new thread
Hey everyone
I dunno. I have been wanting to cut my hair for a few weeks now.
My reasons are. It hair to keep tidy, and it seems to attract unwanted attention. In addition I want to be more professioanl looking for my business meetings.
But every time before I commit to chopping, I find a reason not too.
The biggest reason, is, once i chop it, It will be so hard to get it this long again. My length is mid back. And I don't, I just like it. Its me. But it has to go.
any help>
I do want to a fresh short cut
I think most of the other guys will say the same. You are free to do what you want and the decision is yours. You are obviously reticent to get a haircut.
For your professional life, I suggest pulling it all back tightly to a low ponytail. Then with your suit, you should look just the part, just with something sticking out of the back of your head. You could wrap the ponytail up into a tight bun. There are plenty of plain masculine bun styles so that no one thinks you are "camp".
Not long ago, I saw a photo of a president of a country (can't remember which one) who has exactly that arrangement and looks very smart and conservative.
You have a life outside your professional life. The choice is yours. I trust you know about the "two-seek rule". Of course if the haircut is your way, no one will think any the worse of you. It's a free world.
Good luck.
Anthony
* * *
My blog
Let me start off by saying it's your hair and ultimately your choice. With that being said, if you've been that hesitant to cut it I suspect you will immediately regret it if you do. Perhaps the better choice would be to cut a few inches off and wait a week or so before going shorter rather than going for the big cut all at once. You might find a length that is more manageable that still allows you some semblance of long hair. Sometimes just having a good stylist even up your hair can work wonders on making it look more presentable.
Whatever your choice, good luck with your decision.
--Dale
how about a longer cut, like to the shoulders instead of mid-back?
Ultimately it is your hair and your choice as to what to do
with it.
With that being said, at the ripe old age of 59, I consider long hair worn loose, to be just as professional as having it in a
pony tail, braid, bun, pig tail. No matter how you wear long hair it still looks much more professsioanl than the guy with massive comb over to cover his bald spot, the guy who has the buzz cut, or the guy with the crew cut.
For me the bottom line is i've long hair and after having long
hair since 1964 I detest short hair styles. When you go into an
office, if a woman can wear her hair long and loose and still look professional then so can men.
As far as unwanted attention, it depends on age. I don't know how old you are but people love to pick on younger guys. That happened to me for many years. Now that i'm 59, it stopped when I reached the mid 40s. I haven't had any complaints about my hair since then. Also if you do cut your hair they'll find other things to complain about. So the best advice is to keep it long, becasue if you cut your hair the unwanted attention will be directed elsewhere.
Ultimately it is your hair, your choice as to what to do with it.
But do remember the two week rule. Back in the 80s, when my hair was knee length and i thought about cutting it, I contemplated the idea for six months before committing to it and
cutting the hair back to waist length. Knee length was too hard to take care of, too susceptable to damage, but i've also deeply
regretted doing it.
Dear Long Hair In Albany,
I like your reasoning. If we give way to pressure, we show our weakness of character and susceptibility to be manipulated by those who enjoy controlling other people, from wives to bosses or whatever.
Being professional? It all depends what job we are in. I suppose for office work where suits and ties are required, I suppose tied up hair with a neat look ought to be enough. Many short hair styles are ludicrous and entirely inappropriate for the drabness of corporate life in the “great machine”. When I used to crew (buzz) cut my hair, I was often criticized for having a style that needed little care.
Absolutely, after mid 40’s to 50’s, we tend to be left alone. I don’t have the problem of working in a corporation, and my wife will respect me for sticking to my guns. She came at me yesterday with an idea of an “equalizing” trim because it would make the hair grow faster depending on the phase of the moon. Well, the moon influences the tides and us too, but I said to her that I’m not allowing myself to be stuck in the awkward phase. Hair grows faster when it’s not cut! In the end, with a joke about Samson and Delilah, she showed she was just joking and is respecting my resolve. She understands the symbolism. It’s a woman’s game “Obey me and if you do, I will despise you”. For my wife, it’s something of a joke, so I just keep telling her to grow hers out (hers is shoulder length) – because mine is almost longer than hers already (because min is straight). No cutting before full ponytail length, bangs and everything!
