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Hello, my name is Rachel. I stumbled across this looking for potential information about boys long hair. My 11 yr old son decided he wanted long hair a year+ ago and since it is only hair he has been growing since. I have basically been teaching him how to take care of it etc. as I did with my daughters but wondered if you would have any tips that might be of use going forward?
Thats great he is growing ot out. I would reccomend buying black ponytail holders without the metal im them. Goodys makes the right ones. The black is masculine looking. Also some light hold hair gel. When my son grew his hair out he would slick it back and tail itin this manner. He played a lot of sports and it was always out of his face and he looked like a JR Steven Sega, but with a longer ponytail. His last class of the day was music. He played electric guitar, so when e went to that class he let his hair down and rocked out!!. That was his method. Happy hair growing to your son, he will have a blast being different from the adverage guy.
Hi Rachel,
You don't say how long your son has been growing his hair. But what I do is wash with shampoo and conditioner 2 times per week. The other days I wash with water only or conditioner only. Before I get out of the shower I always final rinse my hair with cold water. I only allow my hair to air dry. If you use a hair dryer it's probably a good idea to use it on the cool setting. These are the only things I do. Some people recommend other things so it's good to check many options out. I would also recommend you visit Hair Religions site-much good info there. Hope this helps. I wish your son much success for great hair growth. Happy and safe New Year to you and your family.
Ted
Hair Religion's excellent site
Thats awesome your encouraging him to let his hair grow out. Your a great mom. My mom would not even entertain the idea of it. I could not grow mine till I was moved out.
Hello,
My Dad feels the same way. He accepts the fact that I have long hair! That is cool that you accept that your son has or wants long hair.
Birdman
check this site for info. and you can also "google" sites and pictures of long-haired boys, teens, men, etc. to give you both an idea of possible lengths you can choose.
Some important hair care tips I think you should teach your son are the following:
1. Don't use a brush on wet hair; use a wide-tooth comb.
2. Avoid running his fingers through the length of the hair because this can break it. Massage only at the scalp when washing and run hands over only the outside layer of hair to flatten flyaways.
3. Wet his hair under the shower before swimming and wash it immediately afterwards with chlorine-removing shampoo and conditioner. If he's blond (even naturally), he may have to wear a swim cap to avoid getting green hair.
In the psychological aspect, you need to make sure he's aware of and prepared for the fact that his decision to have long hair is going to make life harder for him socially. He will need to have a lot of self-confidence and determination to stick to his goal, and not be deterred by kids at school who call him gay or just avoid him because he's different. It's probably not an issue for him yet because he's only 11, but having long hair also often makes it much harder for a boy to find a girlfriend. You should be ready to actively support him in his quest for long hair and frequently re-inforce his understanding that being happy in his own skin (or hair, in this case) is worth the price of the challenges he will face.
Well said, Soren! I may have this very discussion with my son someday.