Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Is it permissible for men to pierce their ears (or one of them) and/or braid their hair?
Answer:
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
It is agreed upon that men cannot wear earrings or other jewelry (except for a ring from silver alone). [see: Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni, 2.324; al-Mawsu`a al-Fiqhiyya]
As for braids, the condition is that they not be like the braids of women and not entail imitation of non-Muslims in ways characteristic of them, and that one undo them before ghusl.
Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani