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I'm growing hair for 6 months now and people started noticing it. I was asked a few stupid questions from certain people in my family like "are you really not getting a haircut?" followed by sneering, and asking that same question once more after 10 minutes. How do you deal with that kind of questions? Do I really have to tell people why I'm doing it? Why would anyone care?
i've had teens or younger boys ask me. since they have crew cuts, i tell them, "I could ask you the same question in reverse." ("why is your hair so short?") they never asked me again. i've had adults ask me, and i simply say, "because i like it long." they also never asked me again.
I lucked out in this regard. I started growing my hair long
in 1964 when the Beatles appreared on thed Ed Sullivan show. I got the usual hassles from parents/teachers/the school administration but insisted on keeping it long. By the time I
graduated from high school, it was waist length.
In all the intervening years i've kept it long, with some resistance from parents. My mom and dad by then were divorced
so I laid down the law to my mom, "this is my house, I have my own job now and pay my own bills, I set the rules on how long mhy hair will be. If you don't like it you can leave." Got
no complaints from her after that.
Alot lt also has to do with age. When i was younger I got lots of hassles about my hair, once I hit the mid 40s the complaints stopped. Now that i'm 58 years old i'm that eccentric old man/uncle who has long hair.
if you are growing your hair, stick with it. When you're young the adults in your life will complain. But when you get older that will stop.
Well, I'm almost 31 and they still keep asking :)
A person's personal grooming tastes are really their own business and pretty impolite of anyone to such annoying questions. I deal with rudeness by leaving them to themselves. Don't show anger or emotion, though. I either leave or simply don't interact. Such people usually realize quickly that such questioning isn't going to entertain them and they'll give it up.
This sort of thing usually only happens during the grow out period and tends to come from family members or coworkers you see every day. They nag a few times and nothing changes, then time passes and they get used to the way you look. After that it stops.
I'm 20 and have been growing my hair for almost 2 years. I received a lot of the same unwanted attention like you at first too. The truth is, men with long hair are minority and it's really not too fair. But I think one of the best attitudes to have towards it is simply "I like it long". It's just like fingernails. They don't have to understand, some men just like their hair long as some women like their hair short. It's a natural human thing that's been skewed by modern society.
You don't need a reason, and you may not have a reason other than that's the way you like it, and that alone should be perfectly acceptable. You're not here to decorate someone else's world.
Good luck!
Hi
Back in 2008 when I still had my long hair, I made a series of (crazy) but fun long hair videos. This one addresses some come-backs that can be used on these people that you should not have to answer to anyway. After making this more Gentleman-like video, and because some guys were not able to contain themselves, I made another video, but this was the "get tough" approach. I think this one is the much better way to handle the problem. Hope it helps and best of luck to you growing out your hair.
Justin
http://youtu.be/7WNSjg7Kv2E
At 6 months you're probably going through the awkward stage where your hair isn't long but it's not short either. People will often ask about it, especially if you've never had longer hair before. Once they see that you're going for long and not merely putting off cutting it the questions should subside somewhat. There will always be a few people who will question any length other than short, but those should be fewer and farther between once you get out of the awkward stage.
--Dale
Honestly, no, you don't have to tell anyone why you're doing it, and most likely their only asking because its probibly kind a drastic change in your apearence
Actually, I'm comming up on 3 years of hair growth and I have the exact opposite problem: nobody's ever asked me if I've stopped getting haircuts, or why I'm not getting my hair cut.
I know people have noticed, becuase I've actually been accused of getting haircuts on days that my hair dries extra curly & doesn't reach my shoulders.
Anyway, even though I've never been asked, I've still found time to come up with a list of answers just in case I ever am.
The ones that I think would get the funniest reactions are:
-because I (dont) feel like it
-because haircuts are a waste of money
and
-because my hair gets easier to deal with the longer it is
(strangely true, not sure if thats normal)
Well good luck
I don't go out much so it's mostly my mom telling me that I should get it cut. She says that ladies don't like men with long hair. I tell her that she said the same thing about tattoos and beards. I think it's just because she grew up in the 60s. Most people who complain about the way you look do it for one of two reasons.
1. They don't like you personally and appearance is easier to mock than personality.
2. You fit into a stereotype group that they dislike. In the case of long haired men, that group is usually "hippies".
Why people don't like hippies, I'll never understand... Beauty pageant contestants talk about world peace all the time and they get shiny trophies and scholarships.
