Long hair is nice to look at because there’s an infinite amount of styles you can do with it; you can curl it, straighten it, up-dos and different variations of braids. But what people don’t know is that having long hair is actually like being in the sixth ring of hell. Throughout high school, I’ve had hair all the way down to my hips and all I really do with it is tie it up in a bun because it gets extremely aggravating.

Issue number one: getting carpel tunnel when you’re braiding hair. I’m not kidding when I say that my fingers start to hurt and my arms feel like they’re about to fall off because braiding long hair is a hassle. It’s even worse when your hair is thick.

Issue number two: hair gets stuck to EVERYWHERE. When I had my long hair, there were several instances where my hair would get stuck to a zipper, someone’s pocket, necklace, ring or even mouth. Your hair ends up being stuck in the weirdest places and you literally get pulled back like a dog owner pulling on their pet’s leash. Or sometimes, a whole bunch of hair just gets painfully removed from your scalp.

Issue number three: combing out the goddamn tangles. Bed head hair is five thousand times worse when you’ve got long hair. Even if you tie it up in a bun (which ends up just falling after five minutes) or a ponytail, regardless, my hair still creates a bird’s nest. My mother had to purchase a $20 hairbrush specially made for long hair just to remove the nasty tangles. Trust me, by the time you’re done taking out the tangles, you’d have enough hair on the floor to create four sweaters.

Issue number four: colouring hair involves not one, not two, but three box hair dyes. When you’ve had hair as long as mine was, it usually took more than two box hair dyes to completely dye my hair. The application process would take forever also, since I’d have to part it in layers – which did lead to my arms cramping.

Issue number five: washing it takes three lifetimes. It really does, I’m not lying. There’s a process behind taking care of long hair because if you don’t take care of it properly, you’ll have severe split ends and breakage and you’d have to cut them off. You not only go through three bottles of conditioner and shampoo every two weeks, but going through every inch of your hair, lathering it with product takes time and legit leads to your fingers cramping. Don’t ask about the drying time also. Air-drying your long-ass hair would take half a day.

Everyone hypes having long beautiful hair, but it’s not always fun and games. The reason why girls are chopping off their hair nowadays is because they’re hella over the process in keeping long hair healthy, hydrated and non-tangled. Trust me when I say this, having long hair definitely has its cons. If you already take three hours to get ready and you don’t have long hair, it’ll take you an extra three if you do have long hair. At the end of the day, it’s really your decision whatever you’d like to do with your hair. Aesthetic wise, long hair is nice to look at, just not when you’re at home, sleeping or eating. I’ve decided to chop off my own hair – twice actually. The first time was after prom, I got it done at a hair salon. My stylist was scared to cut off shorter than he did, even though I wanted it a tad bit shorter, but I still loved the outcome.

The second time was two weeks ago. I cut it as short as it was four years ago – my first year in high school. I also dyed it black. Now, it’s so much easier taking care of my hair and I’ve gone through several hairstyles with long hair, so I’m OK with just leaving it straight and plain.

Find out what you’re comfortable with and are committed to taking care of – hair wise.