# Grow it! Show it! -- Long as I can grow it . . .



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

With the horrible winter and my reliance on public transportation, I haven't felt like making an appointment lately for a trim, so my hair which grows fairly quickly is starting to inch toward the Summer of Love look. Several people said they liked it and suggested I keep it, but one young lady a couple of days ago informed me that longer hair is a young man's affectation not appropriate for older men.

My first thought naturally was !

My second thought was, "Oh, really?"








And my third thought was "I have thicker, shinier, more awesome hair than you and you're just jealous!"

Of course I don't want to go the full David St. Hubbins' unfortunate route, but why not have a bit longer hair than a dull cookie cutter business man? I do after all still have all of mine.

And then I realized I have some female middle aged friends with very long hair, one in particular, and people are always trying to get her to cut it to an "age appropriate" length, but I think it's gorgeous on her, even the little fleecy tufts of grey at the temples. In fact I think it is those short dowdy cuts that can make women look older and shorter cuts may work better on younger women, depending on the shape of the face.

So what are your thoughts on the whole age appropriate thing? Should middle aged people just give up and go lie down and hide themselves from society rather than do whatever makes them feel good? It's not like younger people are going to be fooled into throwing themselves at us or anything. Our pants fit!


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## Whistler Fred (Feb 6, 2014)

Yeah, those old fogies all need haircuts! And what's up with those beards. Darned long-haired oldster freaks!









(Pay no attention to the pictured weirdo...)


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

I am bald. I am middle aged (although I've no idea how that one happened) but if I wasn't bald I wouldn't have long hair. Long hair is for women. There, I said it. However, I'm generally all for people doing whatever they want as long as it is:
1) Legal.
2) Won't frighten the horses.

I believe hair length is something that society should mind its own business about.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

mirepoix said:


> . . . Long hair is for women. . .


Hmmmm. Interesting hypothesis.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

Never mind that, he should've invested that hair growth in a cool beard like his buddy Charles.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

On second thought, maybe that's not a good example. He sorta looks like a cross between a pharaoh and my grandmother!


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

Okay. Better example:


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## Whistler Fred (Feb 6, 2014)

And,of course, there's...


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

As with all of life there are always exceptions to the rule. Santa is one of them.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

Other exceptions:


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

mirepoix said:


> Okay. Better example:
> View attachment 36511


I don't recognize him.  Kind of look like early Phil Collins except for the overalls.


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## mirepoix (Feb 1, 2014)

Weston said:


> I don't recognize him.  Kind of look like early Phil Collins except for the overalls.











Recognise him now?


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

My favorite guitarist:


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

As long as long white hair is clean and combed I think it can look quite distinguished on an older geezer - whatever the length, I think hair only looks a bit naff if older blokes opt for a black or chestnut brown dye from the 'Mid-Life Crisis' range in a feeble Aschenbachian attempt to hide their age (i.e. Paul McCartney). I'll leave views about hairpieces and implants to others.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Grow it? My Carolina Reaper seedlings are doing well. 1.4 million on the Scoville scale! Come late summer and there'll be some hot times around here.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Nothing looks much worse than a traditional short, side-part coiff 'just grown out.'

If you are going to keep it long, get it cut accordingly (and well.) The difference would be in people thinking, "that is a guy on the bus to / from work," vs. "Is that Ted Kaczynski?" Ditto the beard. Trim it. The mountain man look is out, even, I think, in the mountains.

That said, careers are established between age 20-30; dependent upon the business, (ex: banking vs art) their are conventional expectations of appearance. Once well established (successfully, I should add) and a bit past forty years of age, you can pretty much do what you want by way of how you look... In the business world, after the mid to late 20's and then later not much until you are 40 yrs old or over, you are suspect with long hair.

It is mainly the matter of a decent shape and cut and maintaining a general good grooming habit which truly makes a difference, regardless of 'the look.'


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I agree. If you like long hair, grow it, but I think it looks better tied back in an eighteenth-century queue with black velvet bow or something. To be honest, it does cross my mind when I see old blokes with long hair and earrings, 'who do they think they are?', but it all adds to the public stock of harmless pleasure.

But I don't like short back & sides either. I prefer hair trimmed neatly, but longish; and beards trimmed, especially a la Francis Drake. If Taggart looks too straggly, I get out the scissors while he's watching the TV...

