new thread
just want some opinions out there..... Do men with receding hairlines and/or graying hair look silly with long hair? I'm 38 and have been growing my hair for 8 months now and I have a decent receding hairline and some gray hair. Is it time to just get a buzz cut and accept it or should I keep growing my hair longer? I know that I will ultimately decide but I just wanted some of your opinions out there!
My hair started thinning early, and my growing of long hair started late.
Now, at 56, I have only the edges and back left. It is almost all gray, but when I dry it with straightening balm, my ponytail reaches mid-back.
Do I look silly? Maybe. But as many here have said, if you are a longhair by nature, you will always want it long. For me it isn't a fashion statement, it is part of my body.
Ok, this is just my opinion. I think long hair and gray hair are compatible. I think long hair and "baldness" are incompatible. Slightly receding hair, again, IMHO, shouldn't look too bad long, but when it gets to a certain point, I'd recommend the buzz cut.
Charlie
Hang in there! I've seen very distinguished looking gray ponytails on men with pattern baldness. Using a dressy ponytailer really helps here!
To Anyone:
We should promote the rights of boys and men, and girls and women, to wear their hair in the style that they prefer.
However, we should not force them into growing long hair if they don't want to.
Last April, I was walking by a high school where three girls were hanging out. At the same time, a man in his twenties, who had a buzz cut, was walking in the opposite direction on the opposite side of the street. The girls said nothing to me, but yelled at the man, "Hey dude, grow some hair" and "You look like by grandfather."
In promoting the worthwhile goal of advocating universal long hair acceptance, we should not become "Long Hair Nazis" and push our personal hair-style tastes upon others.
WE SHOULD HONOR THE INDIVIDUAL AND HIS OR HER VIEWPOINT, RATHER THAN MAKING MEN AND WOMEN FIT ONTO SOME TRIBAL VIEW OF WHAT WE SHOULD BE. We already have an over regulated society right now. (Ask any nudist on how many places they are permitted to express themselves as nudists.) If a man wants to wear long hair, that should be their right, and be free from the tyranny of self-appointed bigots who demand everyone be pigeonholed into a fantasy version of a 1950's middle-class American lifestyle.
For example, I know of at least one conservative Christian church where boys and men must wear their hair short, regardless of what the individual wants; while girls and women must wear their hair long, regardless of what the individual wants. I can only imagine what kind of living hell a long-haired boy or a short haired girl must endure in these homes.
In short, long live long hairs! But, don't step on short hairs.
Multi HMX-12
p.s. Multi HMX-12 is the name of a robot maid in the excellent Anime, TO HEART.
bingo!!
i couldn't have said it better myself!
A well founded comment. I think it is correct to encourage long haired humen to keep their hair long or people who want to let it grow, following the own preferences, but one should avoid to make the short haired bad and to persuade someone to get long hair, if it doesn't comes from him/her. But I also can not be calm if I see the consequences of social pressure or hear from shows like Oprah or Maurich somewhat, don't know the devil's name exactly. There is a lot of work necessary until tolerance respective different possibilities to express life can be reached.
I have shoulder length hair, and am way bald on top,,,,,only I have a hairpiece and everybody tells me how nice my hair is,,,no one knows!!! let me know if you want more info,,,no need to be bald in this day and age
Tommy:
I'm like you -- 43 with receding, thinning hair and a growing "solar panel" in the back. I've long thought about letting my hair grow, but I definitely missed my chance (I had such nice hair when I was younger!). I'm fairly certain that at this late date, I'd end up looking silly or desparate or both. And I know the cool longhaired guys would never let me in their club -- I'd just be an older guy with receding/thinning hair, except longer. How is this an improvement over the status quo? Yeah, I probably worry too much about appearances, but judging from the posts here, so does just about everyone else.
So I keep my hair just this side of buzzed. For what it's worth, going from a conventional haircut to something this short was a real revelation -- I FINALLY stopped thinking about my hair! What a huge relief! And for the first time in my life I get compliments after every haircut. Go figure. And the cat got a new hairbrush. I really can't complain.
I do wonder who the "cool" longhaired guys you speak of are. The young ones perhaps? Do you think these younger longhairs will like you more if you are buzzed? Just curious, because I'm an older longhair who thinks longhairs my age are cool, whether they've thinned and receded a bit, or not. :-)
It seems to me that a true longhair doesn't necessarily wish to wear it long just to join the "cool long-haired guys club." If you feel you are a longhair, grow it out. See how it looks, see how it feels. Decide for yourself, not someone else.
Absolutely not! I have several friends like you, and they all look great!
People who don't like long hair will say anything that they think will get a longhair to cut it, and this line about "looking silly" is a common one used to get under the skin of a man with receding, thinning, or graying hair.
Consider this....
Some people with your situation are told, "You look like an old hippie," to make them feel bad. Well, guess what. I don't have male pattern baldness and they tell me too, that I look like an old hippie. I finally realized the appropriate answer was, "Well, at least I don't look like an old yuppie!" Indeed, it is between those two that I must make my choice. Selecting out the "old" part is not an option. :-)
Then and there, I realized it was the "old" part that they were aiming the insult at. Dude, it is crude to disparage someone about growing old....
(Or signs of it, such as graying, thinning, or receding hair.)
Long hair is natural on men, and so is receding hair on older men. This natural combination does not look silly. If your first reaction is that it is, consider that maybe you've just heard the slur too many times through the years. The bottom line is, of course, do you think it is silly? Somehow, since you grew it out, I suspect that is not likely the case.
Think about how, deep down, you feel about it (and wait two weeks if you decide to cut, to be sure). It's your life. Be yourself.
Bill
I hope your decision will be based on what YOU want, not what others think. Well-groomed long hair can look great on a guy at any age, a lot depends on the confident attitude (or lack thereof) of the guy wearing it.