new thread
Hey guys!
I work in an executive setting, and have for about a year and a half.
That means a three piece suit or some equivalent every day.
The cool thing is that I wear my hair down and never have gotten any grief over it, which I'm grateful for, especially in this environment. I occasionally get a dirty look from one of the older, gray haired execs, who is much more conservative, but that's not the kind of people in my division.
Anyway, in going back and answering the other part of Q2, I remembered something that's helped me.
I WAS getting nervous about my hair's appearance, 'cause I had that less than attractive flip going on through out the growing stages, which drove me crazy, and really looked bad with the exec look.
So Franco, my hairdresser, when I told him the prob, fixed it.
When he trims my ends, about every three months or more, he BLUNT CUTS the ends.
Then, he blows the hair curling it under. No more flip, and my hair looks great, very styled that fits in with the slick look I need for the board room.
So what about at home? At first, I was having a hard time copying the look, and I'd end up with the flip again, which really bothered me, but it was due to the way I was blowing it.
I've finally got it figured out, where the ends always curl under naturally, so I don't get that flip.
With my head tilted over to one side, (actually, I bend from the hip),
I brush all the hair in back towards the floor, so it's hanging straight down.
Then I take my hair blower and blow into the hair from the side, not the front or back.
If it's laying like this:
HEAD \\\\\\\\\ and the \ is the hair hanging down, then I blow to
the right, always blowing from the side instead of from the front of back. Same for the opposite side:
//////// HEAD Blow to the left.
What I've found this does with a blunt cut is that it helps the hair naturally turn under, instead of flipping out. When I'd blow from the front or back I'd still get that yucky flip. By the way, I don't use a hairbrush, just my fingers, and not very much at all during this part.
I usually switch back and forth once after the initial drying, and then once the hair is pretty much drier, then I straighten my head and blow it as regular, then use my cold-air setting all over to cool off the hair.
It works, and at least in this corporate setting, it looks good enough to keep me out of hot water.
Tigg
In case you're thinking I might be a younger kid who can get away with this look, I'm actually 34, and one of the older gentlemen in this division.
I suspect being older actually helps. I have found harassment to taper off with age, and once the gray hair appeared, it really dropped off. Harassing people about their hair (actually their appearance in general) seems to be for many harassers a "father to son" role playing game, and older guys in the "son" role don't fit the fantasy.
There also seems to be an inborn drive to respect gray haired people. An industrial teacher friend of mine dyed his gray beard black and found his credibility plummetted. He suddenly found himself having to justify explanations that people just "bought" before. When he went back to his natural gray, people gave him more credence again. Perhaps this reveals a trait going back to prehistoric times, when the elders recalled stuff the youngsters ought to heed for survival.
Of course older folk suffer discrimination nowadays for being perceived as out-of-date, not energetic, or overly priced, but at least their preoccupation with your body does seem to decline. :-)
Thirty four may not seem "old", Tigg, but as you said, you are one of the older guys there, so some this may be playing in your favor!
As to the gray hair, when it comes, my feeling is don't even think of dyeing it out! The gray strands add a whole new dimension to your hair in added colors. The new colors make your hair's unique waves and curls appear far more visible, giving your locks a gorgeousness far beyond what they ever had before!
Thanks for a splendid response and some wonderful insights!
First let me tell you that I wouldn' dream of dying out the gray! (It still hasn't shown up, and for what it's worth, my mother's 57 and doesn't have a grey hair on her head! Pity!).
I look forward to my grey hair, and actually wouldn't mind if it went snow white. (It might with a little help from Clairol, once the gray comes in. We'll see!).
I look at growing older as a privilege, and have alot of respect for elders, especially since they are revered in my religion. They have a lot of wisdom to share, and grey hair is a wonderful testament not only to living life, but to making the transition from boy to man to elder.
Hope you can understand/relate, but also realize you have an ally in this matter!
((((((((((((Bill)))))))))))
(cyberhug)
Tigg
Just curious, how long is your hair?
Jim
In the front, it comes down to just under my chin, in the back
it just grazes the tops of my shoulder blades.
About a little over a year now, I had the standard "short on the sides, back, and a little longer on the top" cut that you see as a standard look on most executives, and stopped getting it cut.
In the last year and couple of months, the only thing I've had done is an ends trim every 3-5 months, (taking off minimal amounts), and at one point a little evening up, but not much even with that.
It's looking really good because with the difference in lengths, blown back, it's layered somewhat. When I finally hit the length I want, I'll start having the back cut to one certain length, then let the rest of it catch up untill it's all one length.
The "flip" I talked about really became noticeable as the back and sides got longer and closer to my shoulders, and a little beyond, and it drove me crazy. It would most often come through in those "in-between stages" of growing that we all know and hate.
What about you?
Wonder if anyone would be interested in a survey of hair lengths of posters?
Tigg
This isn't that long compared to some of you out there, and if I had hair down to my b**t, yeah, I could see having a prob or getting hassled at work, but since I'm going about another year, (another 6 inches or so in back before I start eveneing the rest down to that), it'll be interesting to see what happens.
I do keep it really clean, well conditioned, and I've been told by
several female co-workers that my hair is really "pretty".
The standing joke in our division amongst the women and I is that soon
after I began working in this department, they told me "We don't tolerate men who have prettier hair than the women!". We still laugh about that, and occasionally they remind me as my hair gets longer.
Tigg
Mine is not quite to my shoulders. Every time it gets to a certain length, I end up cutting it.
I too have women at work tell me how pretty my hair is. In fact, they say it looks too good for me to grow it long. My wife tells me that there are women who would "die" to have hair like mine.
I'd like to keep growing it, since I've never had it long. Although my wife does not like long hair on men, she still supports me in wearing my hair how I want it.
I also get nervous about it at work.
I don't know what I'll do at my next trim.