Just incase any of you don't read the Men's manes here is my introduction.  I started my hair journey on Nov 10 2003 when I shaved all my hair off, because I had bleeched it.  I really didn't think I was going to grow my hair until about 5 months in the process, I kept seeing long haired guys, and seeing LOTR everywhere I decided I want longhair. Back when I was a kid I tried to grow my hair and it reached 11 months before I cut it, for the wrestling team.  I pretty much had uncombed short hair for the majority of my highschool years.  My hair would sometimes look like einsteins.

I haven't had any trims yet, and right now I don't need any. I'm growing it to at least the 2 year to 2.5 year mark. Maybe longer.

Mywebsite is at

http://fragem.freewebtools.com

Please sign my guestbook

Cool website and some seriously gorgeous hair.  You look like David Spader in the movie Stargate.
strawberryfine 8)

Hey yeah! You do look like David Spader! I was trying to figure out who you reminded me of!

Anyhoo, welcome and look forward to chattin with ye 'round the boards.

Its funny cuz when my Hair was short I remind people of McCully Culkin. I will have to check out David Spader

Hang on, I think we got the wrong name, Strawberryfine. It's James Spader thats from Stargate. David Spade is the guy from the Tommy Boy film and Just Shoot me series. (Although your hair does look like his as well, you're facial features more closer match those of James Spader.) LOL - Sorry to waffle on. ;D

Greetings!

Rua,
You are absolutely right!!!!!  ::) It is JAMES Spader, not David--isn't David Spade "C.J." on the tv series Eight Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter?

Ken, I meant the other guy (James Spader) in Stargate.  I can kind of see the McCauly resemblance if your hair was short.  But James Spader is cute in Stargate; pretty good film, too.

wrote on Oct 31^st, 2004 at 1:09pm:

Hang on, I think we got the wrong name, Strawberryfine. It's James Spader thats from Stargate. David Spade is the guy from the Tommy Boy film and Just Shoot me series. (Although your hair does look like his as well, you're facial features more closer match those of James Spader.) LOL - Sorry to waffle on. ;D

Yea I was wondering that too. Because when I looked up David Spader all that came up was James Spader.  Yes when I was younger I did look like Mccully Culkin infact people use to tease me about it, but eventually it became something I was proud of.

The show stargate SG-1 or the Movie Stargate?

wrote on Oct 31^st, 2004 at 1:09pm:

Hang on, I think we got the wrong name, Strawberryfine. It's James Spader thats from Stargate. David Spade is the guy from the Tommy Boy film and Just Shoot me series. (Although your hair does look like his as well, you're facial features more closer match those of James Spader.) LOL - Sorry to waffle on. ;D

What an odd tangent!  :D

Welcome Ken, it's nice to have you here.

Red

Hi & Wecome! It's great to have another long hair fan and especially a guy who is into long hair!  :D

Well its nice to know Im welcome here.  I'm always looking for more hair boards, and It seems I will be here for a long time.

wrote on Oct 31^st, 2004 at 4:58pm:

Isn't David Spade "C.J." on the tv series Eight Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter?

Yes thats the guy! I've never seen that series, but I know that he's in it. You don't see too much of James Spader these days now do you? I wonder what ever happened to him...

I vote James Spader over Mcculley Culkin.  

Definately a reason to keep your hair long!

wrote on Nov 3^rd, 2004 at 11:31am:

I vote James Spader over Mcculley Culkin.   Definately a reason to keep your hair long!

Was james Spader longhaired or not, where can I see the picture you say most resembles me. I remember not too long ago Culkin had long hair that made him look bad, maybe cuz it looked like Redneck longhair syndrome. If you know what Im talking about.\



I saw a few pictures and I can understand how you make that connections with the glasses and all.

Quote:

Yes thats the guy! I've never seen that series, but I know that he's in it. You don't see too much of James Spader these days now do you? I wonder what ever happened to him...

