new thread
About two years ago i got an ex partner of mine to grow his hair longer as he'd always had a very short, army boy style at the barbers.It turned out he'd always wanted to have long hair but never had the confidence to grow it. We both worked in an office and so doing anything difference was always gossip for everyone. I suggested he start growing it out, partly as a way of being himself (being different) and to improve his appearance. By this time he had (and still does) a managerial position in an office and once it started getting past his collar, he started getting comments from people at work, one man shouted out "get a hair cut!" and that was someone who he never even spoke to! Then his dad made a similar remark. I later had a bright idea to give him a perm using a home kit. It came out well but he got a lot of remarks at work, mostly from other blokes and these people had hardly any hair of their own. He got compared to David Essex! Well i told him that can't be too bad! It went on for months, and to our surprise, the news of his perm and longer hair went right up the country to the other branches and the office workers would say on the phone, "what's this iv'e heard about your hair". He got comments at the christmas party and it was pretty annoying. Recently he came back from the local shop and said "some teenage boy shouted out hahhaha, Kevin Keegan". Then a couple of weeks later he was with me at the fruit/veg shop and the man shouted out "what can i get for you ladies". When he turned round the poor man's face dropped. He apologised and said 'i looked at the hair'. We can laugh at those things as it's like a TV comedy sketch (woman turns around and it's a man). The crap he got from work was really irritating especially when most of the men making the remarks had hardly any hair. The MD said 'ahh theyre just jealous'. Once youv'e been through that sort of thing you harden up. I have always had long hair myself and i do like the long hair on men. It does attract people. The long hair for me is a symbol of 'i will do what i want, i will be what i choose. All i see around me where i live is shaved heads and i get the feeling that more and more young men are losing their hair, but some could have wonderful hair if they stopped shaving it off. I will say to any boy or man wanting to grow your hair, do it and ignore any silly remarks you get. But do think about NOT perming your hair as it does after a while look very dry. I still perm his hair for him because he wants it but i have to trim the dry ends off. I did laugh about the Kevin Keegan comparison. I told him that KK was a sex symbol in the 70s so it's a compliment. My ex-partner's father even told me to get a hair cut! When people make nasty comments about you, it is often that they secretly admire you and would like to be like you but might not have the confidence to do it. I would recommend a small trim to get rid of any split ends.
I'd say your handle says it all as it is your hair and it is your life so all those naysayers should just put a sock in it!LOL.I don't understand why people say things like that to an up and coming longhair where ordinarily they would say nothing as long as they look like every other shaved head out there.Well as long as he didn't cave in to those comments then that's the good thing.Thanks for posting that story about your ex so other newbie longhairs can be on guard for things like that.However he won't be the first and certainly not the last to be subjected to those comments.
Mark
I am going through the same things that he is at the moment. Being 13 years old & living in an area of England drowning in chavs, nobody likes my hair. Not a day goes by at school where somebody doesn't make fun of it, question it, or tell me to get a haircut. Even my friends don't seem to like it. The worst part is that two fellow long-haired kids in my school are always telling me to cut it. Both of their hair is maybe an inch above the shoulders, and all razor cut with tons of layers, highlighted, straightened; & with their fringe (bangs) swept across their face, obscuring their vision. And if your hair isn't short, or like theirs, they consider it gay. They say any hair longer than the shoulders is gay. And any hair with ringlets, like mine, is gay. Sometimes people I don't even know tell me to get a haircut in the school corridor. And my Dad & sister are always making fun of it too. One time, a boy in Biology class tried to put a big piece of tape in it, but luckily I turned around by chance just before he did it.
I usually just ignore the insults, because I'm not very good with snappy comebacks, & to be honest; I don't really care what people think of it. I like the way it looks in the mirror, and I think it looks much better than 9 months ago when it was short and spiky, & I'm not gonna take that away from myself just because some little chav thinks it looks gay.
Hi George,
Sorry to hear how badly you friends and schoolmates are treating you as that is really unfair to criticize just because you want longer hair.You described a couple guys at school who seem to have some wild haircut and they have the nerve to say that if your hair is a certain way its gay.I've heard that gay guys like short, cropped hair.I wonder where they get their information.Actually it would be cool if more gay guys wore longhair!Buy hey,I feel for you and the best thing to do is have a good followup line as some have been posted here recently just for those occasions.Anyway you are right to say when you look in the mirror you like what you see.THAT'S WHAT COUNTS!BTW could you please tell me what a chav is???Just curious.Cheers my friend...
