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Hi all! I used to lurk around here months ago, and stopped coming for some odd reason. I have a job interview this Saturday, however, and my brother suggested that I trim my hair. Of course, I don't want to trim my hair, and I know there are plenty other alternatives in terms of styling it so it appears neat.
I was actually thinking of something along the lines of a bun, but not something obviously girly. (Nothing against it, of course. Just wouldn't look right on me. Last thing I need is for them to laugh at me for a first impression.) Of course, I have absolutely no idea how to make one, so that's why I'm back here. :)
Just for convenience's sake, since I don't know if length matters, my hair is about 3/4 down my back.
Just the other day I saw a guy with maybe shoulder length hair who had it tied up in a bun. It looked pretty good actually, definately worth trying. :)
Find other ways than trimming.
I just had my hair trimmed because my mother insisted on it just to trim away the split ends (although she trimmed up to a good five damn inches off, which positively ANGERED the hell out of me).
I can tell you that it's a SICKENING feeling, as if someone just cut off your finger. (And, this also proves that I have long hair because I am a long hair, not because it's a hairstyle.) People who suggest trims simply are unable to comprehend this feeling, so you may just have to ignore it.
So, take my advice, if you really care about your hair, DON'T TRIM IT unless you absolutely have to (other than cutting away split ends, and now I find that a highly dubious excuse for someone to simply cut your hair away surreptitiously).
And, I know that I will never allow scissors to my hair EVER again; the sickening feeling is a way to learn the lesson the hard way. - Reinhart
I'd suggest just a ponytail. It really does neaten things up and as a bonus, it is one of the more widely accepted long hair styles (as compared to buns and loose hair and using clips and pins and such). I recently had to make my hair neat for a semi-formal event and my ponytail worked well (with two hair ties at the base of the ponytail instead of one....it never moved or loosened).
Of course, after you land the job and get an impression of the work environment, you can try other ways of making hair neat.
I've never been good at making buns, so when I have meetings with conservative clients I do a pseudo-bun, where I don't pull my ponytail all the way through the second time I loop the hairtie. Instead, I just it halfway through and letting it hang there like a semi-bun with loose hair hanging out the bottom. I've actually received several comments on it.
I would say a ponytail can look really neat and very cool. Combined with a black short its 'da bomb'!!
I would tend to stick with what I desired and just be myself. It is impossible to please the world anyway.
What I've done is, like others have suggested, wear your hair in a ponytail. But, wear really nice clothes. Of course, this depends what sort of a job you're applying for. If it's an office job, or any job really, dress pants with a super nice (I prefer solid colors) long sleeve dress shirt with a solid color tie. One of my favorites is a tie the color of the shirt. Subtle and understated, yet classy and different than what others wear. Trim your beard/mustache (if applicable), etc. Doesn't matter if it's a bit of overkill. It helps "make up" for the long hair, so to speak. It may not be how others dress there, but when you get hired, and get a feel for the work environment, you can dress down.
I've gotten nice jobs (contracts and employment) with long hair, earrings, and a goatee. Just keeping it neat and subtle is the way to go, I say ;)
Good luck!
I'd agree with all of that, except I wonder what one's to do about the beard if one has a LONG one. Then the issues of "can't grow it back quickly, so can't cut it" are the same as the issues surrounding long hair. Also, there is no way to tie back a long beard, and having one makes tying back your mane mostly pointless. You are still going to look very longhaired.
Bill
Hi Bill,
When I used to go to Billy Club events up in No. Calif., there were at least 3 guys with long beards, --- and all of them restrained their long beards by either braiding or using one or more hair-ties. I thought it looked pretty cool, actually!
Now, as far as beards in the middle of their "awkward stage"... well, I guess that's a different matter!
- Ken
I was thinking more of guys with shorter beards, like mine. Easy to trim and fast to grow back. But you're right Bill, with a beard the length of yours, a small trim would probably go unnoticed. A significant trim would probably take off more that you want. Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you to grow your beard to the length it's at now? I've had a beard or goatee for the last 15 years, but never more than a month without trimming it.
My beard grows at the same rate that is widely discussed as the rate for scalp hair: 1/2 an inch a month. What you see above is one year's worth of growth. It's not gonna just "grow right back" if it were cut off. It would take a whole year.
Bill
My beard seems to grow a lot faster than the hair on my scalp. I never measured the growth rate, but I know that when it's gone a month without a trim, it's definitely grown faster than the hair on my scalp. Looks like I've got fast growing facial hair and slow growing scalp hair! ;)
Obviously in your case, it would take a while (a year) for your beard to grow back, but from what I've observed, most guys who have beards, at least around here, have shorter beards that would probably grow back in 2 to 4 weeks - that's what I had in mind earlier on. Even though my beard is short, I've refused to shave it off since I was 19. I don't want to be without it even for a week or two! ;)
This is a joshua tree. That other picture was of a field full of cholla cactus. Really trippy stuff at Joshua Tree National Park.
Since no-one else told you how to make a bun, here goes. Twist your hair along it's length first, and then twist the twisted hair round and round itself and tuck the end in. That's the simplest type. More complicated ones are possible, but may come off as feminine, and yes I don't know how to do complicated ones anyway!
I don't think a simple bun looks girly, but most of the things you can use to fasten it with do! (At least IMHO) That's mainly why I haven't ventured out in public with one. I just can't see myself with hairpins, for example. It is possible to hold a bun in with just a ponytail band (my wife can), but I haven't figured out how you do that without it flopping and being really not secure. Hairsticks that you poke through your hair are an option if you want to look oriental.
A pseudo-bun, made by pulling a ponytail only part way through, is popular for the girls, and even a few guys, but I think your hair would probably be too long to do that! I'm pretty sure mine is.
I think the bottom line is that it's probably not a good idea risking your hair falling down in the middle of a job interview because you don't have enough practice at doing buns for it to stay in place, whatever you might think of the aesthetics, girlyness, etc.