Question about updos for men

[tomm]

After I shared my success at accomplishing my first updo, I was asked this question:

Is it harder for a guy to find a comfortable updo - but still look "manly" (or at least not "girly" if that is what the guy is looking for...) - than it is for a woman to find one?

My response is: I'm probably the wrong person to ask - being for the most part unconcerned with what the "world" thinks I ought to do with my hair. I am fortunate in that I do not work in the same location as most of the people with whom I work (I do a LOT of teleconferencing), so there is no one to whose professional opinion I have to cater. And my wife and close friends are supportive. The only thing I base my decisions on is whether I like a particular way of wearing my hair.

For me, a manly updo (or manly way to wear my hair) is one that is simple to accomplish and functional (it is comfortable and HOLDS my hair up). I am looking for practicality - if it takes a lot of time and bother, or if I frequently am having to redo things, or it's uncomfortable I won't use it. That is somewhat hard, but not as hard as if I were worrying about other peoples' opinions.



What do others think?

[florenonite]

Well, I tried to convince a friend to let me French braid his hair and he ran away ...

He had waist-length hair, whilst mine was a bit below shoulder-length and layered, so I couldn't do a French braid in it (still can't very well) but I knew one would look great in his hair so endeavoured to do one. He was not impressed. However, I think that as long as it's comfortable and you don't use flowery-sparkly pink hairsticks (unless you like that sort of thing) then it doesn't really matter.

[iris]

I think it's mainly a matter of attitude. My man used to wear all sorts of buns and half-ups when he had long hair, and it didn't look girly at all. He doesn't look girly in a skirt, either. Just like a man in a skirt . He gets away with all sorts of attire. He's actually small, with delicate features, and fairly hairless, so it's a bit of a mystery why he doesn't look like a girl, but he doesn't. I think it's just because he's not self-conscious about potentially looking like a girl.

If you look at sumo-wrestlers, for instance, they don't look girly either. It's not in the hair - it's in the attitude.

Iris

[Gylfi]

I agree with Iris - it's a matter of attitude. I have worn some elaborate styles and frequently go out in public with a bun or a braid (even a French braid occasionally!) and, while I do definitely get comments, they're never on the subject of how effeminate my demeanor is I have worn kilts in public (hey, Tartan week starts on April 5th!) and I frequently wear a very fancy Setesdal cardigan that my mother knit for me in all of its embellishments, embroideries, and clasps. I think the fact that I can wear my hair in these styles shows enough confidence to be considered even more masculine than I might otherwise be perceived! Or maybe it's the fact that I am 6'6 and tower over most of my acquaintances, hehe

[khyricat]

DH wears a quick bun with a wood fork from my stash at times.. he won't let me braid his hair and go out.. but he looks just fine with a simple wrap bun.. if I'm wearing a plain fork and his hair isn't in a tail, I have to worry about it being stolen since he knows I have spare toys in my purse to use.. now I carry a spare wood fork for HIM.

Amie

[sapphire-o]

I think a simple bun with no adornment is quite manly. A simple single braid is fine, too. Hair clips are usually not for guys, but if you use a plain colored Ficcare to clip your hair up before putting on a hat or helmet, that's a good option.

[thetokenlady]

Mr. Token won't consider any kind of a bun, but he'll let me braid his hair. He'll usually ask me if we're going out on a long motorcycle ride, either a braid or a banded ponytail. Poor guy has baby fine hair that tangles if you even look at it wrong.

[jojo]

I don't see anything different about a man wearing hid hair up opposed to a woman to be honest. Braids, buns, pony's and twists all look great on either gender in my opinion.

Darling don't follow trends, set them if other people don't like it tough!
I loved your up do with the twist and as someone (eadwine or lamb i think) said on the old LHC, none of us are here to colour anybodies world but our own! i use this saying often now as it is so true.

Incidentally we have a Doctor on my ward, who wears an APL braid and I dare the person to say it isn't manly!

[Anlbe]

I've known men who braided their hair- sort of tight french braid, although I admit I never asked. Always thought it looked fine, certainly not at all effeminate.

My BF has lovely hair which he often forgets to cuts until it's two or three inches long at which point I can put it into french plaits or twists. So much fun, but sadly this always seems to motivate him to finally have it cut

[Jaime]

Another male LHC'r - Ale I think, posted photos on LHC-before-the-fall of his wedding, at which he wore his hair up in a two-stick updo. It looked great!

Attitude is the key, because if you think for a moment, updo's are no more or less "manly" than long hair in the first place. The main difference is our comfort level with it.

Jim