Mark
Thanks for the support Mark. A Chav is a subculture in the UK. Chavs will tend to wear a load of fake jewelery, baseball caps, use a lot of slang words when they talk, & will smoke and drink a lot. They like only rap music and really short hair, and they will make fun of anyone that is different to them.
Hi George,
Thanks for that explanation as I think we have similar types here in the US but are called something different.You know the dreaded baggy pants,sideways baseball cap,love of rap crap,and also brutalize the English language.I don't remember those types when I went to school!LOL.Anyway please don't cave my friend and stick with your longhair journey.You gotta do it for yourself and the heck with what anyone else thinks!If you don't mind a pic of your hair would be great to see.Have a great weekend and do post again:)Cheers
Mark
Thanks! I'm at 9 months of growth now, this pic was taken about a month and a half ago, so it looks pretty much the same now.
The bottom half of my hair sort of curls up a bit, not really ringlets, just curls, but people at school think they're ringlets. My goal length is mid-back, but that's gonna take a long time from where I am at the moment.
Thanks George for posting your awesome hair pic.Your hair looks
fantastic even at this early stage of your journey.Just imagine what
you will look like when you achieve your goal length.I myself will look
forward to that update.Please do keep us updated on your progress
and if you have any questions just ask my friend:)Cheers buddy.
Mark
Thanks, I probably will post another pic in a few months.
Cool!!I take great pleasure when encouraging future longhairs to fulfill their dreams:)You have made a great start my friend and when you get really long hair all your short haired friends will be so jealous.He He He Cheers
Mark
Hey man, glad you posted here
Definitely don't listen to what those pricks are saying to you, it seems like school kids ALWAYS have to have someone to target or single out, and usually its the person or people that go against the norm. But hey, that's what makes you special, so just ignore them and do what YOU want to do.
Here's a list of hair retorts I posted a while back. It now includes some excellent responses from other users.
"Get a haircut"
"What is that, a haircut?"
"Get a life."
"Get a face lift."
"Get a therapist."
"What are you, hair intolerant?"
"I had a dream about cutting it. I woke up and puked."
"You mean like sheep do?"
"I was thinking about getting one until I saw what yours looked like"
"Which hair? This one? That one?"
"Why do you want long hair?"
"The cowardly lion had long hair."
"Yoda had long hair... when he was younger"
"Richard Simmons has long hair, no wait... his is like yours."
"The voices keep telling me to grow it out."
"My neighbor's dog told me to grow it."
"Why do you have long hair?"
"That's what happens when you don't cut it" (said slowly, like you're talking to a small child)
"I don't have long hair, you're having a flashback."
"Long??? WOW, I was still planning on growing it another foot or 2!!"
"I couldn't wear mine that long."
"But if you grew your hair, you'd be cool like me."
"That's right, long hair ain't for sissys."
"It's true, only real men can have long hair."
"Yeah, but I've been thinking about growing mine out."
"Why?? The fashion police on the prowl again??"
"The bible speaks against it."
"I'm a Nazarite"
"Short hair was a Roman thing, not Christian."
"More people in the bible had long hair than short."
"How many pictures do you have of Jesus?".
"So did Hitler."
"So did Stalin, Mao, Kim Il Sung" (choose your favorite communist dictator here)...
"The Bible also tells you not to eat pork, --- have you eaten any bacon for breakfast recently?"
"I thought you were a girl"
"Get your eyes checked."
"So you know a lot of girls who use the urinal?"
"You ain't been around many girls, huh?
"You need to feel again."
"Does this look like a girl?" (you know what to do next.)
"You must run with some pretty ugly women to think I look like one of them"
"The beard didn't give you a clue??"
"I am. I work for the circus. I'm the big lady with the deep voice that they call, The Bearded Wonder!"
"That hair makes you look gay." (usually from a homophobe)
"No it doesn't, most gays have short hair, like you." (This really gets 'em boiling)
"Your dad don't have long hair."
"No, sorry. Keep your hands to yourself and we'll be fine."
"I don't like long hair on men." (from a short haired female)
"I have to wear it long... to make up for all these women with short hair."
"Oh, you're just jealous that my hair is prettier than yours."
"But I'm not a man, I'm a lesbian." (Followed with a wink).
"And your opinion matters to me why??"
"Sorry, honey, but you're NOT the woman I'm trying to impress"
"This ain't the 60's"
"Yeah I know, you would think there'd be a vaccination for you by now."
"Hippys are pacifist, I am not a pacifist."
"Wow, really? I gotta check the batteries in my watch.."
Have fun,
Paul