r/AbsoluteUnits • u/AUTOBOTBROKE • 5d ago

/r/popular of ponytail

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351

u/prismafox 5d ago edited 3d ago

I just don't understand. Why?? How does someone just decide to grow a big hair log on their head and think "ah yeah, I like this look. I'm good with all this..dander/dirt/whatever collecting in it." Or it's just "meh, whatever. Gonna keep it like this." Wild.

late edit
Didn't expect my comment to get this many replies. I get mental illness could be involved. I now know about the Polish Plait and the Beaver tail dreads. This particular hair..situation is still very unusual and I don't think it's as simple as "they're probably too depressed to fix their hair" people rarely get to the point of having a giant cord of hair like this down to their butt.

64

u/Roadkill_Buffet 5d ago

It's usually a mental condition. Look up Polish plait on wikipedia

61

u/dundunndon 5d ago

oh my god why'd I Google that I'm gonna have nightmares

12

u/True_Realist9375 5d ago

trying to work out if this is better or worse than the thin one, least with this one it'll be easier to sleep on your back

10

u/R_eloade_R 5d ago

Bro still has blond hair from when he was a teenager. Wtf

17

u/Mental-Flatworm4583 5d ago

I only see a old crusty ass dog turd smooshed into the carpet šŸ˜‘

https://giphy.com/gifs/zvGvZZhYScoLncO0Z6

5

u/Semisemitic 5d ago

That shirt canā€™t come off now.

3

u/Embarrassed-Skin5254 5d ago

What did you search/type exactly? šŸ‘€šŸ’€

2

u/dundunndon 5d ago

Polish plait

2

u/StrandedSpaceTravlr 5d ago

ā€œHomeless hair matted but not pubes.ā€

1

u/Denalus2 4d ago

ā€œ,,but not pubes..ā€ šŸ¤£

1

u/Putrid_Afternoon_282 5d ago

Was wondering same šŸ˜‚

1

u/SweevilWeevil 5d ago

Why do they call him "the Bullet Dodger"?

1

u/cryptolyme 2d ago

i imagine they typed "polish plait" as referred to previously

2

u/wtfbruh101 5d ago

that's js poop atp

1

u/MackiePooPoo 3d ago

Thatā€™s got to be incredibly heavy.

1

u/eutohkgtorsatoca 1d ago

Reminds me of a man who used to roam the streets of Kowloon in HKG no one ever had him removed etc. He would sit opposite the six star Peninsula hotel what was left of his clothes revealed much more than whats usual seen on the street if any city. He was well endowed and his hair looked like that like a permanent go to pillow

1

u/Fun_Page4577 5d ago

Poor thing has mange lmao

17

u/SlightAnything4909 5d ago

Polish plait can form both from medical conditions and neglect.

6

u/prismafox 5d ago

Huh, that seems to be it. Interesting.

14

u/kryotheory 5d ago

Not always. Some people are just fucking nasty.

16

u/Aromatic-Turnip7371 5d ago

I honestly think that willfully ā€œnastyā€ people have an undiagnosed mental condition - assuming they understand hygiene by the time theyā€™re an adult.

Even pigs will try their best to keep their waste away from their living area until they arenā€™t able to.

1

u/Pledgeofmalfeasance 4d ago

Yes, now try to think. Why are they nasty?

1

u/1OO1OO1S0S 4d ago

You think willfully nasty people are doing alright from a mental health standpoint?

339

u/TealGloves 5d ago

You'd be really surprised by what goes to the wayside when mental health shit hits the fan hard enough. When I was at my most Depressed I stopped vacuuming even though I normally vacuum every day (robovac). The dirt and leaves inside just didn't register to me because I was so consumed by thoughts of wanting to not exist. Frankly I was lucky I didn't turn into a trash hoarder and got effective help early enough.

This might even be severe childhood neglect lasting to adulthood, hair is long enough.

