Is it Bad To Keep Your Hair Up All The Time?

It’s not bad to keep your hair up all of the time from the viewpoint of right or wrong.

After spending the past 20+ years in the hair world working with both sides of the chair, I’ve found that there are definitely no rules about what is right or wrong when it comes to wearing your hair up, down or inbetween.

It’s your hair and as long as it’s not showing any damage from too much pressure to the roots from being up for extended periods of time, definitely feel free to wear your hair up as much as you like.

My Own Hair Is More Up Than Down

My own hip length hair is more often up than down.

The reason?

When you have super long hair like mine it has a habit of getting easily tangled, damaged or snagged on a variety of things.

Once I even inadvertently got my hair tangled in my ficus tree while I was cleaning. That was no fun and it certainly taught me a hard lesson.

I’m very careful about how I wear my own hair up.

Not only am I careful not to wear it up in the same exactly way, I alter the pressure points where I wrap the hair or apply the clips to avoid undue stress to the roots.

Traction Alopecia

When it comes to the question of whether or not it might be bad to keep your hair up all the time, the only concern is wear and tear on the roots.

I would be remiss in not mentioning this important hair fact to you about pressure on hair roots and/or hair edges.

There is actually a condition known as Traction Alopecia

Traction Alopecia is gradual hair loss, caused primarily by pulling force being applied to the hair and commonly results from the sufferer frequently wearing their hair in a particularly tight ponytail, pigtails, or braids. it is also seen occasionally in long-haired people who use barrettes to keep hair out of their faces.

Everyone Has The Right To Make Their Own Hair Decisions

Some people might ask me why I bother to have such long hair if I wear it up so much.

My answer is that having long hair gives me so many options for different hairstyles. I can braid my hair in many ways, create a dizzying array of buns, ponytails and half up/down styles, that I never get bored with my hair.

If I were to cut my hair off rather than keep it long and wear it up, I would be eliminating all those styling options.

Even more importantly, it took me 20+ years to grow my hair this long and I have dedicated myself to taking exceptional care of my hair.

No, I never sleep with my hair up.

For me, sleeping is a time to allow my hair roots to relax and breathe.

If my hair does feel tired or pressured sometimes from being up, I will just take it down, give myself a brief scalp massage and braid it into a very loose plait.

When it comes to your hair, it’s yours to wear as you please.

If some well meaning hair professional tells you if you’re going to wear it up more than down, why not cut it, run out the door or stick your fingers in your ears.

As long as you’re being careful not to over stress your hair, wear it the way that you love.

Best wishes to you.