From a lady who has long super wavy (almost to the point of being curly) hair and who has given her fair share of french lessons (both C and BB) - I always start with my hair pulled back. Some hair may escape and I do appreciate it when a gent brushes it out of my face. If he asks me to let it down I do. One of my very few bad experiences when I first started out was having my hair down, the gent gently just running his fingers through my hair, then SUDDENLY grabbing it and forcing my head down at that moment right before his toes curled. Knee jerk reaction ended up being trying to force my mouth closed which probably ended up leaving teeth marks at the base of his hot dog.
So yea, I have a love/hate relationship with the hair thing. If you are new to me, I will probably be hesitant about it but if I know you, feel free to mess with the hair all you want as long as you help hold it out of the way and I trust you not to do anything stupid at the last minute. The guy was actually nice but it surprised the shit out of me and ended up being a non pleasant experience for both of us.
CBJ I do prefer to keep the hair pulled back. That shit hurts when it gets caught up in the rubber.
As for messing up my hair? Those who have seen may hair know that it is always tousled, even after brushing.