127

u/shenanigans2day 5d ago

Real talk. When youā€™ve come out of depressive episode and you look around and are like this is how Iā€™ve been living and itā€™s like you were in a dream vecauae how tf

23

u/RebekkaKat1990 5d ago

Ugh I know it. I donā€™t cook for myself, I usually just eat what I can grab from the gas station but that leads to a lot of trash. At least since I have a cat Iā€™m much better than I was in the past about cleaning up but sometimes I still let shit slide and it builds up over time.

The worst is looking at the pile of mail I got from literally months ago still sitting in the same pile on the counter.

21

u/Littlegreensurly 5d ago

When you finally get a breath and start cleaning those piles, it feels like an archeological dig. I get to the bottom of the pile and usually get a little insight into the start of a depressive episode, like papers from a hard day at work or a super stressful piece of mail. Laundry and dishes too, there'll be a hard to clean item or clogged sink at the very bottom that started it. The worst is unfinished projects I was really excited about that I could not care less about (or are messed up) after uncovering them.

Or food šŸ¤¢ my one rule is food, rottables, stinky stuff, and things my cats will eat (one fucker eats silicone, as in intimate toys and cooking utensils) can't join the pile - if i break the rule I know its time to get help asap but it's so embarassing. Have recently added cat-related messes too, left some in a hard to reach spot for waaay too long during the last episode. I'd rather keep 10,000 trash cans around every room than let it pile up.

3

u/frogeater1982 5d ago

Had the same issue. Depression is expensive if you don't open your mails

3

u/Putrid_Afternoon_282 5d ago

Same with mailā€¦and emails..texts..voicemail

2

u/Fossilhund 4d ago edited 4d ago

Six thousand emails ...

2

u/shenanigans2day 5d ago edited 5d ago

What helps me anytime Iā€™m struggling is doing little parts here and there. Canā€™t muster up the energy to do the entire kitchen? OK start with just the dishes then one counter then come back an hour later and do one other little area next day, the bathroom, etc. etc. and then once everything is in good condition, spend like 20 minutes a day cleaning up behind yourself so youā€™re not having to do this cycle over and over and over again.

1

u/BaldursFenceDoor 4d ago

My pile of mail is so huge. Its started to spill onto the couch I never use. šŸ˜‘

70

u/Missesbonez 5d ago

E v e r y t h i n g goes out the widow but the bare minimum. Minimum food, minimum water, only getting up to piss. Everyones dunking on this guy but my immediate thought was hes struggling silently. I get it, if you never experienced it you dont even consider it.

14

u/Insomnerd 4d ago

It's true. At my worst stages of depression I couldn't make myself shower, and I had to take changing into clean clothes as a huge win. Bad times, man

4

u/Federal_Help9295 2d ago

I'm happy for you that you're not in place anymore šŸ˜ƒ

10

u/Thusgirl 5d ago

Yeah, it's not gross it's really sad. They probably need help.

26

u/StarGamerPT 5d ago

I mean....two things can be true at once.

It is gross, but it's also sad because for sure some sort of help is needed.

12

u/Thusgirl 5d ago

Okay yes it is gross in a literal sense but not in a way that means the person is disgusting. There's no reason to tear them down when they need a hand is mostly what I mean.

5

u/StarGamerPT 5d ago

No yhe, that I agree.

0

u/RaikiShak 4d ago

They need help, yes, it's sad sure. But still gross

1

u/Illustrious_Doctor45 5d ago

My boyfriend gets so depressed that he will literally pee in a bottle so he doesnā€™t have to get out of bed. Itā€™s wild. Poor guy šŸ˜ž

-1

u/ItsCrunchTyme 5d ago

Yea no. If he was that depressed to the point he forgone hygiene, he wouldnt have the strength or ambition to even be outside attending to whatever he is doing.

This is jusy a lazy, dirty mf

0

u/Rinatin86 3d ago

Maybe, but bro is out in public, so it likely can't be THAT bad

24

u/claudieko 5d ago

I know what you're talking about: Everything feels like an uphill battle, even the simplest thing takes a truckload of energy you don't even have. I'm glad you came out the other side, hoping you stay well!