I think James Spader is better known for Sex, Lies, and Videotape, or the last several several episodes of The Practice where he appears as Ellenor's morally-deprived attorney friend Alan Shore (who had relations with his best friend's mother at an early age). and the new Boston Legal, where he's luckily also Alan Shore... He also played a classic arsehole on Seinfeld. He's still around, Rua, so don't you worry.  ;D ;D

::droooooool::: I love this guy...  :-* :-*

here's a shot of him.  
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v478/AnaisSatin/jamesspader_resized.jpg

Anais

Anais, you are such a gas! LOL!  ;D

I remember that Seinfeld episode...it was hilarious! He was "Stanky Hanky"...and he refused to apologize to George for saying that George would stretch out the neck hole of his sweater.

Ah yes...classic Seinfeld. The most brilliant series about nothing...

I miss that!

I'm with you, Anais.. Mmmm 100% USDA prime hunk..  :D

*giggles*

That's the guy, in Anais' post.  In Stargate (the movie) his hair is a little longer and he has wire-rimmed glasses.  Definately cute!
strawberryfine 8)

:-*  Ohhhhhhhh Alan Shore!!!!!  :-*

yup, yup, that's the one... 8)

Here is my new 4 new progress pics

http://fragem.freewebtools.com/photo.html

I did my first photo with a ponytail looks like crap right now but its all good.

http://fragem.freewebtools.com/images/12month1.jpg
http://fragem.freewebtools.com/images/12month2.jpg
http://fragem.freewebtools.com/images/12month4.jpg

That ponytail is looking pretty good - along with the rest of your hair.  Keep up the good work and keep in touch.  

I love how the ends curl just a little when you put it in a ponytail!  It reminds me quite a bit of my half-brothers' hair, only his is darker and redder.  It looks great, keep it up!

Welcome Ken!

I checked out your site some of your links. It is so cool to see guys with long hair again. I am so old that I remember when it was the norm!!! ;D

WEll I have done my last major update in a long while.

Its at http://fragem.freewebtools.com

I'm getting on a bus tommorow to Boulder CO.

The move is very risky and very stressful, but I am getting nowhere in my home town.

I want to thank all the boards I found that encouraged me to keep growing my hair.

If anybody reads LHC, please tell them I'm sorry I trolled there and was very disrespectful a while ago.

I am now Mentally and Emotionally Mature now, my hair has given me strength to be the best I can be.

Ill be thinking of all you guys, but I will not be doing any more photo updates for at least 6 months.

Well done on the growth, Ken.  :)

And all the best with your move to Colorado. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Slán Abhaile!
(safe journey)

Good luck with your move.  Boulder is a beatiful place.  I hope everything works out for you.  Come back soon and give us an update.

Your hair is looking really good, keep up the good work! ;D

Yes, good luck in Colorado!! I've heard it's gorgeous!!  And by the way I love the color of your hair.

WEll it is a little hard living like I am living, but I think it will work out. THis is the first time out on my own, and the people I'm hanging with don't really mind my hair, some crack jokes but I don't care, I usually crack him back.

Most of the guys in Boulder have some hair, but not all take care of it like In Michigan.

All the BUms in Boulder and Denver have long hair that is not good.

hope you're doing fine ... i was very happy when i finally left home ... i just had it a bit hard the first afternoons i was really totally alone (and too lazy to study).

note: there is a huge difference between people who have long hair by choice and care for it, and people who have long hair cuze they can't get it cut.

Well it has been a week since I moved, I was homesick for the first 7 days and couldn't think of nothing but regretting the move, since I'm living in Tranistional Housing till I can get into Job Corps, the only real thing I got going for me was I finished High School, when I had short hair I had acted up so bad, my dad took away my driving privlegages and I never tested for a liscence.

I hope I can keep my hair in job Corps, than I will move back to Boulder, It is a nice little city.

So proggessive compared to the repressed area I lived in.

That first big move away from home can be tough.  Hang in there, it sounds like you have a goal to strive for.  Keep working towards it and you will succeed.

note i really wanted to move cuze i hated my parents. now i also live in a different country, 900 km away. sometimes it gives me strange guilt fever when i am at my parents. not only did i move, i will also take a radically different turn in my professional life: painter instead of scientist and it might take years before it might actually pay off   ::)
~¤ feels guilty guilty guilty ¤~

Actually I wish I could become a Jewerly designer, It is a nice social job, and I have become almost 10x more social and confident since moving out of my house.

I just don't know where to start, I want a job that is almost never boring and I am willing to train hard for it.

Also in the Men's mane forum a few months ago I was wishing I could get my ears pierced.

