Dealing With Men's Thick, Wavy & Unruly Hair

Assessing Your Hair Type

Hair varies in thickness — from 50 microns (a unit of measure equal to 1 millionth of a metre) in people with fine hair to over 100 microns. Thickness also depends on the number of individual hairs on your head.

How the hair behaves depends on the shape of the individual shafts. Asian hair, for example, is often round, so lies flat and straight; Caucasian hair is slightly oval, which tends to make it fine with varying degrees of waviness; and Afro-Caribbean hair is flat and curved, giving it its distinctly curly appearance.

What’s more, hair density — how many individual shafts there are on the head — is affected by its colour, with blondes having the most hair and redheads the least.

“Half the battle is learning how to work with the hair you’ve been given,” says Wendy Lewis, author of Hair Affair. “You may know best how your hair behaves, but getting it to look healthy, shiny and manageable can take a little knowledge.”

To that (split) end, this guide is here to help. Whether your mop is wavy, curly, frizzy, thick or just refuses to lie flat, we have a battle plan to defeat any kind of bad hair day.

Dealing With: Thick Hair

In the same way that it’s hard to sympathise with a billionaire who complains about the price of maintaining his yacht, it’s hard to feel pity for a man who complains his hair is too thick. But if you’re that man in question, a thick thatch can be a constant source of annoyance.

“With thick hair, the main issue is manageability and the sheer volume of the hair,” says Jaymarie Winkler, a store manager at the new Ruffians barbershop in London department store Liberty.

How To Style Thick Hair

Generally, slightly shorter hairstyles work best here. “Think Caesar fringes, buzz cuts, textured crops and short choppy quiffs,” says Winkler.

If the hair is especially thick, ask your barber or stylist to take some of the weight out using special thinning scissors. “This can help if your hair is very thick, but avoid doing it if your hair is also coarse, as it’ll make it fizzy and even more unmanageable.”

It’s also worth allowing the hair to dry naturally whenever possible since blow-drying can increase volume, making it look even thicker. If blow-drying is essential, stick to a cool setting.

Dealing With: Wavy Hair

Around 40 per cent of Caucasian men have slightly wavy hair, and if you’re one of them, you’re in good company —David Gandy, Orlando Bloom and Roger Federer are three well-known men who know how to ride the waves.

Like curly hair, the wavy stuff can appear bulky and tends to react to the weather — with the wave becoming more pronounced at times of high humidity or when there’s drizzle in the air. Additional waves can also sprout in places you’d rather they didn’t and get knotted and tangled if your hair is long.

How To Style Wavy Hair

“Rather than a bad thing, in many respects, wavy hair is the holy grail of hair types,” says Winkler. “Pretty much all styles work, but anything pushed back really shows off that wave. If your hair is thick as well as wavy, though, your barber can take some of the some of the bulk out with a razor or thinning scissors without risking frizz.”

Particularly good cuts for guys with wavy hair include the undercut (where the sides and back a keep ultra short with the hair worn long on top), the public school side part (where the fringe falls forward) or loose and tousled (think Jon Snow or Harry Styles). Just remember: the longer the hair, the more pronounced the wave, so if control is your aim, keep your hair under three inches or so in length.

To tame longer wavy hair that tends to be a bit unruly, Morgan suggests tying it up loosely overnight. “Taken down in the morning it will have a natural, messy, wavy look — very low maintenance and effortlessly cool.”

Dealing With: Curly Hair

“Curly hair is curly because the follicle that it grows from under the scalp is not straight,” says celebrity hairdresser and trichologist Guy Parsons. Typically, curly hair is more coarse in texture, and the coarser the hair, the less water it holds and therefore the dryer it is.

“It also absorbs light rather than reflects it, so it doesn’t tend to look as ‘shiny’ as straighter hair would,” says Parsons. “The other downside is that it can become frizzy in humid weather, which is why it’s important to use products that create a protective shield around it.”

How To Style Curly Hair

A lot of guys find caring for curly hair overwhelming, neglecting it to the point of comedy 1980s scouser (“it’s certainly not the easiest hair type to manage,” admits Parsons).

You have three options: fight it by keeping it cropped (which is how Justin Timberlake tackles his notoriously curly mop top), remove the curls with a relaxing treatment, or — and this is by far the easiest and most authentic option — you can just make the most of what nature has given you. After all, it’s not as if there aren’t plenty of poster boys for curly hair: think James Franco, Adrian Grenier and Carlos Valderrama. Okay, so maybe not Valderrama, but you get the idea.

“To maintain and define curly hair, ask your barber for a flat, layered cut to create a full, curly finish,” advises Morgan. “You don’t want too much thinning or texturising to take place.” A curly undercut (short at the back and sides, long and curly on top) always looks good, as does a curly quiff and hair grown to jaw-length a la Aiden Turner in Poldark.

