Last week, my nine-year-old daughter begged me to take her to see One Direction and Big Time Rush, two boy bands popular with the Nickelodeon set. The girls know every word of every song and melt at the sight of their their boyish good looks. But what struck me most were their hairstyles. Each boy had his own signature 'do. Different versions of side parts, long curls, and lots of hair piled on top. While these boys are clearly styled for their female tween/teen fan base, are boys really wearing their hair this way? Absolutely!
When I came home from the concert, my 11-year-old son, who wears his hair in long waves much like Orlando Bloom in Pirates of the Caribbean, was in front of the mirror making sure his long curls hung in his eyes to look "cool." While some of his friends are still sporting the same haircut since they were five, a lot of the boys are wearing long, tousled hair and styling it to perfection using ski caps and baseball hats to set it into place after showering.
So, if your son is refusing a haircut for months on end, you should know long hair is the thing; pushed to one side, messy and tousled, or hanging over the ears. Crunchy gels and wet looks are out. Some boys are still buzzing shapes into the side of their head a la Jersey Shore, but for all you moms who cringed at that trend, you will be happy to know it is so last year!
For straight-haired boys, a new twist on the Keith Partridge look is popular with the same shaggy layers over the ears but the part is now on the side, not in the middle. For the boys with curls, the Greg Brady is replaced by longer looks that hang down over the ears or parted on the side. The ball of curls simply won't do.
The good news is we are not seeing boys dying and highlighting their hair. They are just wearing it natural, thick, and full. For those of you moms who prefer shorter hair, the look sported by Taylor Lautner looks short and neat, but has the length at the top so its a great compromise if he wants it long and you want it short.
Hair is important to boys and letting them express their individual style through their hair is a part of growing up. While you might not love their 'do, remember its only hair and you can always cut. it. After all, they may lose it in 10 years, so they should enjoy it now!