Rattails - The Hairstyle the World Could Do Without

The rat tail is the bastard son of the mullet. It is ugly in every way, in every style, on everyone. The rat tail is a mockery of all the beautiful mullets out there.

Wikipedia defines the rattail as follows:

A rattail is a haircut that is characterized by a long "tail" of hair growing from the back of the head. It saw a notable short all over their head except for a few strands in the back that are left to grow out.

The rattail usually curls naturally; however, it can be braided, treated as a dread, permed, straightened, or curled with an iron. In some instances, an individual might choose to grow several tails or grow a single tail very long.


Wikipedia goes on to give more information on the rattail:

This hairstyle seems to be rather commonly seen on manga characters. For example, Dr. Tofu (a character in Ranma 1/2) and Masaharu Niou from Prince of Tennis all have small ponytails resembling rattails. Tenchi Masaki also is seen with a rattail. Auron from Final Fantasy X also sports a rattail in a concept art by Tetsuya Nomura (it is not visible in game because of his high-brim collar). However, this may be due to the hairstyle's similarity to the queue.

As the hairstyle has become less popular, it has been increasingly associated with redneck culture and is a common characteristic found in stereotypes of lower class North Americans.

Shaved head with long braided rattailSome punks and rivetheads have been known to support them also, although in a much more punky style, totally shaven head, except for a tuft of hair at the back, usually dyed in various luminous colours.

Former junior welterweight boxing champion Kostya Tszyu sported a rather famous rattail throughout his career.

The Guinness World Record for longest rattail measures 4 feet 9 inches held by Grant Ruramora.

Dog the Bounty Hunter stars Leland Chapman and Tim Chapman both have a variation of this haircut.

Cristiano Ronaldo has a variation of this haircut as it originated in his native country

And now, for some rattails:

A braided gangsta rattail.


An Asian rattail, free flowing.


This is a mullderline, that is, it is almost a mullet, but not quite. It is best classified as a multi dread rattail.


A long arse rattail, braided and ultra thin at the end. The best part? It's the only hair on his head (at least I hope it's a 'him').


A golden rattail.


A thick, wavy rattail. If this rat tail extended just a few more inches on both sides, it could be considered a mullet.


A short, braided rattail. This is among the most vile variety, the single patch of hair rat tail.


The Rattette. Females with rattails..... Shiver.


Yes, do it, put it out of it's misery.


A punk rock rattail. Who would do that to their child? Go back to your trailer, grab some scissors, and give your boy a cut, and let him grow a proper mullet.


This is an example of normal hair cut, with a nasty rattail sprouting out of no where.


Perhaps the worst of all is the short curled rattail. Typically found on teenage girls who want to look like boys. You know the type.


He looks like a Jedi.


The 'oops missed a spot' rattail.

39 comments:

  1. ok i'll get mine soon !

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  2. Das ist Scheißen!!!!

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  3. It´s Cool! I liked the Punk Rock Rattail

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  4. This is so foul and disturbing all at the same time.

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  5. my lil cozin is gana grow it till he is in hihg school already ova a foot long and only yr 3 lol cant wait to c it in the future

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  6. sorry rote that rong my lil cuz is in yr 3 his rattie is ova a foot long he is so pround of it lol he wonts to get the guiness record hope he can do it been growing miune for a yr now i have cirly hair and ant as thin as the normal rats tail i like a bit of with to mine so when it gets long i can devide it in to to and throw them ova me shoulder lol
    raits tail still alive in aus

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  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  8. ha, nice collection of photos! and i sure do agree with the title! : )

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  9. how do u grow a rat tail? i only got mine bout 2-3 months ago, any easy tips?

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  10. Rats tails look fantastic I think. Im a 42 year old guy who is going bald on top. So to be different, ive been growing two very fine tails down the back. They look great and i do get a lot of comments. Most comment is positive to be honest. Mine actually look quite stylish though as they are very fine and my hairdresser has no problem with them either. She actually enjoys it as they are getting longer now.
    Cheers Neale.

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  11. no easy tips, it takes time, took 8 years or my rattail to grow all the way down my back. Loved it when I was 13 the end of it touching the seat when I sat down in a chair, rattails are the best

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  12. Have you still got it. I want to grow my two fine tails down to my bum. Im actually looking at getting them extended so that I dont have to wait years for them to grow that long. Cant wait to have them draped over my shoulder. Cheers Neale.

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  13. I'm rocking a rat tail right now and I'm a girl.

