​Out of pure laziness, I’ve always been an air-dryer. Of course, when I’m lucky enough to get a blowout I leave the salon looking like my best self, but even as a self-diagnosed beauty obsessive, I don’t have the skill (nor patience) to recreate a sleek, polished look while I’m rushing to get ready for work.

Alas, post-shower I let my hair do its thing, which, depending on the day, usually results in some sort of a wavy mess. But since I’ll more or less stick to my lazy-girl ways for life, I refuse to believe air-drying has to equate to less good-looking hair, which is why I chatted with celebrity hair expert Kristin Ess to learn expert-approved tricks for naturally drying every hair type.

“It goes without saying that, obviously, the less heat styling the better,” says Ess, who regularly transforms the heads of Lucy Hale and Jenna Dewan Tatum. “Air-drying allows the hair to lay a little smoother over time, and essentially, minimizes damage. But we’re also moving into this world where air-dryer textures are cool—they don’t look so forced or pattern-y, just more of a natural, cool-girl look.”

Ahead, Ess reveals 10 tricks for drying wavy, curly, straight, and thin hair types—all of which are incredibly easy, super quick, and lazy-girl approved.

There are so many different reasons to color your hair, but you already know this. I personally have gone through all of the different colors, from brown to black, and even red, of course. The problem is that while most hair colors are pretty much the same, you will find that red is a bit of an adventure. I use a lot of different products, from Argan hair oil all the way to silicone based leave-ins, but honestly, I’ve never had anything as ridiculous as red hair dye plaguing my existence. So, what happened exactly? Well, it’s actually pretty simple.

I first want to say that I take very good care of my hair. I use the best argan oil treatment, and I make sure it’s always shiny and soft. I really am on top of it, so you can understand my surprise and shock when I washed my hair for the first time and found that the red had almost completely faded. A quick look at the shower floor revealed something that was clearly out of a horror movie, not going to lie, so I did some research to help me figure out what on earth was going on.

Red Hair – Why it Fades so Quickly

Like I said, I use a lot of argon hair oil, and you know what? I thought that should leave my hair in pretty good shape, all things considered. Here’s the problem: red is big. No, I don’t mean that it’s big in terms of the way it stands out, though let’s be honest, it is. What I’m talking about is the particles, or molecules, if you will. The red hair molecule is the largest dye molecule there is, so it’s going to slip out of the hair much faster.

That said, it’s probably going to take more than one attempt to get it to stick. Is it, unfortunately? Absolutely, but hey, physics. The good news is that it’s not just you that are having this problem – it’s very common, and most people, regardless of their hair type, is going to end up dealing with it. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do, other than switching to a different color. You want that red, and you deserve to keep that red. Read on to learn a few methods of keeping the red color and keeping your hair in good shape. It’s going to fade eventually, without a doubt, but you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to keep it up.

Hold off on Washing

A common question that we see, is how long an individual should be waiting to wash their hair after they do a red color treatment. The answer is as long as possible. The objective here is to let the cuticle close and remain closed as long as possible. Once you shampoo, the water will swell the cuticle, and shampoo roughs it up. As you do this, you’re going to lose those red dye molecules pretty quickly, which means you really need to wait up to three days before you wash your hair. Your solution? Dry shampoo. Don’t worry, it’s inexpensive and it keeps your hair in great shape.

Try Cold Water

That’s right, you can solve a lot of your problems by switching to cold water as opposed to washing with hot. Here’s the thing: when you wash your hair with hot water you’re steaming the color right out, so while it might be a bit uncomfortable, a cold shower is always going to be in order if you’re trying to rock red hair. Remember, a cool rinse will close the cuticle and keep your red hair nice and shiny. Keeping the red hair definitely presents a challenge but it’s also not impossible. Use our tips to get the best results and longevity for your red hair – they’re some extra steps, but they’re well worth it.

This article first appeared on HSI Professional

When you think about the humble widow’s peak, who comes to mind?
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Leonardo DiCaprio? Jude Law? The mighty Jack Nicholson?

These are just three famous blokes rocking the widow’s peak, but there are plenty more out there. Maybe you’ve got one yourself, and find settling on a hairstyle you like tricky.

