Hair...

[CarolBrown]

I am quite lucky in that I have long brown hair that I can manipulate to a degree to some more feminine styles. My wife (who doesn't know I dress) happily plaits and plays with my hair too from time to time, which I have no issue wearing out.

I was wondering how many others are able to use their own hair as opposed to resorting to the expense of a good wig.

[JoanAz]

My hair is my OWN...
(((HUGGS )))
255644

[reb.femme]

Unfortunately, I have hair in all the places I don't want it and not in the place where I do, on my head. :sad:
That's life though. :)

Becky

[Acastina]

I am quite lucky in that I have long brown hair that I can manipulate to a degree to some more feminine styles. My wife (who doesn't know I dress) happily plaits and plays with my hair too from time to time, which I have no issue wearing out.

I was wondering how many others are able to use their own hair as opposed to resorting to the expense of a good wig.

After many years with collar-length hair (and mild male-pattern baldness), I let my hair grow six years ago. It's now down to shoulder-blade level, with the ends still my brunette and the tops greying very slowly in an almost gold/silvery tone that my wife really likes ("Lots of women would love to have that color."). I wash and condition it four or five times per week, and I'm getting pretty good with the curling iron to put some sass in it. I have a natural wave over my ears that compliments the soft curls. With some effort, I can get a good frontal look, but I'm quite thin on top and have an obvious bald spot on the back. When I go out, I use a clip-in topper for bangs and to cover the top. Changes my look quite a bit and looks much more natural than a full wig.

The boy runs around in a ponytail most of the time, but I've started going out with it down and curled. I really like the androgynous look it gives me; slender, small hormone boobs, clear skin, and no facial hair or shadow (I pluck what little I have). It's a compromise, but it's better than butch...:heehee:

[Laurana]

My hair has been from my neck to my butt and every where in between since 1984......well actually 1985 since I had a buzz cut in 84.

[AllieSF]

Mine is about Acastina's length and mostly gray. Therefore, I have my bi monthly trim and color job, undertones as my stylist calls it to a brown closer to my original color. I love that real look and hope that I never have to go back to wigs. There was always something unnatural about them, even though some looked pretty good on me. Unlike Acastina, I was instructed to not wash my hair so often as it would dry out the ends and prevent my natural hair oils from doing their thing to keep my hair healthy. Now, my hair is pretty fine and wispy with little or no natural weight to it. I also have a natural wave/curl to it and I have not yet tried styling or curling it. I probably will do that when I reach that "too long" point somewhere in the future. Then I will trim it back to some workable and acceptable length. My hair also grows slower now at my advanced age and that is another factor to consider when thinking about cutting versus trimming.

[Richelle]

Like others here I am lucky to have my own hair. My avatar is what I looked like after my last trip to the stlylist

Richelle

[DanaR]

I grew my hair out about twenty years ago. Now days I might enhance it with some clip-in extensions, but that about it.

[Tracii G]

Sure I have quite a bit to play with

[StephanieinSecret]

I'very been growing mine out about a year and half, maybe a bit more. It's getting down to my shoulders now- it would look longer if it wasn't so curly. The shortest strands are at the front, and they're a bit past my jawline. It gets in my face sometimes, and it is definitely much more work to take care of than short hair (or even a wig) but I would never trade it for anything. Flipping it casually out of my collar, feeling it blow out behind me in the wind... these sensations are priceless :) And going to the salon is always wonderful-the ladies there dont know about my...feminine side, but getting my hair washed and combed is a joy. I slip them a few bucks so they'll spend a few extra minutes with the c9mb!

[StacyCD]

No matter how long I let my hair grow it would never cover the real estate on top. Sadly wigs are the only way to go for me.

[Sarah-RT]

I'm currently growing mine out as I hate not being able to style a wig and the trouble of keeping it tangle free. I don't have the space to keep and maintain an expensive one so I'll just grow my own.
My hair is currently at the awkward stage of being long in the back and sides but too short to tie up so it just looks sloppy

[sarahcsc]

I'm also growing out my hair but I really need a haircut. My last haircut was 7 months ago. I'll probably go for a hair cut in a month or two. :)

My avatar is wearing a wig, my profile picture is how my hair looked like 2 months ago. :)

[SamanthaSometimes]

I used to wear wigs but also felt self conscious while in the wind fearing it could be easily detected as a wig. About 5 years ago I let my hair grow and is now down around mid back. I really enjoy not having to wear wigs any longer and get the added benefit of seeing a little of my femme self whenever I look in the mirror. However, one thing I do miss is the amazing transformation that occurred when I put on my wig because it was such a dramatic change to the way I looked. No doubt I am now more recognizable as me when I dress because everyone is used to seeing me with long hair and it the long hair is no longer a part of the 'disguise'.

[pamela7]

my own :-)

[Krisi]

Having your own long hair for dressing would certainly be very nice. I could probably do it but at my age, it would be quite a shock to friends and family if I did it. It would also take a few years and long hair carries with it a lot of maintenance that short hair lacks.

