I'll be honest the last time I saw buggy before the impel down arc was aaaaalllll the way back in 2009 after school during the first german airing of the first 300and something episodes which is also when I got introduced to one piece. (op didn't get a german dub til 2003 and also only very slowly until it picked up a following)

My school schedule changed then and I'd always come home way too late to catch any episodes of it until many years later when there was one day a week where I'd get home before 4pm and that happened to be just around the time when impel down was freshly done with german synchro and being broadcasted.

and uhhh it took me until today, my most recent rewatch of the show, to realize that buggy had indeed always had long hair and the blue tassles on his hat were just his friggin hair????

I'm not saying that my brain is kinda flat but it sure do be smooth like a vaseline dipped chicken breast considering how long it took me to get that.