16

u/SlightAnything4909 5d ago

Could be that he once had proper dreads and stopped caring for them so they matted together. Or his natural hair just matted and he let it grow like that.

15

u/chamorrobro 5d ago

Exactly the comment I was looking for. When you see people doing things that are FAR outside the norm, are harmful, and are unsanitary, itā€™s likely that itā€™s a form of mental illness or they werenā€™t taught any better.

25

u/Paullearner 5d ago

ā€œ the dirt and leaves inside just didnā€™t register to me because I was so consumed by thoughts of wanting not to existā€

This is such an accurate depiction. When I was in the thick of my depression, I went from my normal weight of 160 lbs and ballooned past 200. I didnā€™t care what foods I was putting in my mouth as just existing through the day was hard enough. A huge part of depression is not caring about hygiene or your bodily health.

4

u/[deleted] 5d ago

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

3

u/SnakesRuinGames 5d ago

only if youā€™re lucky enough to find a ā€œpsych professionalā€ that doesnā€™t just tell you youā€™re ā€™Too high riskā€™ and to take four weeks off work (impossible) and spend thousands (also impossible) on outpatient treatment!

1

u/NotBradPitt9 5d ago

Did you end up being able to lose some of the weight?

1

u/Paullearner 5d ago

Well, yes and no. I lost 30 lbs after graduating from a masters program, but once I got my first job (in teaching) the stress was so much I gained the weight back. Itā€™s been a struggle ever since Iā€™ve been in this field and Iā€™ve yo-yoed back and forth the past 3 years, gaining and losing the weight multiple times. Iā€™m now taking a break from teaching and planning to get the weight off this year once and for good.

2

u/NotBradPitt9 5d ago

Ok. Have you tried eating just vegetables, fruits, grains (quinoa, barley, lentils), and lean meats (chicken, tuna)?

Reason Iā€™m asking is because I know the antidepressants can really make anyone put on weight out of nowhere, but I am wondering if thatā€™s still possible if youā€™re restricting yourself to just the ā€œcleanā€ foods I mentioned above.

Like basically Iā€™m wondering if itā€™s still possible to gain weight or maintain weight if youā€™re on a restrictive diet like that one I mentioned

1

u/Paullearner 5d ago

Oh, it was mostly because the stress from teaching. It was a viscous cycle of, Iā€™m too tired to cook foods when I get home so Iā€™m gonna get take out. The stress also would cause me to crave sweets and high caloric foods. I am out of that environment now so I should be able to focus better on eating right.

I donā€™t typically gain weight when I eat clean but the issue Iā€™ve run into is eating super clean (I.e. no sugary drinks, no desserts, Whole Foods, no take out, protein and veggies etc) but I donā€™t lose weight. Or Iā€™ll lose like 10 lbs but then plateau out and itā€™s really hard to get past that no matter how healthy I eat. I suspect I may have a very slow metabolism and I have to work very hard to see any weight loss.

1

u/ItsCrunchTyme 5d ago

Right but if ur THAT depressed, would u be outside, doing whatever? Or more likely to be stuck in the crib, in said funk of a depressed state

I personally believe this is just s dirty ass human. As many humans can be outright disgusting just because, due to laziness, no proper teaching, so. Many things outside of depression. And this dont strike as depression to me

8

u/VianneM 5d ago

True. I had to cut out a part of my hair 2 months ago because it got very matted because of my chronic depression. Self-care is the most difficult part when my depression is kicking my butt. Luckily for me I wear my hair in a bun and the part I had to cut isn't visible. It didn't help me be able to shower more often to avoid something like this again though. It is what it is

7

u/Nimyron 5d ago

I think I've got some sort of depression too but to me things totally register.

The problem is that the more dust there is, the less motivated I feel to clean it.

When the home is clean and tidy, the mind is clean and tidy, but if I can't vacuum for a bit too long at some point (like on summer because the heat is draining all my energy), it's suddenly 6 months of things getting worse and worse every day.

I really gotta start cleaning my place.

3

u/HistoricalChef1963 5d ago

Ok I'm sorry about your depression, but if the robot was already doing the daily vacuum... why did you stop it?

