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Long and Strong

For generations men, especially young men, have allowed their hair to grow out as a symbol of freedom and independence, as well as an expression of personality. Back in the day it was so cool to have long hair that dudes bought wigs of it. You weren't a "real" gritty cowpoke without a shock of grungy hair to sport. Peace and love could be displayed through your long hair in the 60's. Today guys grow their hair out for a number of reasons but before I look into that lets take a look at the three basic units of men's hair length and their advantages/disadvantages.

CATEGORY #1: The Short
Short hair in all its forms is the probably the most likely thing to find atop the average american's head. Why is that? Lets look at the advantages:
Comfortable on the Head
Very low upkeep
Comfortable to wear hats
Socially acceptable
disadvantages:
Look like everyone else
restricted freedom of expression through hair
less insulated head
potentially costly upkeep
Overall "the short" is a decent selection that I can't really downplay although I don't think it's the coolest. It's probably going to be what I and every man should eventually settle down to keeping after their about 30...especially if they're balding.

CATEGORY #2: The Shaggy
You all know it. You've seen in on countless high school kids and emo band's lead singers. The shaggy is the stage between short...and officially long.
ADVANTAGES:
versatile
less costly upkeep
DISADVANTAGES:
more of a hassle
50/50 chance of looking like waterfowl's nest on any given day
more uncomfortable
This is my LEAST favorite of the hair choices (except for extreme long witch I will get to later.) It's an annoyance and its just not worth the hassle. PERIOD

CATEGORY #3: The Long
Rockstars, Actors, Collies, and most pictures of Jesus sport the LOOOOONG hair. It's expressionate and, depending on how much you put into it, can make or brake the man.
ADVANTAGES:
Can look RIDICULOUSLY COOL
Good Insulation
Something to play with
Stand out
Extreme low cost of upkeep
DISADVANTAGES:
heavy
extreme upkeep
can look like turd on a biscuit
uncomfortable in a lot of situations
Long hair is a force to be reckoned with. While it takes time to perfect it....it can either be the ultimate super weapon of "dang I'm cool" or the be all end all of mundaneness. The person who chooses long hair must care of it and treat it well if he wants to be the neatest thing out there.

The last category is EXTREME LONG HAIR and lets just face it....if you're a dude with hair past your shoulders and you DON'T have it in dreds...you're in denial that your hair sucks and your life is falling apart. You are probably a Vietnam vet that, in rebellion to the cads that made you cut your hair for 3 years, have been dead set on never cutting it again...even though its stringy, nasty, and very very thin. Yep, you're losing it man...in more ways than one.

As for why we grow today...I really don't know. I think a lot of people do it because everyone else that is "artistic" or "rebellious" does it. I think others are like me and do it because 1) Too lazy/unable to get a haircut and 2)youg and want to see what it's like. My hair is nearing leaving the shaggy stage and moving into the moderate long stage...probably in the next 2 months. I'm looking forward to growing it out at LEAST until January but possible as long as April 10th. The day after my birthday...regardless of what I wish...The hair shall be cut, and cut short. No matter what our reasons we all have something in common...uh....
...
long hair...

Time to play with fire and liquid nitrogen!