new thread
Hello everyone,
I wanted to say thank you, especially to Jonalbear,Hairball,Roxor,Ted & Rktect for the warm reception and comments. I hope I didn't put a damper on the forum by mentioning "negative" stereotypes. I didn't mean to place emphasis on negative, but just stereotypes in general. I have to remember that not all stereotypes that pertain to men with long hair are necessarily bad. It's really nice to know that there are others like myself that dig long hair!
Great to have you with us - Welcome aboard! Super looking hair and beard!
- Oren
Hi Oren,
Thanks for the compliment. I think it's you that definitely has super looking hair & beard!
Gregg
I am 16 and have had long hair for several years. My new stepdad has negative stereotypes about long hair and because I talked back a few time he is taking me to the mall to get a buzz cut. All my friends have long hair and my girlfriend is freaked out.I can't imagine my hair being cut off and going to school on Monday.Thanks for listening!
Hi Brandon,
I am sorry to hear you are getting your hair buzzed. However, I think you are one of the lucky few 16 year olds who are allowed to grow their hair long. Not sure how long your hair is, but by the time you are 18 you should have a decent mane again. You will get through it.
Take care, Ted
If there's any way to have him from making you buzz it, give it a shot. Being put back in the growing process is a real big pain in the ass. Never hurts to convince momma to get him to change his mind.
Yeah...really. This is sad. I would have discussed it with my mother to see how she felt about the whole situation. I certainly wouldn't have gone along with it. It's not like he could have just dragged you there. What if you absolutely refused?
That is too bad that you're in that situation.
Unfortunetly being 16 and under your parents roof means
you have to live under their rules.
The good news is that in later years when you live on your
own you can set your own rules and have hair as long as
you want.
I got lots of hassles from parents, teachers, employers when I was much younger. Now that i'm 58 years old I can wear
my hair whatever way I want, I can wear whatever clothes I want.
It's one of the perks of getting older.
I wish you luck.
My stepdad took me to the mall barbershop tonite. My blond, shoulder length hair was all buzzed off. The worst part was two guys from school seeing me go in. They sat there and laughed while I cried. Even my friends who came later to see me laughed and said I looked 10 years old. My girlfriend couldn't deal with seeing me bald. It's going to take a while to get used to this. Thanks to all you guys for your support.I'm still a longhair at heart.
Hey Brandon,
Wow,this is such a sad state of affairs I don't even know what to say to help ease the pain.I can't even imagine being forced to have a buzz cut but hopefully your stepdad did this as a one time payback since you mentioned getting into an argument with him.Did he say if the haircuts would continue?If it was only a revenge haircut then just bite your tongue in the future as you'll be an adult in a couple years and won't have to put up with that bull crappy anymore.I wish you the best my friend but what a way to remember this Thanksgiving holiday:(Cheers
Mârk
.
How sad. Believe it or not there is some good news here,
first is that hair does continue to grow and in future years
when you live on your own, in your own house, and have your
own job you can set your own rules about how long your hair can be.
Brandon,
At 16, you're still young. You'll have plenty of time to regrow your hair and eventually you'll reach an age where your stepfather will have to accept it. Embrace the new look, and now you can look forward to having long hair again!
Gregg
That's awful. I want to punch those guys in the face, regardless of how dumb they thought you looked you don't just sit there and laugh. Our generation is full of complete imbeciles. As for your friends, if they're really good friends they might just be trying to make light of the situation, or they might not realize how important your hair was to you. Your girlfriend will get used to it, don't worry :)
Well, rest assured that on here, you will never get laughed at.
I hope everything works out, and your stepfather cools down a bit. Keep us updated, we'll support you every step of the way!
Hair length isn't an acceptable rule, though. Even at sixteen, you're old enough to make your own decisions about a lot of things. Shouldn't hair be one of them?
I was lucky enough to have parents that are pretty open minded, but even if I wasn't, I still would have refused to get my hair buzzed off. What's the worst that could happen? Having it buzzed off in my sleep? I think I'd take my chances.
No matter what the situation. One should have the right to do whatever they want with their own hair. Why wait two years to do something that is completely natural? Why wait two years for the bs to end, when there never should have been any in the first place? You're practically an adult now. Stand up for yourself, and for what you believe is right.
