A 27-year-old who has never cut her hair has revealed that she tames her mane by washing it only once a week.
Mandy Bowen has never trimmed her locks, even though she grew up in the Pentecostal church, where women are taught that their hair has spiritual significance.
“I’ve trained my hair to wash it every seven to nine days and it doesn’t get really greasy – so that helps a lot,” said the young mother.
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 damn cool” to have such long hair on her head.
Although she thought the necessary use of shampoo was “not that bad,” Bowen emphasized how difficult it can be to force herself to wash her hair.
“I have to give myself the greatest motivational speech of all time because I’m scared of it – and I’m scared of brushing it off afterwards,” Bowen admitted.
Bowen added that she usually convinces her husband to brush her hair instead.
The TikToker described her methods for tying a bun, which she wears when it’s “hot and humid.”
She also wears ponytails on days when the temperature is scorching, but in the fall and winter she wears her hair down.
Bowen has received hundreds of comments from TikTokers she previously called “Karens” about her hair length and how they think it should be longer due to her age.
“They always comment and say, ‘You’re 27, your hair should be much longer,'” Bowen explained.
“I don’t trim the ends of my hair, so they naturally split and eventually break. Everyone has hair ends.”
Factors such as hormones or diet could explain why some people lose their hair more easily than others.
Bowen claimed that her hair loss occurred during the fourth trimester of each pregnancy with her three children, which she called her “postpartum period.”
She also believes that her decision to curl her hair plays a role in her hair loss, as the heat from the curling iron often burns the ends.
Mandy Bowen, 27, has never cut her hair after growing up in the Pentecostal church that teaches women not to cut their locks
Bowen said in her August 18 video that she thinks it’s “so damn cool” to have her hair so long on her head
The reason for Bowen’s hair growth is her affiliation with the Pentecostal movement – a Protestant Christian movement that emphasizes baptism with the Holy Spirit.
Some women who belong to this religion do not cut their hair because they believe that hair has spiritual significance.
An excerpt from the Bible’s letter to the Corinthians states: “But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory for her, for the hair is given to her as a covering.”
Bowen and her family attend church regularly and she admitted that “several ladies” in her church do not cut their hair.
Several video commenters suggested that Bowen “cut her ends,” even though she chose not to change her hairstyle.
“It would be so satisfying for me to cut it off. Not all of it, just a good 4-6 inch trim for health,” wrote one TikTok user.
Bowen washes her hair every seven to nine days and has to buy more shampoo and conditioner after three or four washes.
Another person wrote: “If you trimmed it, it would be much healthier. Regular trimming would do wonders.”
She also claimed that she does not have any neck pain and that she is fortunate to have “no trauma” associated with having unchanged hair.
“I grew up in the Pentecostal church and in high school there were girls whose hair was down to their knees. I straightened mine every day so it was much shorter and everyone thought I was secretly cutting my hair,” wrote one commenter.
Bowen responded to several commenters who claimed to practice their religion, calling more than one of them “beautiful.”
