Most women wish, at some point, for different hair than they were blessed with.  In many cases, there are ways to circumvent nature: perms and curling irons, straightening devices and chemicals, dyes and cuts and styles and products, and more.  Today, I got to thinking; people with long hair can always cut it shorter, and there are lots of interesting style options when your hair falls below your shoulder blades; you can put it up if you want it to look elegant, or keep it out of your way.  But what do you do if you’ve got short hair and are longing for some length?

When a celebrity needs longer/fuller/more dramatic hair, they spend thousands of dollars on professionally-applied human-hair extensions (more…)

If you’ve been blessed with a very full head of hair, or you wear dreadlocks, it can present some challenges.  We’ve talked about covering short hair; now here’s the flip-side.

The more you have to cover, the more cover you may need.  A typical tichel may seem more like a bandana if there’s a lot to fit under it.  Pashmina-style rectangles, snoods, or untied headbands are most likely to go all the way around your hairstyle.  If you want to buy a hat or fitted headband but are worried about how well it will fit over your big hair, measure around the widest part of your head and find a size that accounts for the space taken up by your hairstyle. (more…)

In my last post, I discussed the most important things to know about having very long hair.  This time, I’d like to talk about the flip side of that situation; what to do when your hair is cut short, and you’re waiting for it to grow out again.

Everyone has been through this at some point; you told the hairdresser to take off just an inch and a half to even it out, but when she finally whips the cape off your shoulders, it looks like half a foot is gone and you can’t get it into a ponytail anymore.  Or you chopped bangs, only to find out after the fact that they looked really stupid. And then you spent a couple of months desperately trying to hide the disaster until it grew out enough for you to pretend that it never really happened.

Whatever.  We’ve all been there, and we’ll all be there again at some point.  But next time it happens, you’ll be prepared!

• If your hair was very long and is now significantly shorter, you probably won’t need as much shampoo as you’re used to.   (more…)

This is the beginning of a two-part series about what to do with hair that is being grown out – whether you’re letting it get extra-long, or you’re waiting for it to not be too short.  Feel free to share your own tips or experiences by commenting!

Between my younger sister and my best friend, I believe they have donated a total of seven feet of hair to Locks of Love and similar organizations that make custom wigs for children suffering from medical hair loss.  They’ve both grown their hair to incredible lengths several times over.  So when I decided to do this blog post about how to care for extremely long hair, I went to them first.  Here are their tips – plus a few others that I discovered along the way – about dealing with crazy-long hair.  The better care you take, the more show-stopping you’ll look, so pay attention!

• Braids are your best friend.  They’re the best way to keep your hair neat, and they really show off spectacular length to the best advantage. (more…)