Rise up, man bun, rise.
Growing My Man Bun, Week 1: The Journey Begins
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We’re way into hair at B+C. Whether it’s in the world of celeb cuts + colors or emerging trends on Instagram and beyond, we’re always looking for inspo for our tress adventures. Since I don’t have a personal desire to get fire hair or go merman with it, the only logical move for me to get creative with my locks is to grow out a man bun, and I’m not talking about the baby version. (I also just really wanted to partake in more photoshoots at the office — shhh, don’t tell anyone ;) I’m welcoming you all to join me weekly on my journey as I share what it’s like to grow a man bun out IRL.
First things first: The reason why I’m doing this — aside from the previously mentioned weekly photoshoots, of course. Way back when I was a little boy playing soccer I remember being intrigued by the crazy hair styles of David Beckham. Seriously, if you haven’t seen them/don’t remember what those ‘dos look like, do yourself a favor and Google it. Besides the soccer star, there were plenty of other famous men with long locks that I noticed as I was growing up that made me think to myself, “Hey, that would look good on me.” But I never went through with the lengthy process for various reasons.
When middle school and high school rolled around, I decided to play the hair game safe by keeping the buzzcut alive. I tried growing it out here and there but my hair, which is naturally curly, just started looking like Napoleon Dynamite’s the more I let it grow. And that’s not a good look, so I played it safe and would shave it all off every month or so. At the end of the day (and beginning of it), I just wanted to roll out of bed and into first period with as little effort as possible. Mission accomplished, though I may have sacrificed some style points — sorry not sorry, teenage self.
By the time college and post-grad life came, I got a little more creative with my hair. I attempted to let the curls have their moment by allowing tamed volume on top of my head with my new signature look: the side part. Yeah, yeah, I know, just like every other 20-something male, but it worked for me.
When I moved to San Francisco last year I began contemplating actually going through with my former infatuation with longer hair — hugely inspired by the endless array of man bun inspo going down in this breezy city (good + bad, I should note) — and decided to see what my hair would do if I gave it the opportunity to grow past the annoying curl stage. This time around, I would give it the attention it needed: hair products + maintenance, the two things I avoided for 10+ years.
After going back and forth with the desire to grow it out vs the endless requests from my mom to cut my hair (hi Mom, I love you!), I’m going all in with the man bun (or at the very least a top knot before giving up) because I’m 24 and who knows how long these locks will last before my hair starts receding on me. That’s indeed a real fear, FYI.
Follow along every week as I share tips I learn from hair stylists, my barber or even people around me that are already living with long hair (aka 50+ ladies at my office). I’ll also be offering up any tricks or hacks I stumble upon, changes in my hair routine and any funny stories that go down along the way. I leave you with this quote from my currently tiny man bun: “It’s a growin’ but it’s barely showin’.” Until next week, leave any helpful commentary you have for me in the comments or tweet us @britandco because, lets be honest, I have no clue what I’ve gotten myself into.
Got any tips, tricks or hacks for growing out my hair to get that man bun bigger + faster? Share them with me in the comments!
(David B Photo via Alex Livesey/Getty)