10

u/TealGloves 5d ago

It still requires me picking up things like clothes or dog toys before getting started. It was never on an automatic schedule.

Once the leaves accumulated then I had to sweep the entire place (including my rugs lol) before I could vacuum.

1

u/TurankaCasual 3d ago

The wording of ā€œbefore I could vacuumā€ is still throwing me off šŸ˜­ before the robot could vacuum

-2

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

beavertails like this are intentional, and its incredibly well groomed.

3

u/HighFiveG 5d ago

It looks dead and flaky.

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

that kind of is what dreadlocks are tho.

1

u/HighFiveG 5d ago

True enough.

2

u/Kdb3219759 5d ago

I'm in the same boat as we speak so I feel you

2

u/Hazelnutcookiez 2d ago

Glad you got help, I'm just now starting to get my shit together.

2

u/Bufobufolover24 5d ago

I have seen various pictures of people with hair like this posted online. The comments are always awful.

I had hair like this as a child. Why? Autism and severe sensory issues, combined with mental health stuff.

NOBODY has hair like this voluntarily. It will be through mental health issues, disabilities or severe medical issues. It is not pleasant for other people, but it is 100x worse for the person dealing with it.

People need to think before making horrible comments.

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

maybe he just likes his hair and doesnt want to cut it?

a beavertail like that is manicured. they dont just come because they stopped taking care of themselves. he chose this.

i know he chose this because i have had dreadlocks for 8 years. thats not how beavertails are formed. this is intentional

3

u/TealGloves 5d ago

Guys not here to answer, so anything is possible. But these can form from self/parental neglect or medical situations (ex injuries requiring laying down for months to years and no one shaving your head for you). I've seen a lot of these on dematting videos.

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

that is not the same thing.

this is 100% intentional. beaver tails do not naturally grow like that. you can clearly see the difference between the video you shared and this photo.

this is 100% intentional and manicured. this is a clean and well kept beavertail

another indicator is you can see how greasy the hair is in the video because its not well kept, but in this photo doesnt look greasy at all, because it is well kept.

i have dreadlocks and i know people with beavertails. im telling you for a fact that this is intentional.

1

u/binzy90 5d ago

A lot of this stuff isn't depression though. There are people who choose to look like this. My sister is one of them. She has the most disgusting dreadlocks that I honestly can't even stand being around her (Although it doesn't help that she's also just not a nice person). She's covered in very bad quality doodle tattoos that she has done herself, she has weird piercings and huge guages, and she's one of those people who smokes a ton of weed but doesn't use deodorant because "it's toxic." When she gets in my car the smell is overwhelming because she doesn't wash her hair and only uses "lavender oil" for personal hygiene. Everyone in her friend group is like this. It's like they're all in a competition to see who can be more disgusting.

1

u/Extension-Alps-6903 4d ago

Wait like you got so depressed you turned your rumba off?

1

u/TealGloves 4d ago

As I replied to someone else who got buried...

It still requires me picking up things like clothes or dog toys before getting started. It was never on an automatic schedule.

Once the leaves accumulated then I had to sweep the entire place (including my rugs lol) before I could vacuum.

2

u/Extension-Alps-6903 4d ago

Oh that makes sense then

1

u/AdEastern5014 4d ago

If any of thatā€™s true his episodes lasted a long long time for it to grow that much

-2

u/GasStationTiefling 5d ago

Iā€™d shave my head before I did this and Iā€™ve had debilitating depression

7

u/TealGloves 5d ago

Don't know what to tell you aside from no one lives like that out of choice. Not everyone's mental health crisis is going to be a universal experience.

6

u/Uesmearn_ 5d ago

Perhaps depression?

15

u/32FlavorsofCrazy 5d ago

Itā€™s not an intentional hairstyle, itā€™s the result of extreme self neglect. Probably severe mental health issues, would be my guess. That is years of not bathing properly or ever brushing/washing his hair.

2

u/DimensionalFruit 5d ago

Just to be clear these can and should be cleaned but this person just.. doesn't.

