I have long hair.
Always have (when I wanted to at least). Relaxed or natural, long hair has never been elusive to me.
Due to that I often here from others the same phrase “I cannot WAIT until my hair gets that long!”.
Here’s my question … What do people mean by that? What are they expecting the “long hair” experience to give them that the “short hair” or “medium hair” experience has not? If they are not big on styling their hair now, do they think long hair will somehow spur their creativity and desire to style? Do they think they can achieve more styles with additional length? Are they looking for status and to be noticed? Are they looking to reach a goal just to prove their hair can grow?
Somebody fill me in.
I must admit I tend to give a mild internal #sideeye whenever I hear that sentence just because I feel that you are who you are and your hair length ain’t gonna change that. If you don’t like styling now, you’ll hate it even more with an additional 10 inches (ask me how I know). If you don’t care for your hair texture now you’ll loathe an extra 12 inches of the same stuff. If you only wear your hair in a puff now, guess what? You’ll be wearing a bigger puff that is harder to detangle. I almost always think “be careful what you ask for” LOL.
Anyhoo … enough rambling …
Fill me in. What do people mean when they say “I can’t wait until my hair gets that long?”
Until next time Glam Fam I wish you
Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Nappyness,
@Glamazini | facebook.com/IamGlamazini | youtube.com/Glamazini | Google+
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{ 52 comments… read them below or add one }
I think it is really still one of those “good hair” things…people think longer is better…not realizing that each persons hair is unique to them.
I personally would prefer medium length really coily hair…
Good point. I suppose the appearance of length can be correlated with the “good hair” mentality to a point. Thanks for commenting.
I was just having this “long hair” debate with my husband last nite! Lol Last year around Christmas I cut my BSL hair to a modest centimeter…I wore it short for 2011 & Im just now allowing it to grow out (although Im considering cutting it again). I think people feel long hair is more feminine & maybe more versatile. In my eyes, long hair is just extra work!
I agree, long hair is extra work to the extent that those who have never had it don’t understand. I totally get the “more feminine” argument all the time. Thanks for commenting.
Personally I have never had long hair since I have a difficult texture (or so I thought)… Now that I am older and have educated myself about hair, I do find myself saying I cant wait till its longer. The main reasons being, I have never had long hair, that people have perceived my hair as ‘bad hair’ and never believed it would grow (myself included)… So really for me it is to prove a point to myself and others that my type of hair can and will grow long with the right care… As far as styling… I’m not big on styling now and have never been, so I agree that I probably wont be styling it when its long, so no change there… I do also think longer hair is more feminine so you can add that to my reasons to grow it.
So basically you want to see if it’s possible (and think it’s more feminine). I can buy that. I always thought the one side of my hair “didn’t grow” until I learned it grew just fine, I just didn’t know what I was doing. LOL. Thanks for commenting.
I think for me, its more about a particular look I want. like a huge twistout with a little hang
or twists long enough that I can bun. Nice post.
Aww … but here’s a question, what if, with length, your twistout doesn’t hang?
If it doesn’t hang, I’ll settle for blocking the sun. lol. Thanks for responding!
lol
Even if your twistout doesn’t hang, if you have length there are ways you can stretch your hair (without heat) to make it hang. You wouldn’t be able to do that as well with shorter hair though. That’s what I am looking forward to when it gets longer. I can style it other ways that I prefer versus with shorter hair it doesn’t look the same.
Great, thanks for commenting.
I think its just to know that feeling of achievement. At least I know that’s why I’ve said it.
I get the goal setting reason. Thanks for commenting.
Well, I will honestly say.. its because of the taboo with our race that “black” hair cant grow”! We put an emphasis on long hair.. if you are supposedly not “cute”, but have long hair you get a pass. If your hair is extremely ‘kinky”, but it is long you get a pass. If you are “dark skin”, but have long hair you get a pass. It comes from the elders stuck in their ways and paying it forward to the next generation~ TV & print ads showing mostly long hair naturals in oppose to BC women or mid length. Its mind blowing when you think about it. I will get off my soap box now
LOL on all the criteria to “get a pass” but I get it. It made me think of when someone says a black person is “passing” for some reason though.
I think that some people think that longer hair makes them beautiful. I’ve said this before, until people start accepting their hair for what it is and how it is, there will always be the envy of others. And I don’t necessarily mean envy in a bad way…… What is bad is when people define long hair as better than short hair.
I guess, but it’s hard for me to totally understand because 1. I’ve had long hair whenever I wanted it and 2. I think I look amazing with short hair. I do get it though … kinda.
