Mythbusters! (or, yet more about hair)

Are you sick of talking about hair yet?  I hope not, because I'm really enjoying reading your comments about your relationship with your own hair. 

We seem to be unanimous in our conviction that the "short hair in the office" rule is either a total myth or a relic of a long-gone time.  As long as hair is neat and clean and reasonably flattering, it's fine for the office.  Although I do wonder if there are certain professional jobs where shorter hair on women is de rigueur.   (Obviously I am not including military careers or Buddhist nuns in this pondering.)  I thought perhaps that the women in Congress might all have Working Girl Serious Hair, but no.  Result #3 of a Google image search for "congresswoman" is this official-looking portrait of Congresswoman Mary Bono (R-CA), whose hair is definitely longer than shoulder-brushing, and it's worn loose.  The photo album on Rep. Bono's website shows her at many official functions, with her hair even longer (and in various states of highlightedness) and usually worn loose, draped over her shoulders.  I'd be tempted to say that she's bucking the Serious Hair trend because she's from California, but she's a Republican.  The Republican thing has got to cancel out any kooky California tendencies, I think.

So if a woman can be elected to the US House of Representatives (by Republicans!) with long, loose hair, I think the "short hair in the office" myth can be officially labeled BUSTED.

Melody (to whom I owe the Working Girl reference) brings up another hair myth in her comment on my last entry. "I'm curious as to why so many new moms do cut their hair, is it to save time getting ready?" she asks.  I have my own theory, which I'll share later, but the myth in play here is "short hair is easier."  If you ask me -- and I have some authority on this matter, as I've worn my hair down almost to my waist and tomboy short -- short hair is actually HARDER to manage and maintain.  Yes, I don't spend nearly as much money on conditioner now that I need a dollop rather than a handful, and it does dry much faster, but.  But but but.  Unless you're talking about a cut that's buzzed practically to the scalp, short hair can be way more work to than long.  We're talking about cute short hairstyles here, from the pixie cut to the Posh Bob.  The following are the reasons I find short hair harder to deal with than long:

• Bedhead is not just the name of line of styling products, it is a constant menace.
• Speaking of styling products, you'll need them, and you won't be able to tell exactly WHICH styling product you'll need until you've tried a gel and a mousse and a smoothing lotion and a wax and a molding paste.  Different cuts will require a different product.  I have a whole SHELF in my bathroom devoted to jars and tubes and bottles that I've needed for varying incarnations of my hair.
• Leaving the house without styling your hair is NOT an option unless you really, really want to have some funny secret footage for "What Not To Wear."  With long hair, you can run a brush through it or pull it into a ponytail without looking.  With short hair, if you leave the house without inspecting the front, side and back views of your hair, YOU WILL REGRET IT.
• On a really bad hair day (see also: bedhead) there are few options for salvation.  Really, you need to wash it and start over, or at least do some serious bathroom sink splashing.  You can't just whip it into a bun or pull on a headband.
• You have to wash short hair more often.  Long hair takes longer to look greasy and nasty than short hair.
• You have to get your hair cut more often.  With long hair, you can get away with going months and months between cuts; it'll be the split ends that finally drive you to call your stylist.  With short hair, if you don't get it cut every 6-8 weeks, you will start to look insane, or at the least disheveled.
• On a similar note, short hair makes it more difficult to guess when you'll need a haircut.  With long hair, you'll probably be able to assume you'll need a cut every four months to neaten things up, but if you stretch it to five or six months, no big deal.  With short hair, one day your hair will look cute, but the next morning your hair will be that micrometer longer that pushes your look from "cute" territory into the disaster zone.  I don't know why this is, but it happens to me regularly, and it is not good to have a sudden desperate need for a haircut.  You'll wind up walking into the Hair Cuttery, the hair equivalent to the walk-in free medical clinic, and that is rarely a good move.

(In all of the above bullet points, "you"="me".  If you happen to have a fabulous stylist at your local Hair Cuttery, count yourself blessed.)

(Furthermore, I have seen plenty of women who look adorable, even gorgeous, with buzzed-short hair.  I've just never done it because I have serious concerns about the lumpiness of my skull.)

(My theory as to why so many women cut their hair short when they have babies is that they are sick of having the baby try to yank handfuls of hair out of their scalp.  Either that, or they've had lightly curdled breastmilk burped up into it one too many times.  Me, I had a yanker, not a spitter-upper.)

Does anyone else have a beauty myth they'd like to debunk?  Or would you like to debate my "short hair is NOT easier" position?  Or tell me to shut up about hair already?  It's Friday, have at it.

Comments

[Lynn]

I'm sort of blessed with easy hair, so I guess I don't count. My hair is relatively straight, thick, and stays where I put it without much need for product.

