Long Hair At 60

ONLY A SMALL DISPLAY OF MY MANY HAIR TOYS...



On May 1, 2010 I decided to start my long hair journey, layered hair and all, with the longest layer being 27-6/8" (middle of my back). I want to see how long I could get it, with it still looking good and healthy by the time I reached age 60 - which is now THIS year - 2013.
It's been a slow go growing out the layers to achieve an all one length goal. For the most part, I'm there except for the layer of grown out bangs. Now I need to work on thickening the ends and continuing to grow it to 36" - a yard of hair.  Goal reached June of 2013, one month early.

UPDATE - May 22, 2107 

Here it is almost 4 years since my last update...Gosh...Last week I trimmed my hair as it was really getting tangles in the ends.  I cut off 2-1/2" and since I hadn't measured it for such a long time; I did.  My length was 48-1/2" before I trimmed it.  I have yet to reach my terminal length I guess, but 36" is a more manageable length for me.  It has been going through some extreme shedding though and it's not quite as thick as it was...bummer...it's always a work in progress especially when one has fine hair textured hair like I have.  I thought getting gray hair would finally thicken it up, but no....I never wear it down, always up, sometimes in a messy bun and sometimes in a neat one.  So, I guess no one is the wiser anyway. :o)

UPDATE - August 6, 2013

Yes, it's now Long Hair At 60 and I'm happy to say that my hair has continued to grow and it's now to the middle of my butt (even after several trims recently) and getting more volume with a nicer hem.  But, mostly I wanted to do an update on a detangling brush (YES a brush, I couldn't believe it either) for kids (AND all types of hair) made by Conair.  Normally, I'd NEVER use a brush on my hair.  But, I decided to give this one a try and bought it at Walmart.  I love it.  I was having trouble combing out my hair while wet/damp even with a wide toothed comb because of the extreme length and because I have fine textured hair that tangles SO easily. 

Oh, and in my June 1, 2013 update I forgot to mention that I'm still using head and shoulders shampoo. The no cones route all of a sudden just wasn't working for me. I make sure that I condition most all of the length before I add the shampoo to my scalp to hopefully prevent damage to the rest.  So far, it seems to be working.  I only currently wash it about twice a week anyway.

UPDATE - June 1, 2013

I finally reached my goal of 36" a month early - 1 month shy of my 60th birthday.  Read about it in my June 1, 2013 blog post.

UPDATE - 4/7/2013

Back to 35" again.  My hair had grown a whole inch since the end of last month. And, now that the weather is getting more humid, it's also feeling thicker as humidity makes my hair slightly wavy.


UPDATE - 3/16/2013

After finishing a bottle of head & shoulders and starting another one, I decided to try and go back to my original shampoo plan of only using shampoos with no sulfates. See #28.  BUT, then I stopped because I was developing an itch again and the h&s seems to be help greatly, plus allowing my hair to grow faster.    On the no sulfates plan I was able to go several days without it looking oily and if oily, only slightly, but not using head and shoulders...Oh well...  Now, I just hope my slow growing, itchy scalp doesn't return since I think I've found the cure for it.

UPDATE - 2/27/2013

Such as they are - Please overlook the sloppy clothes and the poor pics. I'm not used to photographing my hair myself and I certainly didn't dress for it. But, you get the idea. It was just taken down from a bun - no combing. See the ends? I've been working on getting them thicker like forever (I've been growing out layers), but that's fine, textured hair for ya. It damages SO easily. If I'm lucky, I'll reach my goal of 36" by my birthday in July of this year. I would have already reached that goal if I wasn't so concerned about how my ends look. I'm not into whispy, fairytale ends if I can help it. I just recently cut off an inch so this is what 34" looks like. I do think I've been doing a pretty good job of cutting it myself.





UPDATE - 1/22/2013

- See #28 below. I trimmed more off my length again yesterday and the day before. I'm slowing approaching 36" - about 35-1/2" right now.

UPDATE - 11/30/12

My hair has finally reached tailbone length! If I had medium textured hair it would look more dramatic this long, but I have fine textured hair. Because of that, I have to wear it all over to one side, flipped over my left shoulder and cascading down my chest for a dramatic look. But, I always wear it up anyway with a cute or unusual hair toy. Last week I cut a good 1" off the ends. It really looks like all of my layers are gone and I'm getting some fullness on the ends. Now, I'll just continue to work on the hemline for thickness/fullness. One of these days, I'll do a creative pic of it and post it. I'm around 35" now I think.


Once I took a quiz to see what my growth potential is - the result was 39".

I guess we will see....

Lunar Hair Hair Chart


25 Plus Things I Know Now For Sure While On My Long Hair Journey.


1. 1/4 cup of white vinegar in 1 cup of warm water is the best final rinse you can use to make your hair shine, adjust your PH and to prevent build-up in your hair.