I have said that I want longer hair. Why, because I would like to experiment with more styles. I’ve had short hair, by choice, most of my life. I just want something different. I do understand that more work is involved because my daughter’s hair is medium length and it takes time and work. I can’t speak for other women, but that’s my reason.
Ironically I feel that, when my hair is “past medium length” I get lazy and don’t experiment with as many styles. LOL
My dear Glamazon,
for me, it has nothing to do with not liking how my hair is at this very instant. I can’t wait to have long hair because I want an (even more) epic afro.
And I want twists that with shrinkage considered, go to my chin instead of my ear. And shoot – I just think long lovely kinky hair is beautiful. 
I think my hair is beautiful as is too. I totally love it. I just have this goal of becoming a nappy pochahontas. 
Not the nappy pocahontas? LOL! Ok, so here’s my question … what if your length never “shows” … as in the hair gets bigger but never hangs down much more? Will you still be happy?
You hit my reason on the head. That and Kim’s “I’ll settle for blocking out the sun.” I’m a total Mufasa mane groupie, and I feel like that kind of majesty can only come to life with an “epic afro”. That’s my reason for any “I can’t wait til my hair gets that long” comments. And if it doesn’t “hang” long, I’ll settle for the density that comes along with it. Although I’m also guilty of the “Man, I miss my TWA” comment almost as often.
Ok, I’m guilty of “I’mma cut this hair off” comment too
LOL @ “I want twists that…go to my chin instead of my ear.” YES, girl!!
My little sister has had long hair since birth. It was mid back before she cut it in college. I would help her do it all the time, even in college. She was so glad to chop it in half. She now keeps it a little above shoulder length because her view is “been there, down that, can do it again without trying”. I think it is just her hair personality.
Me, I just want healthy hair. The longest it has been was shoulder length and that was when I was pregnant. Now I just want to learn my hair personality and keep it healthy. Even though I have never had long hair like my sister, because of helping her all the time, I can say, if it happens, it happens – but I am not going to worry myself over it. It was too much work
Kewl, thanks for commenting.
I also have a natural hair. And for me it is big deal because it’s hard to manage and It’s always taking my time. Since childhood I have short hair. But when I grow up I realized that I want new look and it is easy to do with a long hair.
Thanks for commenting!
I had fun with my hair at all lengths because some styles look better on shorter hair than longer hair and vice versa. But i can’t wait for my hair to get that long because I want a full head of luciousness lol. Handfuls of fro sounds dreamy and having it bounce around would give me some kind of good feeling – it does when I wear long/big weave. So I cant wait to have that same feelings with my own hair.
Cool beans, thanks for commenting
I think for some people, it may be to prove that their hair can grow to a certain length and they can “show off”. I’ve never had “long hair” so for me, it was just a goal to see if I could take care of my hair and retain length. I was happy when my hair got long enough so I could have bangs and a nice, fluffy twistout. I don’t really think about it now as much as I did when my hair was shorter but friends and family members have noticed. I guess they don’t/didn’t think that natural hair grew very long but they don’t realize how much work it can be at times.
Ok, thanks for commenting.
I think it’s easy for people to discredit/be insensitive to people who want long hair — but unless you’ve struggled for two or three decades to retain length, you’ll never really know what it feels like.
It’s just like women with high metabolisms who naturally stay slim not understanding why a thick woman wants to be slim.
What you’re missing is that it’s not necessarily about long or short. It’s about CHOICE. In your article above, you are basically making a decision ON BEHALF of people who want longer hair (i.e. You shouldn’t want it because it’s more work.) Well, someone who’s had short hair all their life already KNOWS that it’s less work. But they want the OPTION of whether to have hair that is short, medium or long.
Hmm? I’m not “making a decision” I’m asking a question in an attempt to understand a differing perspective, while feeling fully free to give my perspective (which is someone who “never really know[s] what it feels like”. Thanks for commenting.
I can’t speak for many; but I know people who say that. And, they have a bias. Many have told me they think short hair is “masculine” and that long hair makes you look more feminine. I beg to disagree. Personally I think short hair pops the face and features. It’s not that I don’t like long hair; but I think many styles “cover” the face instead of “framing” the facial features; that said, you could say I like updos on longer hair.
But again, many people don’t want to be seen as homophobic; but I’ve had a lot of people tell me in confidence that they think short hair makes one look like they are gay. What does that mean? I didn’t know that you could look “gay”. Another story….
Wow, I don’t know if anyone has been bold enough to tell me that short hair makes you look like you’re gay O_o. Wow. Thanks for commenting.
Well you tol’ me!
