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I have been growing my hair for almost a year now, and I have been getting nothing but negative comments from my family members. They all want me to cut my hair. I never liked my hair short, and although I am not crazy about how my hair looks now I like it better than when it is short. So, and I know I am posting to a biased bored, I would just like some feedback about my hair. Does it look good on me, cause I know that not everybody is meant to have long hair. I figure if you guys think I should go with short hair than I will cave in.
your hair is now in between short and long: so it is difficult to say how it looks when it is long. Did you ask your family members why they do want you to cut your hair ?
Your hair looks great! I don't think you should cave in just because your family wants you too. I say don't cut it.
It looks wonderful now! To cut it would be a true shame. Take cheer young man and keep growing or, dare I say, keep it where it is as it looks excelent there.
Seriously: long hair does look good on you. You seem to have the ideal hair type for growing to a great length if that's what you want. For now, perhaps try for shoulder length and see how you go.
The negative feedback could be caused by many factors. I am not really in a position to comment, but the comments should stop, once people realise that they can not talk you out of this one.
(Cody)
Make your decision and then stick to it.
When your family members bring it up then tell them that this is what you are doing as opposed to caving in to other's decisions for you. They should appreciate the process of your maturing...if they don't or can't then you should realize that they may not have the best intentions to see you grow up as a functioning adult capable of making your own decisions.
Strangely, many families prefer clones.
Looks great to me.
Your hair, not theirs. Your choice, not theirs.
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I want to thank all of you. Your comments made me smile. First time I have actually heard complement about the way my hair looks. I think the whole cutting of my hair stems from my parents being fairly conservative, and I guess not having .5 cm hair does not fit in with that picture. So with that I am going to keep it and grow it a little more - I think about shoulder lenght. That was my original idea when I started growing it out. Thanks for the confidence boost!
This board seems to have helped so many guys who desire Long Hair and are met with negative remarks. The comments about your family seem to be right on target. I am happy to hear of your decision. My own opinion? Long Hair will look absolutely fantastic on you!
All the best-
Yeah I agree your hair looks great!
Anyone pressuring you to cut it clearly has no taste!
Maybe think about not putting a limit on the length and just grow it with the resolve to get it longer. Many of the guys who come here have goals that aren't very long but what you will probably find when you have reached your goal is that your perspective of hair and it's length has changed over the year or two, etc. that it's been growing.
The whole "unknown secret wisdom" of hair comes from the years that it takes to slowly become long and longer. Not only will you learn about your own hair but your family will have to learn to live with your hair as well and the time it takes works as a slow adjustment period.
Just something to think about (or not) if you are intent on growing long hair.
This seems to be the usual. You are not the only.
Typical scene.
Being yourself and liking something of self expression rather than being surpressed is the best of two worlds.
not quite in all cases
If you like it now, this would be the worst time to "cave-in." What you have aquired thus far looks great, "Awkard Stage" or not. In one year you will most likely see fantastic results................and WHEN those results are finally reached, those that "scoff" usually change their tune and you are suddenly the subject of admiration.
Then, if you yourself don't like.......the remedy only takes a few minutes. I think your hair looks great! Hang in there.
Your hair looks great! It it more important what you think, than what others do. My hair is about as long as yours is, but I made the STUPID mistake of getting trims over the first year to "look better." The result is some of my hairs are short, and some are about 6 inches long. I'm not cutting my hair again for at least two years. Dont give up! be glad you dont have hair like mine!
Mac
I sugest you do what you think is right in your heart, however, I think that it looks good on you, but when it gets to your shoulders, I think you will look very good. Life is far to short to do what others want you to do, you have to do what makes you happy, and sometimes that means telling others to back off.
I know, My dad is air force with 28 years before he retired, It was hard to convince him to leave me alone about it, but I got past that.
Good luck!
You have a face that looks good with either long or short hair. However, longer hair does give you a more "kewl" quality, a kind of showbiz-rocker-hunk image, which is probably the reason some members of your family favor short hair.
Personally, I think it looks great. Even the way it is I really like. I don't understand why your parents are so down on it, more than likely just because most teenagers have short hair and frown upon anything different.
You have great straight hair. Good color too. I would really like to see it long, because I know it will look great. You take good care of it too.
All the best.
Don't cave in dude, long hair looks great on you. You have straight hair which is ideal to grow really long. When your hair gets long enough to tie back you will most likely stop getting negative comments. I have seen this many times, complaints turn to complements past shoulder length. It may seem like a lofty goal to you right now, but you might consider growing your hair to waist length. Click on my photo for some inspiration. Absalom
I think your hair looks rather good for where you are in the growing out process. Mine never looked that nice at this stage. However, the most important thing you said in your post is that YOU like it like this. If you like your hair as it is growing out, that is your beginning place. I agree totally with what Hair Religion has said below. Read his post several times. Good advice.
