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1[[quoteright:300:[[Film/HarryPotterAndThePrisonerOfAzkaban https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hagrid3_4111.jpg]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:300:It eats combs for breakfast.]]
3
4Characters have unkempt, shaggy, or unusually [[BarbarianLonghair long]] hair, and often {{beard| of barbarism}}s -- usually dark, though it may have gray in it -- to show that they are [[NatureLover close to nature]], possibly the NatureHero. Often occurs for the MountainMan. Indicates that the character can handle himself in a wilderness, and such skills as [[ScarilyCompetentTracker tracking]]. On the other hand, he is often BetterWithNonHumanCompany. Poor social skills aside, a character sprouting this hairdo tends to be [[GoodHairEvilHair good]]. ChaoticGood, but heroic nonetheless.
5
6Part of this is that keeping your hair neat and short is a lot easier in civilization than out of it. As a consequence, characters who have spent some time in the wild may come back looking like this (perhaps with a TimePassageBeard as well), though generally not picking up the character traits. When the hair is long but neat, it's usually a SailorsPonytail, indicating merely distance from barbers. When the hair actively fights being made neater, it's StubbornHair.
7
8Part of this is to show that they don't think like other people, or care what other people think -- like MadScientist with his EinsteinHair,
9 despite the otherwise [[MadScientist completely]] [[AbsentMindedProfessor different]] connotations.
10
11In visual media, usually manages to be still quite attractive.
12
13A SubTrope of MessyHair. Compare and contrast UnkemptBeauty. See also BraidsOfBarbarism.
14----
15!!Examples:
16
17[[foldercontrol]]
18
19[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
20* [[{{Dracula}} Alucard]] of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}''. Especially noticeable as [[spoiler:Vladycard.]]
21* Mikoto Urabe in ''Manga/MysteriousGirlfriendX''.
22* Senshi from ''Manga/DeliciousInDungeon'' lives in the titular dungeon fulltime and has definite elements of a CrazySurvivalist. His hair and beard are so wild and caked with monster blood that they actually repel magic.
23* Sousuke Sagara from ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'', back when he was a [[ChildSoldier young Guerilla]]. His hair was very long, and rather unkempt. Definitely to emphasize how he's a [[CrazySurvivalist wild, violent survivalist]] that didn't care that much about maintaining a nice haircut. Interestingly enough, he's shown to be [[IdenticalGrandson the spitting image of his mother]] when he had long hair. In ''The Second Raid'', he started growing it out again, only to receive an ImportantHaircut from Kaname.
24* Domon Kasshu from ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'', likely as an indicator of his tough and isolated upbringing, which mostly consisted of training to fight.
25* Ishikawa from ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' probably has the most magnificent hair and beard ever seen on a Japanese character (possibly from having Ainu among his ancestors). He is actually the main combat technician and codebreaker of the team and the least likely to get into any fighting. However, as member of [[BadassCrew Section 9]] he's still a huge badass.
26* Age of ''Anime/HeroicAge'' had long, unkempt hair due to his time alone on a ruined planet, kept company only by a dilapidated ship AI he calls 'mother' and his sentient sand-swimming squid friends. He receives a semi-ImportantHaircut sometime after arriving to the [[CoolShip Argonaut]] not to help him adjust with people, but to help people stop being scared of ''him''. After all, you'd be afraid of a giant, planet-tearing space monster yourself, right?
27* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
28** Envy.
29** Wrath in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 the 2003 anime version]]. Justified since [[WildChild he lived in a jungle until he was found]].
30* [[http://www.freewebs.com/astarian-anima/senri_chari.jpg Senri]] from ''[[Manga/PlusAnima + Anima]]''. He [[SilentBob doesn't]] [[TheStoic talk]] [[TheVoiceless much]].
31* In ''Manga/{{Dragonball}}'' Both Yamcha and Gohan had this on occasion, usually after a long period TrainingFromHell. Goku ''might'' count, but it's hard to tell if it's WildHair or just plain [[AnimeHair weird]].
32* Kiba from ''Anime/WolfsRain'' has unkempt black hair in human form, on account of being the only wolf who hasn't lived in a city at all.
33* In the second season of ''Anime/DarkerThanBlack'', Hei seems to have been taking less care of his hair and facial hair, giving him wilder, longer hair.
34* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'':
35** Yusuke [[ExpositoryHairstyleChange dramatically and suddenly goes through some serious hairstyle change]] -- from his usual slick-back style to this -- during his one-on-one fight against Sensui, with tattoos displaying on his body as well, which also turn up during the hairstyle transformation.