One advantage of a wig, for those not out to the world as a crossdresser is, a wig allows you to present a very different appearance as a woman. Different length different style and different color. Homer has relatively short grey/black hair. Krisi is a blonde with shoulder length hair and bangs.

[Saikotsu]

Honestly, even though I'm bald to the point of looking like Ben Franklin (long in the back, next to nothing up front), I prefer my own hair to a wig. On occasion I wear my wig, but its just too itchy and doesn't feel right.

[Acastina]

... Unlike Acastina, I was instructed to not wash my hair so often as it would dry out the ends and prevent my natural hair oils from doing their thing to keep my hair healthy. Now, my hair is pretty fine and wispy with little or no natural weight to it. ...

Mine is also very fine, and it gets oily (and thus even thinner looking) on top after no less than 36 hours. After about 48 hours, the rest of it gets stringy as well. I love the way it looks and feels when it's clean and styled. I've been trying this Moroccan Argan oil shampoo and conditioner after good results from a dab'll-do-ya leave-in oil treatment. That treatment made it much easier to comb out after washing and seems to give it luster.

Others have mentioned the sensations of longer hair. It's kind of annoying at first when it starts to get in your eyes or tickles your neck, but you get used to that pretty soon. I really love the way it feels on my upper back when wearing a tank or spaghetti-strap top...:daydreaming:

[Princess Ludwyna]

http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255684&stc=1http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=255685&stc=1

I usually never post pics of myself here but those are my hair last year.
They're longer now.

P.S. : no clue how to remove the code on top of my message. It does not appear in the edit window. Sorry for the inconvience.

[AmyVanessa]

I used to get buzz cuts all the time, but now I'm growing my hair long.
A real wig is too much trouble and expense for me, so that's all my hair you see in my avatar pic.

[Tracii G]

A hot oil treatment every month or so does wonders for mine.
Mine is not super oily and I can go 3 or 4 days between shampoos and the natural oils do their job.
When it gets a bit oily I like to comb it so the oil gets to the ends.

[donnalee]

Grew mine out when I retired 6 years ago. Shoulder blade length, no bald spots and the only gray is at the temples which can be hidden with proper combing; not bad for someone pushing 70. The one difficulty is that it was always fine and now is getting finer with a fair amount of breakage. A good conditioner and hairspray improves thing greatly though.

[Beverley Sims]

When I had long hair....It was magic!! :-)

[jenniferinsf]

for two years i used my own hair and loved it. i have to say it was beautiful. however about two months ago i had it styled and i thought it was gorgeous but my wife went ballistic when she saw it.

so into the shower to wash it out.

on dec. 31 i had gone through magazines and picked out a number of hair styles that i was considering....showed them to my wife for an opinion and was again greeted with NFW.

so i went to the hair salon showed them a picture of the new james bond and said that is what i want...they gasped, i nodded and they took out the scissors.

i did it because my wife while accepting does not really want me to be seen in and around as anything but a male.

i found it so very easy with long hair to wear earrings, eyebrows, lipstick and go out as casual en femme with a women's top and shoes/sandals...

this is obviously now stopped as i do not have a wig and said to myself that i would not get one (but i now find myself looking at them) - can't suppress the dress

first time in 10 years with short hair and it has never been THIS short in say 30 years.

i miss my real hair and the facility that it offered me in being the real girl.

[Patrica Gil]

Just love having long hair. Have had it long for three years now. Somedays you will find me in curlers all day long getting ready for a night out. Usually the next day the curl is still in my hair and I just put on a scarf and let it hang out of the back when in boy mode. Works for me and my SO.

[lynnef]

I have not had a haircut (or even a trim of *any* kind, except for getting rid of some nasty split ends) for ~15 years (!)

My hair is currently around hip/butt length, (I'm 5'11"), and is that thickness/texture that tends to go *p00f* when shorter than about Bra-strap length (mid-back), but since I started on low-dose HRT a few months ago, it's gotten a bit thicker (or at least I'm not shedding as much),
and slightly softer/faster growing :D I'm hoping for at least knee-length, so I can have my own blanket/scarf/etc (right now I'm wearing it down, which does wonders for keeping the shoulders warm, plus it feels *amazing* on my back... :D (I'm wearing a Sun dress)

as for how much work people say having long hair is... it isn't... if it doesn't cooperate, i can put it up in a stick bun in ~10 seconds & with proper sleeping techniques (either wear a sleeping cap, or fling it over your head as you lie down so it hangs down behind the pillow while you sleep), i can almost completely avoid tangles and knotting/matting :D plus, due to the length, i can use a boar bristle brush (which spreads the scalp oils down the length & cleans a bit along the way) and only have to wash it ~1-2x/week (tops)

[Lily Catherine]

I resorted to wigs as school and military service didn't allow me to keep long hair. Even though I now have the freedom to do so I don't wish to. Unfortunately wigs can't be styled however - even though I thoroughly liked the feeling of long hair on my bare shoulders and sometimes back.