The 2-Week Rule

The 2-Week Rule
 Posted by FITMUS on September 09, 2002 at 12:59:29: Previous Next

I posted my thoughts on this in a reply to Treyn's recent post "Need Encouragement, but I think it's an important topic and deserves separate attention.

I know many of us, including myself, stumbled onto this board because we were searching for some support and words of encouragement; words to alleviate some fears and concerns, as well as bestow strength and courage in ourselves to grow our hair long in a short-haired society. Undoubtedly, this board has helped achieve this for me and I am very thankful to those that attend this board and the words that were written. I'd like to give some positive, and hopefully helpful, support back:

I have seen the "2-week" rule mentioned many times when individuals mentioned possibly cutting their hair for various reasons. It takes MONTHS and even YEARS to achieve long-haired goals, and for many of us this is a rocky path since we're confronted with many impediments along the way...close-minded employers, negative societal reactions, personal fears of not fitting in, self-doubts, etc. It only seems logical that where something takes so long to achieve and there has already been a large giving of one's own time, the test for taking that away should give a person ample time to think about throwing it away. If hair could grow long in a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months, I would say the 2-week rule is proportional. But reality is that long hair takes months and years to grow long, and I think the 2-week rule is disproportionate to the possible consequences of cutting.

In reality, I don't think people follow the 2-week rule; history speaks for itself. For example, InUtero and others that have succumbed to cutting their hair, admitted toying with the idea for more than two weeks. I myself, when I cut my hair years ago, thought about the idea for months. Back then, I had a couple of weeks where I thought I'd cut, then I had a couple of weeks where I thought I'd keep it, then I thought about cutting again, etc. This toying with the idea lasted a few months for me before I finally gave in. Even then I wasn't sure if I did the right thing after cutting, but I know I would have felt much worse had I cut it after only the first 2 weeks of thinking I should cut. It's simply not enough time to make a secured decision where you have devoted, or need to devote, so much time.

Therefore, I move that the 2-week rule be abolished and replaced with a 2-MONTH rule. This added time is not only more reasonable and realistic, but it also allows an individual that does cut his hair to feel more secure about his decision and forgiving of himself if he regrets it. I know I would feel much better cutting my hair after 2 months of thinking rather than 2 weeks, even if I regretted it afterwords because I'd know that I waited a full 2 months as opposed to a mere 2 weeks. In fact, it took me a couple of months of thinking and talking to people on this board for me just to decide to REGROW! haha!

We owe it to ourselves to think a bit longer about something that takes so long to achieve. I believe a "2 month" rule allows more support to be given, allows for a more secure decision, is more realistic, is more reasonable, is more proportionate, and is more in line with the goals of those on this board than the 2-week rule. Although I don't necessary believe in a bright-line rule for a waiting period in cutting hair (since circumstances vary for each of us), if I was to reply with a bright-line rule in response to a post requesting advice on possibly cutting their hair, I would advise waiting 2 months rather than 2 weeks.


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