I have medium-length, thick hair that tends to fluff out and make me look like I'm Hagrid, Keeper of The Keys, if I let it dry naturally. I know I'm supposed to be a beauty expert and all that stuff, but when it comes to my hair I literally have the styling skills of a bean. 

There's just a lot of it. And it's way too much work. See, the 'ol' wash and go' is not a thing for us thick-haired girls. Like, ever. It's a TASK if you want to wash and style your hair. It takes all of the products, all of the styling tools and all of the arm strength if you want to look semi-decent. 

It's true - I'm not being dramatic. The last time I went out in public with air-dried hair and zero styling was when I was about 17 years old. I had been to the beach earlier in the day and just rocked up to a party with salty, scrunched hair. Ballsy, I know. Approximately five-minutes in, someone told me I looked like the "Paddle Pop lion". I think I laughed and did a fake roar or something (what a joker!), and then went on to just suppress that one comment deep down, inside, forever. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

*Cue sixteen years of hair straightening*.

Listen to Mamamia's podcast for your face, You Beauty, where we speak with celebrity hairstylist and salon owner Renya Xydis about how to get salon smooth hair at home. Post continues below.

If you've also been complaining about your thick hair since you were a fetus, we have a treat for you. We've asked a bunch of THL (thick-haired ladies. It's a thing, we swear) at Mamamia to tell us some of the most common hair problems they suffer on the regular.

1. Snapping your hair elastic when you try to do one more loop.

"My life is just a constant string of snapped hair ties." - Bridgette.

"Those thin ones don’t stand a chance." - Katie.

2. Having so much hair in your bum after a shower.

Like, HEAPS. It's uncomfortable and feels super weird to take out. But you know - we just deal with it like the champs we are.

3. Not being able to put your hair up for more than two hours.

"Always have Panadol handy for the inevitable headache from wearing your hair up." - Nicolle.

4. Not washing your hair at night because it takes 10 years to dry.

"Don’t wash your hair at night - it NEVER dries. Always wash it in the morning." - Katie.

5. Having to double-down on thick AF hair elastics.

"My product recommendation is really thick hair bands, and two of them." - Isobel.

Thick hair elastics FTW

6. Going through shitloads of shampoo and conditioner.

"Shampoo and conditioner quantities are at least triple the norm. Regular people: apply a cherry size amount of conditioner. Thick hair people: you mean peach size right?" - Millie.

7. Getting excited when some of your hair falls out and then making hair art on the wall of the shower.

Is your hair getting...thinner?! Jealous!

8. Sitting down to brush your hair.

"If you have weak arms like me, brush your hair sitting down so you can use a table or the back of the chair to support your elbow." - Emily.

9. Always looking for a brush that can handle your mane.

You know how the handle of the brush breaks on a frizzy-haired Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries? That's us thick-haired girls - like, every day. 

"Finding the right brush is like the search for the Holy Grail. Most of them only get through the top quarter." - Caitlin.

10. Having a chuckle when the bottle says "use a pea-sized amount".

Pfft. Please. 

"Regular people: Apply a cherry-sized amount of conditioner. Thick hair people: You mean peach-sized, right?" - Millie

11. Having to set aside five hours for your hair appointment.

"Whenever you're at a new hairdresser, they remark, "Oh you have SOOO much hair - I didn't realise it would take this long....", resulting in either you having to pay extra because you didn't tell them prior(?!), or a shitty blow-dry because they're in a rush." - Isobel.

"They get halfway through and realise they don't have enough product to keep going. And then they genuinely look tired after finishing half of your head." - Keiran.

Watch: Here is hairdresser talk, translated. Post continues below. 

12. Only washing your hair once a week because it hurts your arms.

"Because no one has that much upper body strength." - Emily

13. Never being able to do any hairstyle except "up" or "down".

"You can never have any cute up-dos styled because your hair is too heavy to pin up. This is just a normal part of life." - Caitlin.

"Bobby pins do nothing." - Mille.

@thedailyvarnish

14. Hairdressers never wanting to thin your hair out.

"They always argue with you when you ask for MORE feathering to take the weight out. "It's beautiful", they say. "But it's heavy AF", I reply." - Millie.

15. Your hair looks fine on top, but is actually greasy as hell underneath.

Hello, head sweat.

16. The knots.

"You brush your hair then literally turn your head and it's suddenly knotty again." - Millie.

17. Having a shower at someone else's house only to discover the water coming out of the shower head is too weak.

When there's not nearly enough water power to penetrate your hair, so you have to accept that the shampoo that can't be washed out is now just a part of you.

18. Your hair refuses to dry in humidity.

"But seriously. NEVER. My hair was wet for a full two weeks in Mexico last year." - Millie.

19. Hairdressers underestimating how much dye it takes to colour your hair.

"When you're getting any kind of dye done, they have to go back and forth like five times to mix up more colour." - Caitlin.

20. Getting an arm ache from holding the hairdryer.

"Trying to blow dry your own hair takes some serious arm work." - Keiran.

21. Pulling out the giant drain rat, 'cause it's all you babe.

Disgusting, yet incredibly satisfying. 

22. Your hair literally weighs down your neck.

"And you start developing neck problems because your head is too heavy." - Millie. 

23. People regularly comparing your hair to a horse's mane.

HAHA - YEP GOOD ONE, THANKS.

24. Constantly having hair all over the carpet.

Then it gets stuck in your vacuum cleaner and it's just a whole other deal.

Feature image: Getty

Do you have thick hair? What products work for you? Share with us in the comment section below.