

Originally Posted by Kingsdaughter

Hi there, welcome back! I'm very new here, but I do have a suggestion about buns. When my hair was shorter and I wanted to do a bun with a hair stick, I would braid the hair in a loose braid and then bun it. It held super well and looked amazing. Just an idea, good luck on your hair growth journey!

Oh thank you!! I will definitely be trying that. I can see how the braid would help it be really secure! Thanks for the tip!

**Molly_Marie** · August 9th, 2023, 05:56 PM

Originally Posted by TatsuOni

Welcome back!

Thank you!! I'm excited to be back.

**shelomit** · August 10th, 2023, 01:41 PM

It sounds like a different cut at longer lengths might make your experience better this next time--something with more taper, at least, and perhaps some thinning/undercutting to deal with the weight. Regardless, good luck!

**Molly_Marie** · August 11th, 2023, 07:07 AM

Originally Posted by shelomit

It sounds like a different cut at longer lengths might make your experience better this next time--something with more taper, at least, and perhaps some thinning/undercutting to deal with the weight. Regardless, good luck!

Yes that is what I am thinking. I'm glad I tried it the first way with a blunt cut so now I know it doesn't work very well on my hair and I can try different options now going forward to see what works best. Thanks for the tips!

**Vintagerapunzel** · September 18th, 2023, 07:42 AM

Welcome. It sounds like we have a similar experiences. I recently cut my tailbone length hair to shoulder length in the hopes of trying vintage styling. But with thick hair it's just too much work and I totally agree long hair is so much easier to put up and leave alone. The longer my hair got, the harder it was to keep it secure in buns. I found a variety of claw clip sizes to be my best solution to secure my hair. Like you, I am working on growing my hair out to my knees and with it being APL now, I plan on learning different braiding techniques that were impossible for me to do with the longer hair. Right know I'm working on mastering French braids. Good luck on your hair journey.