New Haircut

January 7, 2005 7:16 AM

I'm going to get my hair cut today. I'm thinking I should maybe try something new. You all know what I look like. Any suggestions, nothing too metro, please?
posted by jonmc to clothing, beauty, & fashion (58 comments total)

You all know what I look like.

We do?
posted by greasy_skillet at 7:30 AM on January 7, 2005

He looks like a scruffy John Cusack.
posted by iconomy at 7:35 AM on January 7, 2005

you do now. A year or so old, that picture is, but I look more or less the same but with out of shape hair.
posted by jonmc at 7:35 AM on January 7, 2005

dyed plaid?
posted by andrew cooke at 7:38 AM on January 7, 2005

Two words. Tri-hawk.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 7:38 AM on January 7, 2005

Go with a buzz. Seriously. Tell the barber #2 comb on the clippers. You won't like it at first, but hair care will become a thing of the past. If you don't like it, it'll grow back quicker than you realize.
posted by Doohickie at 7:38 AM on January 7, 2005

I'd second the buzz cut, you've got the right shape for it.
posted by greasy_skillet at 7:41 AM on January 7, 2005

Don't get it cut- grow it out!
posted by mkultra at 7:53 AM on January 7, 2005

Flat-tops are cool, but they take regular maintenance (a bi- or tri-weekly trimming) to keep them looking nice and flat. I've had them a number of times over the years.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:54 AM on January 7, 2005

been there, done that, mkultra. I had it almost to my ass at one point. But, I'm a little old to be rockin' the Jesus look and it really ain't my style anymore.
posted by jonmc at 7:54 AM on January 7, 2005

buzz. (of course, I swoon over bald men)
posted by poipill at 7:56 AM on January 7, 2005

How much time/effort are you willing to put into this new hairstyle? None at all? A few minutes a day? Would you *GASP* use hair products? I know you said you would never use them, but you're now dabbling in electronica, so anything is possible.
posted by iconomy at 8:00 AM on January 7, 2005

Jon, please do not change.
posted by oh posey at 8:01 AM on January 7, 2005

My god. And all this time, I pictured jonmc as a dead ringer for Wilford Brimley. Must readjust worldview...

You really can't go wrong with this classic look.
posted by naomi at 8:02 AM on January 7, 2005

ico, I'd prefer to keep maintenance relatively minimal, and the one time I ever used gel, did not turn out good.

Also, by sheer coincidence, I am wearing the same exact shirt and t-shirt as in those pics you posted. eerie.
posted by jonmc at 8:06 AM on January 7, 2005

#1 on the side and don't touch the back
#6 on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack
posted by neilkod at 8:08 AM on January 7, 2005

Buzzcut.
posted by keswick at 8:13 AM on January 7, 2005

I was thinking something like these. ;)
posted by terrapin at 8:27 AM on January 7, 2005

Depends. Where would you like the Batman logo?

Oh, and buzzcuts making scratching your head as you think a more pleasing sensation. I vote buzzcut.
posted by Sticherbeast at 8:27 AM on January 7, 2005

I second oh posey.
posted by damn yankee at 8:28 AM on January 7, 2005

My father looks almost exactly like me, and I saw a picture of him with a buzzcut from when he was in the service. It made him look kinda funny.
posted by jonmc at 8:29 AM on January 7, 2005

I'm thinkin' a perm.
posted by lilboo at 8:34 AM on January 7, 2005

Go with the Brazilian, man.
posted by Danelope at 8:34 AM on January 7, 2005

Wha...? No one has said it yet?

Business in the front, party in the back!!

Jon, seriously, you live in NY, go with whatever is snow/cold weather friendly.
posted by vignettist at 8:39 AM on January 7, 2005

The Teddy Bear, (as modeled by Mr. John Cusack), and a longer cut with sideburns. Both would look swell on you, if you feel the need for change.
posted by iconomy at 8:46 AM on January 7, 2005

Or how about this one?
posted by naomi at 8:48 AM on January 7, 2005

Why don't you try a new color, jonmc? I could really envision you as a redhead.
posted by naxosaxur at 8:55 AM on January 7, 2005

Too metro, I reckon, naomi... but I agree it would be a good change for Mr. Mc.
posted by squirrel at 9:02 AM on January 7, 2005

Tell the barber #2 comb on the clippers.

Holy smokes! I went to the barber the other day and told him "high and tight" which was contrary to the haircut I usually get. He kept asking me "#1 or #2?" and I had no idea what he meant. I was going to post a message here and ask about it, but I figured it was a stupid question, so I moved on with my life. Lo, and behold, Ask Mefi provided the answer anyway!

It's a miracle!
posted by crunchland at 9:21 AM on January 7, 2005

Grow it. Perm it, be King Buzzo. Ah, that's good: More Buzzo.

Either that, or this Cusack look someone else already supplied.
posted by safetyfork at 9:29 AM on January 7, 2005

Leave it as it is.

But if you must change, then I second iconomy's "longer cut" pick.
posted by Juicylicious at 9:41 AM on January 7, 2005

Looks like you have three votes for the Cusack/Longer cut, which if I remember correctly, isn't that far from what you have now. Is it?
posted by Juicylicious at 9:43 AM on January 7, 2005

Myself, I ask for the following:

#2 on the sides/back, #5 on the top, blend inbetween. Blend down to skin at the bottom edge of the sides and back, make sure the back is rounded. Trim the bangs with scissors to half length, don't shave them with the #5.