Whatever style you choose, make sure you get it cut or shaped when dry. Curly hair is more relaxed when wet, springing back a little when dry, so having it cut this way guarantees the style and length you want.

Dealing With: Unruly Hair

Like young children, hair can be obedient and well behaved or unruly and defiant. Since your head of hair is unique, chances are it’ll have its own kinks and quirks. Most of these you’ll have embraced and learned to live with, but a couple — cowlicks and double crowns, namely — can be particularly problematic.

Crowns are (mostly clockwise) whorls of hair that form at a central point at the back of the skull just down from the top of your head — but some people have two of these, creating a ‘double crown’. These can be tricky for barbers to deal with because they have to deal with two centres of growth to style around.

Cowlicks, meanwhile, are small sections of hair that go against the general direction of hair grown on the head to create gravity-defying tufts that stick up and defy most attempts to tame them with products like waxes and pomades.

How To Style

“If you have a pronounced double crown, you have to commit to either a long, very choppy or short style,” says Winkler. “Longer will weigh the crown down, making it less noticeable, and going short and choppy will hide it.” Anything in between and you’re asking for trouble, with different sections of your hair growing noticeably apart.

The easiest way to deal with a stubborn cowlick is to go for a short, spiky or textured style that works with it rather than against it, disguising the hyperactive hair in the process.

5 Beard Styles You Need To Know In 2020

For ancient Egyptians, it was a sign of wealth and status. Romans would cultivate theirs to signify mourning, while Gauls equated the loss of one with castration. To the 21st-century man, though, the humble beard is more a sartorial statement of intent than a status symbol.

In the past few years facial hair has morphed from money-saving ruse (it’s no coincidence that the rise of the beard ran parallel with the global economic recession) into the ultimate style accessory — and one that’s not just an adjunct to your overall look but an expression of the inner you, too.

Cheap, versatile and adaptable, facial hair can change the shape of a man’s face and completely alter how he looks in jeans and a T-shirt or a suit. A few whiskers here and there can make a baby face look older, draw attention away from a thinning thatch and hide a multitude of sins (or chins). In short, it allows a man to be the ultimate chameleon.

What’s more, despite the ‘peak beard’ protestations of clean-shaven style pundits and the wishful thinking big bucks razor manufacturers, the beard is very much here to stay.

In fact, a recent YouGov survey showed the popularity of beards has only increased since 2011, with over 40 per cent of British men now sporting some kind of facial fuzz, with a full beard remaining the most popular option.

What makes things different from the last time facial hair was in fashion back in the seventies isn’t just the sheer variety of styles men are now experimenting with or the number of products available to help them achieve them, but women’s attitude towards them.

Ten years ago a beard, goatee or jazz spot almost acted as a contraceptive, but the same YouGov survey showed that only a third of young women prefer men without some form of fuzz.

The fact that so many celebrities are also sporting facial furniture has helped, too. Try imagining the likes of Drake, Idris Elba or David Beckham without their signature beards and you’ll see how much it’s embedded itself into the public consciousness.

Which Style?

The only question a man has to ask about facial hair these days is which style to have. And that’s where this guide — covering everything from how to rock a smattering of stubble to how to tame a full on grizzly beard — comes in.

Whether you’re a facial hair aficionado who fancies a change of style or are currently clean-shaven and need a beard-growing battle plan, here’s are the best beard styles to suit both your face and your personality.

1. Stubble

Back in the 1930s, stubble wasn’t quite the uber-cool style statement it is today. Back then it was a sign that a man was lazy or down on his luck (‘five o’clock shadow’ was a term concocted by a razor company to encourage men to shave twice a day so as not to appear slovenly).

Nowadays, it’s a widely accepted halfway house between being clean-shaven and rocking a full-on Seasick Steve.

Of all the facial hair styles available to man, stubble is the easiest to cultivate (you just have to stop shaving for a few days). It’s also the simplest to maintain and the one that suits most face shapes.

Given that a study by Northumbria University found women prefer men with stubble and with research from grooming brand Remington showing that one in five men actually feel sexier with a few days growth, it might just be your secret weapon come that hot date, too.

Who It Suits

Perfect for guys with baby faces, a sprinkling of stubble instantly adds maturity and a sense of ruggedness, making it the ideal option for those who struggle to grow thick, full beards.

Stubble also tends to make weak jaws look stronger and provides good camouflage for imperfections like acne scars and uneven pigmentation.

Kept neat and trimmed, it’s a style that looks as good in the boardroom as it does in a bar. Keep an eye on the length, though: too short and it’ll look like you simply overslept; too long and you’ll just look scruffy. As a rule of thumb, three to four days’ worth of growth is optimum for most guys. At this length, the hairs will lay a little flatter against the face and will be less likely to cause ‘pash rash’ too.