Robert
Here's some un-biased info:
It's hair - not a tattoo. Grow it if you feel like it since it's not going to hurt anyone. If at any point you decide you want to turn back, it's not like it's rocket science.
You can do what I did - hand your mother (or whoever hassles you) a pair of scissors and tell them if it gets to *insert goal length* and you don't like it, they can cut it themselves :)
(and obviously that'll never happen, but it gets them out of your hair - eventually they'll get used to it)
Now for the biased one:
Your hair looks cool. I think it'll look better when it's longer but right now it looks in great condition. The stubble suits it better (I think), and overall, I would suggest you just grow it - life's depressing enough most of the time without people trying to take away the little things that make your life that bit more interesting, or make you happier.
Just go for it - it's YOUR hair, YOUR life, YOUR choice.
Sounds like a TV ad.
Good luck!
wolfeyes
Nicely said wolfeyes!
I was about to write the same thing.
Thee Longhaired Gal
*bows*
And thankyou for saying so - oh, your hair looks great by the way. Tried posting yesterday but my computer was being funny with me... think I forgot our anniversary again. She hates it when I do that.
wolfeyes
LOL
Thank you for your kind words :)
You hair is also getting quite long, very nice!
If you don't mind me asking...what colour is your hair? From the last photo you posted, it looked like darkbrown, just wasn't sure...I think it's a very lively and nice colour for a guy.
Thee Longhaired Gal
Thanks!
It's kind of dark brown, but there's some light strands - some blond, some almost ginger or red... though there's quite a few greys now :(
Used to dye it bright red when it was short, so it probably killed the colour in some of them :)
wolfeyes
I hope other guys on the board don't snap me in half for saying this, but in my very very humble and personal view point which you should never take seriously, I think you'd look better with short hair. You seem to have very dark and very prominent features, especially your eyes, eyebrows, and nose. Shorter hair will lighten your appearance a little bit. And I'm not saying short short. I'm saying more like... Hmmm... Think Tom Cruise in Far and Away. Or maybe Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black (I love his hair in that movie).
I do have another opinion. Your hair seems to be very very healthy, and to put frankly: beautiful. Many people would be jealous of your hair. Perhaps I said you'd look better with short hair because in the picture, you have your hair evenly partet and your hair is sort of longish but not totally long. Now, DO NOT take my word on this, but before you totally cut your hair, try cutting some bangs first and see if you like it better.
Ok. I've shared my opinion... Remember, I'm just one man. Ultimate it's totally your decision and you should wear your hair the way you like it, no matter short or long. And screw your family (if you can).
Love,
Kiat T.
Thank you for your honest opinion and risking a snap in half by posting your reply. I was curious if you could elaborate on what you mean by "very dark and prominent features". I figured you didn't mean dark in the literal sense, becuase my eyes are blue and hair is light brown. So I figured it was just a nice way of saying I have a large nose ;-)
You also talked about my part. I have been doing that because unlike (but like you) some of the people who post on this board I have straight hair and I well it just does that, stays straight. I was thinking about maybe getting a chemical wave put in but I have never done anything to me hair (litterally. no gel, no conditioner, no hair dryer, no hairspray, etc...).
I have had my hair short for 20 years of my life so after I read you post I went and looked at other photos I had of my hair when it was short. And honestly, I don't think it looks bad, but I just felt it never fit my face . I have a slight widows peak, and could never do the spike the hair thing cause I though it looked silly. I have tried other styles but I was just never happy. I dunno. Its so hard, because hair takes quite a while to grow, if only it could grow on command and I could try out every style until I was happy!
Thanks again.
Michael
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Hi again! When I said 'dark and prominent', I thought your eyes were brown/black and your hair/eyebrows were dark brown. Must have been the lighting of the photo or my own screwy monitor, so sorry 'bout that. But even with that, I didn't mean 'dark' in a literal sense, you're right. Hmmm... How do I explain my view on 'dark' to you... Like... Ok. *I* have dark features in a literal sense: dark hair, eyebrows, eyes, but I won't usually be described as 'dark' 'cause of the general effect of things. Think of the expression "tall, dark, and handsome" - which is not me. Dark there isn't really dark, I think dark in this case is more like mysterious, reserved, and pronounced. Like your eyebrows.
And naaaaah, I didn't mean your nose was big. I just meant prominent, at least to me and that might just apply to that photograph.
I don't know about a chemical wave... Are you willing to risk it?
