No, not the two you’re thinking of.
From its origins in seventeenth-century Japanese samurai to celebrities such as Harry Styles and Jared Leto, the man bun, or “mun” has made its comeback. In a rather ironic twist of modern day society, this hairstyle trend has embodied the “hipster ideal” in such a way as to become well, mainstream.
As the name suggests, the man bun channels the ballerina-esque quality of its female counterpart in an attempt at comfort, functionality, and rugged sexiness.
The latter is questionable. (Sorry, guys.)
When I envision a man with a bun, I generally think of such an individual with a strong jawline and dark brooding eyes; perhaps wearing canvas sneakers and a thrifty cardigan while sporting a camera or book and sipping on fair-trade organic coffee in some obscure yet gourmet coffee shop. I can appreciate and give credit to those individuals. The thing is, not every man is an artsy photographer with a beard and skinny jeans. And just like how not everybody can rock a turtleneck or a pair of Birkenstocks, a man bun is, simply put, not for everyone.
Facial hair and man buns often go hand-in-hand, and it comes to no surprise that there is a delicate balance that exists between the two. Too little or no facial hair, combined with a voluminous bun can give off feminine vibes. On the other hand, a man bun, in addition to a sizable beard and mustache just gets, well, excessively hairy and bear-like. And on a similar note, the half-man bun, especially on curly hair, is rather cauliflower-like in appearance.
“Messy buns are the hair equivalent of sweatpants.” Regardless of gender, they are worn by those who either a) simply do not care or b) are trying awfully hard to look good without looking like they tried at all. Unless a man is well put-together and confident, oftentimes a man bun can come across as lazy and disheveled. For example, some man buns are accompanied by slicked back hair. This unfortunate combination of a messy man bun AND hair grease, which puts together two fashion extremes, results in an unpleasant air of “I haven’t washed my hair in days but hopefully nobody will notice if I wear a bun.”
Despite its massive popularity, sporting a tuft of hair at the nape of your neck just doesn't do it for me. Sure, there is the occasional guy who can pull off the man bun, but for the majority, the hairstyle can appear unkempt, feminine, or just downright silly. Regardless, a trend’s a trend, and whether or not that means males will be sporting headbands and scrunchies in the near future, we’ll definitely be seeing a whole lot of man buns.
