The man bun-- you either love it or you hate it. Its spike in popularity is only just now beginning to decline. The man bun most commonly appears on more rugged, woodsy-looking men and is often paired with facial hair. However, it is also seen in a more clean, professional style with slicked back hair. Whatever the styles, the man bun has been sweeping the nation and men everywhere are taking pride in their long locks.
It may seem like the man bun has just recently emerged as a fashion trend in the past couple years, but think again. For centuries, men have been sporting the man bun. One of the earliest men to regularly sweep their hair up into a bun, and arguable the original, was Budha. During his life, 6th and 7th BCE, he wouldn’t go out in public without securing his signature topknot. In the 3rd century BCE, 8,000 sculptures, known as the Terracotta Warriors, wore a bun atop their head- every single one. Another one of the greats, George Harrison of the Beatles (1970s), reminded the modern world of the magnificence of the man bun. Other recent celebrities to sport the man bun are David Beckham (2003) and Leonardo Dicaprio (2014). These macho men have been style icons for people everywhere, so the fact that they have embraced the man bun must mean it’s something special.
I have heard both love and hate towards the man bun, so in order to form an opinion for myself, I asked others what they thought. I got opinions ranging from...
“Man buns are the bomb.” (Gavin)
“I really don’t like them, I really just want to get scissors and chop them all off honestly.” (Erin)
“It’s not a good look.” (Jaspal)
“I have a friend with a man bun and I think he’s kinda hot, so…” (Rebecca)
“No comment.” (Alex)
After speaking with multiple people, I found that most people agree that it depends on the person sporting the man bun. You’ve got to have a certain look and style in order to walk around with a manly man bun.
“Honestly I’m pretty liberal when it comes to the man bun, but you have to be pretty hot to pull it off.” (Dominick)
“Their [man bun] attractiveness level depends on the person.” (Claire)
If this consensus is true, I was still confused as to why men would take the chance of sporting a man bun because they have a 50/50 chance of pulling it off- you’re either hot or you’re not. I wondered why they would go through such trouble of growing their hair out, going through awkward hair stages, and buying more hair products. So I spoke with the man buns themselves or, rather, those who sported the man bun. Hannah, who has a short pixie cut, wears her hair in a bun. Some would argue that, by definition, it wasn’t a man bun considering she is not a man, but to me she was the perfect person to ask about man buns. She had the same hairstyle that men with man buns have. She said,
“It makes my hair manageable, and I have a lot of it.” (Hannah)
Then, I heard from others who wore their long hair in a man bun.
“It’s comfortable, and, man buns are the key to getting good buns.” (Gunner)
“Make sure you grow it out long enough or you’ll look like a unicorn.” (Mitchell)
“Man buns project the wolf inside of me.” (Luke)
After collecting these quotes, I landed on the conclusion that men wore man buns mainly for convenience sake. To double-check this, I had someone give Gavin, who has long hair, a man bun. The response confirmed my conclusion.
“I can see!” (Gavin)
“I can see his eyebrows!” (Emma)
I was quickly becoming a fan of the man bun and proceeded to find others with the infamous topknot and settled on my opinion. Man buns are awesome. Despite others’ opinions, I think that most anyone can pull off the man bun. What is important is the state of the hair. It must be washed at least once a day, and conditioned. If the man bun is dry, it will look frizzy and wild. Even if you are going for a more wild, woodsy look, you must keep your hair conditioned. Even if not for style, it is a very convenient up-do for men. If you have not yet tried the man bun, I would encourage you to do so. I am now a huge fan of the man bun and as Nicki Minaj puts it, “I don’t want none unless you got buns hun.”
