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This is such an intriguing site, it is a wonderful discovery to learn that there is a community of men that have committed to the beauty of long hair. I am a woman with a bit more than floor length hair and have felt that the conscious decision to grow one's hair is often a spiritual one, if for no other reason than the strength of spirit it takes to defy the norm. I was wondering if I could prod the strong minds here as to the reasons why you made the decision to allow your hair to grow.
Well. I'm 24, and until April this year I had never had a major illness and had never had to spend even one night in a hospital. I also never gave a damn about how I looked or felt. Everyone else came before me.
In April, I was hospitalised and operated on. Spent two weeks there as it turned out I had Crohns Disease. 4 hour operation and a shock to the surgeons, and now one big scar across my tummy :)
You learn a lot about yourself when you can do nothing but lie there for two weeks. The nurses and doctors kept telling me how amazed they were at how I hadnt been in pain for months (cos I was really really bad) and they couldnt get over how fast I was recovering.
I know it seems a little off topic, but there is a point to all this. I healed fast cos I simply wouldnt have it any other way. My fiancee lives in Utah so we can only talk via the internet. And in hospital, there was no internet. So I wouldnt tolerate myself needing to be there any longer than was absolutely necessary. So I healed faster. That, I believe, is a purely spiritual thing. You can heal faster if you truly want to.
When I got out of hospital and I realised what it was that I had done, and how 'new' I felt after a year of illness...I finally decided I wanted to do something different in my life. Something that would demand I take proper care of myself and would (hopefully) look different and better. Inspired by a few movies, I decided I wanted to try long hair. It's different. It's special, and it takes commitment to yourself. Everything I wanted.
So I guess it is sort of spiritual in a way. A new hair style for a new man. Something special to mark the difference in my life. So I started my journey on this a month ago now, I'm only at 1 inch so far. But I'll persevere. :)
Catia,
I've been interested in long hair since I was about fourteen years old. I always admired the few boys in school with longer hair and contemplated growing it out myself. I'll admit to holding my sister's fake hair extentions agasint my head and thinking this would be awesome! But it wasn't until the summer prior to my senior year in high school that I began a serious hair journey. That was 23 months ago from today.
Now I am almost two years into this, have over a foot of hair falling from my head, and am as eager to continue growing as I was the first day. While I do have a pretty tight curl, I have hair that grows at a quick pace, appears strong and healty, and a smaller build to exagerate my hair's length. I have confidence that I will overcome any and all problems that my hair may present and one day have very long hair.
Now as to exactly what makes me want long hair....
Part of it is vanity - I think long hair improves my looks. I have accepted that I was not born with the tallest body, the most exomorphic body, or a moviestar jawbone. I do, however, think I have good quality hair. Long hair makes me appear older (something that a 19 year old trying to maintain a social life benefits from), makes my life void of harassment (unlike others on here, I rarely get random insults in public - I got more harassment as a short hair for appearing much younger than my real age).
It is also due to my involvement in music. I'm a huge heavy metal fan - a genre where longhair is commonplace. While I am not in a band nor do I have any instrumental talent, I regularly go to concerts, hang out with musician friends, headbang to favorite tunes, and want to have an image if my plans to get a radio show on my college station work out.
As for purely personal reasons, ones that cannot be explained by common psychological actions, I wear my hair long because it feels "right" for me. That's the best way that I can explain it. I love caring for it, feeling it against my skin, etc. A lot of people say to me "it's just hair." I guess we all just have our 'thing.' For some it is tatoos. For others it is weightlifting. Mine is hair.
I'll be the first to admit that I might have a bit of an "obsession." I probably think about hair a bit too many times each day. I am probably selfish in thinking that I wouldn't perform as well in school, in a relationship, on the job, etc. if I was forced to have short hair. Longhair indirectly causes me to strive harder in other areas of my life. If I can have what truely makes me happy, I will live a better life. It might be irrational to be afraid of trims, scissors, and the whole haircutting business. But I guess we humans are complex creatures. We're not uniform, but that's what makes things so interesting.
I hope this gives you some insight into why I have long hair. I'm sure the guys here would love to see any photos of your floor-length hair that you are willing to share.
-Redleader
I think it's true for alot of use anyways. In my childhood and adolescents all my idols were rock stars with long hair. So of course now I have long hair.
Easy answer: so I can project a feminine image and pass easier as a woman!
I can't really say why, but I have wanted to grow my hair ever since I was about 6 when I grew my bangs down to my mouth. I don't think hair is a male/female issue for many, it's just something that some of have to do in order to be ourselves.
Great to hear about your hair - mine will never grow that long!
