The meaning of hair
One thing that all this recent hair talk has reminded me of is that hair can have strong narrative importance and be a useful tool when trying to communicate a character to an audience.
Hair is a matter of self expression. It's no coincidence that after major life changes people will often change their hair. How someone's hair is maintained can tell you a lot about them, how they perceive themself and how they want to be perceived by the world, both key aspects to understanding these characters.
It's no secret by now that Shane grows his hair out in the books, but at the same time it's a character detail that still makes a lot of sense contextually for the narrative. Shane is going through a massive personal change between HR and TLG, he is now in a relationship with a man, he has come out to himself and those around him but his relationship is secret. He is losing control over his life, unable to really have a normal public relationship, and his careful curated hockey image is falling apart.
Shane is having to reframe who he is, he is in a relationship with a man who also happens to be interested in women and Shane is in what could be perceived as the more "submissive" role.
So we could interpret Shane's changing hair as an allusion to this change, his shifting sense of masculinity as well as his insecurity. For example, a subconscious insecurity that Ilya could leave him for a woman and be better off. Shane could subconsciously be trying to make himself appear more "feminine" and desirable. Insecurity will tell Shane that he is already not an ideal option for Ilya, that Shane cannot possibly offer the same things that a woman could provide for Ilya, and that Ilya must be attracted to feminine aspects.
Shane could also be trying to take back agency over his life, even in small ways, through his appearance. It may not seem like much to anyone else, but longer hair for Shane could be a wild, uncharacteristic act of rebellion. He is no longer trying to be the perfect image of a hockey star, he is actively sabotage the idea he had of himself and what the world has of him and pushing against the box he now finds himself in.
I would also say that Troy is in a similar situation in some ways, which is why I think that Troy would benefit from a more "conforming" hairstyle at first (although it would be cool if he grows it out later). Troy is trying to hide and conform in the beginning of his career. He is making a persona to present himself as the person who he's expected to be. To me he would have a hairstyle that is unassuming, one that was probably decided for him from a pretty young age by his parents, one that looks good in a portrait on the family wall or in a yearbook. His arc is about him changing for the better, reforming and taking back control over who he really is, so I'm hoping that we don't lose the physical messaging of that in the show.
Am I the only one with strong opinions on subtle character details and how they serve the narrative? For the most part the discussion I've seen has mostly been about what people think is more or less attractive, maybe it doesn't go deeper than that?