My hair's been growing for four months now, and it's going pretty well. Thought I'd snap a quick picture while it's still wet, it's the best time to see how long it is. My hair does a very interesting (and hard to control) wavy/curly thing once it starts getting a bit of length, and it's only going to get tougher from here.
This is the third time I've grown my hair out, so I know exactly what to expect my hair to do. It has a mind of its own, and will never do the same thing twice, which makes combing it troublesome. The best way to deal with it I've found is to put a beanie on right after I've washed it. I 'permanently borrowed' a great beanie from my ex, which is hand knitted wool. After washing and combing my hair, I chuck the beanie on and wait for my hair to air dry. It also has the added bonus of usually giving my hair a good shape to it.
I really miss my hair being long. Not just because it looked awesome (on the odd day it felt like being nice), but also because it actually made me look my age. Without it I look a couple of years younger, and I'm getting a bit sick of explaining to surprised people that I'm actually 22.
Anyway, that's it for now.
Terry
wOnderfish, Ah yes the awkward stage. Have fun! The beanie sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing that for those up and comers! I'm old enough to where my longhair makes me look younger. Hasn't started graying much yet! Take care and keep it growin' n' flowin'.
peace, jonalbear
Hello W0nderfish. I certainly know how that hair type gets interesting. Out of curiosity, why did you cut it last time?
SS
It was a combination of a few different things. My self esteem had taken a real beating after a few failed attempts at romance. A couple of guys I was interested in getting to know better outright said they didn't want anything to do with me solely because of my hair, and I was cool with that. I'm certainly not going to bother with a guy who will dismiss me just because of my long hair. It was the random gay guys coming up to me and insulting me because of my hair that really hurt. I never saw why they should bother even talking to me in the first place if they're just going to insult me. Since then I've steered well clear of anyone like that and have been much happier for it.
Plus my area manager at work was quite annoying. She would always examine everyone very carefully to find any fault with their uniform or anything like that. I work in fast food, so naturally I tied my hair up while working, just like the girls there, most of whom had long hair as well. No matter how hard I tried, no matter which way I tied my hair up, whenever my area manager came in she'd always complain about it and say it wasn't tied up the right way. But I think that was mostly because she always found fault in everyone, there'd be one little thing about their uniform they didn't get right, and she'd pick up on it. I had everything right, the correct shoes/shirt/pants, everything. There was nothing she could fault me on, so she just complained about my hair instead. It should surprise no one to hear that she let the girls at my work get away with improper hair all the time.
Those things had been getting to me for quite a while, so I decided to shake things up and be a bit different and cut my hair short. I won't lie, it felt good at the time to take charge and shake up my image so dramatically. But now I really do miss my long hair, so back it grows.
I'm in my 30s now, but I remember having some of the same issues in my early 20s that you were describing.
Any harassment or non-acceptance that comes your way isn't because of your hair- rather, it's because of the narrow views of others. If long hair is you, embrace it. Nobody likes being judged, but people will do and say what they want. It's up to us to participate, either by doing the same or giving in to their unreasonable expectations.
It's certainly easier to understand the nature of certain relationships when you have long hair. I consider it a gift that I find it much easier than some other guys to get a good idea about the intentions of others.
Good for you by deciding what you like for yourself and doing it!
Take care.
SS
Hello Terry: Your hair looks great and it is going to look even better as your hair gets longer. You have a great looking head of hair on a very handsome face.
Tom(Hairboy)
Thanks! I can't wait for it to get longer again. Unfortunately it will need to be really long before it's more manageable. My only worry at this point is how healthy it will be, since I was still blowdrying it regularly about a month ago.