You guys talk about the akward stage a lot here. I'm just wondering what exactly is the akward stage? What length is that?
when i first began growing my hair, i thought that the awkward stage is the stage from the point your hair becomes longer than socially acceptable for a short-haired person (dunno, two-three inches?) and until the point when it becomes shoulder length.
all the way through that awkward phase i gelled my hair and about 11 months after i stopped, as it almost reached my shoulders. i was quite satisfied with it for about a few weeks, until this year's october, when it got to my shoulders and began curling at the ends. i began hating the way that looks. so, the awkward phase wasn't over.
basically, the awkward phase is the phase of growing hair from short to long when the hair doesn't look too good (that is, you're having problems because the hair is too long to be short, but not long enough to tie properly in a ponytail, or put behind your ears, or do other stuff (although that is mostly corrected with gel)). another reason it's awkward is because of the way your hair is "not quite there", you get social problems (depending on where you live, of course).
for me, the awkward phase ends when my hair is 1 or 2 inches below my shoulders, so that it doesn't curl too much and looks more or less straight. i would say it takes 1.5-2 years to pass this awkward phase, and i'm still in it.
but i'm getting there! i'm getting there and y'all shorthairs betta' watch out for da bombastic shiny clean straight supernice long hair :)))
Too long to be short; too short to be long. I'm still in it. I'll feel out of it when the sides are long enough to hold in a ponytail without help from gel or anything else. Until then, you should buy stock in LA Looks (great gel for the price). Good luck, and don't let the awkward stage deter you.
The "awkward stage" is a completely subjective thing and unique to each individual. There is no set length that defines the awkward stage for everyone.
I would consider the awkward stage any stage during the growing-out process where hair is unmanagable and more often looks unkempt than well groomed. This stage (or stages) may well come and go several times before a guy gets his hair just as long as he wants it... hair may get to a certain length and look alright for a while, then as it starts to get a bit longer it looks like crap before it reaches a length where it looks good again.