Just because you're not 18 yet...doesn't mean you don't have rights. My parents are pretty open minded, but they may not have been if I didn't stand up for myself a little, and MAKE them understand where I was coming from. If you're a good person, and you don't get into trouble, and all you want is the freedom to grow your own hair long...then, by all means...do so.
Start growing it out again right now...and by the time you're 18, you'll have an amazing head of hair.
Getting grounded for the rest of the school year (or longer),
losing various priveledges, etc.
Parents/teachers/school administration had lots of power to make
your life miserable if you didn't cut your hair. I found that out the hard way. (Things like getting suspended from school,
not being able to participate in graduation/school sports/
school activitiess/etc.)
And yes when I was in school I knew some friends who had long hair who were forced to get haircuts by parents/the school/etc.
Nice thought, the problem is you're under your parents roof
and under their rules. I went down this road back in the 60s,
in those days we got lots of hassles about hair.
Nice thought, but in the 60s I learned the hard way that you
have very few rights once you walk in that school door. I took
alot of years for things to improve but they improved very little
and today, as they were in the 1960s the school had all the power
and you, the student, had very few rights.
Nite thought, but alot depends on your situation. Depending on your situation, it may be wise to go with the short hair while
in school and wait until after you graduate from school and
are living on your own, and have your own job. Once you live on
your own, have your own job, and your own house you can set your
own rules and not have to answer to anyone else.
Take this advice with a huge grain of salt from someone who
started growing his hair long in 1964 and had lots of hassles from along the way. Hassles that only ended when my age reached the late 40s.
Hi Gregg,
You have come to a great place to get inspiration, tips, etc. about growing hair. Of course, I believe you don't really need any inspiration. I want to grow my hair to your length and also have bangs in the front like you. This is because I don't like hair falling in my face and also I plan to mostly wear it down.
Take care, Ted
Hi Ted,
Judging by your pic, you shouldn't have any trouble achieving your your desired length. You're lucky, your hair looks very thick and has a natural wave. I wonder if having thick coarser hair takes a little longer to grow? Nevertheless, your hair is going to look really awesome long. I think having bangs along with wavy hair will even give it fullness, something that I don't quite have.
Gregg
Hi Gregg,
I really appreciate your kind comments. I must say that sometimes I don't like my wavy hair. But I bet if my hair was straight I would find something to not like about it. I guess having wavy hair makes it where I don't have to get it styled because nature has done that for me. I have had straight-haired friends complain to me that their hair won't do anything but fall straight down. I guess I really don't care what kind of hair I have as long as it's the growing kind. As far as the bangs, I like the way some of the rock stars have bangs. Something like this:
Ted,
I have to agree with your straight haired friends. Having straight hair is nice, but it often looks flat without any body. Having wavy hair is an advantage because it looks styled and it also has a certain amount of body to it. Randy Owen from the group Alabama has wavy hair and used to wear bangs back in their heyday. Having a slight wave I think gave it a fuller look.
Gregg
Hi Gregg,
I agree with you. Yes, Randy Owen does have wavy hair and the style with bangs is what I would like to achieve. We have to work with what we have.
Take care, Ted
Sorry Ted, I forget to mention this earlier: Since I have straight hair,I usually have my hairstylist give me a slight layer cut whenever she trims my bangs, which gives it a little more body. That's a cool pic of Bruce Dickinson. When I look at my Iron Maiden Cd, Bruce with the bangs really stood out from the others. I can see where bangs can look good.
Keep us updated on your quest!
Gregg
Hi Gregg,
I'm glad you decided to come out of the shadows and into the sunlight to introduce yourself -- and a warm WELCOME to MLHH to you for doing so!!!
First of all, I think your hair looks great, and I'm happy to hear that you've decided to keep it long after all.
Secondly, although I completely understand the temptation to want to "fit in" with Western society's short-haired typical male look, I believe that any difference that stands out from the average norm helps people to learn, "not to judge the book by its cover" -- a valuable life-lesson regardless of whether we're talking about hair, clothes, or any other shallow exterior issue.
Third point: when you love something (in this case, your long hair), you should protect and nurture it, keeping it the way you like it because it means something to you, and that's all that should matter.
I learned this lesson the hard way when I impulsively cut off my waist-length hair back in Y2K. I won't bore you with all the details of that devastating experience; but I will say that it taught me the hard way the value of making a COMMITMENT to long hair for life...
Great to have you here with us on this wonderful hyperboard!!
- Ken in San Francisco