WEll I'm taking the plunge tommorow and getting both of them pierced for 35 dollars. I went and made the appointment last friday.

SHould I get rings or studs.  Also I'm worrying about infection, but I'm a really clean person so I probally would never get an infection.

What should I do for the first 3 months after I get piercings.

It has been many decades since my ears were pierced.  I remember that I uses studs to start because if would give a larger hole than a wire.  Keeping the area around the piercings is very important - infections are very common.  We always cleaned  the area several times a day with peroxide.  If you are going to a reputable place for the piercing, I'm sure they will advise you on how the area should be cleaned.

Have you checked out the community college for classes you might be able to take for jewelry design?

wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2005 at 5:13pm:

What should I do for the first 3 months after I get piercings.

if it's just on the normal place of the ear lobe: nothing. i don't know if they will really pierce (with a sharpened earring, or "shoot" it in, which is what they usually do around here: painful if it's done in the cartilage (that's what happened to me when they shot in the third and fourth hole in my left ear ... i got a headache and i felt a heartbeat in my ear brr.
check for the quality of the things they shoot in!!! go for silver or gold & avoid the rest! i was forced to take one of mine out too early cuze there was a cheap metal in it to which i am allergic and it was all bleeding and i even missed the hole when i put another one back and believe me you want to avoid that.

the least painful one i did was one i pierced myself: i put ice on the lobe and just put a sharpened earring (the trick is to pierce straight though). it doesn't create the pressure like the shooting system.
but don't worry, if it's not in some fancy places in the ear, it's pretty painless and you don't need to take extra care (but you can desinfect regularly if you want though). i think it heals in three weeks. (other piercings are a lot less fun though, can take YEARS to heal)

ahh ... such good piercing memories!!!  8)

Getting lobe piercings w/ a gun isn't bad, but if you are getting anything else, make sure you are at a reputable piercing place and get pierced w/ a needle.  I soak new piercings in warm salt water (non-iodized sea salt), several times a day until they are healed.   You don't want anything saltier than your own tears, and not hot enough to burn your skin.  I've found that 3oz dixie cups make the soaks much easier.  

I second Valerie's advice.  The warm salt water assists the healing process.  I have multiple facial piercings and had no trouble at all with infections using the salt water.  Another key is to NEVER, EVER touch your new piercing without cleaning your hands throughly!
I also agree with Styg on the ear cartilage-that takes forever to heal.  I only have one ear pierced that way- won't get the other one done.  That's the worst!!
Personally, I would suggest having the initial piercing done with studs.  They may be a bit less noticable with your new job.  Eventhough the hoop may be small to start with, you won't be used to it and could accidentally catch it with your comb...yeouch!
Good Luck!!!

the worst i heard is a piercing in that little lobe just in front of the entrance of your ear (i even think they forbid that kind of piercing for a while here). a girl told me that the thing still got infections often after two years!
i never used the salty water trick (only to remove a splinter from my finger as a kid) but it makes sense. i was also told to  turn around the earing now and then.  

wrote on Jan 24^th, 2005 at 10:15am:

the worst i heard is a piercing in that little lobe just in front of the entrance of your ear (i even think they forbid that kind of piercing for a while here). a girl told me that the thing still got infections often after two years!

The worst I heard of was that case in Oregon where numerous teens were infected by a mall piercing shop that reused sanitizing solution perpetually. They even used it to "clean" jewelery, which was clearly cleaner before this treatment. Several victims were left with disfigured ears. According to this article http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/82/97376.htm there are new piercing guns that have a sterile piercing capsule. Guns pierce by crushing, which makes the piercing much more painful than necessary. Really, a sterilized needle in a shop that has a properly tested autoclave is the only way to go.


Quote:

i was also told to  turn around the earing now and then.

In fact the piercing heals more quickly and with less chance of infection if you do not do this, as it disturbs the newly-healing tissue and may introduce bacteria.

WEll I'm actually quite frightened because, I have never done this before. I am actually suprised women find me attractive, or maybe the women in my area are just cold and don't smile as much. But moving was the best thing that I ever did.  Getting both ears pierced with long hair is a radical fashion change for me.

It feels like I'm finally making the transition for child to an Adult and I'm ditching all the stuff that I use to wear as a child.

