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Hair lengths & colors

I looked for a thread that discussed hair length preference (pros/cons) and hair coloring preference (methods/colors), but I couldn't find anything. If I missed a discussion similar, please post links!!

What length is your hair and why do you keep it there? Have you had it longer/shorter and whether or not you preferred one over the other and why? Also, I was wondering what methods are used to color hair, what colors have been tried/resulted and what thoughts or advice you had?

I have relatively long hair and recently started WO washing it. I'm currently thinking about cutting it short and donating the length to Locks of Love. I prefer it long when it is long and prefer it short when it's short (ahh, convenience). I haven't dyed my hair in years and years (I used to dye it ALL the time), but if I did, I would probably be most comfortable using henna.

Thanks,
Me

Locks of Love charges the recipients for the wigs.  Wigs for Kids and Pantene Great Lengths provide them free of charge. 

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I don't really know how to describe my hair length. I don't keep it there, I'm waiting for it to grow out long and I'm just maintaning it. I've had it pretty much every length except for close to the scalp. I like long hair because I love hair, love the way it looks and I love short hair because it can frame your face better and you don't have to care so much for it. I've had every single hair color under the sun except for blonde and grey and have tried many different brands, techniques, types, etc. I could give you advice but I'd need to know what advice you want.

I also wouldn't recommend giving your hair to Locks of Love. HH, listed a couple of charities that don't sell the wigs. I used to dye my hair all of the time but stopped a few years ago. The last thing I did to it was henna it so it was back to my natural color and now I no longer dye it.

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I've had every extreme; in high school it was short and red (Annie Lennox), then black/ shaved up the back/angular in the front  (Jane on Daria) and a few other variations and colors into my 20's.  Eventually I got tired of the upkeep and let it grow out; I always dyed it auburn.  It was pretty long for a few years, nearly waist length.  In my mid-thirties I cut it short again. I quit dying it right before I moved here, so I wouldn't have to deal with it.  I shaved myself bald once a few years ago and have kept it shortish and undyed ever since.  Like Minke I don't really have a personal preference but, (while single) I tended to meet more interesting guys when it was short.  ^-^
I wish I had known that about Locks of Love.

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Oh yeah, you reminded me that I've also had an undercut.

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SAVVY! Did you like it after you shaved it? I am seriously considering doing this, just to start over. I shave the back sometimes and LOVE how it feels. Seems like the whole head would just be more to love! I don't know....I feel like I might be too old to get away with it.

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i've had long and reallly short pixie cuts. i've died it before (once red in middle school for some reason, and then i used to die it dark brown because i hated my blonde highlights (this was also when i was much younger). stopped doing anything to it... started dreading it for a while and have had chin length a few times. i used to hate chin length and now i love it on me. i think my hair has it's good and bad days at every stage. right now my hair is growing out from a pixie cut. i think i'm going to let it get really long and then dread it.

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my hair's up to my bra line in the back when it's wet, but i have really curly hair so when it's dry it's right below my shoulders. i've never dyed my whole head, just patches of crazy colors. so i can't really offer any advice. a year and a half ago i let my friend cut my hair really short and i absolutely hated it. it was also when i was having HORRIBLE self esteem issues so my short hair just made me feel like i wasn't even a girl. but now i look at pictures and i kinda like it. but i do love my hair long. it's a pain in the ass especially in the miami humidity but it just looks so good. i've actually never let my hair be really long and curly ( i used to straighten it every day) but i'm definitely letting it grow reaaallllyyyy long and curly and wonderful :D

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I love my hair when it's long. Right now it's at my shoulders. Before I cut it, it was midway down my back, and I donated it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program because they give wigs to adult women for free, and my grandmother was devastated when she lost her hair to chemo. After I made the big cut, I got my hair professionally highlighted. Now I'm keeping my hair aroun my shoulders until I can grow out the dye. Then I'm going to grow it out again and probably donate it again.

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I like my hair medium length (a little longer than shoulder length).  Short hair doesn't work for me (look or lifestyle-wise).  I can't handle bangs either.  My hair doesn't handle them easily and I have to pin them back for work everyday.  I like long hair, but I have SO MUCH of it that it just becomes TOO MUCH hair.

I like my dark blonde/light brown hair highlighted.  My skin tone/color doesn't support any reds (that I've found so far) or really light blondes.  I like darker hair colors, but I've never tried any on me.

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My hair is usually somewhere between my chin and a little past my shoulders.
Its been most colors. Probably every color. I don't know.

I'm naturally blonde, I've liked mostly blonde with a under layer or streak of fun color lately. That way it isn't too crazy at work and I don't feel ass silly every now and then. I kind of go in phases of super chunky layers to nothing.