36** Kurama's hair is like this in both his his human guise and his [[MysticalWhiteHair true form]].
37** Also, Itsuki. Oddly enough, the [[DissonantSerenity crazier he seems]], the wavier and messier it gets.
38* Akabane from ''Manga/GetBackers'' usually has his hair underneath his fedora, but when the hat comes off, his hair is all over the place.
39* In ''Anime/YuGiOh'', Ryou Bakura and his [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Yami]] both sport a long, ruffled mane of shaggy white hair. Bonus points to Yami Bakura for having some serious [[SpikesOfVillainy spiney sharp bangs of doom]] develop when he takes over. Combine this with high winds atop a speeding train/blimp/ship in a storm and it's like a leathal weapon.
40* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the human form of the Beast Titan is appropriately a man with long hair and a messy beard. He also has a tendency to wander around shirtless. After the TimeSkip and [[spoiler: his return to Marley]], he adopts a more civilized appearance with short hair, a neatly-trimmed beard, and a pristine uniform.
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Art]]
44* ''Art/TheLadyOfShalottHolmanHunt'': Perhaps owing to being locked in a tower, the Lady has long, unkempt hair that flies around her once she realizes what's happened.
45[[/folder]]
46
47[[folder:Comic Books]]
48* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': The Queen of the Wild Dog Pack. Naturally, she does not maintain her hair while with her animal companions. Combing her hair is the first step towards integration with society.
49* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': Several primitive-looking characters, sporting long, hirsute hair, have appeared as "familiars" to sorcerers, most notably in "Grasscutter".
50* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'': The famous gonzo journalist Spider Jerusalem grew unkempt, waist-length hair and beard when he retired from City life to a remote mountain compound. Abruptly zig-zagged when he tells a [[OurShowersAreDifferent Voice-Keyed Physical Cleaning Unit]] to "[[ExactWords clean me right down]]" and gets reduced to his signature bald look.
51* ''ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'': Wolverine's distinctive cat-ear-like hairstyle is usually drawn as being somewhere between this and AnimeHair.
52* In the French graphic novel ''ComicBook/{{Pyrenee}}'', the titular Nude [[WildChild wild girl]] has voluminous waist-length red hair.
53[[/folder]]
54
55[[folder:Comic Strips]]
56* ''ComicStrip/BroomHilda'': Both Irwin Troll and his nephew Nerwin have this. Their whole bodies are covered in hair with their faces and feet visible. Arms and hands can be seen sometimes.
57[[/folder]]
58
59[[folder:Fan Works]]
60* ''Fanfic/AbraxasHrodvitnon'': In this ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' Franchise/MonsterVerse fanfiction, [[Characters/AbraxasHrodvitnonTitansAndOtherCreatures Thor]] is a {{Kaiju}} with a mane of long, shaggy hair who's only recently emerged from hibernation to the modern world, and he has a particularly prominent connection to the Bone Singers and the Old Norse people.
61
62* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/AAPessimal, Andreas "Barbarossa" Smith-Rhodes, the patriarch of a BadassFamily, is a man built overscale whose hair and beard conform to this trope. Normally he farms a large estate on the borders of [[UsefulNotes/SouthAfrica Rimwards Howondaland]], and whose life, normally, does not have room for these niceities. Wife Agnetha says one of the advantages of twice-yearly visits to a son and daughter resident in Ankh-Morpork is that Andreas now has ''no'' excuse to avoid visiting a good barbers. He therefore gets a twice-yearly haircut and beard trim normally not available on the Veldt.
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
66* Princess Merida and Lord Macintosh from ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}''. It's representative of the friction between [[OddCouple Merida and her very neat & proper mother]] that sets off the plot.
67* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'': [[Characters/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse Doctor Octopus]] ([[spoiler:Olivia]]) is a villainous case: [[spoiler:she]]'s a {{sadist}}ic MadScientist working for [[BigBad the Kingpin]] and has a huge tangle of messy hair about thrice the size of [[spoiler:her]] head.
68* Mebh from ''WesternAnimation/{{Wolfwalkers}}'' is a WildChild whose hair reaches down to her feet and is even bigger than her entire body. When she's first introduced, it's also full of leaves and bones before Robyn brushes it for her.
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
72* ''Film/ElDorado'' gives us Joey, whose hair leads Mississippi to compare her to "a Mustang in need of a comb."
73* Tree from ''Film/HappyDeathDay2U'' has one during her [[FailureMontage montage of]] [[GroundhogDayLoop time-loop suicides]], at the beginning of the loop after her death via ElectrifiedBathtub.