For me, long hair is more difficult to take care of because I have to pick at it for ten or fifteen minutes in the morning in order to get all the knots out of it (and once I even experimented with those spiral perm curls that look so nice in pictures and turn your head into a walking rats nest in reality! Bad bad plan! no matter how nice it looks!)

I guess I just luck out, tho. I can twist my hair on top of my head, stab it with a pencil and have done, if I need to. With short hair, just dunk it in the sink, comb it into place. Done.

I haven't had a blow dryer near my hair (except at the stylists) for... at least 20 years... I don't have to wash my hair every day, even if I'm going out, because my hair stays a little better if it's a tiny bit oily, and when I bother to curl it or put product in it, it stays perfectly for most of 12 hours or so...

But then, the rest of me is not particularly fabulous, so I guess I deserve good hair ;-)

[Jen (yup, another one)]

Yes, it's about hair-pulling. But I am too cheap, too lazy, and too busy to get my hair cut often so I generally deal with the pulling. ;)

[Libby]

Hey Summer, no need to change subjects, the hair talk has been pretty entertaining!

I did not get to chime in earlier, but I have dark curly long hair and I really like it. I wear it curly most of the time. I do flat iron it from time to time just to spice things up. My daughter has the most delicious hair I have ever seen. It's exactly a 50/50 combination between my hair and my husband's (his is straight). Her hair starts out straight and has soft curls all the way down. It's almost all the way down to her waist now and I love it with a passion. She likes it too and I secretly hope she wears it long her whole life (how selfish of me, I know!).

I have actually been pretty happy with my hair most of my life, save for a few years in High School when I longed to have straight hair. I think that lady's concept of beauty (from the show you talked about) is complete nonsense. People's hair comes in all different shapes and you've got to work with what you have. How boring would it be if we all had long straight hair? And for what is worth my lovely SIL has pin straight hair and always wanted curls. Oh and my husband loves my hair either way. He was the one to actually talk me into cutting it into a short bob many years ago (before motherhood). We both loved it that way too.

Which brings me to the issue of what is easier, long or short. I agree with you. Short was much harder. I had to blow dry it every day, and the not being able to put it up sucked for me. I don't have the time for that hairstyle now. I can currently wash my hair put some hair mouse in it and dry it with a diffuser(or let it air dry in the summer)and be done in 10 minutes. As much as I loved my short do it would never look nice now. And the growing it out period sucked, so I swore NEVER AGAIN.

As for the workplace thing, I work in a decidedly professional environment and the ladies wear the hair all kinds of ways. As most of you say, as long as it is styled nicely it's fine. I wear my hair loose most days.

Anyway, sorry to be so wordy! Nice chat though!

PS: oh and I wish I was as bold as you to wear crazy hair color. It's awesome.

[Cristin]

Mary Bono? I wouldn't use her to bust that myth. She's a sympathy seat. Sonny Bono held the seat originally and she's his widow. I'm fairly certain her qualification was trophy wife-not really a career woman. Plus republicans are the exception to the rule. All of those scary female pundits have long hair-Ann Coulter comes to mind but there are a bunch of blonde, long haired scary republican ladies that are on tv a lot.

I can think of some career women among our friends who have very long hair though. They could bust that myth but it's probably not best using them without permission.

I don't necessarily think that short hair makes the rule but neat hair definitely does. If you are a professional, you need to look polished and it's usually easier to achieve that look and still be stylish with shorter hair.

As for the mom hair, I've had a yanker and a spitter upper. Both good reasons for shorter hair. I hardly use any product though I am a sucker for heat appliances. My hair is naturally quite straight and I HATED IT-especially in middle and high school in the late 80s/early 90s when big, wavy hair was in. It's amusing to me that the millionaires go for my hair but whatever. I still think my hair is kind of boring so I curl it with a big barrel iron for some softness around my face. It doesn't take long so it hasn't been sacrificed to child rearing.

[Grace]

I kept my hair long until about a year ago when my son was 4 (and my daughter was 6).

I naturally have super straight hair so I never had to really do much with it when it was long. I just kept my bangs in check and I did fine. I'd either leave it plain, put it in a ponytail/braid, push it back with a headband, or put it up in a French twist each morning. No need to blow it dry or anything.

Now that my hair is short, I do have to visit the stylist regularly. I go in at least once every 8 weeks. Still no need to blow it dry. I just wash it and put velcro rollers up top each night. In the morning, I just brush it and put pomade/gel and fluff it around. And the style I've got now is kind of like Kate (Jon&Kate plus 8) only longer on top.

So the short style I have now doesn't require anymore daily maintenance than the long hair did. The only difference for me is that I have to go in for regular haircuts now.

[Farah]

Well - without telling you my whole hair story, I'd like to say that I agree that short hair is harder. I got mine cut from long (and constantly in a ponytail) to short (shoulder length with really short layers in back and bangs) about 2 weeks ago, and I'm hating it. I now have to wash it every day just to recover from bedhead. I also had no idea that my hair had gotten so curly from having my 2 kids - it used to be straight. So I'm adjusting.

