A 27-year-old who has never cut her hair has revealed that she manages to keep her locks under control by washing it just once a week.
Mandy Bowen has never cut her hair after being raised in the Pentecostal church that teaches women that their hair has spiritual significance.
“I’ve trained my hair to wash it once every seven or nine days, and it doesn’t get as greasy, so that helps a lot,” the young mother said.
Bowen added that her favorite brand of shampoo and conditioner is Cake, which she typically purchases every three to five weeks.
The Mississippi resident said in her August 18 video that she thinks it’s “so incredibly nice” to have hair on her head for so long.
Despite thinking the necessary use of shampoo “wasn’t that bad,” Bowen stressed how difficult it could be to force yourself to wash your hair.
“I have to give myself the biggest pep talk I’ve ever received because I’m scared of it, and I’m scared to brush my hair afterward,” Bowen admitted.
Bowen added that she usually convinces her husband to brush her hair.
The TikToker described her methods as she creates a bun, which she wears when it’s “hot and humid.”
She also wears ponytails on days with scorching temperatures, but wears her hair down during the fall and winter months.
Bowen has received hundreds of comments from TikTokers she’s called “Karens” in the past about the length of her hair and how they think it should be longer because of her age.
“They always comment and say, ‘You’re 27, your hair should be a lot longer,'” Bowen said.
“I don’t trim my ends, so of course they split and break off eventually. Everyone has terminal length hair.”
Factors such as hormones or diet could explain why some people lose hair more easily than others.
Bowen claimed her hair loss occurred while she was pregnant with each of her three children during her fourth trimester, what she called her “postpartum phase.”
She also believes her decision to curl her hair plays a role in the loss because the heat from the curling iron often burns the ends.
Mandy Bowen, 27, has never cut her hair after being raised in a Pentecostal church that teaches women not to cut their hair.
Bowen said in her August 18 video that she thinks it’s “so incredibly nice” to have hair on her head for so long.
The reason behind Bowen’s hair growth is his practice of Pentecostalism, a Protestant Christian movement that emphasizes the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Some women who practice this religion choose not to cut their hair, as they believe that hair has spiritual significance.
An excerpt from the Corinthians in the Bible says: ‘But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her, because her hair is given to her as a veil.’
Bowen and her family attend church regularly, and she revealed that “several women” at her church do not cut their hair.
More than one commenter on the video suggested Bowen “get a trim” despite her decision not to change her hair.
“I’d be very happy to cut it off. Not all of it, just a few inches for my health,” wrote one TikTok user.
Bowen washes her hair every seven to nine days, and has to buy more shampoo and conditioner every three to four washes.
Another person wrote: “If you cut it, it would be much healthier. A regular trim would do wonders.”
She also said she doesn’t suffer from any neck pain and is lucky “not to have any trauma” from her unchanged hair.
“I grew up Pentecostal and in high school there were girls who had hair down to their knees. I straightened it every day so it was much shorter and everyone thought I was cutting it on the sly,” one commenter wrote.
Bowen responded to several commenters who claimed to practice her religion, calling more than one of them “beautiful.”