If you don’t like your widow’s peak, what can you do to make it work for you?

Styling Choices

Depending on how thin your hair is and how far back your hairline has receded, you might feel tempted to shave your widow’s peak off.

Whatever you do, don’t!  Your best option is to just go with the widow’s peak and pick the best hairstyle for your face shape – some cuts mask or complement it.

One great option is to go for a pompadour style, which works best for wavy and straight hair. Your widow’s peak will actually make the pompadour look more prominent, giving you an advantage.

Of course, if you don’t fancy trying the ever-so-trendy pompadour style, try rocking a long fringe instead. Obviously, the length covers your widow’s peak, and is pretty low maintenance.

Another hairstyle that works brilliantly for widow’s peaks? Spikes. As with the pompadour, your widow’s peak will help to make your front spikes stand out more. Keep the hair short and tight around the sides to emphasize the main portion of the style.

For a softer look, go for a side part: with your hair slicked or pulled to one side, you’ll make the peak look smaller. This is a must-have style for modern guys, and if you combine it with a beard, you’ll look even better & more on-trend.

If you want something a bit more different, go for an asymmetrical style. This will add more texture and shape to your hairline, and draw attention from your widow’s peak.

Depending on your face shape, one hairstyle will suit you more than others; if you pick one that really, really doesn’t work for you, you might end up making your widow’s peak look even more prominent.
 
Have a chat with your stylist about your widow’s peak, and which cuts will suit your face shape best. Maybe take some pictures of celebrity hairstyles you like along with you, and be willing to take their advice. Their suggestions and ideas could well be better than you realize at first, so give them a chance.

This article first appeared on Rugged Yet Smooth

We’ve all experienced that post haircut disappointment after dropping $40 on a haircut and getting something that’s far from what you wanted. But who’s at fault here? While it’s possible that you could have just picked a not-so-great barbershop, even the best barbers need to know what you actually want in order to give it to you. The thing here is, it’s often not that easy to communicate what that thing is. There are a few things that your barber needs to know during your visit and here we’ll show you how to show them.

One of the most important parts of getting your hair cut is working out the length. Whilst you’re partly paying a visit to a barbershop to clean your mop up you’re also usually trying to cut it back a bit and prevent it from getting too long and unruly. But how long do you really want it? “Short on the sides and long on the top” is what many customers would say but this tells your barber only slightly more than nothing. Try and imagine the last time you saw a male hairstyle that wasn’t short on the sides and long on the top. I’ll wait.

There are two main ways you can go about describing the length you’d like your hair to be. You can either tell them how long it’s been since your last cut to give them an idea of how short you had it cut last time or you can describe the length with a tad more complexity. Simply telling your barber the size of the clipper you want on the sides (a number 2 for most men) and the length you’d like on the top (1.5-2 inches is a good place to start) can go a long way to helping them understand what kind of a cut you’re looking for.

You’ll also want to fill the barber in on if and how you style your hair as well as if you’d rather a tapered or blocked neckline. Most guys should probably go for a tapered neckline but, if you can pull it off, a blocked neckline can often set you apart from the rest.

It’s also important to be aware of the limits of your hair. Everyone’s hair is different and some styles only work on certain types of hair; if your barber tells you he can’t do it with your hair, he probably knows best.

Overall it’s imperative that you’re as descriptive as possible. Leaving things out or not fully fleshing out your ideas is a sure-fire way to miscommunicate what you want and can result in ending the trim with disappointment.

If you can’t do that, don’t shy away from bringing in a picture. The cliché is cliché for a reason – a picture really does speak a thousand words. When you’re struggling to get your ideas out there that thousand words goes a long way towards ensuring you get a haircut you’re comfortable and happy with.

Getting a haircut isn’t meant to be a difficult experience and as a modern man you should be able to comfortably describe to your barber what you want in a way that he can understand. If all else fails don’t be afraid to ask him for help or advice! Any good barber will be eager to help you with almost anything regarding hair. Which style looks better on you? What product should you use to achieve it? They’ll be happy to answer all of it. So just ask them! They might snip but they won’t bite.
 This article first appeared on Rugged Yet Smooth