I'm not sure where you find issues with longer hair, but I think most folks here are not that judgmental. If what I previously wrote came across that way, I do apologize. It certainly wasn't my intent. I am one who grows a beard each winter since retiring from the military and find some like it, some are not thrilled, but most simply let me my own preference.
Long hair - Thoughts, Opinions, & Styles?
- Thread starter Budgie
- Start date
No worries. I didn't take it as being as you judgmental at all.
I also hope you didn't take my initial comment to mean that I disapprove of long hair on men. I agree with you that a man should be able to grow and wear his hair however he likes. My comment was only meant to suggest that I do not believe long hair (on a man) can be considered formal. While it can be acceptable/tolerated in a formal setting (so long as it's well-kempt maintained), as a general rule, it's not "formal" per se. In this way, it's somewhat like jeans. While a pair of (clean dark) jeans may be acceptable at some formal events (but definitely not at a white tie or black tie event), it's not really formal.
For me, formal is something that an attorney would wear to court (in the US, not so much in the UK or some commonwealth nations, as the barristers there wear robes in court IIRC). While an attorney could wear long hair to court, it may not reflect well upon him in the eyes of a jury. (Like it or not, in the US, there is a bias against men with long hair being taken as professionals.) Should an attorney opt to wear long hair to court in a jury trial, it could bias the jury against his client (unless his client was a shampoo company and the lawsuit was about how the shampoo damaged someone's hair).
I now have long hair for second time in my life. For 10 years back in the 90s and again now. I let it loose and ponytail back in the day. Luckily i have a full head of hair then and now. I bic’d it bald for a couple years and then kept it shorter for a while, letting it grow out a bit, but maybe 2-3 cuts a year.
I keep it in 75% bun now, i wear a suit at work when i go in now in a fairly conservative environment,
. The other 25 i do something with row braids.
I get a bunch of TiSH
all the time from mostly guys in ball caps or really short hair cuts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I keep it in 75% bun now, i wear a suit at work when i go in now in a fairly conservative environment,
. The other 25 i do something with row braids.I get a bunch of TiSH
all the time from mostly guys in ball caps or really short hair cuts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯it’s pretty easy to dazzle folks with a hair flip /s
No, it’s not. At least people are super confused, because i look and talk like i should be on the beach, but i am usually in a board room environment.
I find myself code switching (to borrow a phrase) between the professional setting and how I speak normally among friends. My normal every day speech has a lot of "Dude"s, "yah"s, and "dunno"s. However, when I'm in professional mode, those terms are gone.
I think its more that my colleaugues are ISTJs ( or something like that as they always seem tell me) and i’m way laid back in comparison with a healthy work/life balance that also is kind of looked down upon.
But the bun or top knot is a complete enigma to them. they just have a very different lifestyle that doesn’t entertain that type of stuff.
Thank you, Sir. I really appreciate your response.
Id say that as long as you avoid the man bun, you'll be fine.
I've had my hair long for a very long time. I'm a massage therapist so I don't need to be formal for work. It probably seems more fitting that my hair is long!
Also I have a client that owns a barbershop/salon who "tips" me in premium shampoos and conditioners, which keeps my mane looking amazing.
I think some guys can pull it off in a formal way, and some can't. Same with a bun.
Also I have a client that owns a barbershop/salon who "tips" me in premium shampoos and conditioners, which keeps my mane looking amazing.I think some guys can pull it off in a formal way, and some can't. Same with a bun.
I’m guessing this isnt a B&B approved style 
It doesnt work for my job either, but it made my daughters and i smile, so at least i got that going for me.
It doesnt work for my job either, but it made my daughters and i smile, so at least i got that going for me.
This is my issue . . . hair gets to about a cm in length and it drives me nuts. At that point, the hair has to go.
Rhody
I'm a Lumberjack.
Long hair probably needs more attention. Shampoo and a trim but do what makes you happy.
This made my day! Thanks for sharing.
I was just thinking this, and I'm no fan of the man bun look, but I just realized it would look great on the right guy in a black tuxedo. Seriously.
Haven’t cut my hair since covid was a thing. My wife hates it, but I like it. I probably look terrible with it, but who cares lol. I’m in the trades so it doesn’t matter how it looks. Most of the times it’s up in a ponytail/bun so I don’t rip my scalp off running drills and saws.
IMO, if your sideburns, over the ears, and back of the neck are trimmed and tight, then you can get away with whatever you want. I put my hair in a pony tail and don't really care what anyone else thinks.
Being pretty thin on top, keeping what is left pretty short works for me, but unless you are in a job that means long hair is not allowed / safe etc., then do what you want with it. Even if I could grow it long, I am not sure I would, living in the tropics a sweaty head is not pleasant...
I've always worn my hair longish. Never shoulder length, never a mullet, but certainly over the collar and long on the sides and top with some layering. Now that I'm seventy-four, I still have it, so I do rock it.
Grooming is important, though. I usually blow out my hair, then set it with some spray. Gotta' keep it trimmed though, so it's off to the stylist monthly to deal with the ends (and at my age, the eyebrows).
Worked in advertising and media my entire career, so long hair was a non-issue--even in boardrooms. In fact, it was an asset in a business where looking "creative" is important.
Grooming is important, though. I usually blow out my hair, then set it with some spray. Gotta' keep it trimmed though, so it's off to the stylist monthly to deal with the ends (and at my age, the eyebrows).
Worked in advertising and media my entire career, so long hair was a non-issue--even in boardrooms. In fact, it was an asset in a business where looking "creative" is important.
I also hope I didn’t come across as anti-long hair or closed minded about it. The truth is I like long hair but I just meant that having long hair in the world we live and work in often has negative consequences. It shouldn’t, but it does for most of us. I’d hate to advise someone to wear their hair long and then have their career in banking be a failure. That did happen to someone I know who worked at a bank and refused to cut his hair, and it was a shame because he was very smart. He also never had a girlfriend.
I think I’d be more comfortable with a well dressed banker wearing well groomed long hair to one that has tattoos all over their face.
I've worn long hair for the last, hmm, 15 years, at least. It's wavy and well kept, now it's trending from salt and pepper to more uniformly gray. In terms of formal, frankly when I wear a tux, I wear it down. It works. A ponytail is less formal in my opinion and it's what I do when I'm working and trying to keep it out of my face. Sometimes I'll put it in a braid. And I have worked in litigation support in high profile law firms for the past 5 years and have gotten nothing but respect from the "old guard" partners.
Pic from a couple years ago. The mustache was a little out of control, but you get the idea.
Pic from a couple years ago. The mustache was a little out of control, but you get the idea.
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