Going Bald and Hair Length :
"Male-pattern baldness" gets its name for a reason: there's a
pattern. Hair loss starts at the top and front of the scalp and
spreads from there. That means it's possible to have quite
long hair while still going bald. This is pretty much always a
bad idea.
Long hair let straight down with a bald spot in the center gets
into the "crypt keeper" look. Long hair on the sides combed
over the bald spot isn't fooling anyone (and makes you look
desperate). Keep it short when it starts to bald, or just get a
jump on the game by shaving the head entirely. Cue Balls
have been sexy for years now.
Thickness :
How thick your hair is depends on three factors: the thickness
of the individual hairs, how many hairs there are per square
millimeter of scalp, and how clean the hairs are.
Thick hair isn't inherently good or bad, but it does affect both
the appearance and the maintenance needs of your hair.
Thickness and Appearance :
How thick your hair is primarily affects how it moves. Someone
with very thick hair is less likely to have their look stirred up and
tousled by the wind than someone with light, fine hairs. This
makes men with fine hairs good candidates for "layered" cuts
that can stand up to a bit of tousling.
These cuts need at least a little bit of length to work, but done
well they end up looking very styled and deliberate even
when they're mussed. Fine-haired men may want to avoid
long hairstyles, however -- once it gets down past the back of
the neck, it's going to do a lot of blowing around, even
indoors.
Men with thicker hair, on the other hand, can wear their hair
longer if they want to, but also have to do a lot more
maintenance to keep the hair looking "lively." Thick hair can
clump and hang limp, which doesn't look good on anyone.
Men with particularly thick hair will need either a short cut
like a buzz where there's no chance of tangling or a more
extensive shampooing and conditioning regimen
Cleanliness and Thickness :
All our healthy hairs produce a natural coating of oil. Over
time the coating thickens and traps particles of dirt, so hair
that hasn't been washed in a while is thickened artificially
with a coat of oil and microscopic detritus.
Men with thick hair need to keep themselves regularly
shampooed. This keeps the hair from turning limp and clumping,
as well as avoiding an unsightly sheen. Fine-haired men, on the
other hand, produce less oil overall, and may need to alternate
shampooing every other day or even less to avoid drying the hair
out and looking straw-like.
Straightness :
Hair ranges from long, smooth strands that look like unspooled
thread to coils as tight as metal springs. The thicker your hair is,
the quicker its silhouette grows. A man with very straight hair
can grow his out without adding much bulk to his head, while a
man with curly hair starts working toward a fro very quickly.
This is worth keeping in mind because you want your
hairstyle to be proportional with the rest of your body. A
short, slender man looks unbalanced with a thick head of hair
poofing out in all directions. A big, athletic man might be able
to wear the same hair without concern.
Part :
The part is the point at which your hair splits to lie in one
direction or the other. Not all hair styles have a part --
whether there is one visible or not is part of the style. Hair
parts are a powerful visual tool. At their most basic they
give a subtle visual cue to your handedness -- right-handed
men tend to part their hair with the longer half pointed
toward their right hand, and vice-versa for left handed men.
A central part adds symmetry to the face below it. Styles
without parts can be neat, messy, or somewhere in between.
It's not a vital part of a hairstyle, just a visual aspect that you
have easy control of at any given moment.
Maintenance Needs :
Hair needs proper treatment to stay healthy. Most guys' routines
consist of shampooing, toweling off, and combing, full stop (or
less). For some haircuts that's enough. For others, it's not.
Shampoo :
Shampoo actually has a pretty complex job. It needs to remove
the dirt-encrusted oil that covers your hairs without also
stripping the hair of fresh oils. Daily shampooing is not
necessary for most men. Unless you have exceptionally oily hair
or are exposed to a large amount of dusty particles, daily
shampooing will end up stripping off healthy oils and forcing
your hair to overproduce its natural oil.
The result is increasingly oily hair that looks greasy long before
it's actually dirty. Men with oily hair should rinse regularly but
shampoo infrequently. Over time the hair will adjust and begin
to produce less oils.
Conditioner :
Hair conditioner is a product specifically designed to thicken
individual hairs. It usually contains both moisturizing agents
and oils. The combination softens and thickens the hairs,
making them feel smoother and helping them adhere naturally
when brushed in the same direction.
Marketers will try to sell conditioners "for" every type of hair.
This is largely misleading -- conditioner is useful for men
whose hairs are naturally light, dry, or otherwise prone to
scattering. Thick-haired men whose hairs naturally stick to
one another don't have much use for conditioner. Conditioner
may be more necessary in dry climates. In humid climates, it
can make hair feel limp and damp all day long.
Hair Wax :
Wax is one of the oldest products for men's hair. It has been
around since before the Roman empire, and hasn't actually
changed much in composition since then.
Waxes are useful in that they both stiffen and moisturize the
hair. This is easier on the hair than sprays which harden and
dry it, which can result in more long-term damage to the hair.
The disadvantage of styling waxes is that they resist washing
-- it can take several rinses and stiff scrubbing to get wax out
of styled hair.