I get the same (extremely low-maintenance) results every time, and I'm always happy with it.
posted by Ryvar at 9:44 AM on January 7, 2005

if I remember correctly, isn't that far from what you have now. Is it?

No, it isn't, except that I haven't had a haircut in about three months, so I'm looking kinda scary. I'm just traditionally fairly dim about this kind of stuff, so I figured I'd ask the studio audience.
posted by jonmc at 9:51 AM on January 7, 2005

You are going to post photos of whatever you get, right? It just wouldn't be fair to keep us all in suspense like this.
posted by aine42 at 9:59 AM on January 7, 2005

Eventually. I don't have a digital camera.
posted by jonmc at 10:00 AM on January 7, 2005

Unless your hair is fine/thin, let it grow. Luxuriantly long haired boys are hawt.

Oh, wait, you don't want to attract men (besides me) do you?

Buzz it, dude.
posted by WolfDaddy at 10:02 AM on January 7, 2005

Mygawd, you look exactly like I thought you did. How strange is that? Your hair looks fine as it is - scruffy is good, I like scruffy much better than buzzcuts; you can't run your fingers through a buzzcut. Although naomi's is good too -
posted by mygothlaundry at 10:16 AM on January 7, 2005

Luxuriantly long haired boys are hawt.

Actually, wolfie, at the time I also had a goatee. I showed a picture to a female MeFite at a meetup and she guffawed and said "Shit, you look like Tom Green" Sadly, I din't get to bone Drew Brarrymore.
posted by jonmc at 10:33 AM on January 7, 2005

Buzz sounds good. Or this Cusack, as above. But make sure the sides are short enough that the sideburns are a natural transition - they don't want to look like they're poking out from under the rug.

(Says the boy who recently transitioned from a $50 haircut to a $10. The 10 is better.)
posted by metaculpa at 10:39 AM on January 7, 2005

I vote for the Cusack Longer cut, too. Hubba hubba!
posted by headspace at 10:45 AM on January 7, 2005

I'm with you on that, metaculpa, I go to Astor Place Haircutters in the East Village. $12 a cut.
posted by jonmc at 10:48 AM on January 7, 2005

I second metaculpa's idea; it certainly beats my Jerry Only suggestion.
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:11 AM on January 7, 2005

Thanks to ryvar's comment, I reflected more on his hairstyle just now than I have on my own in 43 years. Who thinks this much about his hair? My instructions to the hairdresser are simply: make it look neater. If asked when my last cut was, I will give a timeperiod that may be off by as much as 50%.

jonmc, don't change it. You're a handsome man.
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 11:21 AM on January 7, 2005

If a buzzcut is American for a skinhead then I'm voting for it. If you don't like it it'll soon grow back and it's the ultimate maintenance-free haircut.
posted by squealy at 11:24 AM on January 7, 2005

Here's what you do, see-- you grow your hair longer. Then you shave the top of your head, just the top. And then-- Comb Over, baby! Mmmm.... Classy!
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:30 AM on January 7, 2005

Would you *GASP* use hair products?

Yeah, your haircut in that first pic you posted looks good. It also just screams "you have no product in your hair".

Gel is evil. Do not let the gel dissuade you from putting stuff in your hair. There are any number of pommades and waxes and goopy things that are 1) way low-maintenance, and 2) hard to screw up, unlike gel and mousse where you don't know whether you screwed up until you've been at work for a few hours.

PRODUCT
posted by 23skidoo at 11:30 AM on January 7, 2005

Or you could shave your head completely-- I'm talking glistening-- and grow a big thick handlebar mustache. Ah, the 1890s weightlifter look. That's the stuff!
posted by Fuzzy Monster at 11:35 AM on January 7, 2005

If you've never done it before, go for the BUZZ. Just, you know, for shits and giggles.
posted by ColdChef at 11:38 AM on January 7, 2005

Yeah, what ColdChef said. A buzz will grow out much quicker than you would think. Just take the plunge.
posted by Doohickie at 12:10 PM on January 7, 2005

BUZZ
posted by ursus_comiter at 1:24 PM on January 7, 2005

Agreed.
posted by Buzz at 2:41 PM on January 7, 2005

You would.
posted by iconomy at 4:23 PM on January 7, 2005

I think it's funny/interesting that the women have voted predominately for either "leave it as it is" or "john cusack" whereas the men favor the buzz cut.

Appearance versus maintenance. hmmmm.

Which will it be, Jon?
posted by damn yankee at 9:35 PM on January 7, 2005

Jon, I gotta concur with the "less is more" crowd...something buzz-y.
posted by davidmsc at 10:01 PM on January 7, 2005

You're better looking than Tom Green. The eyes! The eyes! Drew doesn't know what she missed!!
posted by WolfDaddy at 11:45 PM on January 7, 2005

How about this look?
posted by taz at 12:11 AM on January 8, 2005

It might be worth going to an "expensive" hairdressers just the once and asking them for their advice. They might get you to flip through a few magazines to find something you think'd look good beforehand and you can get their recommendations on styling products as well.

If you're willing to do a buzz cut "just to see" it doesn't hurt to go the other way and try out a slightly higher maintenance cut.
posted by hugsnkisses at 7:36 AM on January 8, 2005