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I didn't have the guts to grow my hair long when I was younger, and now that I'm in my 40's and (might) have the guts, my hair is thinning. It figures. At this point, I guess, I'm reluctant to let it grow because I feel I might draw attention to the fact that I don't have as much of it as I once did. Any opinions on this? By the way, I just came across this site, and I think it's great. I only wish there were more pictures. I've always loved long hair on men, especially when a guy isn't afraid to do something with it besides yank it back into a ponytail. There's one picture on the image page -- I think it's named "spanish"? -- of a guy with dark hair with braids on the sides ... sigh. Lots of women would kill for hair that gorgeous.
That would be me. It is called spanish because it was meant to be a Spanish braid. I went the Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Texas and described the Spanish braid found on www.tlhs.org to the lady doing braids. She "French braided" my hair starting from my left temple diagonally across my head to the back and then back across to the left. It's not really braided on each side. I'm glad you like it. It was a hit there as well. Unfortunately, it is not one that I can do on myself.
Having worn it I have a couple of comments from the perspective of the wearer. Since it is a sheet braid (by sheet braid, I mean that it forces the hair to lie down in a sheet), turning the head is somewhat restricted. You can still turn your head, but that scrunches up the braid. I slept on the braid and it still looked OK the next day. I could hardly believe this. It seems very fragile. Because it is a sheet braid, it is very good at shading the sun. Better than loose hair, which sways from side to side and rolls, exposing the skin to hot hair. Since in this braid the hair is tied down, it does not roll back and forth, so it is much cooler in the hot sun.
I hadn't made the connection between the Spanish braid picture and the one of you on the beach, but, yeah, now I see the similarity. Are those small flowers in the braid? You've illustrated what I meant when I said I wished more long-haired guys would do more with their hair. The red flowers would've looked pretty on a woman, of course, but on a man the effect is more complex or intriguing or something (especially on a man with a beard), I suppose because you don't expect to see flowers in a man's hair? Maybe there's a kind of tension created when you integrate conventionally masculine and feminine things. Who knows. In any case, I _do_ love your hair, and I'm pretty jealous, and I probably should shut up about it now ... at least until you post more pictures. Meanwhile, you have a fan.
Follow the link highlighted here to also see the Spanish braid on TLHS.