Boyfriend wants to grow out his hair!

[Ravenne]

I'm excited. Lol!

He had the shaggy thing going on when we met, but has since chopped it into a more traditional shorter style. Which I do like more than the bushy college mullet he had before, but I would be interested to see how he looks with longer hair too. He can't go past his shoulders due to work regulations (bank) but he just wants to be able to ponytail it.

The problem is... he's extremely low maintenance. He uses one of those bodywash/shampoo combos and while that's fine for short hair, I can see it becoming a problem as his hair gets longer. I'm not sure what his type is... but I'd probably place him at 2c/3a judging by his sister and mother. It's almost black too, so I'd love to see him sporting shoulder length dark curls.

So... I turn to all you knowledgeable people! Any ideas on how I can get him to take more appropriate care of his hair without asking him to be high maintenance? It'll have to be something he can integrate into his routine easily... He did say he'd be willing to take my hair advise. Which is a start. Lol.

[LisaMonster]

My boyfriend has the most wonderful curls that he didn't know how to take care of, and I found that being very complimentary and stroking his ego is what worked, haha.

"Blaaah I love your curls, blaaaah"

Now I've got him on the CO track, which really isn't high maintenance at all. It's just an extra bottle in the shower. I even bought it for him, so he has no reason to not use it.

[Ravenne]

My boyfriend has the most wonderful curls that he didn't know how to take care of, and I found that being very complimentary and stroking his ego is what worked, haha.

"Blaaah I love your curls, blaaaah"

Now I've got him on the CO track, which really isn't high maintenance at all. It's just an extra bottle in the shower. I even bought it for him, so he has no reason to not use it.

Lol! There's a good chance that an ego stroking would work wonders. I've been telling him how much I'd love to see his hair in really good condition so I can see the pretty curls.

I never really thought about CO.. He's already familiar with it because I dabble in it occasionally and he's actually defended me when it came up.

Me: I don't use shampoo.
Friend: What?! *rushes over to look at hair more closely*
DBF: Yeah, she just uses conditioner. It works the same as shampoo and her hair is really soft and in great shape.

I fell in love with him again when he said that.

Thanks for the CO suggestion.

[Panth]

I've had several male friends who have decided at one point or another to grow out their hair. I think the main issue is, if they are a low-maintenance sort, to explain that conditioner isn't a "girly", "fussy" thing ... that most women condition and most men don't is due to the general gender differences in hair length, not because of differences in the amount they care about their appearance. Although, if your BF understands CO this may not be a problem...

The other thing is to make sure they understand that shoulder length hair cannot (generally) be treated the same as hair that is less than 1" long - it will need different care as it grows. Again, may not be such an issue with your BF.

I think complements are a good idea - positive reenforcement! Also, keep things simple and make little alterations gradually. E.g. one day I chucked DBF's hairbrush (which was a nasty, plastic one with bobbles on the bristles with loads of broken/bent bristles), saying it was broken ... and coincidentally bought him a nice Body Shop bamboo-bristle one as a present.

Another thing to consider - if he's low maintenance, he'll never want high maintenance long hair. So, if you want to help him grow it out, help him find good, hair-healthy low maintenance methods. He probably won't want to do weekly deep oil treatments, for example, but CO or oil shampoo or ACV rinses (especially if you make the oil shampoo up or dilute the ACV in bulk and leave it in the shower) would be pretty simple to implement.

Also, if he likes that sort of thing, instead of (or as well as) giving him a back rub after work or something, give him a headmassage or a massage with an SMT or something as a treat - make it as something nice you are doing for him as a de-stress and bonding, rather than something he needs to do or something that he is doing for himself for the sake of his appearance.

^_^

[perkidanman]

My boyfriend had what I call the "Steven Segal" pony tail before we started dating and chopped it off before he asked me out. He kind of wants to grow it back now but it's short and there would be that horrible, awkward phase where it's just long enough to be shaggy and not long enough to put back. I've also told him that if he grows his ponytail again I'm going to try out all my braids and updos on him.

[einna]

CO or oil shampoo will be easy enough I think.
Give him some hair supplies as a gift, such as a good comb, a leave in or oil and some hair friendly styling gel if he uses that. Its easier when some basic tools are in order

Ps. Lucky you! Longish curls on boys are lovely <3

[varintalonguard]

I'm so jealous of my bf. His hair has wonderful curls and no matter what he does to his hair it always stays shiny, strong and lovely. I do like it when his hair is longish because of the lovely curls he has, especially towards the back.

I know this is no help at all but I felt compelled to share my envy.