2. Mixing some honey in your palm with your conditioner will make your hair super soft because it's a humidant, but it will over time lighten your hair. In most cases, the result is pretty though.

3. Using a water softener on your shower head is a must if you live in an area with really hard water that contains lots of chemicals. The result could be hair breakage if you don't.

4. Fine hair seems to hold best in a bun using forks instead of sticks.

5. Any hair ornament that isn't smooth will over time cut/break your hair leaving you with short wisps of hair.

6. Time is your friend when you're growing your hair to a super length so make it your best friend of which you have huge patience with.

7. My most favorite way to "shampoo" my hair currently is wet it completely, put conditioner on length and esp on the ends of my hair and use the shampoo only on the scalp - Rinse and condition again waiting the required time before rinsing it out of your hair.

8. Using a silk/satin pillowcase is a must if you sleep without a silk/satin sleep cap if you don't want your hair to be a mess in the morning with tangles which only pull your hair out. Ideally, using a pillowcase and a sleep cap is best. Your face could benefit too.

9. Quality over Quantity, ie. Length is not always your best route.

10. The only cure for layers is time and patience and more frequent trims to achieve all one length.

11. A healthy diet, lifestyle (exercise), vitamins and drinking plenty of water will grow hair.

12. Hair DOES grow faster in the summer months vs. the winter months.

13. Working some jojoba oil into the length of your dried hair and then brushing it in with a bristle boar brush keeps it healthy.

14. If need be, washing your hair every day, every other day or whatever is not bad for your hair and doesn't make it fall out. Sweat needs to be washed out of it and off your scalp or you could develop an itchy scalp condition.

15. A sock bun is not cheating - A bun is a bun is a bun.

16. My favorite long hair style is and probably always will be a cinnamon bun.

17. Going to bed wearing a braid, a ponytail, pigtails or my hair just flowing freely doesn't work for me. Even a bun now and then doesn't either because of the poking pins or the pull on my scalp leaving sore spots on my scalp.

18. UPDATE - If I can keep it on and I don't get hot, a silky sleep cap works best for me giving my hair a break from wearing it in a bun all day and it also keeps it from getting tangled while down, but I then lose body on top so currently I'm not wearing one and back to using a silky pillow case to sleep on.

19. Fine hair will tangle in the slightest breeze.

20. Fine hair is like delicate silk and is the hardest to grow long.

21. UPDATE - I never thought I'd say this, but letting my hair dry naturally using no hair dryer is working for me. Once my hair became truly healthy I no longer needed a hair dryer and a brush to smooth it.

22. UPDATE - After two years of growing my hair I can say that Aloe Vera Gel is my best secret for taming my fly-aways and "healing" them when I pull my hair straight back. Since it worked so well on my fly-aways to where I hardly have any anymore I'm starting to use aloe vera gel on the last free inches of hair after a shampoo while hair is still damp. My fav is Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera 100% Gel.

23. Once I quit coloring/highlighting my hair, I found that I really like my natural white hair streak that starts behind my right ear and shows when I wear my hair up, and it's getting wider with some other white hairs sprinkled here and there.

24. I don't care if others think my long hair and/or my white hairs sprinkled here and there makes me look older. They think it does, I do not. When it comes to age, who are they trying to kid with their short, sexy cuts and dyed hair? No matter the color, long hair will always be sexy.

25. Cutting my own hair and not coloring or highlighting it anymore at a salon saves me SO much money. Money that I can spend on other things.

26. Having long hair makes me feel more feminine and since not many at my age have it, it also makes me feel somewhat special - Not better, just somewhat special.

27. Switching to shampoos with no sulfates last month (Sodium-laureth-sulfate and/or Sodium-lauryl-sulfate) has stopped my scalp from itching and has "maybe" made it a bit fuller upon drying.

28. Well, after watching a youtube video about it here and there, I've violated that new #27 rule of mine. I'm now using head & shoulders dandruff shampoo + conditioner WITH pyrithione zinc after reading that its use will make your hair grow faster. AND FOR ME, IT'S BEEN TRUE. The results have been so amazing I've kept using it, but I try to keep it mainly on my scalp and oil my hair the night before I shampoo the next day to condition it and protect it from the shampoo. And, I don't shampoo more than twice a week.

29. I thought since I've had such great luck using aloe vera gel on my hair I'd try 100% aloe vera juice as a rinse and leave in conditioner. Bad mistake. The first time I used it as a rinse and didn't rinse it out my hair was SO soft, softer than usual. But, as the days went by and I tried it for a second time my hair got more and more static in it - it was drying out. After a couple of deep conditioning treatments it's back to its previous great condition. I threw the rest of the juice out. What a waste of money. I wasn't into drinking it and my hair didn't like it so down the drain it went.