Most Common Questions About Life With Very Long Hair, Answered

Strangers like to ask me questions about my hair, and the questions I get asked the most often are: How long did it take you to grow that hair?, Does it get in the way? aka What do you do with it when you sleep/use the toilet/play with your kids?, and Isn’t it a pain to take care of?

So, how long did it take to grow my hair? 

My hair truly does grow like a weed. I’ve had it waist length, give or take a foot, for about twenty years now. Maybe 16 or 17 years back I cut my hair to about a handspan past shoulder length and if I remember correctly it was back to waist length in under a year.

Normally I give my hair a trim once a year, having my mom come over sometime near my birthday to cut a foot or more off. I skipped the trim last year, in anticipation of donating it to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, and in that time it’s grown from waist length to just beyond knee length. Heck, it will be interesting to see just how quickly it grows back after I cut it to donate.

Doesn’t long hair get in the way?

When I was pregnant with my first child I assumed I would have to cut my hair once the babe was on the scene. I almost did it preemptively, but something held me back. Once my girl was here I just put it in a pony tail and kept going. It never got in the way enough to prompt me to cut it, though my kids did form some weird attachment to my hair.

When I sleep I sort of scoop it up so it’s above my head on the pillow. This should go without saying but I’ve been asked often enough I’ll go on record: when I use the toilet I sweep my hair around to the front and coral it inside my shirt.

My long hair and I have given birth to babes, hiked all day through the trees and spent long afternoons fishing. That’s what braids are for.

Is my long hair troublesome to take care of?

Not in the least. I don’t style it, it’s strictly wash and go. I don’t think it takes me much longer to shampoo my hair then it would with shorter locks. I think over all I save time by skipping curling irons and styling products.

And there you have it, top long hair questions answered. (A while back I wrote about some of the more bizarre questions I’ve been asked over the years. Take a peek at that old post if you want a chuckle.)

Got questions about life with long long hair? Leave them in the comments below.

I’m all about the hair right now, as I attempt to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. Come February 12th I will be cutting off my hair and donating it to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program, where it will be used towards making wigs for cancer patients.  If you’d like to support me with a pledge, you can donate directly to the Canadian Cancer Society on my fundraising page HERE.