Friday, July 10, 2020

Long Hair

I don't need to tell you guys how important hair is. You're women; you know.

When I grew up in the 1960s, hair was hugely significant as an indicator of your political views and overall hip-ness. Long hair on men meant you were against the immoral war in Vietnam; crewcuts meant you supported President Nixon. Rock-stars wore long hair which, if you look at pictures of The Beatles, really wasn't that long. But it was greater length than the Fifties.

Back then, I had long hair. But when I started working as a lawyer, I cut my hair short to meet expectations. For most of my career my hair has been what it's "supposed" to be for a male lawyer.

Lately I've been pondering a return to my roots. (Pun!) I'm growing my hair longer. I don't know when I'll stop but I want to play with it a bit. Yes, I know long hair looks different on a 60-year old than an 18-year old but let me explore and discover.

One of my fantasies, which I don't know is possible, is to have hair long enough that I can style it in two ways: one presenting as female and another presenting as male. I'll check with hairdressers to see if this is possible.

Either way, I need to get more serious about hair-care so I just upped my game. I experimented with some shampoos and conditioners and found two I like. They suit my hair and scalp well, are all natural and give my mane fullness and texture. The brands are shown below.

What hair-care products do you use?




17 comments:

  1. I have very long hair and I've always had. I use the Body Shop products: shampoo, conditioner or mask (each time I'm washing my hair), grape seed oil after wash, and another lotion for de-tangling. Having a long hair takes a lot of time to care for it, but I think is worth it.
    Hope you can find the right style for you.

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    1. Thanks. I'm aware of the greater commitment of time needed and am ready to do it.

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  2. Yes! Grow your hair out! I love long hair (as you can tell by my influence on L) and I am thrilled you're going to do this. Yay!

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  3. See, I'm different. My hair is hard to manage, so I chopped it off. And I adore the pixie. I typically use pomades and a little hair oil.

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    1. Honestly, on many cis-women short hair is adorable. The contrast with their naturally feminine features makes it cute. That doesn't work for me.

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  4. Oooh, I am excited to see you with long hair! I hope you can achieve what you want with being able to style it differently! I am hopeless with hair! I've never managed to style it particularly well!
    I am glad to see you are going to use a Lush product! I use Lush's Montelbano solid Shampoo bar for my hair. I adore it-we swapped to it over a year a go and wouldn't swap back! Also, the lack of waste makes me really happy! Apart from that I don't really use anything for my hair

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    1. There's a Lush shop down the block from my house, close enough to walk to. I like this shampoo a lot.

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  5. Interesting post Ally.

    I myself have thought about long hair (https://in-the-pink-fog.blogspot.com/2018/01/growing-my-hair-out.html) and I'm now on my second attempt at growing it out and this time I'm resisting any urge to get it cut short.

    I have good thick hair and I'm looking to get it to around shoulder length. I've been looking on the internet at androgynous hairstyles so I can present as female or male.

    I have quite a bit of grey hair on the sides nowadays so I've taken to dying it with Schwarzkopf Live 'Dusty Silver'. It gives good coverage and darkens the grey so it looks even all over.

    I use L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil Dry Hair Shampoo and Conditioner to keep it soft and shiny and regularly apply L'Oreal Elvive Dream Lengths Long Hair Mask to nourish my hair and keep it healthy.

    Good luck with growing your hair out.

    Best Wishes

    Lotte x

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    1. Thanks for the info. I share your desire to find a style that will work for both genders.

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  6. What a wonderful idea to grow it and see if it works for both male and female presentation. I've had short(ish) hair for most of my life, except in the mid 70s. I'm hopeless at styling my own hair, though, even if it is short. Lately I've been trying a few drops of rose/geranium hair and body oil before my shampoo, and I've noticed it has become much smoother. xxx

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  7. I joked the other day to my stepmother that all my crushes in life have mattered not because of gender but HAIR.

    Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall and Interview with a Vampire. Adrian Paul in Highlander. This random girl with long black hair.

    Even my husband had bleached blond longer locks when we met.

    I've been growing mine too since corona kinda forced my hand. I cut every one else's hair in the house but it's much harder to do my own unless I simply buzz it. And I've done that too.

    Ashamedly I use regular old two in one head n shoulders. I don't have dandruff but it does a weirdly good job of balancing my combo scalp (dry skin/oily hair). I'll use a dry shampoo batist or "not your mothers" dry shampoo.

    I do also like Tea Tree shampoos for the smell and tingles, plus the Awapuhi "generic" from Sally's. It's a generic of Paul Mitchell.

    Growing up my mom used to use Sebastian's Potion 9 on my hair. It was a leave in conditioner. Might be cool to pick some up now that I'm going longer again!

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    1. Thanks for the info. I'm hoping that longer hair will make me more attractive. :)

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  8. Oooh, can't wait to see the results! My favorite haircare lines are Davines, R & Co and Bumble and Bumble.

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  9. It is absolutely possible to have a hairstyle that works in a more stereotypically looking male or female way. For example, hair that reached a few inches past the shoulders could be worn straight for either/any gender, tied lower for a man (think, the the classic 18th century male ponytail look) or higher up for a woman. Longer hair also opens the doors to things like curls and waves (even that great 1980s classic, crimping), all of which tend to lend one's locks a stronger sense of femininity (especially if styled in a more traditionally female manner).

    I'm excited to see the fun ways you'll style your tresses and hope that you really enjoy finding a length/cut/style that works awesomely for you across the board.

    Autumn Zenith 🧡 Witchcrafted Life

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