I took some pictures tonight - 3 am and sleepy so that will explain my eyes and inability to smile. Hair is a little wavier than usual because I had it tied up and folded over in the tail.
What I saw the frontal picture I thought I looked fairly normal for my standards, but when I saw the side view I felt could sympathize with a lot of the Koreans here who stare at me like a side show.
I have simply let my hair grow since February 2005 from a really bad cut cut that was about 2 inches long all over. It's so long at the back that I really would consider some shaping, if not for living in Korea. I don't trust my ability to communicate here, nor the ability of hairdressers to give me what I have asked for so a trim is really out of the question.
When I go to work at an elementary school my hair is always down as it is in the picture. For some reason feel comfortable with it that way, even though it looks probably less freakish when tied up. I feel like there is a psychological barrier that prevents me from having the balls to wear a ponytail. Korean women before have asked me why I don't I use hair ties. My boss has never complained since I am popular with most of the children.
Well see the photos below, sorry its so huge
Um. Your hair looks very cool in all pics. :)
Your hair looks very good; definitely not "freakish". It's normal for the back to appear slightly longer than the front, because the hairline there is lower. Long hair looks great on you, so stop worrying!
The hair looks good with nice thickness, shine and of course, color.
As your hair grows out it will begin to lose any uneven ends. I don't know
exactly how this happens but it does.
When I started to grow out my hair I looked just awful and I could see people staring at me and not in a complimentary way.
But once your hair passes a certain stage it will smooth out and look great.
I cannot understand WHY you do not care for tails?! They are so comfortable, keep your hair out of your face and prevent tangling, knots, etc.
Oh well...
it looks nice
Looks excellent in all three photos; I see nothing "freakish" about it. Don't stress, man!
dino
All the pics look great to me too! I have heard others here say they had apprehension about wearing their hair in a tail before too so you certainly aren't the only one.
I remember someone suggesting you wear a tail when you just go out in public after work and take a walk somewhere where you don't expect to meet anybody in particular just to get used to it. I guess like de-sensitizing someone whos afraid of snakes or something lol.
I have yet to be tested on the ponytail issue myself to see how I handle it :) I hope I will be good at following the above advice when its my turn.
Good luck if you decide you want to go for the tail look!
I feel the exact same way about my hair too - I think it looks normal from the front, and like a freakshow from the side :) But I think it's mostly because of my face, I always thought I had a stern look, but my mandible looks like it's shrunk from the side, hehe.
I think your hair is something to envy, it has a nice colour, texture, and shine, and it's good that they aren't making you cut it! Funny thing though, I used to be afraid of men with long hair when I was way younger, had a teacher with long hair that I was always afraid to talk to. It's weird how things change over time.
As for that ponytail thing, I also had that same fear, I guess it's more common than I thought too. When I went on a trip to Iceland, my hair got very very very badly damaged in the Blue Lagoon, and being forced to wear it in a ponytail managed to ease me into using it regularly.
A couple years ago I taught English in Nepal for a couple months, and I almost always wore my hair loose. It was probably six inches longer that yours is now. The women there always asked why I didn't tie it back, and some actually offered me a rubber band and insisted that I wear it back. It must be an Asian thing.
BTW - I always had a hang-up with wearing a ponytail too, and still do in some situations. Don't know why.
Thanks for the kind words. I truly was startled when I saw the pics from the side view - I had no idea.