Stop Hating On The Man Bun — And Clip-In Man Bun

The man bun: The harmless trend that some guys are following, where they put their long hair in a bun. And yet, there is a scorn and hatred, an intense man bun shaming, shall we say, that is following this trend (the New York Post calls it the “world’s most controversial hairstyle”).

So, what’s the big deal with the man bun? Well, really, there is no big deal. Some guys have decided that they want to wear their hair in a bun. As Salon points out, famous dudes like Jared Leto and Leonardo DiCaprio have inspired this craze that harms no one (although claims that it accelerates baldness have been made), but seems to have everyone sharing an opinion on it.

The article also rightly points out that there is a bit of absurdity in adding the word man in front of the word bun. Why this need to add man in front of a one word descriptor that is perfectly accurate, seeing as a bun is a bun is a bun, can legitimately be questioned. But apparently, as soon as a bun ends up on the head of a man, the word man must be stuck in front of it. Have you ever heard the term woman bun? Of course not.

But, the question is, what if you don’t have long enough hair to get in on the man bun craze? Don’t worry, folks, Groupon, the wheeling and dealing website craze, is offering a fantastic deal on a man bun clip made from real human hair. The fake man bun goes for a steal at $9.99, especially when the website says the actual, full retail value is $65.34. That’s an incredible savings of $55.35! How on earth can you pass it up?

[WARNING: Some coarse language]

So, is the clip-in man bun a serious product? Well, read the description and judge for yourself.

“One of the hottest trends in men’s fashion, the man bun has been popularized by fixed-gear bicyclists and introspective Hollywood actors alike. But although the hairstyle oozes with fashion sense, those who sport it might find themselves outcasts in sports bars, motorcycle gangs, and the annual government-mandated machismo test. This attachable—and, equally important, detachable—man bun lets you blend in with your surroundings, putting it on when you smell fair-trade coffee or hear a banjo, and taking it off when someone utters the word bro.”

According to CNN, already a thousand of these man bun substitutes have flown off the virtual shelves and found themselves on the heads of man bun lovers. And, the product page comes complete with a handy how-to video to entice the potential man bun clip purchaser, and explain the complex wearing instructions that go along with proud ownership of the man bun clip.

As the Daily Mail states in its own headline about the Groupon man bun clip, it is “Hair-endous!” before carrying on to say “Company creates bizarre clip-on man buns for men who want to recreate the hipster look without needing to grow out their tresses.” Man bun shaming? A tad.

In this day and age when, for women particularly, the new trend is to fight body shaming, to say no to Photoshopped images of models, to post pictures of women without makeup on social media, where people are declaring, “Accept me for who I am, and how I look,” which is all important and admirable and is a good trend, the man bun shaming is particularly disturbing. If a dude wants to wear his hair in a bun, why is this such a big a problem? It’s his hair after all (or, if he got himself a clip-in man bun, someone else’s hair) and shaming him for choosing that style seems to be counter-productive to the “no more shame” trend.

The world’s most controversial hairstyle’s days might be numbered, as most fashion trends tend to be, but in the meantime, men will wear their man buns (or, just buns), and it really is okay. There is no shame in it. Let the man bun wearers be!

[Photo by Elisabetta Villa / Getty Images]