74* Radagast the Brown in ''Film/TheHobbit'' has hair so wild and unkempt that he even lets birds nest in it. [[{{Squick}} And doesn't bother to clean up after them.]]
75* ''Film/Howl2015: The werewolves that come from the woods and attack the train with utter bloodlust have half-bald bodies, with wild manes of hair on their heads.
76* ''Film/JurassicPark'': [[Characters/JurassicParkParkGuests Tim]]'s hair notably sticks up more after his near-death experience via electrocution. It's also after this point that he makes himself somewhat more capable when stuck in a kitchen with a pair of ''Velociraptors''.
77* In ''[[Film/ManonDesSources Manon of the Spring]]'' (''Manon des Sources''), title character Manon spends most of the movie with unkempt, long blonde hair. She hides from the nearby village residents and spends her days alone in the hills, playing a recorder and herding her goats. Despite all this, she is well-educated and enjoys reading, and is known by the villagers that have caught a glimpse of her as being very beautiful.
78* ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'': John Rambo has varying degrees of long hair. In the first two movies it isn't so long, just really thick. However, in ''Film/RamboIII'' he sports a mane of curly black hair, and in [[Film/RamboIV the fourth movie]] he has a greasy black nature mullet.
79* Taken to extremes in French prehistoric comedy ''Film/{{RRRrrrr}}''. Then again, part of the plot revolves around the invention of shampoo.
80* In ''Film/TheWildChild'', the feral boy Victor has a huge mop of tangled hair until Madame Guérin gives him a haircut.
81[[/folder]]
82
83[[folder:Literature]]
84* ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'': When Aragorn [[KingIncognito first appears]] as a ranger called Strider, Creator/JRRTolkien describes his (dark) hair as "shaggy".
85* ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'': In ''First & Only'' and ''Ghostmaker'', [[BlueBlood aristocratic]] regiments sneer at the barbarian Ghosts from Tanith for their appearance, including their unkempt (black) hair. The Ghosts are master scouts, which is explicitly attributed to the forests of their planet.
86* ''Literature/TheGrandmother'': The local madwoman Viktorka has unkempt black hair and a general disheveled appearance. After Viktorka dies, lying in her coffin, the Grandmother and the children see her hair combed for the first time.
87* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'': In ''The Book of Three'', Prince Gwydion is described as having "the shaggy, gray-streaked hair of a wolf".
88%%* ''Literature/TheJungleBook'': Mowgli.
89%%* ''Literature/{{Tarzan}}''.
90* ''Literature/TheBellAtSealeyHead'': Emma's mother Hesper went to live in a tree in the forest. She had always been neat at her grandmother's, but now she has wild hair.
91* ''Literature/HarryPotter'':
92** Rufus Scrimgeour is described as having "streaks of gray in his mane of tawny hair" invoking the image of a lion.
93** Also in Harry Potter, Hagrid was described as having loads and loads of long and wild hair that was thick enough to break combs. Later on, when Hagrid tried to comb his hair, he ended up having broken-off comb teeth tangled in his hair. His attempt to tame it with styling product was an equal failure.
94** After his escape from Azkaban, Sirius had very long and unkempt hair.
95** Due to his father's habit, Harry himself is constitutionally incapable of making his hair behave. He unknowingly used this to his advantage when Aunt Petunia gave him a truly horrific haircut and he woke up the next morning with his hair exactly the way it was before. Harry's hair is stubbornly, very likely supernaturally wild. It even defeats Molly Weasley in [[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix book 5]].
96* ''Literature/ThirteenthChild'': When they meet Wash in the wilds, his hair is longer and his beard less neat than in civilization.
97* ''Literature/TheChangeling1970'': Zilpha Keatley Snyder has several descriptions of Ivy's hair. "It foamed in tangled curls inches thick around her head and usually halfway covered her face. She had a habit of sticking out her lower lip and blowing upward when she especially wanted to see something, to get the hair away from her eyes." As Ivy gets older, she starts putting her hair in a huge braid. By the time she is fourteen, it hangs "far below her waist." When she unbraids it for a dance audition, she looks bizarrely beautiful. Ivy's connections to nature and the out of doors are part of her "changeling" identity, and her hair is one of the things that makes her seem actually otherworldly.
98* ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'': Septimus' brothers have this when they live in the woods -- although it is, unusually, blond, and none of their family is noted for neatness of hair.
99* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': The wildlings who live beyond the Wall have little patience for the niceties and customs of southron society, and consequently tend to sport tangled and unkempt manes of hair. At one point, Jon muses of the wildling Ygritte only brushes her hair once a season.