I also work with a bunch of young engineer women who have long hair and wear it loose at the office all the time - so I thought I'd throw that in, too. They dress nicely and their hair is groomed, but it is long, and it is down.

[Jill]

I cancelled my appointment to get my haircut this week, and the next day it was too long. You are so right about the overnight thing.

When my hair is long, I use hot rollers to help control it. When it is short, a hairdryer and product. So for me, the work is about even.

[Jenn]

Ah hair -- I love talking about hair. I have almost always had short hair. I have the kind of hair that cannot dry on its own. It is sort of wavy, lots of texture. If I ket it dry on its own it takes all day and I look unkempt. So in many ways short hair IS easier for me. Yes, I have to wash it every day, but it takes 5 minutes to blow dry and put product in. Now that I have long hair for the first time in my adult life -- I alternately love it and hate it. I think it suits me -- but since I never tie it back, I have to spend 25 minutes blowing it dry in the morning, and on day two I curl it -- another 15 or so minutes. But do I think it's unprofessional? Nope -- it's tidy and clean -- who cares if it's long?

[Kristine]

Ooooh- love the new site (I know I'm late to the party...) But I SO need to talk about hair. I have an appointment tomorrow-- and I'm still undecided about what I'm doing. My hair is just past my shoulders now and I'm thinking it's time for shorter. I've always told myself I just have the kind of hair that doesn't do well past a certain length-- plus, I'm getting older...oh, I just don't know. If only I'd checked your site sooner!!

[Lisa C.]

I hate my hair. Hate. It is thick and very, very curly. What used to be a "natural wave" when I was younger has turned into a "curly menace" since I had the Moosh. I have a round face as it is, and my scary curl monster just makes it look that much fuller. I have been told by many a stylist to never, ever, ever a) brush it, b) wash it more than 2x a week, anc c) use heat on it. This includes flat ironing.

The result of this is that I have what I affectionately call a "perma-tail." Most people at work have never seen me without a pony tail. Seriously, though, what else can you do with hair you're not supposed to brush?

[Linda]

Do you read Whoorl Hair Thursdays?

http://whoorl.com/

Every Thursday she posts pictures of someone who wants to change their hairstyle and then posts ideas and then we vote! Later there are follow-up pics so we can see what actually happened. LOVE IT. She is booked through Sept '08 otherwise I'd send in my pics. I'm ready for a change.

[sue]

Mine is short for now - I have a yanker and a spitter-upper. I actually disagree with the sohrt hair is harder thing - though maybe my reference points are skewed. Long for me is ear length-shoulder length. Sohrt is SHORT - I'm due for a haircut right now and it's bout 2 inches long. A couple of minutes with some pomade and I'm good to go. And long hair on me definitely gets greasy faster.

I had long hair when I was pregnant with my son. My hair, which has been straight to wavyish all my life, suddenly got curly. Really really curly. It was awesome. Then he came out and it went back to straight. So short again it is...

[R. Nina]

I think it's different for every one depending on your hair type and texture. I was the oldest of 6 kids so I would not wear my big hoop earrings and i would either pull my hair back or some times kept it short.

i am now in my 40's, my hair is long almost to my b** crack and every one tells me my hair is beautiful, it is medium thick, dark and wavy or like spiral curls depending on the humidity, once in a blue moon for special occassions i will straighten it and it looks dang long and i think it's holy, and it's sacred to me; so i don't flaunt it too often,
i grew up w/ a tribe of american indians and the men and women mostly had long hair back in the day, but because it was very hot in the summers and many of us did physical labor it was not only easiert to keep it in a bun or a braid it symbolize your strengnth, and was for your love of your spouse and respect for them that you didn't go letting it go hang out all the time.

on the note as far as long or short being easier for me ,it's long; i can go several days and it still looks good, most of the time i wear it braided or curly, however i have a secret for those of you with unruly or short or frizzy hair, sleep with a satiny pillow case, it really reduces bed head, if i blow my hair and flat iron and use the good pillow case i can go 5 days before it starts to look like it might need a shampoo.

when my husband died i cut 12 inches off, each inch for every year that we were together, it was a huge sacrifice to me, but i felt like it was necessary to do, it was a grieving process,
luckily for me my hair grows pretty fast,

but i'll tell you what, when i had short hair it seemed to me it was a lot of work esp. bangs which i love for one day then regret them, i like to look at different short hair cuts on women but for me long hair is not time consuming, and when you get the chance to wear it long and loose, it feels so free like riding a horse bareback, it's exciting,

i think your cut and color are dang cute, fun and playful. ultimately you have to find out what works for you and your life style and hair type, happy hair to you all. peace

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