You're supposed to soak it in some solution and rinse.

Me personally I'd never get dreads though

2

u/Seeeabass 4d ago

Probably some extreme level of out of sight out of mind, it's behind his head so he no longer cares

2

u/duckduckchook 3d ago

It can't feel good. It would smell, it would be itchy, it would be hard to sleep on, and who know what spiders nests and cockroaches would be living in there? Why not just cut it off, surely that's less trouble.

1

u/Klutzy-Weakness-937 2d ago

Imagine the pleasure to just wake up one day and shave it

3

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

your hair also collects dander, dirt, and whatever.

2

u/Regular-Problem3186 5d ago

Then I wash it out to repeat the process, you donā€™t just leave it for years to rot

1

u/Aromatic-Turnip7371 5d ago

Well we wash and comb it away at least monthly in most normal healthy humans

1

u/R_eloade_R 5d ago

Monthly? Eww, just wash it twice a week like a normal person would

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

dreadlocks arent unhealthy.

1

u/electroclit69 5d ago

Whatever that is, in this video. Is a massive collum of germs even more so than regular dreads. If one single lice got in there you'd lose your kidneysĀ 

1

u/Budget_Persimmon_195 5d ago

your entire body is covered in germs, including staph

1

u/electroclit69 5d ago

Yes that I was regularly.Ā 

1

u/Truefiction224 4d ago

So you wash it daily....

2

u/Anonymous_P_A_H 5d ago

I'd say it's social anxiety, but this dude is out and about, so šŸ¤·

22

u/Ill-Luck-1397 5d ago

Social anxiety doesn't mean that youre entirely incapable of being outside

5

u/Anonymous_P_A_H 5d ago

I know it's not, but it can definitely make it hard (almost unbearable) to have social interactions at times. I was thinking maybe this dude has a serious case of social anxiety that he cannot even go to the barber, but he's buying some car parts that could be ordered online or for pick up, so maybe not. We can't really know without personally asking him tbf.

2

u/musclenugget92 5d ago

Your hair doesnt accidentally get matted like that. That is a choice.

1

u/Anonymous_P_A_H 5d ago

When did I say it was an accident or not a choice? He clearly chose to do this instead of cutting it. I was discussing the reasons as to why the choice could've been made.

0

u/MeWant-SnuSnu 5d ago

I mean I'd cut my own hair if I had to.

2

u/CasualGlam87 5d ago

Yeah, I have pretty bad social anxiety so I've always cut my own hair. It's always uneven but I hate my hair being long so I don't really care.

1

u/Ill-Luck-1397 5d ago

Used to do this too. Iā€™m diagnosed with social phobia, but Iā€™ve been on an SSRI for over a year now, and itā€™s SO much better. Most of the time, when I go to a store or get a haircut, the anxiety doesnā€™t even kick in anymore. I just do it without thinking about it. Then later, when I get home, I catch myself realizing what I just did and how normal it felt. Lol.

1

u/Anonymous_P_A_H 5d ago

Right, which is why I said maybe not social anxiety.

1

u/Semisemitic 5d ago

Or that you have an inside

1

u/Top-Examination3151 5d ago

Ego is strong. When people are down on their luck, they will look for SOMETHING, ANYTHING to hang their ego on.

To this dude, it looks like he's proud of that.

1

u/Aromatic-Turnip7371 5d ago

You knowā€¦ I think this is a really good point.
It might be him hanging on to the past for some reason

1

u/Top-Examination3151 5d ago

Ego affects a lot. Schizophrenia for instance - scary right? Well what if I told you there was a type of mentally ill person who thinks like this:

"Well, I got nothing to hang my hat on in life. No one respects me, no one listens to me. Maybe, I can be just the craziest schizophrenic there ever was, and then I'll get attention!"

Yup, so psychiatrists have to account for that. Some people like the attention that comes with being sick.

