The Manual’s Guide to Hair Styling for Men

With summer wrapping up (say it ain’t so!), it’s time to put more focus on school and career and less on achieving a great tan. During the summer, we sometimes tend to let things slide a little bit in the grooming and dress department. Beach hair, swimsuits and flip flops rule. Yet getting back to a smarter regimen isn’t always a bad thing, and is actually something we look forward to. One of the most obvious grooming areas is your hair. We want to look on point for those first days back in class or on the job.

We spoke to Brian Porteous of Portland, Oregon’s Heritage Barber Shop for some expert men’s hair styling tips.

Brian’s main mantra is to “Go with whatever is natural and what your hair wants to do.” As he explains, “Most cuts are getting away from the really coiffed, really styled and really heavy product look.” Here are some additional suggestions:

• If you want to do a floating part, you can throw your hands through your hair, find the part, add some product and you are good to go. A wash and wear sort of cut.
• It’s always beneficial to use a little product. If you’re new to hair products, you might start with a water-based putty or light cream that has a slight hold, yet is easy to work with.
• You don’t want to go too short or add a lot of product to thin hair. Leave it longer on the sides and top and add just a little product.

Related: The Manual’s Guide to Summer Hair Care

Brian also answered some questions from our readers:

How soon before a big event should I get my haircut?

Come in a month to a month and a half before. Figure out the haircut you like and get it done. Four days before the event get a touch up and the day before, just get a trim around the ears and neck. You don’t want to look like you just walked out of the barber shop on the big day.

How do I quickly refresh my hair?

Get a towel as hot as you can with hot water and put it on your head and leave it for 10-15 seconds. You can press it against your head too and it really acts like a shower opening up your pores and relaxing your hair.

This article and video was brought to you by Old Spice