40 Men Who Grew Out Their Hair And Ended Up Looking Awesome (New Pics)

To learn more about this online community and the inspiration behind it, we reached out to one of the moderators who was kind enough to have a little chat with us. "I have been a long-time user of Reddit (since 2008) and what I've always loved about the site is that it allows people with unique interests to connect who otherwise wouldn't," the creator of the subreddit told Bored Panda. 

"As a guy with long hair, I noticed there wasn't a community for like-minded folks to discuss their experience." They mentioned that most of the media surrounding long hair is directed at women and this was one of the main reasons why the moderator thought that men might be feeling a little left out. 

Having a place to talk to each other, "share tips, maybe ask embarrassing questions inspired the sub. A guy might be the only person in his small town with long hair, but here he is one of many. With that, Fierce Flow was created," the founder said. 

When asked about their community, the moderator told us that, in their opinion, it’s "the best on Reddit. Bar none." Being an active user on the site for quite some time, one thing they noticed was over moderation, "that is to say the bigger the sub, the more involved the mods were. This led to so many rules that new members had no idea how to interact, and I think [they] stifled conversation." 

"Also, mods got inflated egos and felt the community was theirs," they continued. That’s why when they decided to create the Fierce Flow subreddit, they deliberately chose to set only one rule—"don't be a jerk." 

The creator explained that this rule was simple and direct. It "has dictated the entire culture and allowed for limited moderation while everyone understands the rules to engage." And the best part is, they added, the fact there is only one makes it so much easier to enforce. 

According to them, if someone does not follow this rule, it’s much more straightforward to tell them, "We only have one rule and you somehow found a way to break it" than "Under section 2.1 you aren't supposed to engage in XYZ." 

Lastly, this has allowed Fierce Flow to be an open arms community. "While it was built for 'men', folks from all walks of life can join," they said. "Men or women. Binary or non-binary. All are welcome. Just don't be a jerk."

The creator of this online group truly enjoys moderating the subreddit, "only because the community is great. We are very hands-off mods. We let the community do its thing as long as the one rule is adhered to. In my opinion, this is Reddit at its best and I am proud it has stayed that way even though the sub is now massive," the moderator added, saying that the forum now has more than 140K members. 

Talking about the difficulties men with long hair face, they mentioned that each individual experience is different. "The beauty is no matter what your length, hair type, or color, there is someone at this point who has posted on the sub with similar hair, so you can get great tips and insight."

One piece of advice the creator had for you, dear readers, is to be yourself. "If you want to try to grow long hair, go for it. For some—they love it, others—they don't. But you'll never know unless you let it grow."

Joe Mills, founder of the Joe and Co salon, told Esquire that there’s never been a better time to consider a longer hairstyle. "It’s really diverse at the moment with longer hair," Mills said. "You’ve got guys with hair flowing down past their shoulders through to guys with Seventies Bowie-style cuts with short fringes."

He explained that like any trend out there, hairstyles are circular: "People first started moving towards a softer, Stone Roses-style look, and it went from there. You always have a phase where everyone’s having sharp, short haircuts, then people buck the trend and it starts to filter through."

After all, the possibilities with long hair are virtually endless. From wearing it down and pulling it back to getting it braided, long hair can be styled for any occasion. However, it also requires much more care and attention. Think of regular haircuts, spending more time to blow-dry your hair, and making sure that it shines instead of looking dry and scruffy. It’s no wonder why some people feel discouraged or even intimidated by growing out their locks.

Yet, if you decided to see what having long hair is all about, Mills advised taking a couple of factors into consideration. "Realistically, you need medium to thick hair to grow it long," he said. "If your hair is too fine then it’ll just look wispy." Then there’s the shape of your face. "An oval or square jaw will pretty much work with most haircuts. If you’ve got a particularly round face, you have to be mindful your hair doesn't accentuate that. Anything mid-length can tend to look a bit Lego-head."

Once you grow it out to your preferred length, your long hair becomes a part of your signature style and can be truly hard to part with. That’s why it’s important to know how to take care of it and make it strong and silky. One of the most useful things you can do for your curls is to invest in quality products. 

"If your hair is in fairly decent nick, you only need to condition your hair every other wash," Mills advised. "If you've got finer hair, you can also use a sea salt spray which coats the hair, making it look thicker."

While many believe that trimming your hair makes it healthier, it doesn’t make it grow faster: "People say you need to come in every four to six weeks to get the dead ends cut off, but you’re cutting off what you’ve just grown. If your hair is really thick and getting out of control, you might want to have it reshaped, but it’s not like the short back and sides mentality: you don’t need to come in every few weeks," Mills mentioned. 

If you’re worried about looking a bit sloppy, "it helps if you’re clean around the edges – the back of your neck and your sideburns if you have them. If you’ve got a beard, make sure it’s blended in. Aside from that, you’ve got to just put up with it."

At the end of the day, if you look good and feel happy about your hairstyle, it means that it suits you. Even if maintaining long hair requires more effort and care, it's hard to deny that wavy locks look fabulous. So if you scrolled through the list and found yourself admiring these pictures, don’t be shy and try it out yourself! And if you face any troubles, know that Fierce Flow is always ready to help you out in your journey.