Guys: Here’s How To Care For Your Curls
So what should dudes with curly hair be doing to look great? (Photo: Simon Burstall - Trunk Archive)
As women, we are constantly obsessing over how to straighten, lengthen, curl, or style our hair. But guys need advice too, especially if they have curly hair, which is notoriously hard to maintain. My father and grandfather both were blessed with long curly locks that they styled perfectly, but with a lot of work. So what should dudes with curly hair be doing to look great? We turned to the experts for advice:
Shampoo, it’s not your friend.
Conditioner is a curly guys new BFF, not shampoo. “Men with curly hair must understand the importance of shampooing the scalp less often and conditioning their curls more often,” explains Chadwick Pendley, Ouidad Salon’s Master Artistic Educator. While shampooing does “clean” your hair, you really only need to do it when you think your hair is actually dirty. Conditioner and rinsing will still clean your hair, but you won’t be stripping out the moisture that you desperately need for your curls.
Fighting frizz is easier than you think:
Curls can quickly turn to frizz if you aren’t careful. Groomer-to-the-stars Diana Schmidtke says, “Stick with grooming creams to tame frizz. You can apply the creams wet or dry and they won’t look crispy like gels.” She recommends Malin+Goetz Sage Styling Cream as a go-to product. Schmidtke advises “You’d be surprised how easily you can tame you unruly curls with the right styling product, tools and technique.”
A frizz culprit to look out for is your hair dryer. “If you need to dry your hair simply attach a diffuser to the end of your blow dryer and diffuse your curly hair,” advises Pendley. One of his fave prods is Ouidad’s VitalCurl define & shine styling gel-cream. This will dry your hair while protecting it from frizzing.” My guess is most guys don’t know what a diffuser is, and let’s be honest, won’t go to the trouble of figuring it out. So an easy alternative is to just let hair air dry to avoid both frizz and damage.
Find the right barber.
Find a barber that knows how to work with curly hair. Genevieve Bochanty, National Associate Director of Education and Capabilities at the The Art of Shaving? says, “It is important to make sure your barber cuts your hair for curl, versus a straight style. The technique is different. A barber who knows how to work with curly hair will cut with the curl and not against it so it naturally flows better.” Make sure to have a conversation with your stylist before the chopping begins.
You can go straight:
We all want to embrace what we were born with, but sometimes you just want straight hair. There are many treatments men can also get such as keratin to kill frizz and even Brazilian blowouts to make hair go totally straight. Lastly, if you just can’t handle it anymore, lucky you, you can always rock a buzz cut.
Related:
The Best Products for Curly Hair
The Secret to Maintaining and Loving Curly Hair? A Great Haircut
