Man buns are on the rise (+video)

They can be spotted atop a man’s head on the red carpet, in a coffee shop or at the gym. They come in a variety of configurations: the messy bun, the low bun, the baby bun, the undercut, the topknot, half-up half-down.

But no matter how men wear them, “man buns” are apparently here to stay.

Edison Jaimes, a barber at Village Barber and Style Shop, said man buns have the power to make the leap from hipster into mainstream.

“It’s going to become more popular,” Jaimes said. “Beards started with the hipster group, too. And all of the sudden, they caught on with everybody. That’s what could happen with this trend, too.”

As defined by Urban Dictionary, a man bun, or “mun,” is “a questionably sexy hairstyle in which a man with hair of the medium to long variety secures said hair into a firmly rounded bun.” Man buns began their rise in popularity in 2013, according to Google Trends.

Wichita State University junior Paul Raymond, 22, has been rocking long locks since 2013 and joined the growing ranks of men who know how to use a hair-tie. Raymond, a member of the WSU cross-country and track teams, said he started wearing his hair up to keep it out of the way when running or doing other activities.

“As a trend, I think it’s pretty cool, because it encourages guys to get creative with their hair instead of just having the same Army crew haircut,” Raymond said.

Raymond’s teammate Zack Penrod, 18, is new to the man bun style. He started tying his hair up about four months ago.

“I’ve always had pretty long hair,” Penrod said. “I guess I just felt like the bun was the next logical step.”

Penrod said that although he doesn’t know much about man bun technique, his man buns do have variety.

“I pretty much just throw my hair up into a bun in the morning; there isn’t much style to it,” he said. “But sometimes I’ll go half-up, half-down, too. Or I’ll wear a hat and tie my hair down close to my neck.”

Though a lot of men with man buns attribute the style to an affinity for long hair or sheer laziness, Andrew Mathews, 22, credits his mother.

“My mom conned me into (it),” Mathews said. “She got diagnosed with cancer in December of 2010. She doesn’t really have hair right now because of the chemo, so she asked me for my 21st birthday to see how long I could get my hair. I was going to cut it this past summer but decided to keep growing it out and donate it with my buddy.”

Mathews said he didn’t like the long hair initially, but now it has grown on him – pun intended.

“Long hair is in right now; chicks dig long hair,” Mathews said. “But I do feel bad for the females. I don’t know how you do it. I have to wash it, brush it, condition it sometimes. It’s serious work.”

Mathews, a member of the Friends University football team, said his favorite time to wear the bun is when he’s working out.

These college-aged men choosing to grow a flow fall right into the usual age group, said Jaimes, who sees mostly 20- to 30-year-olds come through his shop with man buns.

Jaimes said one reason they’re more popular with the younger crowd is because the buns aren’t as accepted in the workplace.

“The beard, when it started, wasn’t really anything professional,” he said. “But now, in working environments, you’ll see men with longer beards, and it’s acceptable. So it’s the same thing with man buns. Right now it’s more of a stylish, hip, younger look, but I think it’ll get there, too.”

Wichitan Kaci Copeland, 21, said that well-groomed man buns can be quite the eye pleaser.

“I think guys with man buns are attractive, but they have to take care of their hair like a girl would. If they let it get mangled, it sort of ruins it,” Copeland said. “But they’re nice to look at, especially if the man bun is paired with a good 5 o’clock shadow.”

Rileah Crockett, a stylist at Village Barber and Style Shop, said she finds the man bun attractive.

“You see it more in hipster-type people, but I like them,” Crockett said. “I think a lot of other girls like them, too.”

Jay Laessig, also a barber at Village Barber and Style Shop, has been cutting hair for 55 years. He’s indifferent about the man bun trend, but his wife isn’t.

“She thinks they’re ugly. She thinks they’re stupid,” Laessig said.

Laessig said that hairstyles seem to follow a pattern.

“Hairstyles will cycle every 40 or 45 years,” Laessig said. “Flattops, crew cuts, long hair.”

But for now, it’s all about the man bun. And for men who’d like to rock the style but don’t have long enough hair, no worries.

Clip-ons are now available.

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 6:15 PM with the headline "Man buns are on the rise (+video)."