I will request studs, but they said the locked rings are better, but I will be assertive.

I will check the Denver Community Colleges to see if they offer classes in Jewerly design.  It is really confusing to decide what you want to do, one thing I don't want to do, is be day laborer for the rest of my life.

wrote on Jan 24^th, 2005 at 10:15am:

the worst i heard is a piercing in that little lobe just in front of the entrance of your ear

That was the easiest piercing for me.  Didn't hurt, healed right away.  I think it really depends on your piercer.  I've known other people that had it done at other shops and had problems.   I've only had one piercing get infected, and that was a lobe that was pierced w/ a gun.  

Ken--I saw that you're in Denver.  Go to Twisted Sol for your piercings.  They're more expensive, but so worth it.  I would call ahead and see if James is working--he is great.  

Well my piercings didn't hurt that much.

But now I have a problem,  last night the ball that holds my ear ring in place fell out when I was sleeping.

And then to make it worse when I went to clean it the ring fell out.

And they are not open again till this thursday at 12am.

I heard if they come out you will have to redo them again.

Luckily it was only 1.

But now my the only ear with the ring in is the right, the worst ear, now I have to keep my hair down to avoid looking gay.

ON a positive note though, I only had really 1 negative reaction about my peircings, from an older man in his 40's who thinks getting both pierced is gay.

But so many men here have both pierced and it is against my fashion sense to just get 1. I'm the kind of person that likes symmatery.

Ohh yeah I live in Boulder not Denver, but it is pretty close.

I'm getting a Regional RTD pass in for next month, so I can job hunt.

Anyone in denver will know what RTD is.

Valerie -

I'm glad you mentioned that the internal ear pierce was not a difficult one for you - I have wanted a small hoop there for many (>10) years - but just have never gotten around to it (like the tattoo - waited till I was 40!)  

The pierce in my right upper ear was done with a gun, unfortunately.  If I only knew then - The cartilage was shattered and the area was swollen, infected off/on and constantly painful for almost 2 years. (Thank goodness for a tremendously high pain threshhold and even higher stubborn stupidity factor for waiting so long - you'd think a nurse would be a bit smarter)

Finally was on antibiotics for 6 weeks - (unrelated cause) and: it FINALLY healed!  

I'm down to only 5 ear piercings - the traditional 2 in each lower lobe and one high on the right - but I had an unusual dream last summer - of a third within the lobe - so the 3 would form a triangle.  Has anyone ever seen that?  I have rather generous lobes - and think I'll just have to try it - it is fleshy there - so - can heal over quite quickly.

Ken - That is the beauty of the ear lobe piercings, too.
It is something that, if you decide you really do not like it - you can allow it to close, naturally.  I would STRONGLY recommend sticking with studs until you are quite accustomed to having earrings - your hair is getting longer - and will catch in any earrings - but hoops much more so - and for the first couple of months - the irritation of hair wrapped around a hoop and tugging at your lobe is unpleasant.  The moment of pain for the pierce is fleeting - don't let it dissuade you.  

A male friend of mine bought a pair of the magnetic earrings at a 'claires' boutique about 2 weeks before his piercing appointment.  He wore them all the time, to become accustomed to how he looked in earrings (probably spent more time looking in mirrors and reflective surfaces in those two weeks than he had in the past 10 years!  He tried one only, one in each ear, and after 2 weeks - decided on a horizontal double pierce in one ear and nothing in the other.  He had flexibility with the magnets which helped him come up with a unique look he wears to this day - many, many years later.

hope this helps - nightowl

Have you tried to re-insert?  You might need a friend to help, but I've re-inserted many earrings before they had healed.  You need to make sure you line up the front and back so you don't create a new hole, but it is usually do-able.

I have tried to reinsert it, but I can never even enter the skin.

How long does it take for it to heal up before I have to get it pierced again, ouch.

I don't know anyone that could help me reinsert it at the place I am living at.

No one I can trust, I will have to wait till thursday to get it put back in.

I live in Transitional HOme, so it is tough to find people you can trust.

Most of them are drug  and alcohol addicts thats why they don't have a permenent home, or Older people who have no income, and no one will hire them because they are older.

