The shaving thread got me thinking of this. IMO you will need to keep your hair short as posssible to avoid snags and especially a zombie grabbing a hand full of it. Like airborne said in the shaving thread you take a risk if you shave. But a good sharp knife should be enough to keep your hair from becoming the thing that kills you.

Short enough not to grab or get caught on things.
Long enough to provide some padding/cushioning against blunt trauma.

I'd say 2-3 inches in length would be about right.
Yes, you can "grab" 3 inch long hair, but you can't get a good enough grip on it to pull someone around easily.

As far as cutting your hair, my wife cuts mine quite nicely using just a comb and a single edged razor blade. Apparently it's a much older way of cutting hair that's still done in rural areas of some countries.

I'd like to get an old pair of hand-powered clippers for just such an occasion, but I think I could get by okay with shears and a comb . . . and a semi competent beautician.

Can't you just braid it, or wear a hat?

My hair was waist length until I had my first kid (now I've got a 'mom cut' that's shoulder length), and when I was young I went rapelling, primitive camping, took martial arts, ran obstacle courses, sparred with friends, ect. on a regular basis and I never had a problem (though when I was doing things like that I always had my hat on or had it in a french braid). I chopped all my hair off a few years ago for shits and giggles and it was such a pain in the ass to keep short I just let it grow long again.

I guess men probably would not want to french braid their hair. But you could still wear a do rag or a turban or something too.

My hair is really thick and fros up when I grow it out (I've tried it twice, and I wish I hadn't-- people have cameras). Plus it's very hot and looks super dorky, not to mention the PAW possibilities of ticks and lice and bad people yanking on it while we fight over the last Twinkie in the world.

Personally, I'd rather avoid long hair.

Personally I think if you allow the PAW (particularly ZPAW) to dictate even your haircut, you might be crossing the paranoid border.

Before I chopped all my hair off I frequently wore it in a single thick braid though. My ponytails just didn't last long for some reason.

I'll keep it long, and try not to let zombies get that close in the first place.

---Ford---

Ugh, personally I think lice are going to be unavoidable if you're around enough people in the PAW. I might consider shaving my head if I got lice, but only if everyone else did too, otherwise we'd just trade them around.

IME though lice are happy to run around in short hair too. And if you're a hairy guy then you've got even more problems elsewhere. Lice are so gross. I'm feeling itchy now just thinking about it.

I agree with everything you said here except the "padding" part.


As to braiding and the like... IMO yes... much better than having your hair just right for grabbing, but even braids and poney tails make for an excellent way to render you totally off balance if grabbed.


No need to worry about winning a fashion show .. or model contract IMO. keep it below 2 inches and it wont be a factor.

I feel your pain, brother. The white-guy fro is a horrible curse. Even before I was enlisted and thus required to keep my hair short, I figured out that less than 2" on top and shorter on the sides was the way to go.

I guess I could do it with a razor and a comb if I had to, be easier to have someone else do it for me. I've got plenty of razor blades around, about a year's supply last I checked, maybe 70 blades or so, I change the blade once a week or so.

I could hack my hair short with a knife if that was my only option, but I'd look like..well, like I hacked my white-guy fro short with a knife.

I plan on my hair being perfect.

You will be fine, really no sarcasim I thought it was a funny comment

Extruded polypropylene? Or Nylon?
Or do you have 5 years prep stocks of "hair in a can"?

I'll just bring a pair of scissors with me and continue to keep my hair as short as possible.
Shaving w/a razor can definitely turn ugly without aftershave/alcohol but I'll find someway to not have long hair. That shit just makes me feel dirty (and yet I wish my beard would grow longer..)

Well I've never snagged my hair on anything before so I don't see that as a problem. As to the grabbing part, if your close enough to grab my hair your close enough for me to gab your windpipe. So I'll chance it.

Hair:

+ Some protection from the elements.

- Hygiene (gets dirty, and eventually home to all kinds of nasty critters). A good grab hold for zombies. Clogs up plumbing. Generally annoying strands getting EVERYWHERE in your home, from kitchen sinks to jacket pockets... High maintenance, uses huge amounts of resources better used elsewhere.

i joined ZS looking for an excuse not to shave/get my hair cut.

hell since i work from home i only shave on fridays or it i vist a client

much to my wifes displeasure

Sorry but even out in the wild for weeks at a time never had any critters or nasties. Cleaning isn't tuff out there. And how could I deny everyone the opertunaty to admire my prettiness ?

I can't cut my hair short, it's WAY to curly, when it's short it fro's, making zombies laugh might not be that good for my ego

I thought maybe if there was an apocalypse, I could always do dreads.

From a practical point of view short hair is a lot easier to maintain, keep clean and faster to dry if you have to leave in a hurry. A pair of scissors is enough to keep it short and in a crisis situation nobody cares how you look. If one has to wear a mask on their face to keep gases, fumes, whatever out, a beard can be a lot of trouble and a shaved face can save your life. Having said that, I think the hairdo and beard are irrelevant in normal times and everybody should wear them the way they feel comfortable with I like mine short, just for practicality reasons like saving money cutting my hair short myself and not paying somebody to do it. I reckon I've saved a lot of money having cut my own hair for years.

Well, hair can also be used as a disguise. If you grow it long and people you're trying to avoid for whatever legal/moral reason see you, and they've always known you for having somewhat short or long, you can cut it into different shapes. I know it's an very old trick, but you might be surprised by how often it still works. That is, unless you wish to carry an array of wigs and toupes with you .

I got my eyes on you, poodle cut.

depends: if i'm in a warmer climate, i tend to keep my hair short. winter or colder climates, not so much. hats are great. in a paw, i probably let it grow because i don't want to look like military/leo or someone fresh.

I guess since my military days I just grown accustomed to the high and tight, and my hair has never been longer than an inch or so on top for 10+ years I guess.

Remember this is in the even of a zombie outbreak as the title suggests.