Hi guys!
New member here. My name's Miguel Angel, 26, from Mexico City, and I'm a newbie to having long hair. I had never ever had my hair grow longer than 4 cm, or even thought about it, until (yes, you guessed) my girlfriend asked me to grow it. It literally took her years to talk me into it. Oh, what one will do for love... 8)
Well, my hair has grown surprisingly fast. I never thought it would reach 5cm below shoulder lenght in less than a year. Below you can see pics taken by my girlfriend, from november of last year, june this year and finally august. I must admit it has taken me almost as long to even begin to feel comfortable with it, as I was always the kind of guy who could simply put a drop of gel on his palm and in less than ten seconds be done with his hair for the day; taking proper care of my wavy hair obviously takes a lot more effort. I also must admit I'm quite a bit fuzzy about physical discomfort, and I especially dislike how my hair gets in the way when I'm driving, whether it is loose or held in a ponytail. This has probably got a lot to do with the fact that I have a lot of very thick hair: when dry, my ponytail measures about 4.5cm in diameter, and I can barely hold it with my thumb and index. This obviously makes it very rigid, so it sticks out perpendicular to my scalp about 2 inches, after which it starts to drop.
Fortunately, one day when I was particularly annoyed with my hair and pondering whether to chop it off or not, I remembered all those Kurosawa movies where the heroes hold their long hair in high tails. I subsequently learned that the style is called a chonmage, and that there are many variants, including my two favorites: making the ponytail fold back onto the top of the head -which keeps completely out of the way of headrests, thank goodness- or tying it with a wide ribbon and just letting it hang out every which way, palmtree-like (true Edo gentlemen shaved the top of their heads, which I obviously won't do). I actually DO use ribbons to tie it up, and I've found that the ones they put on IDs at trade shows and scientific meetings to be ideal for that purpose. Besides, since they're quite wide, they're gentle on hair.
So now, I can drive comfortably! Finally, long hair has started to grow on me (if you'll pardon the pun). Some people have complimented my "Samurai look", though I do get many stares from babies and old ladies, who seem not to know what to make of it =D. It is actually quite a unique, fun style which really stands out, though that is an unintended consequence of my quest for comfort. My hair seems to be ideally suited to it because, although it does curl slightly after drying, it doesn't need any coaxing to make it lay flat against my head, just a bit of mousse after tying it to keep strays down. Anyone else wears a similar do?
(Excuse me for such a long post, but I've always been like that when writing)
What amazingly quick growth, Ordoman.
Do you have any pics of your described high tails? I'd be interested in seeing them.
Great pics and welcom to the board.
Shawn 'Mr.Crowl' Crowell
I'll ask Sandy to take some this weekend and post them. Thanks for the welcome 8) Courteous, civilised forums are very hard to find these days, online or offline.
Hola Miguel and welcome aboard. I myself am new around here. Your hair looks great. You are very fortunate to have a girlfriend that digs long hair. Keep up whatever it is that youre doing and good luck to you!!
"christopher"
Bienvenido, Miguel,
that's a great story and it was not too long! You are blessed with a great girlfriend - she seemed to help you discover that you are blessed with great hair growth! It does look phantastic, and I hope we'll see it grow even longer within the next years...
Are there more women in Mexico who encourage their men to grow their hair long, like your girlfriend did? Maybe I should plan a trip there ;-)
All the best!
Hans-Uwe
Hello! I think your hair looks wonderful, I love dark hair. I am sure your girlfriend is happy!