Lol, but to be honest, I thinks it’s easier for you to say because your hair grows long & fast that you can actually get tired of it. When others (including me) reach that length, then we too will be able to give the side eye to that comment
It’s a goal many people have. Think about it. Many Youtubers have that goal length of beautiful, natural hair and the goregous braidouts & what-not…yeah, it’s a goal.
Probably *shrug*
For me, i don’t obsess over length and growth, but I know i’d like my hair to be a bit longer (like BSL or something), partially just to see that it can grow, partially because this length is a bit awkward for me when i attempt some styles and mostly because my hair is not very thick and things like braidouts twistouts and afros never seem to have enough volume when i try them and there’s just something so cool about having a big WHOMPING afro (despite all the detangling that goes into it afterward lol)
idk, i just feel like this is something many people have never experienced, because they literally couldn’t (they THOUGHT) and i think a lot of us just wanna see what its like. sure it may not hang how we imagined, or look as voluminous, the curl may not loosen and it probably will not be easier to manage, but we’d like to try anyway and see what our hair is gonna do.
Great comment, thanks for sharing.
Hey deary, I know I’ve said it (and prolly to you before too) and here’s my reasoning:
1) I’ve already seen what I can do with the length I have (for the most part)
2) To attempt to achieve styles I think look good with longer hair (I blame Youtube for this!)
3) My hair is already longer in its natural state than it has EVER been in my life so I’m just trying to see how long it will grow (genetics willing…)
4) Natural or not, I’ve always liked how some longer hairstyles looked on me (hence the reason for wigs and weaves, even now)
That’s my 2 cents…now back to being jelly that you’re in the Islands
~Kesha
#3 makes sense to me totally, especially if it’s a new thing. Thanks for commenting hun
I personally would like longer hair because my hair has always been short–well, now that I’m natural, my hair is more like medium length, but when I was younger, it used to never grow past my chin.
I probably wouldn’t have the short hair issues if I hadn’t of been teased mercilessly about my short hair until I was 14 (but that is another story). I tend to like styles that require longer hair, and I simply think it flatters me better. I want my OWN long hair so that I don’t absolutely have to rely on weaves/wigs to get a certain look.
Another personal thing is that I’m trying to prove to people (ahem, Mama) that natural hair CAN be longer than chin length. I love my mother to pieces, but do you know that my mom swore to heaven that my hair was going to break off badly because it was too kinky to not be straightened? Well, not my hair is in much better condition and longer than it ever was when I was a kid and she was doing it for me, and so she now has pie in her face, lol.
And to put it simply, I got bored with short hair. There’s only so much a girl can do with hair that is 4-5 inches long, and now that my hair is approaching 9-10 inches (depending on the spot), I find myself having more and more flexibility. Loving it!
I’ll probably lose the obsession with growing it long once it is at a certain point. I don’t need record breaking long hair.
I appreciate your honesty about some motivation coming from being teased then wanting to prove mama wrong. If it’s any encouragement, my braider told me I didn’t have “the type of hair that would grow”. Ha!
I think they mean just what they are saying…they want long hair! lol..and the women who say this may have different reasons for wanting length. Some may want it because they think it’s more beautiful than short hair, some may want it because of the styling options, some want it because its something they’ve never had,etc.
To the point that you make about length giving one more of what they don’t like (texture, styling, detangling), I couldn’t agree more. But hey, if one wants length, I’m not mad at them. Happy Growing! lol.
Thanks for commenting.
When people say,” I can’t wait until my hair gets that long!”, It means that you INSPIRED someone!! They look at YOUR hair and see how nice and long it is, and they probably think to themselves, “Hey, maybe I can achieve this length as well!” Take it as a compliment. This is your opportunity to educate them on proper hair maintenance. Be helpful, don’t be a daisy-cutter. Most of the ones who say that have never had long hair, and would like some type of motivation. Maybe your hair will motivate them to be more creative and be more attentive to their own hair. Maybe they do believe they can achieve more style, get noticed, or just trying to prove they can reach a goal……
1 Corinthians 11:15 (NKJV)- “But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering.”
If you don’t understand this, then you never will………
Peace and Love
~Ayondela
Thanks for commenting. I don’t always here this in direct response to my own hair … I’ve overheard it etc. etc. The post was written to gain understanding of a different perspective. What I have learned thus far is some people get really up in arms if you ask a question.
I want long hair to be able to cover up my alopecia bald spot. Previously, I just had breakage, but now that my scalp can be seen, I require more/longer hair to cover it. That would give me the freedom to not wear wigs or twists that are always in an updo.
Thanks for sharing.
I just chopped my shoulder length hair off last night for a TWA. I feel more feminine and alive. I love it. I am more confident with short hair because I feel people are seeing me and not just my hair. It takes a certain type of individual to pull off a short afro.