Women whose hair reaches to their waist or beyond are faced with a challenge when they want a new and exciting hair style—without cutting away any of their hair! Many styles are designed for medium length hair; to the shoulders is the most common length. Some styles which claim to be for “long hair“ only work well for hair that reaches to the shoulder blades!
The good news is, there are many beautiful styles which work well with very long hair, and which need not be difficult to wear. We‘ll look at three basic categories below.
The Braid
This includes the ordinary “plaited“ braid, as well as the French or Dutch braid. In fact, braids are perhaps the most versatile of hair style groupings. Two braids, one on each side, is cutesy in hair that reaches only to the shoulders or shoulderblades; it‘s luxurious, even regal, in thick hair that reaches past the waist. The French braid, sometimes known as the Dutch braid, pulls hair into a braid one strand at a time, creating a lovely plaited effect on the scalp, rather than merely from the nape of the neck down.
Braids have one marked advantage over most other hair styles; they are good for your hair. Other styles are merely indifferent, and some styles, such as those that require curling irons, straightening irons, or hairspray, can actually damage your hair. But braiding keeps the hair from knotting or chafing, which means less breaks off and you get fewer split ends. This is a huge advantage for anyone who hates the look of broken, split–ended hair, and yet hates to get their hair trimmed with an equal passion.
The Bun or Knot
This is a lovely and elegant way of wearing long hair. Who isn‘t familiar with the classic bun, pulled up onto the head and twisted around, then pinned in place? Or, for added variety, the braided bun, where the hair is braided and the braid is then coiled into a bun. There are two main styles of braided bun; press the start of the braid against the back of the head and wrap the rest of the braid around it, tucking the end under, for a rounded bun, or start at the end of the braid and coil it around itself, being careful to hold it flat, for a nice flat coil bun.
There is, however, one major disadvantage to the bun and the braided bun; they‘re heavy. Anyone who has ever tried to pile three or four feet (or more!) of thick hair onto the top of their head knows that a headache in an hour or so is pretty much par for the course when working with a bun.
But there is very simple solution to that; don‘t use all your hair in a bun. Try using a section of hair from each side of your head and twisting them back into a Love Knot. Or, grab just the top layer of your hair and pull it up into a chignon.
The hair you leave underneath it can be braided, pulled into a second, lower bun, twisted, coiled, or simply left loose. Each way adds another layer of variety to the hairstyle.
The Ponytail (and Variations)
Now, you may be thinking that a ponytail is an impossibility with your hair; it‘s simply too long and too heavy. And, certainly, the traditional ponytail, a perky rope of hair perched on top of the head and coiling down, isn‘t the same with long hair, if you can even get it to stay on top of your head. However, there are many, many, many different kinds of ponytails, and most of them work well with very long hair. Just pulling the hair into a low ponytail on the nape of the neck is one of the most beautiful ways of wearing long hair that exists.
Similarly, pulling the top layer of hair into a ponytail at the back of the head and leaving the rest loose is a lovely hairstyle, and one that flatters and narrows pudgy or round face shapes.
For a little extra variety, pull the top layer of hair back into a ponytail, then separate the hair left loose into two sections. Using the ponytail as the third section, braid the hair into one long braid and secure it with a fabric–covered elastic.
As you can see, there is a wide variety of styles suitable for even the longest hair. Blending different styles adds even more variety; ponytails can be braided, braids can be wrapped into buns, and buns can be twisted only halfway, and the remaining hair pulled through the center and left in a ponytail.
If you used to think there were only one or two ways of wearing your very long hair, think again! There is a whole new world of styles out there. What are you waiting for? Try one today!
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