Growing up, I was always envious of girls with long hair. I always had hair that was shoulder length or shorter (thanks ,mom) while I was growing up. So, I decided in 6th grade that I was going to grow my hair out. Well, it wasn’t that simple, as I quickly learned that hair does not grow fast and that, sadly, I would not have my long dream hair by the first day of 7th grade. However, I did get my long hair dream achieved 5 years later, my junior year of high school, when I got my first complement of ‘Wow! Your hair is so long!”. But over the last 6 years, I’ve learned a thing or two about having long hair, and so I ask myself this, is long hair REALLY worth it?

Cons

1. THE WIND.There is no chance of you wearing your hair down at all if there is ANY wind. It will get in your face, it will stick to your lip gloss, it will get tangled up until you look like you have a rats nest on your head (seriously, it’s not cute)

2. SHOWERS. Anyone with long hair can feel with me on this. THEY TAKE FOREVER. It takes forever to get your hair all wet, it takes forever to get it shampooed, it takes forever to get it washed out, and finally, it takes forever to get it dry. Not to mention all the strands of hair that fall out in the process and get stuck on your shower walls and plug your drain

3. Taking your backpack off. You cannot let your backpack slide down your arm when you take it off because you will feel your haIR RIPPING OUT OF YOU HEAD AS IT GETS CAUGHT IN THE STRAP

4. Ok so there’s also that thing that happens sometimes when you get your hair caught in a car door

5. Basically all of the above cons make it so you never want to wear your hair down, so even though you have long hair, you still have to wear it in a ponytail or bun on a day to day basis.

6. Your hair has NO volume. It is too weighed down because there is just too MUCH hair. So dry shampoo becomes your best friend.

7. Every couple of months you have to go in to get your dead/split ends cut off. Here’s the catch, your hair is too long to cut while sitting in the chair. In order for the stylist to get at it, you have to STAND while getting your hair cut. However, there is a way around this, but it requires you to go to a very fancy salon where your haircut can cost upwards of $30, so really, you’d rather just stand and only pay $7.

Pros

1. It's versatile. You can do so much with it. Every hairstyle is possible and every updo is possible.

You can do this..

and this...

and even something as crazy as this...

2. It keeps you warm. Seriously, anytime your cold, your hair is there like a blanket to use on your face, neck and upper body. Might sound weird, but seriously, long hair can be a lifesaver in the winter.

3. Something that I like to call the ULTIMATE hair flip. Which is that thing when you flip your hair and it hits the five to ten people standing in the vicinity. It is also very useful when you're being sassy.

4. But, in the end, the main pro of having long hair, for me at least, is that it makes me feel confident. I love having my hair long and I love everything that comes with it.