100-->''Lucky it might be, and red it certainly was, but Ygritte's hair was such a tangle that Jon was tempted to ask her if she only brushed it at the changing of the seasons.''
101* ''Literature/AllTheWrongQuestions'': S. Theodora Markson has a massive mess of hair.
102%%* ''Literature/BreakfastOfChampions'': Kilgore Trout, as described in one of Vonnegut's asides:%%Quotes aren't context.
103%%-->''I gave him hair, but I turned it white. I wouldn't let him comb it or go to a barber. I made him grow it long and tangled.''
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
107* Played for laughs in episode one of season three of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'', where the characters return from their trip to the North Pole. Leonard, Howard, and Raj trudge in the apartment lobby with unkempt hair and full beards that seem to fuse together. Then Sheldon walks in with a neat goatee and mustache and no significant changes to his hair.
108* Played straight in BBC children's drama ''Cavegirl''. Set in prehistoric times (though with prehistoric analogues of modern conveniences showing up occasionally), ALL the characters in the series really did have wild hair.
109* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
110** Rousseau, due to being stranded on the island for sixteen years, and [[spoiler:Bernard]] in the season 5 finale.
111** [[spoiler:Claire]] in Season 6.
112* The titular ''Grizzly Adams'', who combined a thick mane of hair with an epic beard and moustache. He sometimes looked more hairy than the [[BearsAreBadNews grizzly bear]] that he hung around with. But check out the careful feathering in his beard...Every mountain man has a hair dryer.
113* If dreads count, Ronon Dex from ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' fits this trope to a "T". (Not ''that'' T, that's the other series.)
114** Speaking of the other series, the race of SpaceAmish called The Nox from ''Series/StargateSG1'' had hair so wild and unkempt, they even had ferns and leaves in them.
115* In ''Series/FraggleRock'', Mokey's hair is perpetually unkempt.
116* Cole in ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' was basically a Franchise/{{Tarzan}} expy, complete with unkempt hair. It got cut shorter by the other rangers at the end of the second episode.
117* Reverend Jim Ignitowski from ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' had wild hair. In one episode, he was given a comb and it literally got stuck midway through his hair!
118* Abby from ''Series/{{Primeval}}'' got this when she spent a year in the Cretaceous. While she does use a hairband after returning, the hair otherwise remains unkempt.
119* Helena from ''Series/OrphanBlack'', in contrast to the other clones, sports extremely unkempt blonde hair. [[spoiler:She keeps this hairstyle even after her HeelFaceTurn, and bearing in mind the trope description, it could be considered foreshadowing for what kind of person Helena is, which, after her de-brainwashing, is definitely ChaoticGood.]]
120* Bart from ''Series/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'' has highly unkempt red hair. She is also a remorseless assassin, but arguably qualifies as an AntiVillain [[spoiler:because she has psychic abilities and targets people who hurt others. She still wants to kill the title character, though, for reasons as yet unrevealed.]]
121* Guerrilas in James Carlos Blake 's 'Wildwood boys' are long-haired and wild, not in a good way.
122[[/folder]]
123
124[[folder:Music]]
125* Steve Bays, the lead singer of Music/HotHotHeat, has a head full of ginger curls, much to the delight of his numerous fangirls.
126[[/folder]]
127
128[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
129* ''Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh'': Enkidu, the wild man the gods sent to Gilgamesh, was said to have wild hair reaching down past his waist. When they brought him to civilization, he got a haircut.
130* ''Literature/TheFourGospels'': This is often how John the Baptist was depicted while he was living in the wilderness.
131* Myth/JapaneseMythology: [[StringyHairedGhostGirl Onryo]] are often depicted with long, unkempt hair.
132[[/folder]]
133
134[[folder:Theater]]
135* In the second act of the musical ''Theatre/SpringAwakening'', the original Ilse (Lauren Pritchard) had wild hair. Though in modern productions the bob seems to be the new standard for Ilse, most understudies (since it's more practical for them to have long hair so it can be braided for other roles they cover) sport this look in the second act also.
136* ''Theater/JekyllAndHyde'' often has neatly combed hair for Jekyll on one side and long, messy hair for Hyde on the other.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Video Games]]
140* Solid Snake has had it since ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. His hairstyle was mercilessly mocked at first, because of its resemblance to the infamous mullet. It isn't a mullet, but looks like one thanks to Snake tying his [[BadassesWearBandanas bandana]] over his hair rather than under it.
141* VideoGame/{{Iji}}, after being in a coma for six months. And the setting sure is as dangerous as a jungle.