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  14. im actully inlove with them at the moment i like the long thick ones i have a thin one at the moment around 16cm been growing for 6 months

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  15. I'll be sure to let people know how gracious and wonderful rat-tails are! Thanks for your opinion!

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  16. I think that rattails are cool.
    I'm thinking of putting one on one of the characters in the book that I'm writing.
    I imagine it looking actually pretty good on him.

    I don't care if I sound completely wierd as I'm commenting this.

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  17. I like Rat Tails. They are just so neat!

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  18. Any new photos of some more wonderful ratails.
    I'm still growing mine although I have gone back to one thicker one rather than the two finer ones that I was growing.
    I'm actually growing it from higher up on the back of my head. Will look like the tail labelled the "most vile" lol, in the photos, but a lot thicker.
    The rest of my hair is a number one so I'm starting to get a lot of looks now. Not all bad I have to say lol.
    Will post a photo in a few months time when it gets a bit more impressive in length.
    Cheers Neale.

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  19. Leland Chapman's hair is not a rattail it is in fact a Mohawk, according to your definition it sprouts as a patch from the back of the head. Leland's hair has a 3 finger width strip that runs form his forehead to the nape of his neck witch is the definition of the Mohawk. think of what some native American Indians mowhawks looks like when their down

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  20. I plan on doing a form of the long braided one, it is called a sikha and i think it looks bad ass along with a rat tail. (if properly styled) yes i admit that rat tails can look trashy if unkept and when they are verry thin it looks repulsive in my opinion but i have seen many rat tails that look good i hope when mine grows out that it looks good .

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  21. I have a rat tail. Its still growing, I get plenty of comments from girls saying it looks cute. I'm about to dye it blonde or burgendy

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  22. They lend a graceful look to a short sassy haircut, kind of a punk/country/rockabilly look and some Chinese Emperor, Jedi Knight thrown in!

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  23. Anakin Skywalker had a rattail and I have one as well. Like it or deal with it.

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  24. And no, I am not a thirty year old man. I am a female, a teenager in high school. I get a lot of questions and compliments on my rattail. My rattail is a constant reminder that I am unique, not the average plastic mold. It expresses the independence of a tattoo without it being permanent or painful.

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  26. A debt of gratitude is in order For sharing this Superb article.I utilize this Article to demonstrate my task in college.it is valuable For me Great Work. long hairstyles for women

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  28. I have a rat tail and i LOVE it

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  29. Blog is very interesting and informative. Thanks for sharing
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  30. Mines got chopped off 3 weeks ago. I miss it I be had it for 21 years. Can't wait for it to grow back. I love it cuz its naturally curly but I don't want long hair so this is how I've compromised on myself.

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    1. In 21 years it should has been incredibly long! Why did you cut it off?

      facebook: Tommaso Osammot Codino

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    2. I didn't want my tail cut of ever. The person cutting my hair didn't follow my directions and snipped it while she had me in deep conversation. I never had it any longer than a third of the way down my back. It's been 3 months and it's barely just under 2 inches long. Got a long time to wait for it to be 6-7 inches long. ☹️ I'm never going back to that shop. I didn't know it's called a rattail until I googled on here. My sibs hate it but my friends love it as I do always.

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    3. It happened something similar to me at the end of 2015. I had a pretty long rattail, about 15 inches long I think. One day, while the barber was cutting my hair, he layered my tail without asking me. My hair is wavy, so I have to keep my tail always braided or it gets full of tangles. And I couldn't braid it anymore cause it was too layered. :( So after some days I had to cut it off and start a new one. Now mine is still short, about 6 inches long when braided, but it's slowly growing back. And I really miss the long tail I had before.
      Well short rattails are nice too, but I also prefere to keep mine longer.

      Do you have facebook? It's so rare to find other people who sport rat tails! :)

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    4. My tail is showing really good now for the first time in 7 months. It's almost 4 inches long now. I'm thinking of braiding it when it gets over 7 inches long. It's curly as I have natural wavy/curly hair. Feeling almost normal again with my tail really showing. Yes I'm on Facebook but I don't want to give my real last name on here.

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  31. I also have a rat tail and I love it. It's not only a way to be a little bit alternative. I have it cause I like how it looks.

    facebook: Tommaso Osammot Codino

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  32. you can tell this is a cracker article hahahah only likes mullet. get back to dat trailer house BOIIII and stop typing trash

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  33. My 'tail is 31yrs old and about 66" long unbraided😊

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  34. My six year old has been growing his ratty since he was born oussss

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