My hair is now slightly shorter than when I was about 20. At that age, I could get the tips of my side bangs into my mouth. I should get past that length in a couple of months. I shudder to think what it is like for a longhair to go to short hair – all gone in just 20 minutes in the barber shop. One mane of hair in the barber’s garbage bin and one “emasculated” man walking out minus his money too!
Isn’t it amazing how people like to be “control freaks”, and worse, how people think they have to fit into the mould even before someone tells them to do so…
Anthony
My blog
Absolutely.
Being professional is in the eye of the beholder.
I've had jobs where they would complain that my hair was
not "professional" but then other guys in the office who are
much less professional than my hair, (puke green suits, the
grossest ties you can find, massive hair comb overs, etc.)
I'm at the point in my life where when I have to wear a suit
i'll still keep my long hair loose and hanging down.
The only time I tie it in a pony tail/braid it/bun it/pig tail
it is whne it's storming out, very windy out, or the hair might
get damaged by something in the area.
for those who think my hair should be tied in a pony tail or
something similar I ssy my hair is long, deal with it. At 59
I refuse to hide my long hair.
Many short hair styles are Boring.
I gave up trying to fit into the mold years ago. After 49 years
of being a long hair my hair is long and will remain long until the day I die. My long hair is my trade mark at this point in mhy life.
Remember, the "two week rule" that many follow has two parts:
1. You have wanted to make the cut for two weeks, and
2. That is without wavering in your thought once.
If you waver in your thought, at that moment the two week clock is reset and the two week timer starts running anew.
That sounds like wavering to me.
That is why we have the two week rule. The "no wavering" part tilts the decision towards not cutting, but that is for a reason: It's so easy to cut, and so difficult to grow it back.
I see a lot of conflict and indecision here, so for now, I'd wait:
If you feel this raging battle within will go on for forever, others in their comments have suggested approaches you might try, and how you feel about doing them after you do, may break the deadlock:
1. Tie your mane up so it "looks short". This means to make it compact, up on your head, and such that it won't move around any.
2. Cut off part of it, enough so you can see if you like it shorter. Removing about a third of its length should give you a valid test. Then if you like it, after a few weeks you can remove a third more. And repeat this sequence as long as it feels good. If you reach a point where you've taken off too much, it will be easier to grow out of that situation than if you had to start from ground zero.
Bill
It's your hair so do with it as you will BUT:
What is actually worrying you about long hair in business?
At 62 I hold senior office (Chairman) in a substantial company and have had a pony tail for many years and have no plans to change. Everyone accepts it as unusual but not an issue. Indeed it is part of me and so they accept that.
There are ways in which you can wear it which do not appear anything but tidy - pony tail, bun etc. All are tidy and completely professional and it is difficult to see how you could see them otherwise.
I would employ a shaven headed you man or a long hair - as long as he was clean and could do the job....
Think very carefully and decide if you have neglected presentation or you have an irrational thought that you will get further quicker with long hair - that is unlikely.
Indeed. If you want another example of a business leader with long hair there's always Richard Branson. True, he only has shoulder length hair, but most consider that long on a man, and he owns both a phone company and an airline (Virgin).
The chairman of ICI had long hair (at least as long as Branson's) not so long ago. He didn't cut it, but sadly he died. ICI is the largest company in the UK when measured by capital invested (GEC is largest by number of employees). ICI make chemicals, lots of them, and they also happen to own Glidden paint in the US.
If you look in Silicon Valley you will find many more examples.
As for me, I am not a businessman of any kind, but I work in a law firm and make more money than most people. With long hair. Worn loose.
OTOH, I have a college degree and a professional licence, which makes far more difference to your income than the length of your hair. Plus I am way too bloody minded to cut it because someone says so.
Hi, I agree with the posts below in one sense, but it can get a bit obsessional shall we say. This being a gentlemans long hair forum you will not hear anyone say cut it. Do what you really feel, I had long hair and wanted a change and you know what I do look way more professional and everybody (and I mean 100%) say it took ten years off me. I saw a film made at our work place promoting the company that I was in and boy was I a scruffy fecker. I still enjoyed it at the time and many men keep their hair in much better condition than I did, so yeah just do what you gotta do ;)
Cheers
i do use a technic from the alcoholics anonymous
my name is Daniel, i'm a long hair man, and did i not cut my hair today
promise you as you awake "today, i will not cut my hair" and, for your profession, wear a hair bun; it's now admitted