Doubts about cutting my hair?

[Mermaid Stark]

I've been growing my hair out for about two years now, but it's getting really unhealthy and dry, so I thinking about cutting it. The problem is, I'm sort of doubting it now. People always say that mermaids have long hair. I'm going back to school in a couple of months and want a fresh new look, and this hair is making me look dry and not up to date. The ends are all frizzy and feel a bit like straw, so it's definitely time for a cut. I'm not going to cut it too short, just about two inches so that it stops at the beginning of my hips.

I might just need some reassurance or something like that, but I'm kind of doubting it. What would you do? Do you think mermaids should have long hair? Should I cut it?

[Mermaid Stark]

I think another thing that is making me re-think it is that people always say things like, "Oh my gosh your hair is so long!" whenever I have my hair down. I'm not exactly sure that that's a compliment though...

[Echidna]

If you want to cut it (or think it's necessary), go for it.
If you would miss your long hair, keep it :)

And no, mermaids don't need long hair.
It looks great in videos and on photos, but it is a hassle to manage when swimming,
and to disentangle it after, and going through all the de-chlorination processes gets old too. :p

[Mermaid Octavia]

I will come out and say I'm a mermaid with short hair. I had super long hair for most of my life (I'm 26) and I have never been so happy to have short hair. It stays out of my way when I work or swim, it's super healthy because the oils from the scalp can reach the ends easily so my hair doesn't dry out, it's super easy to take care of and fun to style... the list goes on!

I know it's a big decision but I have not regretted it in the slightest. I love my short hair. :D

[Aziara]

I have long hair, and I get a 1/2" off every 6 weeks to keep the splits away. It doesn't take anything off the total length on average, and my hair is much healthier. I'd say cut enough to get rid of your split ends, then mark your calendar for a tiny end trim every 6 weeks or so, and then you'll have healthy, long hair.

[WavyMermaidy]

I think all types of hair can make beautiful mermaid hair.

But I know how you feel...I've been growing my hair out for a while as I had goals of having long hair, and mine is now (when it's straight) low back length. My hair is curly and super dry, and a lot of times even though I trim it regularly myself it feels like the dryness and split ends frustrate me to the point of wanting to chop it. But the times that I have cut more off than I really wanted to for the sake of cutting off the deadness to make it healthier, the ends just got dry again anyway. I take really good care of my hair, so I've come to realize it's just naturally dry and splits easily...and so I've come to terms with that.

Another issue I have is that I get headaches very easily, and one of the triggers is doing just about anything with my hair as far as accessories, clips, ponytails, buns, braids, putting it up in any fashion. If I even pull one strand the wrong way it can trigger a massive headache. My point there is that it's another reason I wanted to cut my hair, thinking the weight would help alleviate my headaches. But I did some research online with other people that have this issue, and they said cutting it did nothing to help.

So my overall point is that if you want long hair, do what you need to make it happen and keep it healthy regardless of what mermaid hair should look like.

[Blondie]

I think you should cut it personally. If you already have dead/straw like/split end hairs, it's time to cut it off. I think we as girls all go through the whole "I'm going to grow my hair as long as possible!" phase in our life. But eventually it just starts to break up into a hot mess. Then they decide it's time to cut it back to a medium length. And every time I see girls do that, I always am like "Wow. She looks so good." I think that when you keep your hair looking less fried/dead/split you actually LOOK healthier all around.

Plus, it's summer. Hair grows back faster in the summer. And in general, hair always grows back. If you cut it short, oh well. It'll grow back. It might be some time but it will return. I also agree with Wavy, weight on your head can give you headaches. My hair is pretty long now (about bra strap length) and I get it trimmed every three months. And it's been pretty nice. No problem so far. But you have to trim long hair to keep it looking nice.

[Mermaid Stark]

Yeah, I think I'm gonna cut it. You guys kind helped me realize that it's just hair and it'll grow back. It's not like I'm a doll or something. I think my mom is really happy with my decision too, cause she immediately said that she'll set up a hair appointment for later in the week. :)
I've also been thinking about dying my hair blonde, just to see how it looks, but being 13, that might be inappropriate. :/
My mom seemed interested in the idea of it and said that I'll need to dye my eyebrows lighter too, so I'm not sure what that means...

[MerEmma]

Why would be dying your hair be inappropriate?

[Mermaid Varshana]

I started dyeing my hair when I was 12. They'll also just tint your eyebrows lighter. You can also find skin-safe bleach with level 10 developer at Sally's. Throw it on your eyebrows for 5 minutes and wipe it off with a damp paper towel. You'll be fine.

[Mermaid Stark]

Emma: I don't know actually... O.O

Kakarotte: Okay, I think I'm gonna talk to my parents about it!

Gosh, you know what? I might actually look like Regina George after all this...

