A message to Justin Herbert: Go with the flow.
Herbert is known for two things: His dynamic on-field play for the Chargers, and his even more dynamic head of hair inside that helmet. So when he lopped the luscious locks off just over a year ago in 2020, it sent NFL fans into a tizzy.
Make no mistake that Herbert's longer hair was much more befitting a look to him than Tom Brady's unfortunate mid-length hair era or Aaron Rodgers' John Wick look.
Much like when Clark Kent puts on his glasses, Herbert looked like an entirely different human being after an (unfortunate) haircut robbed him of his mature, cologne-model look and de-aged him about 10 years.
Let's look back on the mane event:
Justin Herbert's haircut
On Nov. 18, 2020, the Chargers passer's look changed from "dragon-slaying, rocket-slinging franchise QB" to "generic middle school bully in a direct-to-DVD movie."
Take a look for yourself:
How it started: How it’s going: pic.twitter.com/UDwug0EamF
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) November 18, 2020
Somewhat magically, Herbert went from grown-ass man to "Yes, sir, I'll have your daughter home by 10 p.m." in a single sitting in the barber's chair.
"Barber's chair" might be a little bit loose, though: As it turns out, Herbert had his ears lowered by Los Angeles strength and conditioning coach John Lott. Herbert said that Lott assured him he was "good with the clippers."
"I think he did a great job. I wasn't looking for anything fancy. I was just looking for someone to trim it down," Herbert said in 2020. "It might look like I am doing it out of superstition, but honestly it was getting too long."
Luckily for Herbert, he didn't have to worry about a Samson-like effect after chopping off his hair: Before the haircut, Herbert threw 2,333 yards, 19 touchdowns and six interceptions for LA in eight games (102.8 passer rating). After the haircut, he threw 2,003 yards, 12 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games, and his passer rating took a small dip to 93.7.
#Chargers RG Trai Turner was asked if he would be getting a hair cut with John Lott after seeing QB Justin Herbert’s “naw I am cool on that one.” pic.twitter.com/f2DR2XLmbC
— Fernando Ramirez (@RealFRamirez) November 18, 2020
Interestingly enough, following the haircut, Herbert was caught wearing hats more often than not, when prior to the trimming, he let the flow go.
Before Herbert was selected by the Chargers No. 6 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was selected by Head & Shoulders as one of the hair-care brand's latest ambassadors.
Hopefully that relationship is still going strong.