There is some women there and I get along with them just fine, but I don't know how to maybe ask them to reinsert it for me.

bit earlier i wanted to post that earrings are bacteria magnets and i would be seriously surprised one could really keep them sterile. a bit of an infection by naturally present bacteria on the skin are no big deal for one's immune system. when i pierced my own ear all i had was a needle that was sharp enough: problem: if you take it out to replace it by a normal earring, the skin glues right back. so i had to redo it and wait for a little  infection two days later to be able to replace it. so yes, if one takes out the thing too quickly, the hole might close right up. weird, normally they shoot in these kind of safety ones that are very difficult to open.  

The ball should not have come off the earring. The shop didn't tighten up the CBR enough. You should go back and complain, and they should redo it if necessary.

CBRs (captive bead rings) are the best for healing a piercing, much better than any kind of regular earring. What gauge did you have? Was the ring stainless?

WEll I can't even get the one on the right ear off, it must not have been tight enough on the left.

I will go back thursday and have them repierce it.  It was 16 guage stainless steel.  Like I said the right ear's ring will not come off.  It is basicly stuck there because I don't have the manual dexitery to take it out, so something must have been wrong with the left one.

I didn't even sleep directly on the left ear ring, just on my left side. I made sure that I didn't directly lie on the ring.

I had only had it in for 8 hours.

wrote on Jan 25^th, 2005 at 6:04pm:

Valerie - I'm glad you mentioned that the internal ear pierce was not a difficult one for you - I have wanted a small hoop there for many (>10) years - but just have never gotten around to it (like the tattoo - waited till I was 40!)

The 3 lobe piercings sounds neat.  My next piercings will be my right tragus (the front ear flap), and a rook on my right ear, which is part of the internal cartilage.  

I'll bet you love your tattoo.  I planned mine for 6+ years and definetly have one I'm going to be showing off when I'm 80.  Might not look quite so good then, but I'll still like it.   ;D

Yes, Valerie - I've really been enjoying it.  I'd desired a specific design for more than 2 decades, and I've had it now for 5 months - My son did the actual stylizing and drawing of my desired design for me, and the artist transferred it onto the skin - (hadn't known it was done that way, but was pleased that the design is uniquely my son's and not the further stylings of the artist).

 As I'm a nurse (always wearing white dresses, white shoes, tiny pin-head-like earrings, and my hair in an up-do to work for the past 20 years......) folks always assumed I was a dyed in the wool, old-fashioned (read mega conservative) woman::)As the design is deep black and high between my shoulderblades the image shows through the back of several of my older/thinner uniforms - (hadn't really thought of that).  But, I've received no negativity at all about it.  I'm just pleased after all this waiting, to finally have it, and my son is quite pleased to have had the opportunity to create it.  ;D

I think the staff working in nursing homes 40 years from now will have a constant surprise when doing skin assessments!  It will be very entertaining for them and I'm sure will spark MANY conversations between staff members.

nightowl

Nightowl--That is awesome that your son designed your tattoo.  Makes it even more special.  

The only negative reaction I've had on mine was from my parents, and I never meant for them to see it.  But I figure there are a lot worse ways I could have disappointed them.   :P

I empathize.  Neither of my folks have even seen it.  We live in a split home - my son and I upstairs, my folks downstairs.  I'm in their home every day.  They know I got it, but never asked about it - and I've never mentioned it with them around.  I'm just careful to respect their obvious distaste and throw on a light sweater any time I'm wearing something where it might be obvious.   :-/

nightowl

Well update on what happened,  the piercer couldn't repierce my left ear for 1 month so I had her take out my right ear piercing too.  I have to go job searching and wearing a ponytail is almost a requirement for men, and a right ear piercing would not look so good.

I'm going to go get them repierced in about a month from now.

She wants to give them time to heal up.

Bummer   :-/  Did the piercer give any reason for why the one failed?

Good luck on job hunt.

She said I must of rolled over on it, but From what I hear those captive beed rings are very hard to remove by yourself.  So she is going to repierce them in a month free of charge..

When I had them  in though I was constantly trying to avoid looking at women, because they were all smiling at me and I'm very shy.  I also wear a nice leather coat.

By the way I got a regional rtd pass in Denver so My job search should be 10x easier now that I don't have to stick in 1 city.  Otherwise I have to go to job corps.

Ken - Hope your job hunting is going well.