Expert Tip

“To keep stubble and skin soft and conditioned (also to reduce the risk of inflicting ‘pash rash’ on a partner when kissing) ensure you start with a clean surface,” says Sam Norsworthy, store manager at Ruffians barbers in London’s Marylebone.

“Exfoliate dead skin away with a facial scrub, leaving the skin underneath fresh and ready to absorb a daily moisturiser designed to soften skin and condition hair.”

2. The Goatee

Short on effort, big on style, the goatee has long been the facial hair choice for rockstars, intellectuals and those with a wayward, rebellious streak.

Essentially, this refers to any style featuring hair above the lip and on the chin only, sometimes connected to create a frame for the mouth. In short, it’s the artistic, slightly villainous brother of the beard.

Who It Suits

The bad boy’s facial hair of choice, goatees are great for adding a little edge to your style, or to affect an air of the alternative. They’re also perfect if you struggle to grow a full beard or find that when you do it’s patchy and uneven.

Goatees look especially good on slim, angular faces (but don’t let them grow too long or they’ll make your face look too lean) and can make a round face look slightly slimmer – a trick used by goatee guru George Michael.

They’re great on guys with short hair but come into their own when worn with long, slightly dishevelled hair.

3. The Beardstache

Falling somewhere between stubble and a full beard, the beardstache is a hybrid where the moustache is kept longer and fuller than the surrounding hair.

It’s a polarising style that has been called everything from the hot new thing to the facial hair equivalent of a mullet, but when done right it oozes masculinity.

Those who have experimented with the style include everyone from designer Patrick Grant to actor Jamie Dornan and model-turned-DJ Chris Camplin.

Like the standalone ’stache, there’s something inescapably 1970s porno about the style, but it’s fun, shows you have an experimental side, and there’s a practical aspect too since it’s the perfect lightweight alternative to a full beard come summer.

Who It Suits

In the same way it straddles two facial hair styles, the beardstache looks just as good on a lumberjack as a suited city slicker, instantly adding a hyper-masculine ruggedness to any face.

It works well on most face shapes but requires thick facial hair and looks best on guys with a wider philtrum (the stretch of skin between the top lip and nose) and a prominent chin due to it drawing attention higher up the face.

Expert Tip

“Beardstaches tend to look better when the difference between the two parts isn’t too great,” says Norsworthy.

“If you go too short with your stubble you can run the risk of starting back at square one. Use the guard on your clippers to guide you, usually a difference of just two settings is a good starting point.”

4. The Short Beard

A dialed-down, neater and altogether less lumberjacky version of the full beard, the short beard is a more versatile, understated and office-friendly alternative — perfect if you’re fending off a boss who’s phobic of facial hair.

Guys like Ryan Reynolds, Jon Hamm and George Clooney have all used this style to add gravitas and insulation to their faces in recent years (and look what it’s done for them).

The ideal hirsute middle ground — kept tidy, but not overly preened — a short beard sits just as comfortably alongside a suit during the nine-to-five as it does down the pub at the weekend (where everyone will definitely have #BeardEnvy).

Who It Suits

A neatly trimmed beard will suit most face shapes, though you may need to tailor the angles to emphasise your best features and downplay your worst.

If you’ve a round face, for example, you might want to reduce the length at the sides slightly to elongate the face. Similarly, leaving the sides slightly longer can help add width to a thin, narrow face. Blessed with a double chin? Try taking the beard down all the way to the Adam’s Apple to disguise it.

If in doubt, ask a barber to tend to your beard with your next trim, then keep up the shape at home.

Expert Tip

“If you’re bald or are sporting a short military crop, prevent the jarring ‘beard line’ towards the top of the ears by tapering the cutting length to give a more gradual transition,” says Norsworthy.

“Also continue this on the underside through the neck – this will create a stronger jawline and keep you looking smart at work.”

5. Full Beard

Growing a full beard is a rite of passage up there with learning to drive, drinking your first pint (not at the same time, mind) and buying your first ‘grown-up’ watch.

But like skiing, losing weight or shooting hoops, it’s one of those things that’s decidedly harder than it looks. The fuller the beard, the more maintenance it requires and the more problems you’re likely to encounter.

Take time to look after it, though, and you’ll always have something to stroke when the dog’s not around.

Who It Suits

Of all the beard styles, the full beard is the hardest to rock, partly because it’s such a statement. Guys with oval faces will have no problem making it work, but if you’ve any other face shape, you may need some creative trimming to ensure it flatters.

Slim, angular jaws and narrow faces can be softened and rounded out by keeping the sides slightly longer, while round faces can be elongated by growing the hair at the chin longer and keeping the sides shorter. You can also make a rounder face look thinner by growing the hair on the front of your face slightly longer than the stuff around the sides. Think of this crafty contouring as whisker magic.