I had short hair for about 15 years of my life ;) Like you, I didn't dislike it short, but I thought it might look better long. Of course, now that I've gone through the trouble of growing out my hair (twice), the thought of cutting is just gruesome. And I do like my hair better now even though I liked my hair just fine before. If you let yours grow, you might like it more too ;)
I think I'll attach a picture of me with short hair just for the fun of it. I think I was 14 in this picture from 5 years ago.
Love,
Kiat T.
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Mysterious eyebrows :-) Heh. They're like an Agatha Christie novel. It's really weird, the divirsity of the color of the hair on my body. My facial hair has a strange red tint to it. My eyebrows are really dark. My head hair is fairly light (at least compared to my eyebrows). And my body hair (arms, legs, etc..) are completly blonde and like transparent. Anyway, I attached another picture that shows my hair and eye color better (I tured up the lights this time).
It really cool that all of you have so many pictures from when you had short hair. I had camera phobia so I have almost no pictures of myself. And the ones that I do have are just crappy photos. If only I had a digital camera when I started growing, it would be cool to see the transition.
Thanks again for the input.
Awww, come on. You KNOW exactly what I meant when I said 'mysterious'. Don't make me explain it like I did with 'dark'. LOL.
Now, I'll retract a few things I've said before. I don't think you'll look better with short hair anymore. In this new photo with some hair flopping on your face, see it? Yeah. That's just hot, man. Keep it. Maybe I felt you looked too nerdy with your hair all neat.
Love,
Kiat T.
AIM: TurboBoyKiat
I think it looks a little flat to be honest, and your facial profile (I think) would suit more volume in your hair. try combing it back to dry (or blowdry it back if you'll use one)to get more lift/volume...I really think that would make a difference. You could try adding something to the front to give a bit of texture/style... a stylist could do this for you.
It would be easier to judge how you look if there was a "before" pic, but I don't think that's what matters.
What matters is whether or not you regard this as a battle for self-determination. Only you can answer that question, and based on some of the stuff below it looks like you already have. If you are longhaired at heart, your relationship with your family could actually become *worse* if you cave in. You could get depressed, irritable, etc. and then you would just have to start all over again.
My conservative WW-II era parents were the same way, but when I finally got over the "big hump" and became a true longhair, my mother actually remarked that I seemed more confident due to it. It was strange and wonderful all at the same time. My father still gives me the business once in a while, but I think he may have finally gotten it through his head that I'm me and he's not.
Ya know, some people say modern society has no rites of passage, but at least for some of us, growing hair out against the wishes of conservative parents seems to serve that purpose. Either you'll keep it for much of the rest of your life, or you'll ditch it at some point, but whatever you do it'll be an adult decision if the rite of passage is complete.
Well, there are no rules about who can or cannot wear long hair. If some people were not meant to have long hair, why would it continue growing beyond short lengths? All people's hair keeps on growing, right? Clue #1...
Don't be dependent on what others think about your hair, and that goes for your judgmental family AND the suportive people here. Do what your heart tells you to do. There is no moral issue regarding your hair, so what do you want? Sounds like you want long hair, so even if the whole world hated it, so what? Clue #2...
For what it's worth, your hair looks great so far.
Just my wee little opinion,
JE
Your hair looks really good, much better photo when it is not tucked behind your ears. The lighting in the last photo makes all the difference, plus it brings out your eyes and gives us a better view of your hair. Just my humble opinion, but keep it this length or grow it longer. You have the right kinda face to support your hairstyle. Good luck.
ck
Hello there Ive been in the same situation as you when my parents kept telling me to get mine cut Short ( As in Short N Sides) I ignored them and kept growing it long then I got married and they still ask me to get it cut off Ive had long hair now for about 14 years.....Just tell you parents its your hair and you should be allowed to have it how you want. Good Luck.
Jon
Same here, except it's been over thirty years and we have two kids of our own, but my parents still say I should cut it short.
Ha ha ha They havent suceed thats good to know
Jon
My parents did the same thing in my formative years as well. Until I was 29, I kept it short, being told by everyone around me that I will be considered 'gay' or 'hippie', drug user, whatever....
However, until that time, I was an unhappy, overweight alcoholic with few friends. When I quit drinking, I declared that no one will tell me to cut my hair again. I am now 39 years old, I lost 85 pounds, my hair is in the middle of my back, and I've never been thinner or happier.
Don't cave. I work as an IT professional, and I am currently being trained for a managerial position. My employers respect me and if I cut my hair tomorrow, they would not know who I was. Your hair is part of who you are. Don't change it to suit the whims of those around you. Good luck!
