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I think this might be the beginning of the "Second Awkward Stage" ! :-(
It's getting just that bit too long for the pony tail at important business meetings, especially if it's the dreaded business suit ones and/ or worse still women are going to be in the chair etc....!!
All I can think of is learn how to braid and fold it upwards so it's half the length again or tuck it inside the shirt and desperately try not to scratch. It would be really hysterical if it wasn't me !! ;)
Anyone else had this problem or have sensible suggestions !!
Just try doing a simple braid (not french or anything showy) and leave it out in back. They will be looking at your face most of the time and if not then big deal, you have made your hair look neat and not distracting to the business at hand. I have found that even with my extreme length that it doesn't cause any of the reaction that I think it will in a business situation. What is more important is your confident attitude about what you are doing, don't worry about your hair...by now they have all seen men with long hair somewhere and for sure in the movies.
Thanks :-) I was half wondering the same too.....job at hand, confidence and stuff. But it does leave me a bit nervous, braids and so on, first time ever. Just thinking about it ! I mean I want to like mad - you know from the absolute sheer fun of it all !! Can't wait ! :-) What do you do at such meetings, leave it loose or braided depending on whether it’s important or not ?
Anyway I agree but are there any sites showing pics of how to do a simple braid for first timers ? Real fumblethingered types that is ? Also apologies but what's the difference between them as I haven't a clue !
But there's another side to it all. It's just so strange the enormous amount of confidence I get from knowing it's there, always just behind me....a thousand times more so than when it was short. I’ve never got it from anything else ever either ! I mean why should or how can long hair make anyone feel more confident in the first place ? It’s weird as it’s only hair after all ?
Hell but I do love talking about this subject more than anything especially as I’ve never been able to talk about it at all before ! That is if it doesn't bore you ? I mean did it make you feel more confident compared to when it was short ? Do you know why ? Perhaps it's the old security blanket thing ? Oops I could go on and on....sorry !
Thanks a real lot anyway :-)
Like I said, the main reason to put it back is due to the distraction that it may cause others (not used to it) or yourself (fussing with it). If I am meeting with people who know me (and my hair) then I often won't bother since I'd rather wear it down all the time. If I don't know them then a braid works just fine (minimalizes it and makes it look neat).
There are sites for braiding which can be helpful but I only can do the simple 3 strand braid myself. I didn't even know how to do that until 1994 when I had to start doing it for a job. The first morning I figured it out because I had to. Here is what you do:
Pictures don't always help because if you are doing it yourself then you will have to do it pretty much blind behind your back. You seperate your hair into 3 bunches, one on the left one on the right and one in the middle back. Try to seperate the hairs of each region into the nearest bunch. Comb each of the 3 bunches out so there are no tangles. If you have a mirror then look into it and grab the left bunch with your left hand and the right bunch with your right hand. Now take the right bunch and move it over and across the middle (hanging) bunch without letting go. Then move the left bunch over both the others to the right. that is one crossover. Now keeping the bunches apart switch hands so that the left hand is on what is now the left bunch and the right hand is on what is the right bunch. Repeat until you can't cross them over anymore and hold the ends with one hand while you slip a hair tie on. That's it, just try, it doesn't have to be beautiful.
The reason you feel the confidence is because you have grown your hair at your own whim. Keeping you hair short because you think that is what is expected of you doesn't do anything for the person who wants something else. It's not so much about the hair as the idea that you are making your own decisions for your own reasons.
Gee it's real fumblethingerin' absorbing stuff ain't it except my arms are killing me ! Mirrors fixed to walls chairs doors but I'm determined to do it......that is if there's any hair left !! Catch up on your other replies just asap !
...right over left left under....no left over.......under over..through......??
I think I follow. It’s knowing I think that anything, not just that ‘person’ (who thankfully I’m now beginning to recognise and listen to) is even there in the very first place. Squashed vague indistinct feelings that you ‘like it’ is all it’s ever been most of my life so encouraging something without even knowing it exists or what it is etc. can take years if at all ? And I’m sure I’m not the only one either ? Do you think women automatically feel or know this “person within” in the same way you describe ? I feel sure they must in which case for a lot of guys to go through life never knowing is very sad. Never discovering what I think must be true self-expression ? I’m still finding my way on all this but fortunately it gets a bit stronger evry day....like finding a signpost in a dense fog. Square holes becoming round ones....
Still unclear this but yes and it’s this that’s becoming slightly stronger daily though I definitely wouldn’t have known, recognised or understood any of it unless you’d pointed it out. As I said knowing your own reasons, assuming presumably you’d ever been given enough ‘mental space’ as a kid to find out or that they were even remotely connected with long hair, for a lot of potential male longhairs is still almost impossible I think. Perhaps having plenty of privacy and freedom of thought and expression as a boy is what it’s all about ? Same with girls ? It’s stating the obvious again I know but making your own decisions can never be made if little or nothing has been allowed to grow in the first place. Makes you real glad the ’Net’s arrived to at least kick start the process for some anyway.
All poorly expressed I know.
Have you given any thought to trying a Hair Glove? Check out their website at "hairglove.com". They have several styles, lengths and patterns. I like the look of the black leather hair glove with a dark suit. You might check your local motorcycle shops to see if they carry them. I know the local Harley shop here does.
Hmmmm....nice idea and in black in case I can't get the hang of a braid quickly enough. I think I've seen them before somewhere so next time I'm passing a bike place then....:-)
You tried them ?
Thanks
There have only been a few times that I've worn one. The first was when I was a pall bearer at a funeral. I thought it looked great with with a dark gray suit. That was also the first time I had used anything other than an elastic band. Since then, I had worn it at a couple weddings and other formal family gatherings. I then discovered ponytail cuffs and purchased a sterling silver one off eBay. I like that look also.
Due to pressure from my wife, I had some length (a lot actually) taken off about a year ago. Haven't been able to tie it back since. I miss the length and am growing it back again and hopefully won't give in again. Right now my hair is about shoulder length on the sides and a little longer in back. Looking forward to some real length again. Takes time though.
Hmmm, I'll have to try one myself sometime...
Not even if you pulled it up a little and put it in a tail? Last summer, my hair was pretty much identical to yours, except that the front was more cheekbone length, and I wore a tail. Yes, it was one that started at the middle of the back of the head, but it was a tail. One that actually came a little over the knot at the bottom of the neck, where it meets the back. Try it. I bet you can still put it in a tail. Might not be what you're used to with it being at the nape of the neck, but you might like the fact that you can feel the hair in the tail swing back and forth when you move your head. Oh, btw, DO NOT BACK DOWN if she asks you to cut it again.
-J