Franny's Long Hairstyles

The mantra I've heard over the years is that after the age of 35 or 40 women must have shorter hair.  I believe that this is no longer a truism.  This generation of women have the power to redefine what is appropriate for us.  This site celebrates my journey to long hair over 40, my progress and the styles that I've discovered along the way.  I've yet to discover just how long my hair will grow while still looking healthy.  I'm enjoying the adventure.

In these pages I will be continually adding hairstyle photos--of braids from French braids to 5 strand braids, half-up styles, updos from the casual peacock Twist to a more formal French twist, as well as other hairstyles and my growth progress photos.  I will gradually be sharing hair care tips and styling instructions that I have found effective as well.

I go by the name Franny.  Those who know me in long hair forums know me as frannyg or Franny G. 

I have very fine, very straight hair, low medium in thickness.  I never felt that my hairtype was suitable for long hair.  I longed for waves and curls and I spent most of my life fighting with my naturally straight hair.  I went from short to medium styles, with and without perms, always using blow dryers, curling irons or hot rollers and other heat appliances-even crimpers. 

At some point in my early forties I began to embrace my straight hair.  I stopped using heat appliances and noticed fairly quickly that the condition of my hair improved.  In mid-2006, I finally made the choice to consciously grow my hair long.

I learned many secrets to caring for my hair and I also discovered that I really enjoyed trying new styles, so that I could have various looks suitable for all occasions. 

After several months of growing my hair, I learned by trial and error what was best for my hair.  I realized that for me, frequent trims were necessary, as my ends rapidly became too thin for my liking.  The ends of my hair that had been previously treated with heat were too dry and damaged, so when I was just approaching waist-length, I cut six inches off of my hair to thicken up the ends and to have a fresh start. I had also decided to grow out the bangs that I had worn all of my life.  At that time I decided to go from blonde to a try at brunette.

That big cut was in July of 2007.  In February of 2008, I decided that brunette hair really wasn't for me, so I used some natural methods, including soaks of honey, conditioner, extra virgin olive oil over hair dampened with chamomile tea.  That eventually resulted in hair healthily lightened to a point where I could use regular drugstore dye to get a blonde shade.  Unfortunately, I didn't get the blonde shade that I wanted, so I had to dye it one last time.  From now on I'll be able to just dye the roots only, once again.

The last few inches of my hair did feel somewhat dry, and in a preemptive strike against further damage, I cut 5 inches off my hair in the beginning of May 2008.  I don't foresee any more big cuts in my future, so now after a short delay, I have resumed growing toward my goal.  I can't wait to see how long my hair will grow!

Long hair doesn't just have to "hang there" and it certainly doesn't have to be boring.  Since I began my long hair quest, I've discovered many styles-updos, braids and half-ups.  I never use heat products, so it makes discovering new styles all that much more fun.  At this point my hair is just at midback length so I'm still looking forward to trying new braids, half-ups, updos and other styles that require waist length, hip length, or tailbone length hair.

Hairstyle photos will be updated regularly.