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At what age did you guys first begin growing your hair out, and how long did you grow it out that first time around?
I'm 22 turning 23, and this is my first SERIOUS go around. I've made half hearted attempts before only to cut it off out of impatience. I had long hair as a toddler and little child but I don't think that counts.
Pretty much at 19/20 since the first time I grew it out for 2 1/2 years give or take, maybe more. Had I not chopped it off I would be around the 3 1/2 year mark but it was a decision which at the time I thought was appropriate.
We're about the same age and I've been giving it another go for almost 14 months now. As much of a pain in the ass it is with my prolonged awkward stage, it's definitely worth the wait because of the results the first time. The way I did/do it this time 'round was to set my own little goals to keep from being distracted and such.
Take my advice, the reward is undoubtedly worth the wait!
I was born in 1954, I started growing my hair long in 196 when the
Beatles burst onto the scene. I'm now 58 and still have long hair.
Being that it was the 60s I started in 1964 and just kept growing
it throughout the years until it got to waist length. (Parents,
teachers, school administrators weren't happy about it but that
didn't stop me.) I knew in 1964 I destined to be a long haired
guy.
I very much enjoyed those years. Even though I had lots of
battles with teachers, parents, and school administrators i'd
do it all again. That is how important it was for me to have
long hair.
First wanted to at around age 14.....Parents would not allow.....Started Growing at 18....about to be 23 and have not cut since i was 18....
In 1964 I wanted to start growing my hair when I saw the Beatles on TV. My parents were initially against the idea, but with my
parents going through a divorce i was able to do it. (Dad was
out of the picture by then.)
My dad would never have allowed it but my parents had split up by then. Mom was againt the idea too but she ultimately tolerated the idea.
One of the good things about a divorce.
I tried to grow my hair when I was young, probably when I was about six or seven, (that's when Power Rangers was on, and Tommy was my inspiration) but my mother refused to let me, shaving my hair by force every couple of months. I never stopped trying, but then, she never stopped cutting. The first time I got any sort of length was before I joined the Navy. My mom figured that since they were gonna cut my hair anyway, it didn't matter if it was long or not, so she left me alone. I got to about the bridge of my nose before I left for bootcamp. The entire time I was in the Navy, I always left the barber with tears in my eyes.
Not fun...
Mr Hair,
My first attempt to grow out my hair was when I got out of the army in 1975. here is a picture from about 1976/77.
peace,
jonalbear
My first conscious efforts, constantly frustrated by school rules and parents, were when I was 8. I parted my hair to the side so that I could grow my fringe (bangs) to my mouth, which took about a year and a half.
When I was 13, I decided whenever my parents sent me for a haircut, I would go to a friend's house and trim my own. Hence my hair became all one length, and quite long at the top. I was able to wear a ponytail for the first time when I was 14 - that was in 1969, before you ever saw men with ponytails.
However, my parents decided that the person who was doing my trims wasn't very good (they wwere quite correct in that, at least!) and my mother started doing the trims herself from some time during my 14th year until I left college at 20.
The first real chance I had was when I spent a year abroad as part of my college course, during which time I didn't cut or trim for 15 months, and had enough hair for a 9 inch ponytail. I would class that as my first real attempt to grow my hair to what felt really long to me.
My hair is about an inch away from my belt-line. This is the first time in my life that I've worn it this long and I don't have any plans on cutting it until I feel like I want to. I'm 61 years old now and I started growing it in mid-2009, after one of the worst haircuts I'd ever had. My wife told me to go for it and there was no looking back.
I used to actually care what other people thought, but those days are over. Didn't grow it out for the people who gripe about it anyway, and they usually get that said to them, if they bring it up.
My hair is part of who I am, just like my legs, arms, face, etc.
It's here to stay.
Steve
After 49 years with long hair if someone says I should get a haircut it would be as if someone said I should get a leg removed,
or an arm removed,
So my arms and legs will remain attached as will my long hair.
And at the age of 58 if someone doesn't like it they can go jump out the window.
That's exactly the way I feel.
I'm curious, did you never want long hair before 2009? Or was it something you wanted but didn't think you could pursue?
I was always a longhair by nature. And, to be honest, more often than not, my hair was always a couple or three inches longer than all the others around me--no matter where or what time I was dealing with. But, I never was able to pursue growing it out to the length I really wanted because of parental pressures, bosses and jobs, etc. I guess when I finally decided to go after what I wanted in 2009, I started growing it with real vengence. I'd been held back way too long and now, with my wife's encouragement, I wasn't letting people and their narrow views stop me any longer.
Steve
15, in 1972
I was 15 when i had my first serious attempt in 1985 and it lasted 30 months and then i cut it off and kept a fringe long at the back in a mullet style cut for many years. For a while i used to grow it long 8 months of the year then cut it short over summer months. Then in 2008 i got serious again and decided to go for it and never looked back again. I regret not sticking out the awkward phrase in my first attempts but better late then never.
Duncan
I was one of those young boys inflenced by seeing the Beatles in Feb. of 1964. Truly, that is when I started to grow my hair. I was 12. Now in the mid 60s. Hair on a male was considered long if it tended over the ears, eyes, or collar. I soon was in violation of such hair codes at school. My parents had no issue so long as kept it clean nd neat. It continued to grow and by 1970 was quite respectfully (with a few trims. below my shoulders (just) My Hair sionce has had adjusted length, but has always been longer than the "Norm" It is now once again at mid back, same length I had throught the 70s.
That's awesome. It must have been so wild to be a teenager in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
I wanted to grow my hair since I was 11 or 12 years old. I couldn't do it however until I turned 20 because of restrictive school dress codes (in Romania during the communist regime). After that I was able to grow my hair longer, but I had to cut several times for military service; I was also pressured by family and authorities to cut my hair. Finally, after I left Romania at 32 I was able to grow my hair as I wanted. I haven't had a haircut since 1987.
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A Linux Longhair
I started my growth in 2003, at the age of 39. My long hair was delayed by a naval career.
Frodo
I was 14 when I first really started. I tried to at 13, but my parents made me cut it.