My pet hates are brylcreem, and combovers for bald heads; apropos of which, you all know it, but who could resist...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

No side parts for me! Yuch! Prior to this growing spell, I looked like a reject from an aging Monkees tribute band or something. Very bowl shaped. (It's in my profile picture) But that was its own suspect thing. 

I can't grow a beard anyway. A little dab of Cherokee genes may prevent that. I have an appointment with my hair sylist tomorrow evening, so I'll see what she thinks. I'm giving her plenty of material to work with!


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

Nice topic!

I'm going to grow my hair long before I turn 50. Had it really long just before my eldest was born, and I mean really long!!
Mind you, I first have to become 49 in May. 
I am in fact a shorthair guy, not like U.S.marines but short like Leonardo diCaprio in Great Gatsby (cue histerical laughter from loved one....). 
I like long hair, but usually go to my friendly Tunesian barbershop when I have to start using "conditioner" to get the comb through.
Btw. This thread needs pictures!! I'll post one soon; longhaired or short.

Cheers,
An undecided Jos


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I had my hair long in the late 60s and then again in the 70s - flower power. I never learned to put it up properly. Then I had it in various short styles. But recently I have started growing it again. However, I don't think it will ever reach down my back, as in days of yore. Most of us as we age just can't produce the thick flourishing follicles we used to have. But I am happy with it now, shoulder length and tied or clipped back. I need to save on hairdressing fees now that I have 2 fiddle teachers to maintain.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Circa 1976, this is me on top of Mount Elbert, Colorado:


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Scary!








80s madness


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## sabrina (Apr 26, 2011)

This was my hair last year. Now it's longer...though I intend to cut it shorter.


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## lupinix (Jan 9, 2014)

I think one should be able to do what one likes if its about clothes, hair, interests, anything.

If someone doesn't feel comfortable in shoes it would be very nice for him to for instance wear sandals over his socks in winter, without all kinds of people looking down upon him, thinking he is a weirdo, thinking he is some kind of social barbarian, whatever.
If you don't like sandals over socks in winter, don't wear them  in a world where no one wears shoes you might as well be the "weirdo", but I don't think this is the main problem, it isn't that people don't like it, it is that people seems to think everyone should be alike, at least to a certain point. 
If someone prefers a cloak over a coat it would also be nice for him if people didn't shout things to him, think of him as a freak or that he wants attention (of course the ones that DO wear a cloak for attention ruin a lot for ones like him, which I think is really sad), or even that he is arrogant for thinking he can wear what he likes. 
Some of those thinking these thoughts might actually themselves not feel comfortable in their clothes but too afraid of changing something because people will think things about it (which I totally understand, I'm mostly afraid of this too), but it seems instead feeling inspired and thinking about how relieved it might feel to do the same (or that people that are judged a lot for being different would know how it feels and won't likely do the same. at least if it is sincere and not for wanting attention), they instead become jealous.

In my ideal world people wouldn't even notice someone is different, because in this world people can actually show that EVERYONE is different  everyone is exactly dressed as they feel most comfortable with and infinite possibilities and is glad for each other feeling comfortable.

As for hair length , this seems to me a bit small matter after this, and of course my opinion is the same. Personally I like long hair, it is soft and feels a bit protective to me, but most important: I like it when girls have long hair, so why would I have short hair myself? If someone instead likes short hair a lot, or find it more open and free, or think long hair is too much work to take care of, or find it too tingling, or can't sleep well on the mass of long curls (I personally had this problem), short hair is as fine too 

I don't care much for a gender differences or age differences, I personally think they are unimportant compared to the differences between individuals.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Hair today....gone tomorrow.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Update: My hairdresser liked it longer. She was elated that I started, of necessity, combing it back out of my eyes instead of doing the aging Monkees (or Moe Howard) thing. So the one girl who protested got outvoted and I now have a kind of professorial look.

I promise though, never to go back to the 80s poodle look or the extreme mullet I once had, completely ignorant of how silly these would one day look!


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Weston, you look like someone from a 80s pop band


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

OldFashionedGirl said:


> Weston, you look like someone from a 80s pop band


Looked. Those pictures are decades old.  But you are too kind. More like an 80s geek.


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