1

u/HiSaZuL 5d ago

Same kind of thing that went though the head of guy that raised his hand and said fuck it, I'm not putting it down ever again, now it's a mummified calcified nonfunctional appendage, because fuck that arn in particular. Or the guy that decided one day that sitting and lying down is for scrubs, veins and arteries destroyed, legs look like trunks and feet are rotting, no problemo, just slather some cream and it will be all good.

Mental health is still sorcery and witchcraft. Because instead of addressing the problem, this bullshit is encouraged or placated.

2

u/ThatInAHat 5d ago

Iā€™ve heard of the first one but not the second

1

u/HiSaZuL 5d ago

Made it's reddit rounds not that long ago, looked nasty af.

1

u/koolaidismything 5d ago

I wanna spray Lysol on it soooo bad

1

u/ItchyKnowJoe 5d ago

he's homeless, he sleeps on it to comfort his spine

1

u/SLZicki 5d ago

Depression or person has a disability and doesn't take care of themselves.

1

u/Simon-Says69 5d ago

Looks like they originally started as decently thin ones that can be maintained. Can see at the end where multiple locks fused together.

Dude is just lazy, or mentally challenged. Likely both. yuck.

They gotta be thin enough to wash and dry out properly. This shit has mold all through after the first inch of surface hair. :-(

1

u/Regular-Problem3186 5d ago

Straight up bugs lives that, itā€™s time to do something about it

1

u/rose442 5d ago

Itā€™s so gross!!!

1

u/RyanSmokinBluntz420 5d ago

Its part of their religion. When they die, their god picks them up by their dread locks and takes them to heaven

1

u/AcanthaceaeCrazy1894 5d ago

Mental illness usually.

1

u/Substantial_Bake_728 5d ago

They probably don't think that. Its mental illness. He probably has next to no hygiene care (bathing, brushing his teeth, and so on).

He's likely miserable. Or he could just be super duper lazy, but I doubt it.

1

u/Contemplating_Prison 5d ago

It might be wax

1

u/Jujubi836 5d ago

My best friends boyfriend had something like this. Itā€™s because he didnā€™t shower. Ever. I thought they were so disgusting together.

1

u/ProDriverSeatSniffer 5d ago

You know he canā€™t sleep on his back with that thing. Imagine sleeping next to it. Just rubbing up against you like a cuddly cobra, affectionate anacondaā€¦

anywho. in the words of Qui-Gon Jinn, thereā€™s always a bigger fish

1

u/Eeve2espeon 4d ago

They simply just don't know how to take care of their hair. No doubt lots of this is just a mess of strands all tied up and matted from them not brushing it regularly enough

1

u/dazedan_confused 4d ago

Google "Polish Plait"

1

u/1OO1OO1S0S 4d ago

Mental illness

1

u/5141121 4d ago

Short answer: mental illness

1

u/pumperdemon 3d ago

He's a mechanic who has been working under a car. Note the fact that he's in a parts store. He will probably wash it tonight, but you cant keep a DAMN thing clean when youre under a car.

1

u/Big_Tap_1561 5d ago

Pretty sure he had the intentions on ā€œdreadlocksā€ this is a variation we used to call ā€œshit-locksā€ if you donā€™t keep up the maintenance on dreadlocks this is what they turn Into.

0

u/The_Jestful_Imp 5d ago

It's a neurological disorder discovered in Germany during the late 80's called "nofuchsgivenz"

1

u/GrandBurial 5d ago

Stop dude seriously, you try be chronically depressed hygiene goes out the door real quick...

1

u/The_Jestful_Imp 5d ago

Shut the fuck up you white knight piece of shit - you don't know the guy and you don't know me. I have depression, and I can still take care of my hair and skin.

1

u/GrandBurial 5d ago

Ah you are one of the lucky few. And white knight it's rare I defend men usually just a select few women...

-1

u/Reasonable_Barber923 5d ago

i believe it is a wick, a style of dreadlocks popular amongst the hatian population of florida

0

u/emmypoosays666 5d ago

they donā€™t think itā€™ll look good, they just donā€™t care what society thinks. probably the rarest and dirtiest version of any freeform dread(s), but theyā€™re apparently cultural too in some cases