Styling Tips for Guys with Long Hair
Long hair used to belong in the counter-culture. Only hippies and weirdos had hair down to or below their shoulders. Today, long hair has become more prevalent. Plenty of celebrities sport long styles that look freaking amazing on them. You can even find prominent CEOs walking around LA and San Francisco with hair blowing in the wind.
Here’s the deal, though. When you have long hair, you have to take care of it.
Follow these styling tips for guys with long hair to make sure you maintain a gorgeous, healthy mane that women will want to run their fingers through.
Guys With Long Hair Shouldn’t Wash Too Often
Few people know more about styling long hair than Queer Eye’s grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness. First off, just look at that man’s luxurious locks. No matter how he styles his hair, it always looks really healthy and shiny.
Van Ness tells Cosmopolitan magazine that he washes his hair once or twice a week. That’s it!
If you’re like most men, you probably wash your hair every time you shower. That usually means washing it at least once per day. You may even wash it more often than that if you hit the gym in the morning and afternoon.
When you over-wash your hair, you can make it greasy. Notice that Van Ness doesn’t have oily hair. It’s shiny and moisturized, but it is not greasy.
Follow his lead by washing your hair with HCO1 Shampoo a couple of times per week. More than that is probably overkill.
There Are Exceptions to This Rule
Some of you are making a face right now because you can’t imagine washing your hair so infrequently.
There are some exceptions to Van Ness’s rule.
For example, if you work in an outdoor environment where you get dirt, sand, flour, drywall, or pollution in your hair, you will need to wash it more often. If you don’t, then you end up with dirty hair.
Quite frankly, it’s better to have greasy hair than dirty hair. No one wants to see you walking around with dust clinging to your scalp.
If you must wash more than twice per week, keep your hair healthy by using HCO1 Conditioner after you shampoo it. The conditioner will help restore your hair’s natural balance so you can avoid grease or frizz.
Speaking of frizzy hair!
Wash With Warm, Not Hot, Water to Avoid Frizz
If you have frizzy hair, you need to avoid washing it with hot water. Hot water will strip away the natural oils that keep your hair healthy, moisturized, and smooth. Stepping into a hot shower may feel like heaven, but it’s doing a serious number on your hair.
When your hair loses its natural oils, it also has a higher risk of absorbing moisture through the air or your skin.
You have probably noticed that your hair gets frizzy on humid days. Without oil, your hair will seek moisture elsewhere. On humid days, the hair cuticles open and extract moisture from the air. It doesn’t take long before you have a frizzy mess on your head.
Your hair can also get frizzy by absorbing moisture from your skin. Keep your hands out of your hair. Otherwise, your cuticles will draw oil away from your skin to hydrate your hair.
Other ways to avoid frizzy hair include:
- Using products that do not contain any sulfates.
- Staying away from products that contain alcohol, which will remove moisture from your hair.
- Drying your hair with a microfiber towel instead of a typical bathroom towel.
- Brushing or combing your hair while it’s really wet.
That last recommendation leads to the next styling tip for guys with long hair.
Use a Comb Before You Brush Your Hair
Brushes have their place when it comes to styling long hair. They shouldn’t, however, be the option you choose for daily straightening and maintenance.
If you have tried combs and brushes, you may have found that brushes move through tangled hair more easily than combs. Sometimes that’s true. The number of bristles in a brush, however, can cause a lot of damage to your hair.
Brushes are also more likely to pull your hair out. That may not sound like a big deal to you a young man with a full head of hair. Just wait a few years, though. If your hair starts to thin, you’ll regret every strand that you flushed down the toilet.
Here’s the correct way to straighten and moisturize your hair after shampooing:
- Let your hair dry a bit.
- Use a comb to remove tangles. It takes a bit of effort, but you will get better results and prevent damage.
- Use a brush to distribute oil from your scalp throughout your long hair.
Assuming that you don’t shampoo your hair daily, you don’t need to brush very often.
After you shower, dry your hair gently with a microfiber towel. Then, use a comb to remove the tangles.
A comb also does a good job of eliminating little knots that can accumulate in long hair.
If your hair feels drier than usual, feel free to use a brush. Brushing can also help add shape to your hairstyle.
Just make sure that you don’t skip the comb. Comb first, then brush! It’s a simple rule that everyone should follow.
Don’t Harm Your Hair With High Heat
High heat is the enemy of healthy hair. When you expose your hair to high heat, you damage the cellular structure and ruin natural oils that make your hair attractive.
Guys with short hair can get away with using high heat. What do they have to lose? Longer hair requires more attention, though. That means you need to put in a little more effort than some dude with a buzz cut.
What does it mean to avoid high heat?
It means that you shouldn’t:
- Wash your hair with hot water.
- Take hot showers.
- Spend too much time in a steam room.