[MerMarla]

I think you should cut it to a "healthy length" . If you still want it long waist length or bra-back length is beautiful too, and still considered long. Hair grows quicker too, when you are young! I get mine cut quarterly, and my hair dresser takes "what's needed" but usually about an inch. Winter to Spring cuts are more often, having more taken off, like 1- 1/4 ish or 1-1/2 never more, and I have it slightly undercut to lay better on my back. My hair is waist length, and has been for 40 + years. You can get your hair healthy and just keep up with trims, about every 2 -3 months. You will be fine! You have a long mermaid future, so don't sweat the minor stuff! Your hair will grow and you can do what ever you want with it!

Have fun with it, too!
Mermaid Marla

[Mermaid Stark]

I think I'm gonna do that, MerMarla. Just cut it healthy length now and then get it trimmed every 2-3 months.

And I'm gonna talk to my mom about dying my hair either strawberry blonde, or platinum blonde. I'm outgoing and eccentric, so doing that would suit me I think.
Which do you think is better? Strawberry or platinum blonde?:
11489
I'm on the left btw.

[Mermaid Varshana]

I'm a fan of blonde blonde. The best way to do that will be to put tons of blonde highlights in it. If you just bleach it outright, it'll look like this:

http://a2.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/115/aeace1de636f4c2e8e4a9acec2f02e63/l.jpg

Your roots would also look like crap. Leaking right out of your scalp. lol

[Mermaid Stark]

Talked to my mom about dying my hair blonde and she said that I should wait until I'm 14 because you have to bleach your hair, and that's really damaging. :/
Does anyone know a "safe" way to get your hair a lighter color? I just feel like my hair would look better lighter. Could I dye it a few shades lighter, and then try dying it blonde? Does that work?

[Mermaid Kelda]

Best idea is to talk to a hairdresser. I think Kakarotte has the right idea with the highlights - it'll be less damaging and still give you an overall blonder look :)

[Aziara]

You could always use some sun-in. It's peroxide based, I believe. Not as damaging as mainstream hair bleach, but anything that changes the color does hurt your hair a little. I've used sun-in myself, it'll lighten your hair by 2-3 shades.

[Mermaid Varshana]

Do talk to a hairdresser. It's really hard to lift color to something significantly lighter without bleach. You could try getting your hair a little lighter by having a hairdresser dye your hair a lighter shade of brown using a higher level of developer. I hesitate to recommend that you buy developer and dye from Sally's beauty supply just because your hair is so long and you'd probably have to use a lot of both. Either way, afterwards, you're going to need a hair trim to get rid of the damage. I doubt it would damage your hair too terribly much because we've come a long way in making hair products that are gentle.

[Mermaidmechanic]

Anytime you dye your hair it will damage it, especially platinum blonde! I think your current hair color really compliments your skin tone and brings out your eyes. It you really wanted to go lighter, then highlights would be the way to go. less damaging but a HUGE pain in the butt to upkeep. Not to mention it can get costy after a while. In my opinion, I think your color is already perfect. But I know how it is to want to try different hair colors, I'm guilty of changing my hair color at least twice a month when I was in high school. You'll just have to choose between the health of your hair and your desire for a change in color.

[Mermaidmechanic]

http://www.taaz.com/ Here, maybe this will help you. You upload a picture and you can put on different hair styles and change the color. That way you can decide if you really like the color on you or not. :)

[Blondie]

I think you should gradually lighten it. Get some highlights or go a medium blonde. I'm an avid Sun-In user. I like my hair light blonde opposed to a dirty blonde. Since I'm getting older, my hair is darkening up more. So between dyes, I use Sun in to blend the roots out more and give me some more time before I have to dye it again.

BUT with Sun-In, it is a bleaching agent. It CAN damage your hair. Just make sure that you're conditioning it every day and keeping an eye on how dry it gets. I accidentally went on a Sun-In binge and it almost costed me half my hair. I had to get a strengthening treatment to help it survive. Just make sure you're moisturizing it if you bleach it.

[AniaR]

I haven't read all the replies here.

My hair has been a huge frustration during my merjouney.

When I first got a tail, it was in a short bob:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/167192_183343371700414_1141215_n.jpg

I liked it, but wanted mermaid hair, so I started growing it out. Within a year, I had my mertailor tail, and medium length red hair. It worked. I liked it. but the red washed out all the time.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/182675_187999547901463_1939917_n.jpg

Then came the dreaded bleached phase. Hair wasn't cut, just bleached. But since I bleached it, it fell our regularly.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/196994_197523703615714_1938916_n.jpg

Eventually, less than a year later, I had to cut it all off because it melted and was dead and wouldn't grow :(
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/420190_368343469867069_880829198_n.jpg

It has been a YEAR AND A HALF. And it's grown a bit, but STILL not long enough for me to put back without clips. It's also my natural hair colour now since I'm in the water so much.
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/526457_575741332460614_2025867387_n.jpg

However, I bought myself a handy dandy pony tail extension for some stuff, so I can fake it til it grows lol
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/936968_594445203923560_2136571258_n.jpg

So here's my hard learned lessons:

You can make short hair work. Short hair stays out of your way. Pony tail extensions can be a god-sent. But take care of your hair, especially if you're in and out of different types of water. If you need to cut it for it to stay healthy, do it. Just know that as adults our hair takes soooo much longer to grow out than when we were kids.