I'm not sure when it started exactly, but ever since I was little I've always admired long hair. I loved the way it looked and always thought it'd 'feel' interesting to have long hair. I never grew long because I was such a self-concious kid. I was scared I'd be made fun of more than I already was (I'm small in stature and a really nice person...two perfect ingredients to draw bullies). But then I met my now ex-gf. And when I was 19, she looked at me and said "You should grow your hair out...it'd look good on you". Needless to say, that was one of the best things she could have ever said about me. That was all I needed to start my journey. I grew it just past my shoulders and then for stupid reasons I cut my hair really short. Something I immediately regretted. So now I'm a year into re-growing and will never go shorter than shoulder length ever again. I love the way my hair looks and feels, and I'm not truly 'me' without it. It fits who I am, fits my personality. I'm a highly spiritual person and yes, it's a factor in things as well. I won't go into detail about my spirituality though, cause I don't want to start any debates/arguments, etc. Sorry for the length of this post, if you waded through it all, congrats! ;)
Catia, you should make your way also over to "the long hair site" which is the original and best site for female long hair..... there is a really nice community of extra long length women there as well as their admirers.
As for your question, I love the way it feels on your back ... especially in the shower..... and the same can be said when you are "with" your partner.
adam
I started growing mine out November 2002 just to try something different. My entire life I’d alternated between a Caesar haircut and a buzz cut. Now I’ve realized (and many, many people tell me) how much long hair suits me better…both physically and personality-wise. And since I have curly, dry hair, I’ve found longer hair infinitely easier to care for since I don’t have to worry about using styling products every morning and – therefore – shampooing every day. I can’t imagine going back to short hair.
Cheers,
Jeremy
Long Hair was something I'd wanted since I was about 8 years old, I've always admired long hair on men and women, so in many ways and just fulfilling a desire I'd supressed since childhood.
I'm also growing my hair out by way of therapy, having suffered from OCD where I compulsively cut my hair shorter and shorter the only way I can prove I'm truely over it is to grow my hair long.
Sorted
My reasons are just that I've had both short and long hair and I chose to have long hair because I found that I liked it much more than short. I personally don't understand why guys today like really short buzz cuts, but everybody has the right to choose their hairstyle.
My reasons are nowhere near as deep as some of the other guys. All it took for me was seeing a picture of some guy with longhair. I was suddenly confused as to why I had short hair all my life (18 at the time). I had always thought long hair on guys was cool, and long hair on girls was very attractive. For whatever reason it never occured to me untill that point to grow mine. Now, it seems naturally like the only thing to do, like shorthair isn't even an option anymore. Especially now that it's been growing for 2 and a half years now I wouldn't part with it for anything. I absolutly love it. I feel almost as if my longhair is the only thing in the world that's truly "mine".
For me it was similar to the nazarite vow. . . .I realized that hairs kept growing, it must be for a reason. . .and locking up my hair is just a natural extension of that. I no longer fight with tangles or pour chemicals in my hair to make it do something or other. Just was once a week, and it stays good!
What a fun question- for me, I think it had many psychological aspects stemming from growing up. At my high school in the '70's, ALL thge PERCIEVED 'cool' people had long hair. Images on TV also reinforced that (Keith Partridge from "the Partidge Family" was my idol. It represented virility and masculinity to me.
I was from an ultra conservative family where to my dad, having long hair made you a (and I wince from the pain)"faggot". Battling over long hair was my only form of rebellion, and sadly, I lost.
So, once I gained control of my destiny (and hair), it grew long, and has been for the last 20 years.
Now it is part of who I am (and really always has been).
I always liked long hair. I think it's a preference that is part of my personality acquired in early childhood development. I think a lot of people have this preference but are not aware of it, and instead make up a reason or rationalization to like long hair.
My girlfriend said, "You look cuter with long hair." Haven't had a "real" haircut in 6 or 7 years.
This is why I'm growing out my hair, there are many reasons. Reason 1: When I was in 8th Grade I had long hair almost to my shoulders. I was a skinny guy but the girls would make excuses to start coming up to me and talk to me about my hair. I'm still a bit skinny, but I don't let that part bother me anymore.
Reason 2: I have a very unhealthy habit of drinking Soda Pop All day long. It is like my Beer. The stuff taste bad, stains your teeth, but I needed it every day. On some days I would drink 4 liters of pop. A whole Gallon. After I got out of Jail which is a story, I won't get into I decided to make a change. To Grow my hair long to have a positive attitude, the negative attitude got me thrown in jail in the first place. And to take care of my body. Now I still drink some pop, but not as much as before as I want my hair to look good. My goal is to quit drinking caffenited products except for green tea totally.
Reason 3: I just love I can't emphasize enough love the way my hair feels when it is long. I now know why most Women just love to touch their hair all day long. It feels so good. I've had buzz cuts, even shaven my hair bald once, had medium hair length for most of my life and the way my hair is feeling now I want it to get even better.
So yea those are the reasons I have for growing out my hair. There are probally many more but I won't list them.
