As you can see, my hair is very long on top. Since last January, It's been growing out from a very short length; so it's about to be a full year of letting it grow. However, I've kept the sides short... until now?

Last January, I faced the question: "Do I want to let my hair grow out?" It's a big question for many people (usually guys, but girls who have cut their hair short find this dilemma as well), and the answer is not always so easy. Before I reached this ridiculously-long, undercut, man-bun-able, unexpectedly curly mop on top of my head, I had pretty short hair for basically my entire life. See the picture below...

Sorry, wrong picture...

This was basically how I wore my hair for much of my life before sometime around late 2014. I kept it short, quiffed - that kind of style. When I was very young, I often had buzz cuts, but those were just in my early childhood.

Around the fall of 2014, when I was going into my senior year of high school, I decided to shake it up. I went for an undercut. An undercut is a haircut in which the sides of the head are shaved very short, usually a zero or a one length on clippers, and the top of the head has longer hair, usually anywhere from three inches in length or longer. Undercuts are clean, they look good in my opinion, and a lot of people tend to like them. Popular celebrities have sported them, such as Brad Pitt, David Beckham, and Adam Levine.

My hair was short on top, but finally, after my first semester of college ended, I decided to let it grow. This decision was mostly a product of the man-bun trend which appealed to me. I wanted one, just to see what it would be like. Plus, I had never had hair longer than a few inches in my life.

Today, my hair can form a pretty solid bun, and I like the way it looks down too. It's been around a month since I've trimmed my sides, and it's starting to show. Now, once again, I am asking myself: "Do I want to grow out my hair?" But this time, I'm adding "all" to that thought. After growing out the top of my hair, I've become very curious to know how I'd look with all of my hair grown out. Should I let it grow?

Before I make this decision, let me get to the real point of this article. What are the pros and cons of growing out your hair? Let's examine...

Pros:

1. Growing out my hair has allowed me to discover the real texture of my hair. My hair is much curlier than I knew, and it really shows after I shower. If you really want to see the full potential texture of your hair (unless you already know your hair is pin-straight), let it grow, and let it flow!

2. Long hair looks good! A lot of people look great or just better with longer hair. Give it a try, and you may be pleased to find you've given your overall look an upgrade with a longer 'do.

3. Long hair is fun. It really is. I play with my hair all of the time. If you're one of those people that likes to do so, or needs something to mess with to stay calm or focused, then long hair is a perfect toy. And guys - girls like playing with it too.

4. More style options. Once you have grown your hair out to a significant length, you have a lot more to work with if you like to mix up your style. With my short hair, I couldn't do anything but push it up or to the side a small amount. With my long hair, I can put it over to either side, slick it back, wear it messy, put it up in a bun or a ponytail... the only limit is really your imagination and the amount of product you use.

5. It forces you to keep your hair healthy. When my hair was short, I got away with just using a regular old shampoo by itself. It didn't really make a difference. But with long hair, the difference is baffling. You can quite easily tell who takes care of their long hair and who doesn't. Long hair needs to be cleaned, conditioned, and brushed. Most people also use things like dry shampoos, argan oil, and a host of other products to keep it looking healthy.

6. More attention/compliments. People aren't as used to seeing men with long hair, and this will often lead to more compliments from people about your hair than you ever received with short hair. (Note* This can be a con as well, because people will also give you a hard time for having long hair. See the next section for more.)

Cons:

1. More attention/comments. So, as I said before, longer hair on guys tends to get more attention. While sometimes you'll get more positive comments, you'll also be on the rough end of negative ones too. It happens. This can include being mistaken for the a woman (DID YOU JUST ASSUME MY GENDER!?) It can get annoying, but just remember, OTHER PEOPLE'S OPINIONS DO NOT MATTER, YOUR HAIR IS YOUR HAIR AND YOU SHOULD WEAR IT THE WAY YOU LIKE. Seriously, I cannot stress that enough. I've gotten absolutely fried by friends and family members for having long hair, or rocking a man-bun. Every time this happens, I just laugh it off and say I like it. You'd be amazed at how people seem to automatically stop teasing you after you clearly stand up for your own style.

2. It's a lot of maintenance. I've been particularly lazy about my hair, but I have had to step up my game since I had short hair. It takes time to clean it and style it and keep it nice. Be prepared to put in this time and effort.

3. It gets everywhere. This involves just generally getting in the way, as well as shedding all the time. Seriously, keep a hair tie on you at all times. Grow you hair out and try eating with your hair falling in your face - it's difficult. Plus, you run you hands through your hair and you're almost guaranteed to find a few stray hairs you've collected. If it's windy, be prepared to get a face-full of hair. Your long hair is also much more likely to get caught in things, and it will happen, and it will hurt.

4. It may not look so great. You may grow out your hair, and find out that you don't really like the way you look with long hair. That's okay though you can always cut it. But that was a lot of time growing it out. Make certain that your expectations are realistic.

5. THE AWKWARD PHASE. This is the worst con on this list. Growing out your hair as a guy means that you hair will go through a very awkward, annoying, ugly, awful phase of being in between short and long. It will be bad. There are ways to hide it or try to style around it, but it's difficult. This is the most important thing to be prepared to suffer through in the name of wanting long hair. You will get past it, and it will look much better on the other side (most likely, see #4), so you just need to accept it and roll with it.

These are just some of the pros and cons I could think of from personal experience, but the journey to long hair is a long and intricate one. If you make the decision, which I would recommend trying just for fun, then good luck to you! So will I grow out all of my hair? Stay tuned. (Strongly considering it.)