Men's Hair 101: An Introductory Course | The Odyssey Online
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Men's Hair 101: An Introductory Course

A Basic Guide to Having Amazing Hair

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Men's Hair 101: An Introductory Course
Ben Havens

I take a lot of pride in my hair. I believe that having good hair is one of the essentials of making a good impression on others. I also enjoy talking about things that I like, so I decided to write an article about hair care and styling. Here goes!

The first part of having amazing hair is getting a good cut. Find a good barber or stylist, and stick with them as much as possible. Learn to communicate what you want to them, and you will usually have great results. There are a few main types of men’s haircuts, and an almost infinite variety of variants. A few of the main and most popular ones are the undercut, the pompadour, and the quiff, but there are quite a few variations of these cuts, and even more ways to style them. The webpage https://www.menshairstylestoday.com/haircut-names-... does a pretty good job of describing the main kinds and giving examples, so I won’t take up your time here. The cover picture is of me with an undercut, as an example. Just look through pictures and see what you like and think would look good on you.

The next part is styling products. There are a large number of products, divided into several categories. The two main divisions are pre-stylers and post-stylers. Pre-stylers are meant to be applied before blow drying and shaping, and post-stylers are meant to be applied after blow drying, or just on dry or slightly damp hair as the only product if you don’t want to blow dry. The main types of post stylers are waxes, clays, creams, and pomades. There are a lot of other, more obscure types, but those are the main ones. The main thing with products is to never buy from Walmart or other low-end department stores. Their products are usually not the greatest, and vary greatly in quality. That said, if that’s all you can afford, go for it!Just make sure you look up reviews and find the best one you can afford. The other thing to avoid is gel. Never, ever use gel, unless it’s from a high-quality company, such as those listed below. I would suggest buying a product from a company like Blumaan, Hanz De Fuko, Baxter Of California, etc. Those companies’ products have served me well for quite a long time. There are other companies, though, so do some research and figure out what you like! The main things to look for are hold level and shine level. I prefer products with a high hold and low shine, such as clays and waxes, but other people prefer totally different ones.

Now comes the fun part, styling! If you’re using a pre-styler and blow drying into place, you’re going to want to make sure that your hair is wet. Not soaked, but it needs to be pretty damp. Then, you apply your pre-styler. Put a penny-sized amount onto your hands and rub them together to warm it up and spread it evenly. Then, rub it into your hair, making sure that it is evenly spread throughout your hair. Then, grab a brush and blow dry your hair into place, using the brush to shape it. It is best to use a curved, vented brush, rather than a round brush. Once your hair is dry and shaped, it’s time to apply the post-styler. Don’t be disappointed if your style doesn't look exactly like you want it to yet, it’s not done yet! Now, get a penny to nickel-sized amount of product, depending on how the product acts, and rub it between your hands to warm it up and emulsify it. Then, rub it through your hair, making sure to coat everything, and finish shaping. After this, the product needs about 10 minutes to set, so don’t do anything super active that will mess it up during this time.

To make sure your hair stays lookin’ fresh and fly, you need to take care of it. You should probably get it cut every 4-6 weeks, depending on how fast your hair grows. When you wash your hair, make sure you use a good quality shampoo, because lower quality shampoos will rip up your hair’s natural protective oils and stuff. If you’re on a budget, I would suggest the Suave Professionals Men series of shampoos. Don’t be fooled by 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioners. At worst, they end up canceling themselves out, and at best, like the Suave ones, they just end up being good shampoos without conditioning. Conditioner is good for your your hair, but only use it a few times a week to prevent your hair from becoming oily and greasy. How often you wash your hair is a personal thing. I have found that for my hair type, it’s better to wash it every day or every other day. If your hair tends to be dry, go longer between washes, and use a water-based product that will rinse out in the shower without shampoo. On the days you don’t shampoo your hair, you can use dry shampoo after your hair is completely dry to reduce the greasiness. If you feel that your hair is not quite as healthy as it should be, there are plenty of leave-in conditioners, serums, and healthy hair oils that you can use along with your pre-styler, to add some health back to your hair.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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