It has taken years for me to even attempt to tame this mane on my head! For anyone with thick hair, they know this is true. And for all the people out there with thinner hair/thin hair in general, don’t be quick to be jealous. These are the struggles of having thick hair.

1. Bobby pins NEVER last!

I don’t know if I would call this a thick hair struggle, more like an everybody that owns bobby pins struggle but I don’t just lose these when I take them out. I lose them while they’re in. It takes 87 of them to keep a bun in place and I’ll only end up finding seven when I take them out. Where do they go!?

2. Hair ties NEVER last either!

If you don’t lose them or stretch them out, they break on you! I can’t tell you how many times I’d go to tie my hair in a ponytail or a bun just to have them snap. And once they stretch out, there’s no going back. It’s the worst to pull out the only hair tie you have and see it’s stretch out bigger than your wrist. The endless loops around your hair doesn’t always means it’s secure, especially when you’re working out.

3. Hair NEVER dries!

When I get out of the shower, I towel dry, get dressed and go on my merry way! Yet, two hours later, I’ll feel my hair is STILL WET! Unless I want to go all day with wet hair, I have to blow dry it or shower the night before. It’s so frustrating! And the whole time my hair is wet, my shirts sport the iconic wet stain, like I was on a water ride.

4. Brushing your hair is a workout in itself.

This is more for people with long, thick hair, like I used to have, but brushing my hair used to be a nightmare! Trying to get all the knots out would send my arm into cramps. And they would just come right back an hour later! It was even worse when my hair was still wet. And don’t even get me started on cleaning out my brushes every week!

5. Dyeing your hair is super expensive.

Box dyes are about $6 - $8 each for thin/short hair, but with thick hair you either have to double or triple that price. I used to spend about $20 on box dye every two months when I went blond and used every ounce of it on my hair! It’s even more expensive if you go to a salon. And if you don’t get enough on the initial trip, you end up walking around with awkward patches on your hair.

6. Styling is not fun.

Hair cannot hold a curl or hairspray. It’s just too thick and too heavy! Unless I go to a professional salon, my only choices are variations of ponytails, buns, or leaving it down. Or I could spend hours upon hours re-curling and spraying my hair to make it look nice. No thanks!

7. The shedding, THE SHEDDING!

Thick hair equals to SHEDDING. In my dorm room, we had tile floor so it wasn’t hard to notice the dust bunnies and piles of hair everywhere! I shed in the shower, on my bed, on my clothes, on the floor, EVERYWHERE! I’d find my hairs lodged into my desk chair from time to time. And cleaning it is a nightmare. Every week, having to vacuum or sweep it up makes enough hair to build another you!

8. Your neck hurts.

Thick hair is HEAVY. Before I chopped all my hair off, I used to get the worst neck pain and headaches all the time. And putting it up didn’t necessarily help. Unless it was a bun on top of my head, it was a lot of neck rolls and temple rubs throughout the day. Personally, I gave up dealing with the headache and chopped it all off! It’s still heavy, just not as bad as before.

9. We take it for granted.

We don’t realize how lucky we are for the pain we get to go through with thick hair. I’d rather have to deal with neck pain, tangles and constantly wet hair than not have my mane. Of course, I’m going to complain about how annoying it is, but in the end, I love my hair and am grateful for the thick mess it is!