For the love of all that’s holy, do not use a blow dryer. Blow dryers are convenient, but that shit is death to long hair.
Guys With Long Hair Need Regular Trims
Having long hair doesn’t mean that you don’t get regular cuts. Over time, damage will cause split ends that make you look more homeless than fashionable. Unfortunately, damage happens often. Each time you pull your hair back into a ponytail, use a blow dryer because you’re running late, or towel your hair too aggressively, you cause damage.
Visiting your stylist gives you a chance to remove split ends and keep your hair healthy.
You may have heard that you should get your hair cut every 6 to 8 weeks. Allure beauty editor Lexi Novak thinks that’s too excessive. As long as you keep your hair healthy by moisturizing and avoiding high heat, you only need a trim every 8 to 12 weeks.
Novak does make one exception to her 8-to-12-week rule. If you have a lot of different layers in your hair, then you should get a trim every 6 weeks. You can wait 8 weeks between trims, but that’s pushing it.
You don’t have to get a whole haircut to remove split ends and keep your long hair looking its best. Barber Surgeons Guild offers a services for men who just need a little reshaping or trimming.
When you get a Cleanup, your master barber will talk to you about your styling goals. Then, he will trim your, shave the back of your neck, and add a blend of essential oils to help you relax while your hair gets rejuvenated.
Make sure to tell your master barber that you prefer long hair. That way, he’ll only take off a small amount. You won’t lose enough length to tell the difference. You will, however, make your hair look healthier.
Get a Signature Haircut That Brings Out Your Best Features
Don’t grow out your hair without help from a professional. Trust us when we tell you that it won’t look good. It will just look wild and unkempt.
BSG’s master barbers will show you how to choose a long hairstyle that brings out your best features.
The keyword here is “style.” We’re not talking about long hair for the hell of it. We’re talking about long hair that conforms to current style and makes you look good.
When you schedule a Signature Haircut at BSG, you get a consultation with a master barber who will show you hairstyle options.
Ultimately, the choice is up to you. Realistically, though, a master barber isn’t going to let you make a poor decision. He will guide you toward a hairstyle that looks fabulous on you.
Use Products That Protect You From Hair Loss
If you’re rocking a long hairstyle, then you probably have thick hair with plenty of coverage. It’s possible that you’re also trying to pull off some kind of combover or David Crosby look, too. If that’s the case, just stop. You will look better with a style that makes your hair look fuller. The long hair isn’t fooling anyone.
The sad truth is that 40% of men start losing hair by the time they turn 35. Once you reach 80, there’s a 70% chance that you will notice significant hair loss. Sorry, pal, but those are the facts.
Time is working against your hair, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose your locks without putting up a fight. Barber Surgeons Guild has plenty of products that will help you postpone hair loss. In some cases, men even regrow hair when they start using the right shampoos, conditioners, and other products.
Protect Your Hair With BSG Trichoanagenic Factor
All BSG hair care products include an ingredient called trichoanagenic factor. BSG trichoanagenic factor is your first line of defense against hair loss.
Most men start with HCO1 Shampoo and HCO1 Conditioner. You have to wash and condition your hair anyway, so why not choose a shampoo and conditioner that will help you save hair.
BSG styling products also come with trichoanagenic factor. That includes our HCO1 Texture Liniment and HCO1 Pomade.
For the best results, though, you should start applying a dropper of HCO1 Hair Serum to your scalp once per day. HCO1 Hair Serum has the highest concentration of trichoanagenic factor, so it’s the best way for you to maintain your hair.
What is Trichoanagenic Factor?
BSG spent a lot of time perfecting the formula for trichoanagenic factor. Obviously, we can’t give away the full recipe. We can, however, tell you about some of the ingredients that promote hair growth and slow hair loss.
When creating trichoanagenic factor, we used:
- Antioxidants that reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.
- Caffeine that stimulates blood circulation and oxygen to your scalp.
- Peptides that provide the building blocks of new hair.
- Vitamins like B7, B3, and vitamin E that keep your metabolism healthy.
- Saw palmetto extract that helps inhibit hair-loss chemicals like dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
- Sesame seed extract that helps prevent cellular damage.
- Parsley extract that has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
- Olive leaf extract, which has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.
Trichoanagenic factor isn’t a baldness cure. Many men find that it gives them healthier hair and slows the balding process, though.
Once you notice bald spots or a receding hairline, you can come to BSG for services like:
No matter where you are in life, BSG can help you look your best and maintain your hair.
Final Thoughts
Not everyone can pull off long hair. When you schedule an appointment at BSG, you get an informed perspective that will help you look good with long hair.
You also get the chance to buy products that will keep your hair healthy and full.
Long hair isn’t high-maintenance, but it does require some work. We’ll make it as easy as possible for you.