142* Blanka from ''Franchise/StreetFighter'', who grew up in the wild and appears more beast than man.
143* Feral child Gau from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has green unkempt hair. They found him living on his own in the Beast Plains.
144** Fang from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' is more of the UnkemptBeauty variety with black hair instead.
145* UsefulNotes/SarutobiSasuke from ''VideoGame/SengokuBasara'', who legend says was raised by monkeys. While his backstory isn't touched upon much, and he certainly doesn't live wild, he tends to keep to himself and, being a {{ninja}}, spends a lot of time outdoors.
146* ProudWarriorRaceGuy chieftain Gorath from ''VideoGame/BetrayalAtKrondor'' has long, unkempt slate black hair shot with grey.
147* Textual implications in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' suggest that Elanee has never heard of a 'brush' or a 'comb' or even a 'bath'. Textual implications also indicate her unkempt appearance actually adds to her sex appeal.
148* The ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Primarina has its hair tied in pearl bands which subvert this trope... until it starts singing, at which point the hair literally ''explodes'' outward.
149* ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry6ShapeUpOrSlipOut'': Shablee's hair is a load of messily-set locks, which fits her dark-skin and general appearance. The game describes it as having a wild, untamed, tribal look, that says "I dare you to try and brush me. Just try."
150* [[AmazonianBeauty Daidouji]] from the ''VideoGame/SenranKagura'' series has a good set of wild hair while in her [[Main/JapaneseDelinquents japanese delinquent outfit]]
151[[/folder]]
152
153[[folder:Webcomics]]
154* Surprisingly averted by Angora from ''Webcomic/TheMeek''. Though she lives wild and often clothes-free, her (green) hair is very neat.
155* ''Webcomic/QuestionDuck'': [[http://questionduck.smackjeeves.com/comics/1387643/277/ Both the duck and a human.]] Inspiring questions about where they have been -- an allusion to the ScheduleSlip.
156* The main character from ''Webcomic/KissWood'' Sul, a gardener, has this. He had a small "jungle" that spanned his entire property after the city was remade entirely out of concrete and because there were no more gardens, he became obsessive about plants.
157* Mr. Hyde's hair in ''Webcomic/TheGlassScientists'' is as untamed as the rest of him. [[http://www.theglassscientists.com/?comic=page-04 He lets it blow crazily in the breeze.]]
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Western Animation]]
161* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' has main character Anne. Doesn't matter if she just recently washed or styled it; sooner or latter, it will return to being a messy, brown bush filled with leaves and sticks. Funnily enough, one episode implies that [[FailedASpotCheck she never actually notices]] when her hair gets filled with all that debris, with her asking why no one ever told her.
162* ''Franchise/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
163** In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', [[http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/File:Toph_Beifong.png Toph]] is shown to have this kind of hair when she [[http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/File:Toph_spits.png lets it loose]].
164** Commander Bumi from the SequelSeries ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has a nice mop of unruly hair, befitting his reputation as something of a wild man.
165* Splatter Phoenix, a MadArtist villainess from ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'', has a long, shaggy mane.
166* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': Several of Tarakudo's [[Characters/JackieChanAdventuresOniAndShadowkhan nine Oni generals]] (namely the generals of the Ninja Khan and Squid Khan tribes respectively) sport long, wild hair in both their imprisoned mask forms and their true forms.
167* Lazerette from ''WesternAnimation/SkysurferStrikeForce''
168* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', this seems to be common for Quartz Gems, and seems to indicate recklessness or aggression. Amethyst and Jasper both have long and wild manes of hair. Rose Quartz subverts this with her RegalRinglets, which indicate a refined, [[LadyOfWar lady-like]] temperament instead of the wild aggression of her fellow Quartz Gems. For humans, Greg, both in his youth and in the present day, sported long, unkempt hair that reaches down to his waist [[spoiler:(at least before he was forced to cut it short in the ''Future'' episode "Bluebird")]], which seems to indicate his often laid-back and simple but also wise and sensitive personality.
169* Something of a running gag on ''WesternAnimation/TimeWarpTrio'' was that Sam and many of his family members have wild hair. Sam's is just messy, black blob, his Great Granddaughter, Samantha has hair that is styled in a series of wavy bun-like things across her head (although judging from the background characters in the future episode, weird hair seems to be par for the course in the year 2105 where she hails from, even if the other main protagnist from the future avert this), and Sam's ancestor from Russia has a crazy, unruly beard he used to hide things in and his refusal to shave it almost got him executed.
170[[/folder]]

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