Why I’ve forgone the chop for long locks

I’m Lucy Ruthnum, and it’s been 11 months since my last haircut. (Now this is the bit where you are all supposed to chime in and tell me I don’t look like a homeless person.)

I’ve always loved the experience of having my hair cut, of going to the salon and having your hair washed and treated with lovely products before being combed out by the hairdresser and cut to the style you love, but with the expertise of the stylist who knows how to make the style suit your face. I love the conversation that comes with it, catching up with the hairdresser on all the gossip, what they have been up to and what has been happening in your life.

It is so relaxing and I always feel a million dollars when I walk out, until a great gust of wind undoes all her hard work! But this time last year, with a freshly cut bob bouncing around my jawline (as others described it, reminiscent of Jessica from Mistresses), I clocked that I only had a matter of eight months until my best friend’s wedding. That sent alarm bells ringing in my mind – because what comes with bridesmaid duties? The up-do, tightly pinned, ringlet curls and the rest. Not really suited to short hair, the style suits those with flowing locks but from my experience not those of us with shorter crops.

I remember being called on last minute to be maid of honour at another girl’s wedding, not really one of my close friends, and being forced into a horrible up-do that made my face look like a moon and stupid ringlets that looked ridiculous. I looked like Miss Piggy. And I was not happy. I didn’t complain once, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let that happen again.

Plus, with all my big plans for a summer of festivals, I knew my unruly short curls would not be very helpful at a festival, getting greasy quickly and with no way or tying my locks back I was in for a lot of hassle! I decided to grow it out from that point on. I was terribly impatient to start with and couldn’t believe how long it seemed to take to grow, I was massaging my scalp every day to provoke growth and was using all kinds of products to encourage my hair to grow, eating and drinking all the right things. But you know how it is, as soon as you want your hair or nails to grow it just doesn’t seem to budge! Finally I started to notice some real growth, my fringe grew out and the layers started to move, but it took ages until I could get it up in a ponytail once again.

The problem is that I really love my short hair, but it is just such high maintenance, it is not the sort of style that you can just leave. Even with my tousled look, I have to style it and sort out the fringe so it looks tidy at least which is more than you want to be doing at a festival. However, long hair can get a bit annoying because it takes so much longer to wash and it doesn’t frame your face as nicely, plus it doesn’t look as edgy. You can’t win, all I know is  that usually when I have one, I am craving the other.

My hair grew to the perfect length by the wedding, but it was okay in the end, my friend decided she wanted us with natural hair and make up so I just curled it a bit. You can’t really see here how long it was at this point but it was just about shoulder-length when dead straight, possibly slightly longer. It was great for my summer of festivals because I could just tie it back which, considering the heat at each one, was great and left me free to not even think about greasy locks. Unfortunately all the pics I have of my hair seem to have curls rather than straight hair so you can’t really see how much it has grown, but I judge using the ponytail test. Whereas before I could not even tire up my hair, now I can tire all of it back, even my shortest layer which used to be my fringe. This is great and despite being very tempted to cut it short again, I think I like having longer hair at the moment. My plan is to keep growing it for another month or two, until after Christmas, and then perhaps I will return to the salon for a trim.

I do have to mention that in the time since my last chop, I have not actually felt that my hair needs a cut. It is healthy, glossy and full of life. I haven’t even used a hair mask for a long time, but I have no straggly ends or dry bits, and certainly no split ends, which I am pleased about. I think your hair, like any part of your body begins to look after itself if you leave it to nature. But, for the products I do use on my hair:

• Brilliant Brunette’s by John Freida shampoo and conditioner (or the illuminating ones if I fancy a change)
• Aussie 3-Minute Miracle for a hair treat
• Mark Hill Beach Babe Salt Spray to bring out my curls
• John Freida Luxurious Volume thickening blow dry lotion for when I want it straight with volume
• And classic Silvikrin hair spray in firm hold

I haven’t had my hair straight for a few days so haven’t been able to take a picture to show you where we are at now but will try to do so soon. What about you – what’s your favourite hairstyle? Do you prefer long or short?