5 Reasons to Give Mr. Man Bun a Chance

When it comes to dating, I like to think that I’m pretty open about the types of guys I’m willing to entertain. I’ve never been one to have a type; so as long as the guy had a great sense of humor and a kind spirit, they pretty much had a chance with me. That said, I’ve definitely been wary of a certain sub-group of guys: the man bun community.

Over the past few years, scores of men have been growing out their hair to sport man buns, and I’ve been avoiding every single one of them. I know, I know—it seems awfully shallow to count out an entire group of guys just because of how they wear their hair, but it hasn’t been about vanity, I promise. It’s more so been about me making unfair assumptions about their personalities based on their look because, let’s be honest, men with man buns are all kinds of yummy.

Even so, I just couldn’t shake my stereotypical view of them. For so long, I equated man buns and shaved sides with cocky hipsters who ate food off of wooden slates and recited Feminist poetry on the subway to score chicks. Guys with man buns were not looking for anything serious, and only wanted a woman to stroke their ego, and brush their long, flowing locks for them at night, I was convinced.

Turns out, I was just young, immature, and missing out—big time! There are several reasons to give guys with man buns a chance.

Here are the top five!

He buys quality hair products.

It takes several inches of hair to create a majestic bun, so a guy with a man bun will probably have quality products in his arsenal. Since he’s obviously not into conforming to gender stereotypes, it’s also possible that his products won’t smell like the forested-man-advertised products that probably aren’t that great to begin with.

Think about it. Because (most) men get frequent cuts, their hair is never actually in their head long enough to get damaged. That means that more products advertised to men don’t have to work hard to keep their hair looking shiny and healthy.

That’s like a lotion company taking credit for a baby’s silky smooth skin. Their skin is already buttery soft and it will be no matter what kind of special lotions and creams you use on it. The same goes for hair products marketed to men with 3.5 inches of hair.

Mr. Man Bun doesn’t have the luxury. He’ll have to invest in products proven to work on hair that’s been on his head for months, possibly even years. If you date him, you can borrow his products.

He probably takes good care of his body.

…Which brings me to my next point. Society seems to scoff at men who do more than just wash their face, throw on their clothes, and head out for the day. Men have to be rugged and near caveman-esque to be considered real men (major eye roll), and a lot of times this means that personal grooming must be far down on their list of priorities.

Men with man buns take good care of their hair, which means that it’s a good chance that they take good care of their body as well. If he doesn’t mind spending an extra hour on a Saturday deep-conditioning his hair, then he probably doesn’t mind exfoliating and moisturizing his skin as well.

You’ll never need another hair tie.

On those days when the hair fairies just aren’t doing their best to keep you perfectly coiffed, hair ties are a godsend to help tame the bird’s nest mounting on your head. Yet, despite their usefulness, we never seem to keep enough hair ties around. (I haven’t done the research, but, when it comes to this, I pretty sure that hair ties and bobby pins are in cahoots to drive us all crazy.)

If you date a guy with a man bun, you’ll never worry about running out because you can just borrow one of his. It’s super possible that he’ll keep one on hand specifically for you.

He’ll understand why you take so long to get ready.

Most men just don’t understand the delicate balance between moisturizing hair without over oiling it, and teasing without frizzing. And they definitely don’t understand how long it takes to get your edges to cooperate.

Mr. Man Bun will not only get it, but he will empathize with you. He’s walked many miles in your shoes, and he knows how painful they can be.You won't have to deal with him rushing you out of the house date night because, more than likely, he'll be right beside you, perfecting his own bun.

You can’t judge a book by its cover.

Jokes aside, the male man bun community is not a monolith. OK, that totally sounds like a joke, but hear me out. You have the same chance of running into a great guy with a man bun as you do with any other man.

Looks can’t be a determiner of a guy’s personality or worthiness to be entertained. So, stop listening to society’s dumb rules, and date who you want to—whether or not he has a man bun.