But I digress. Generally, if some politely inquires about my hair I tell them the abridged version of my story, and that I like having long hair.
If they're rude about it, then it depends on how close we are. Spatially, that is. I've had people drive by while I'm walking shout "Get a haircut, hippy!" (I live in the bible belt, it's great...) Them I just wave at as they drive by. If someone starts talking to me (well not to me, at me really), I just stare at them. Just a few weeks ago some old guy started yelling at me on the street. He sorta rambled on about hippies, how things were back in his day, that I should shape up, yada yada yada. I just stared at him, unblinking, for what must have been a full minute until he said he had places to be and scarpered off.
It's all about how you present yourself. Don't act like you're ashamed of what you look like. People are unsure how to respond respond to confidence about something they consider wrong and they prey on insecurity. It's how they get most people to conform to the norm. Don't let their fear of crossing the line influence you. Most of the lines are stupid anyway. Did you know there's stigma associated with men owning cats? Who the hell decided that?
Sorry I wandered a bit there, it's late. But simply put, just own it. People will never stop judging you, but that makes them the ***hole, not you. What kind of jerk decides whether or not they like a book before they've even read it? Or worse, decides they don't like it now that the cover art has changed?
Ugh, good night. And eat some cake, that s**t's delicious.
I'm one of those original hippies, alot of the hatred of hippies
stems from the opposition to the Viet Nam war. We protested against the Viet Nam war, and also questioned alot of the things the US of A did.
But the bottom line is there will never be world peace, too many men on this planet are territorial, dictatorial and want to shove
their beliefs down the throats of others. (Read: the leaders of
Iran, North Korea, Syria, etc.) There will never be peace on this planet because at any given time you have 73+ wars going on, much of it driven by religion, greed of men who want to remain as King, etc.
In the 1964 I started growing my hair long, I was idealistic,
wanted world peace, etc. Now at the age of 58 I still have long hair but i've also come to the realization there will
never be world peace.
i'm owned by two cats but i've never heard that.
But to get back to hair I started growing my hair long in 1964,
after many years of complaints those complaints stopped when I
hit the age of the late 40s. Now at the age of 58 I never get
any complaints. I'm now that eccentric uncle/old man who always wears his grey hair long, always wears shorts all year 'round,
and doens't care what other people think.
Alot of it is adults love to slam youth for what they do. But the time will come when you'll be the adult and you'll set the tone for how the youth in those years will be treated, especially when they choose to do things like wear their
hair in the latest style of the day.
So when you get old you can be that supportive adult who encourages your children/grand children/nephews/children
of friends to do what they want when it comes to how they wear their hair.
... It's true that many women have been so shaped by society that they don't find (or don't admit to finding) long hair on men attractive. I add the "don't admit" caveat, because how many women do you think honestly don't find the recent on-screen depictions of characters such as Aragorn and Thor attractive?
The honesty of suburbanite soccer moms aside, however, the women who do find long hair on men attractive, REALLY find it attractive, and by having long hair, you will be drastically increasing your value in that select market.
--Val
What he said!
I noticed that I never (*NEVER*!) received a negative comment from a person I would want to have any sort of relationship with (from acquaintance on up). The reverse is sadly not quite true, but on the average, positive comments come from people on the more attractive/interesting end of the spectrum.
I live in southern California, and, even here, I faced ridicule and comments for the first year or so of growing out my hair. It's been quite a learning lesson about the power of social conditioning. Interestingly, most if not all of the negative comments were from men, and the positive comments were from women. Here's what I concluded: the men that made the negative comments resent the freedom and autonomy that my long hair represents. I think many of them secretly want long hair, but don't have the gonads to do what they want. They know that my lifestyle is free in a lot of ways (not married, no kids, lots of travel and fun), so the hair is just more symbolism of that, and many of these men are miserable in their lives. They chose the life and the appearance that was force fed to them.
Anyways, my comebacks would be direct and punchy:
1) why cut my hair? So i can look like you and everyone else?
2) I like having long hair and being noticed when I walk in a room. Most guys have the same haircut, including you. Chicks dig long hair.
3) Long hair is natural. Otherwise it wouldn't grow.
4) Short hair makes people look older
5) Men have had longer hair throughout human history more than they've had short hair.
6) I find that hairstyles often reflect ways of thinking (or not)