Only 5 of 26 had hair longer than APL

[naturalmanenyc]

I was at a staff event today and decided to take a count of the ladies with hair longer than APL. Of the 26 ladies who attended the event, only 5 had hair longer than APL. Three coworkers did not attend (that I noticed) which would put the count at 5 out of 29 with hair longer than APL.

Anyone else notice this trend? As I people watched on the subway train I noticed that women of all races tend to not keep their hair longer than APL.

I've heard family members comment that they cut their hair because they were "too old" for long hair. However, the coworkers with long hair are at least 32 and some are 40+.

 

[Je Ne Sais Quoi]

Long hair for some can be seen as dated or unprofessional depending on the work environment perhaps. Or maybe average folks just don't curr to be bothered.

 

[SEMO]

I've noticed the same thing. Most women (of all races) seem to be APL and above. Which is why I think hair longer than that really stands out. Especially to men. It's so outside the norm that some seem mesmerized by BSL and longer.

 

[MrsJaiDiva]

I always see tons of long haired White, and Hispanic ladies. Usually not longer than BSL though. I rarely see Black women with hair longer than SL, and it's fully theirs.

 

[RegaLady]

I don't know about that, because I see alot of black women with long hair... by way of terrible weaves

Seriously, I see that many women keep their hair shorter than APL, especially cosmopolitin women. They get super cute chic cuts. Its not a bad thing, some like it short some like it long.

 

[CurlsBazillion]

I may be blocking out the shorter haired ladies lately but while I was grocery shopping it seemed like all the black and biracial college girls had long (around BSL) hair. Even today I saw a woman come into the gas station with TBL thick V shaped black hair, I think she was Hispanic, The most beautiful shiny hair I've ever seen in person. Even the cashier had IRL long hair for a black woman, her hair was at least APL, maybe I'm so determined to have long hair that I don't even notice short hair.

 

[KurlyNinja]

Im in a college town, but a lot of females around where I stay have about BSL hair or a little longer. And many black females around here wear weaves so I dont know their real length. But their waves are usually WL or longer.

 

[MystiqueBabe]

Most black woman I see have EL NL or SL hair. Very few APL+ ladies. Longest hair I ever seen was an African lady with a MBL low ponytail, it looked relaxed.

 

[Lita]

I see a lot of weaves & some apl...

But in the work environment I see short cuts,bobs..I keep my hair in a neat bun with bang in front..

Happy Hair Growing!

 

[faithVA]

In my area mostly teens and women in their 20s wear their hair long. 30+ the hair gets shorter and shorter. Older Indian women wear their hair long. White women don't tend to wear their hair long. Many of them don't even do SL. I don't see a lot of long haired black women but many of the black women are natural, so it's hard to tell.

I noticed what you did OP when I first came on the board. I also started to notice that most women's hair doesn't look that great no matter what the race Only 25% of the women I see have nice hair, regardless of race or length

 

[DarkJoy]

I work with a lot of mid 40s + white women. They all say they keep their hair short because of thinning starting with menopause. Scraggly WL hair just doesn't look right. The women in this demographic really arent into weaves and wigs...

I see a lot of college girls with long, thick hair...long meaning BSL or longer. But you're right...not much past mid 30s...

 

[claud-uk]

I haven't see one BW with non-extension hair longer than NL/SL since coming back to the UK - and there are a LOT of them where I am. And it's not bc they like to keep their hair purposely short... I thought I was the last one to the hhj party, obviously not.

Once WW get past a certain age long hair just makes them look like a witch - it's not very flattering. Either that or it's that thin nasty scraggly stuff, so thin their ears poke through their hair lol. WW don't have it made - a lot of them suffer from thinning hair as they age, which I don't think BW do.

 

[MsSanz92]

I think it's because a lot of people associate long hair with femininity and being "out there" in the sense of attracting a man. Older women usually are already married and aren't trying to put themselves out there cut their hair to be less out there to the opposite sex. I think there's also a lot of pressure in the work environment, especially corporate America for women to play down their femininity as much as possible, so many women cut their hair as they get older and move up the ranks to be taken more seriously. If they don't cut their hair, its almost always pulled back away from the face.

 

[MrsJaiDiva]

In my area mostly teens and women in their 20s wear their hair long. 30+ the hair gets shorter and shorter. Older Indian women wear their hair long. White women don't tend to wear their hair long. Many of them don't even do SL. I don't see a lot of long haired black women but many of the black women are natural, so it's hard to tell.

I noticed what you did OP when I first came on the board. I also started to notice that most women's hair doesn't look that great no matter what the race Only 25% of the women I see have nice hair, regardless of race or length

Yes, this is my experience as well. It's not that I don't see long hair...I just see lots of Unhealthy hair. And to be honest...and this is just what I've been noticing since I joined LHCF...Black women are really suffering out there. Even some naturals I see, just have this Dry ashy looking hair. And it's sad because when I'm on here I see all this Gorgeous healthy hair, and when I go out IRL it's just like "What the hayle happened to yo Head??". I saw a Black woman in my neighborhood with this Beautiful MBL hair...that was All Hers (She ran her fingers through it), and I was ready to hop out the moving car and ask her what her reggie was! It was like seeing a Unicorn in the Bronx!

 

[Raspberry]

In the workplace - seems to depend on the field. I've worked in mostly non-profit, non-corporate, and creative/advertising environments and women seem more inclined to play up their femininity and/or individuality. In my current workplace the women tend to a bit more style conscious and rock maintained cuts at various lengths. Interestingly enough, it's the women who are considered knock-outs who have shiny stand-out hair longer than APL... they're not knock-outs solely because of their hair but the hair is definitely an asset.


Side note: I've noticed that many female entrepreneurs and speakers under 45 who market their knowledge and personality as a brand maintain long and glamorous hair. I'm an aspiring speaker/consultant myself and strive for this look.

 

[DrC]

I only see bad weaves and eaten up ends here.

 

[MyInvisibleChyrsalis]

I was at a concert and I saw two women with hair past their tail bone. I couldn't stop staring at them. It was like mermaid hair. I kept wanting to ask them questions about hair clogging their drains.

 

[Nix08]

Funnily while I was at costco today I made the very same observation...APL seems to be the average length.