I'm getting the shivers reading all the info on piercings -- OUCH!  I've never been brave enough to get any piercings done.  Big downside is not being able to tolerate any clip earrings so I almost never wear earrings :-[  

That's the thing I like about long hair -- cool looks without all the pain (just lots of patience). ;D

The only piercings I have are in my ears but like Ken I had trouble. It took me years to work up the courage to do it and then finally when I was brave enough to go it wasn't done correctly. One of the piercings wasn't positioned right and the other was put in on a bit of a slant.   :o I really had trouble with the slanted one, it was always sore.  :'( I ended up taking them out and later having them redone. I probably wouldn't have bothered redoing them but I had bought so many earrings and been given so many I would've  hated not to be able to wear them. All in all the piercings were a bad experience and I don't ever want anything pierced again.  :P

Okay, this sounds a little silly, but with all this talk of piercing ears....

I had my ears pierced by my grandfather, who used a sterile needle, a piece of ice (to numb my ear), and a potato (so when he pierced my ear he would end up sticking me in the neck).  I never got an infection (though I did douse my ear hydrogen peroxide twice a day for two weeks) and it never really hurt all that bad....

But, Ken, I'm assuming you got an ear piercing with one of those larger-guaged earrings?  Gosh, I bet an infection in one of those.. yikes!  Just let the lady know at the peircing shop the next time you go that you'd like to make sure they won't come loose.  Poor dear..!

novusfemina ... i have to admit your grandpa's method is the best and least painful ... but those guns can be pretty awfull, especially when you pierce up higher in the lobe and several at a time per ear ... brrrrr

My grandma always pierced ears like that too, though she never did mine (I had mine done as a baby but let them heal over years ago).
Styg, your post made me shiver.   o.o

I think guns are the worst thing for piercings, even just flesh like ear lobes, and the pain and damage they cause in cartilage is horrible.   That said, I was cheap and had 4 lobe piercings done with a gun.  One got infected,  and it was so painful, I thought I might lose the earl    :o  I later had them stretched to a 16 gauge, and it took them a while to heal.  I don't think they went in entirely straight the first time.  

Owie, Valerie!  

Gosh, why do people put themselves through this sorta stuff?  I just wanted one little piercing in each ear so I could wear sll those pretty little earfobs!  (hello chandelier earrings!)  But the whole body piercing thing has never interested me... navels and lips and noses.. it just sounds like a lot of unnecesarry pain to me.

I mean, y'all are free to do with your bodies as you please, but for heaven's sake, do be careful!  :-/

Long before piercing  was popular my aunt did her own with a sewing needle and an ice cube, she did other people's too. I had a friend whose mother a nurse, did hers that way. I have never heard of anyone who used a needle and ice having a problem. Mine was done with the gun and that was when one was put in slanted and got infected. :-( When I had them redone it was with the gun too but at least the last time I didn't have a problem. I think the second time since it was a different person they knew more what they were doing, but never again do I want to go through that.

wrote on Feb 4^th, 2005 at 6:26pm:

Owie, Valerie!   Gosh, why do people put themselves through this sorta stuff?  I just wanted one little piercing in each ear so I could wear sll those pretty little earfobs!  (hello chandelier earrings!)  But the whole body piercing thing has never interested me... navels and lips and noses.. it just sounds like a lot of unnecesarry pain to me. I mean, y'all are free to do with your bodies as you please, but for heaven's sake, do be careful!  :-/

One of the most common reasons for moderate to heavy body modification that I have read about lately are people who used self mutiliation as a way to cope with stress.  Piercings and tattoos are a more healthy way to express their emotions.  I've seen one person that is writing a thesis on the subject, and I look forward to reading more on why people enjoy body modification.  

I have a very low pain tolerance, and even if I had ever wanted to hurt myself to deal with emotional pain (which I didn't even as a teenager), I would not have been able to.  I just like the look I guess, and it is an easy way to change your appearance without doing anything permanent.  It helps people guess much closer to my actual age also.    ::)  As for pain, it really doesn't hurt for more than a second, as long as you have a good piercer.  

My mother is like you and just can not understand any reason for it whatsoever, even lobe piercings she thinks are completely unnessecary.   My grandma on the otherhand, now thinks my eyebrow ring is cute.   :)