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HH, thanks for letting me know about Wigs for Kids and Pantene Great Lengths! I had no idea! Do you donate your hair?

Minke, like you, I've had my hair many colors and styles and like them all for various reasons. I'm not sure I'll ever dye my hair again, unless I felt like I wasn't doing as much damage as in the past. Do you have any suggestions for a more natural method of altering color? Oh, and what's an undercut?  :P

L2A, you're never too old to get away with new hairstyles! If you think you'd like it, do it!! (And post a picture! ;)b )

hespedal, I hope you do dread it and you should definitely post pictures, too! I think dreads are sooo pretty! I have a friend whose dreads used to be passed waist-length and amazing!

VH, I can't imagine how unmanageable the humidity would make it! Do you still straighten it or have to use product? Are you still wo washing?

LLG, I have the same issue with the long hair that I so adore - it just becomes too much! So I tend to grow it out and then crave short hair again, but I use my wishy-washy-ness as a reason to cut it and donate it when my hair gets long.

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no, i don't straighten it or use anything in it except gel that i make from flax seeds. but even that i barely use. and yes, stil wo washing!

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Minke, like you, I've had my hair many colors and styles and like them all for various reasons. I'm not sure I'll ever dye my hair again, unless I felt like I wasn't doing as much damage as in the past. Do you have any suggestions for a more natural method of altering color? Oh, and what's an undercut?  :P

An undercut is when you shave off the part of your hair that is....under your hair. Wow, that makes no sense. This is a picture of one:
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n225/cujocat/hair/undercut_back.jpg

What color do you think you'd be "dying" it?

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maybe i'll do an undercut while i'm growing my hair out... something to think about. i plan on having fun with my hair while it's growing out.

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I've donated my hair in the past.  I don't blow dry or otherwise style my hair (or color it, except once a couple of years ago), so I can go years without split ends / a trim.  I let it grow and when it feels way too long, I cut it short - which leaves me with the minimum length of hair to donate.

I'd get it trimmed more often if I knew how.  I'm 38 and my mom still trims it when I'm home for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  I don't want to pay a hairdresser $20 for a trim.  I hear there are places in a mall or somewhere it can be done for less - although it's cut so infrequently $20 + tip probably doesn't matter.  (I just went online and those places charge $15, so I guess $20 without the travel hassle is good.)

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maybe i'll do an undercut while i'm growing my hair out... something to think about. i plan on having fun with my hair while it's growing out.

I think it would be cool. I love undercuts because you can have fun with your hair and still be able to hold a job and just flip your hair over the undercut.

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I go back and forth between short and long a lot, though I haven't had long hair in a couple of years I guess. I get so tired of dealing with long hair but I really like being able to braid it and stuff. I cut my hair pretty short back in September and it still hasn't grown too much. It's about chin length. How do I make it grow faster?

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SAVVY! Did you like it after you shaved it? I am seriously considering doing this, just to start over. I shave the back sometimes and LOVE how it feels. Seems like the whole head would just be more to love! I don't know....I feel like I might be too old to get away with it.

I did like it and it was insanely fun to play with!  A fresh start was my main motivation.  Aesthetically, I dunno....sometimes I loved it and sometimes I felt like I looked as though I'd just been de-loused. 
I did always love the convenience.  There's a picture in my VW gallery of me with shaved head.

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I've pretty much had my hair every length known to man too, lots of different colors as well. Right now it's short, about chin length, but I'm trying to grow it out. I used to color my hair all the time, but stopped when I got pregnant and haven't done it since. Growing it out takes SOOOO long though, ugh, I hate it! The problem I have too, is that I LOVE to get my hair cut, but naturally getting your hair cut and growing it out don't go hand in hand so I'm having a tough time  ;D

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I've never dyed my hair, don't know if I will.

I've pretty much always had long hair, just cut straight across. I have very thick hair, so from time to time the haircutter person suggests layers. I've done it before with long hair, not straightened, and it seems to make it even more voluminous, sigh.

Last summer I got my hair cut to the shortest I've ever had, a chin-length bob. I donated the rest. I haven't decided if I want to grow it out for donation again or what (I've now been spoiled by the lower maintenance of shorter hair). Shorter hair's way easier to wash and brush, but it's a bit trickier to straighten. I think overall I like it better short, but I don't think I'd go any shorter because then I probably wouldn't be able to straighten at all.

Now my hair's a couple inches past shoulder length, which is ok, but especially when the ends were closer to my shoulder, it resulted in the hair being turned up. Even if I had it straightened it would wind up doing that within a day or two. I know someone else with that hair length who has the same problem, ergh.

related - i have a friend who donates her hair every year. it grows that fast! I don't think I could do that - it would probably take around 18 months for me to get the minimum 10" again.

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