It's a hairstyle with a distinguished pedigree, going all the way back to the Buddha himself. But serious allegations have now been levelled against it. Hair specialists say that it causes severe baldness around the forehead and temples.
Yes, we're talking about the man bun. Celebrities seen sporting it have included Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio, David Beckham, Bradley Cooper and Harry Styles.
The technical name for the condition is traction alopecia. "They're putting traction on the hair follicles that the hair is not really meant to take," said dermatologist Sabra Sullivan to the website Mic.
If buns affect men, shouldn't they affect women too? Yes, tight hairstyling affects people of both sexes. Among the fairer sex, black women are disproportionately affected because they wear tight weaves and braids.
Interestingly, Leonardo di Caprio has just dumped his man bun, along with his flowing beard. It might have something to do with the fact that he has wrapped up filming on The Revenant, a Western directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, which is set in the early 19th century.
But we suspect he may have also been reading the horror stories about the hairstyle. Does this spell the obituary for the man bun?
That would be a pity because man buns are popular with women, albeit of a particular age group. According to a dating website, they were found to be attractive by a staggering 82% of women from the ages of 18-24.
The problem is not the man bun itself but how tightly it is tied. So men, feel free to sport it as long as it's loose enough to avoid putting pressure on your hair follicles. And watch the girls make a beeline for you!
