After years of growing my hair, long hair has become a part of me, it becomes my identity, and I’ve grown emotionally attached to it.

But... I wish to share my issues with long hair. All 11 of them. 

So if you’re not sure if long hair is right for you, you’ve come to the right place from someone who has long hair!

Here, you’ll find the most common disadvantages of long hair to help you in deciding whether long hair is the right choice for you. 

While having long hair might be every girl's dream, or seen as the unconventional hairstyle for men, growing long hair and maintaining it isn't easy.

Taking good care of long hair isn’t easy, but it's crucial to have healthy hair, regardless of hair length. 

1.The Extra Weight on My Head

Extra weight is the most obvious disadvantage of having long hair. With longer hair comes additional weight added to people with long hair, and as someone with long hair, I can definitely feel the weight of every strand of hair on my head. 

People with long hair feel their hair pulling their scalp every day. It might not add a significant weight on their heads, but when strands of hair add up, it feels heavier. Especially when they tie their hair up into a high ponytail or a bun, that is when they feel their hair at its heaviest, not to mention the heaviness they have to deal with when coming -out of the shower. 

Regardless of whether you have thin or thick hair, it's no doubt you'll feel the extra weight, but people with thicker hair will feel more of the weight. 

2.Longer Showers

Bath times for people with long hair are the longest. If you think all they do is check their hair out in the mirror and perhaps try a new hairstyle in the bathroom, you're absolutely wrong. Long hair owners spend shower time untangling their hair, making sure it's wet thoroughly, shampooing twice or thrice to cleanse the scalp, applying loads of conditioner, and finally, rinsing off the shampoo and conditioner. 

Some of them might repeatedly apply shampoo and conditioner until they are sure that there is no more dandruff and satisfied with how our hair feels. 

Which brings me to the next disadvantage: 

3. Long Hair Requires Huge Amount of Shampoo and Conditioner

A tremendous amount of shampoo and conditioner is required for the lovely long locks to continue staying healthy. However, unless you are one of those who can afford to change a new bottle of shampoo every month, you probably will use as little shampoo and conditioner as you can in order to save some bucks. 

While most shampoos available today are chemically formulated and using too much of those does nothing beneficial to our hair, it is still important to shampoo our hair. Conditioners are a must to achieve silky smooth and soft hair. We know shampoos are costly, but there are cheaper shampoos in the market that don't compromise on the quality. Our hair should be our utmost priority in this case. 

4. Long Hair Takes Forever to Dry 

As someone who has thick and long hair, blow-drying my hair is a daylight nightmare. Most of the time, I leave my hair to dry on its own, which takes approximately 3 to 4 hours. On days when I wash my hair late at night, I have to force myself to sit down and blow dry my hair. 

The entire hair blowing process can take up to 40 minutes, but nothing less than 30 minutes. It's torture holding a hairdryer for such a long time.

5. Long Hair Gets Knotted Easily

Tangled hair is what people with long hair deal with every day or on an hourly basis. No matter how much conditioner is applied, somehow or another, their hair still gets knotted. It just happens, and there's nothing they can do to prevent it. 

Sure, they can bring a handy-dandy comb with them everywhere to comb their hair when it tangles. However, not everyone brings a comb along with them when they’re out. Sometimes, people with long hair have to deal with stubborn knots that can't be untangled, resorting to cutting a few strands off. That hurts, and their heartaches because it's their beloved locks. 

6. Long Hair Gets Caught in Things

Only people with long hair will understand the pain of pulling out their hair from bag and clothes zippers. Imagine getting your hair stuck somewhere, and the only way to get it out is by pulling. It seriously hurts, even with just one strand stuck in something. 

I’m always extra cautious when unzipping, and keeping a lookout for any potential things that my hair might get trapped in. It’s better to be extra careful instead of suffering from the pain of pulling my hair out. Sometimes, accidents do happen, and our hair gets caught in things. 

7. Long Hair Clogs Shower Drains

When you have long hair, be prepared to clean your bathroom drains diligently after every shower, or else, you'll get clogged drains. Let me warn you: unclogging drains aren't fun, they're hard work.

So, I save myself the trouble by simply throwing out hair after every shower to keep my drain and me happy. 

8. Long Hair Traps Heat

Having long hair is like having an in-built thermal heater around constantly. While it might actually be an advantage during fall and winter, it's torture in the summer. It gets so bad to the point that people with long hair will do anything to get rid of their hair, and that includes going for a haircut. 

Even when they’ve got their hair tied up and out the way, it's still uncomfortable. Summer is when it tests their faithfulness to their long locks and resisting the urge to chop it off. 

9. Long Hair Loses Volume

People with long hair have flat hair with no volume at all. The longer the hair is, the thinner and flatter it looks. However, if you insist on having the best of both worlds, it's not impossible, but you'll have to sacrifice something. 

You can get some hair layers cut at the expense of more volume at the top of your hair than the bottom. If you have some extra cash on hand, another option would be to get clip-in extensions. If you choose neither, that's fine, because flat and thin hair is great too. 

10. Spending Extended Hours at Hair Salon 

Whether it's going for a haircut, hair-dyeing, or a simple wash and dry service at the hair salon, it takes so much longer for people with long hair. While we sit and wait for the staff to blow dry our hair, those people with short hair are at the counter waiting to pay and leave. 

And after a whole 30 minutes of solely blow drying, we are finally free to go. Perhaps, the extended hours we spend at the hair salon are the reason we visit them twice a year. 

11. Long Hair Gets into Our Food

People with long hair don’t always have a hair tie with them, which means letting their hair loss when eating. So, you can imagine trying to eat while holding on their hair, it’s a burden. 

Occasionally, people with long hair still get strands of hair in their food, and in worse cases, they end up with hair in their mouth, then pulling them out strand by strand. A great hack I’ve used is to put my long hair into my shirt, and it minimizes the frequency my hair falls out and into the food. 

Conclusion

While growing long hair might seem like a dream come true for you, you do need to be willing to put in the extra time and effort to maintain the long locks. One of the main disadvantages of long hair is the amount of time required to wash, dry, and comb. Are you ready to commit? 

Keeping your hair long also means committing to taking good care of it. Nobody likes someone with dirty and stinky hair; it's pure grossness. To people without long hair, spending so much time maintaining long hair is a waste of time. For those who love their hair to death, every second they spend on their hair is worth it. So, it all comes down to your thoughts on long hair, which will determine if it's worth your time. 

While growing your hair is a choice, there are still factors to consider when deciding whether or not to grow your hair long. If you can't commit to taking good care of your long hair, you might want to consider short hair instead. Don’t grow long hair simply for aesthetic purposes, it comes with responsibility and long-term commitment.