Staying well-groomed is not nearly as effortless as it should look. From mastering tie knots to keeping your toenails from sprouting their own toenails, the official list of requirements for looking good seems to grow longer by the day.
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You can make the task of looking constantly vaguely presentable easier with four simple words: short, back and sides. Like an impeccably tailored suit (only less expensive), opting for this king of the cuts is your quickest route to looking good without even trying. You save time and can press snooze a few more times in the morning: you don’t need us to tell you it’s a winner.

Not all short back and sides haircuts are created equal, though. Here are the key styles to consider if you want to smarten up.

The French Crop

Requiring minimal maintenance, the French crop is a fuss-free cut that’s still flexible enough to be tweaked to taste. “A French crop is basically a short haircut, not quite military-inspired but pretty tight on the sides and generally, the hair on top is worn forwards as a cropped fringe,” says Charlie Cullen, international artistic director at British hairdressing brand Toni & Guy. “The styling on this cut can be minimal as the hair is short, worn forward and not too fussy.”

Ask your stylist or barber to take the hair very short through the back and sides, while leaving the hair on top slightly longer (a couple of inches at most). The ‘crop’ part of this style’s name comes from the top section’s choppy, textured finish.
As for the front hairline, you can either ask to have your fringe cut short and neat or keep some length for styling forward across the forehead.

Classically masculine, the French crop suits guys of any age and face shape, provided your stylist or barber makes subtle alterations to suit. Round faces, for example, will benefit from especially short, sharp sides and plenty of texture through the top section to add some height; meanwhile, it’s better to frame longer faces with longer sides (to add width) and a slightly flatter top section.

The Quiff

A natural born showstopper, nearly every man’s tested a quiff out at least once in his life, and its beauty lies in the fact that it can be worn as subtle or extreme as you like. Any stylist or barber worth their salt will know that a quiff is all about length and volume at the front, so striking a balance is key when it comes to this cut.

“Ask for long enough length in the front so that you can actually wear and style it worn up away from the face,” says Cullen. “If it’s too long it will flop down. Generally a quiff works better when it’s not texturised – when it has too much texture it doesn’t look as groomed or classic.”

If you take the back and sides particularly tight while leaving a good deal of length on top, your quiff will look much more dramatic due to the extreme contrast – so have a clear idea in mind as to how you want your quiff to look before your stylist or barber starts chopping. The crown area of your hair also needs to be cut shorter to allow the quiff shape to stand out.

Textured & Undone

If you’re more bedhead than painstakingly sculpted Lego hair, a low-fi, ‘undone’ take on this hairstyle is likely your best bet.

“The textured short back and sides cut that you should go for depends on the thickness of your hair,” says Cullen. “If it’s fine don’t go as short with your fade on the back and sides as it will expose your scalp. Ask for the top to be point cut or cut with a razor to give a rougher, rugged texture – think classic Brad Pitt during the 90s.”

Thanks to its relaxed structure, an undone style frames most face shapes well. That said, to ensure yours is shown in its best light, whoever is cutting your hair should maintain the right balance between the length of the hair on top and that at the back and sides to keep your mug from going woefully off-balance.

The Modern Fauxhawk

Kind of a quiff-lite, the fauxhawk sits somewhere between the easiness of a French crop and a statement style like the pompadour. “It’s a bit like a mohican but a lot more modern – think ex Directioner Zayn Malik for inspiration,” says Cullen.

Whether you opt to take the back and sides really short to emphasise your fauxhawk, or keep it all a little longer for a more even keel, it’s essential to leave the front section – the focal point of this look – longer than the rest, but within reason. “While the haircut needs to be left longer in the middle to qualify as a fauxhawk, you only need a few inches of length so it’s not too [much like] David Beckham’s extreme mohawk from the noughties,” says Cullen.

The Side Parting

Slick and neat, the side parting is the undisputable daddy of smart hairstyles, but it takes some prep to ensure yours is on-point.

Before getting your hair cut for a side parting, take time to establish which way your hair sits so that you can cooperate with Mother Nature. “Look at your natural growth pattern on the front of your hairline – it’s better to work with the hair than against it, so see which direction your hair naturally pushes over towards and cut and style your hair accordingly,” advises Cullen. “Ask for a little bit of longer length in the fringe, but it shouldn’t be too short on the sides as little err too close to literally mimicking Peaky Blinders style.”

It’s a good shout to discuss with your barber or stylist how prominent you want your parting to be too, as that will impact how your hair is cut. By having them taper your back and sides tightly, your side parting will look even sharper. And if you want your parting to be the focal point of this take on the short, back and sides, ask for a hard parting to be shaved in.
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Click on this article from FASHIONBEANS and
scroll through for How to Style tips

According to findings by male grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge, 73% of men are planning to make grooming their 2019 resolution

The new year welcomes challenges set to try us: dry January, Veganuary and now, Janhairy, it seems beauty resolutions are now gaining traction among men.

According to a survey carried out by male grooming brand The Bluebeards Revenge 73% of men are planning to make grooming resolutions in 2019. 

The findings revealed 48% of the 2,018 participants are fixed on sporting a fresh new hair style, while 33% want to achieve designer stubble or a bearded look.

Meanwhile, 60% of men who said they change their hair style suggested they would opt for longer locks as their 2019 resolution.

“A new hairstyle is one of the quickest and easiest resolutions to tick off the list,” said Luka’s Barbershop Manager and The Bluebeards Revenge brand ambassador, Callum Marks.

“Unlike eight months of hard work in the gym, a haircut can drastically change the look and feel of a man.”

Bradley Wicks, The Bluebeards Revenge Head of Content and Social Media, believes social media is the catalyst for this.

He said: “We currently live in a very social media savvy world.

“As a result, men are finally starting to learn the benefits of self-grooming - whether that’s looking after their skin, the hair on their heads, their beards, or even hair in other regions.”

Wicks continued: “We’re always advertising ourselves in today’s society and we work hard at branding ourselves, creating an image that we want to portray to friends, family and fancies.”

The male grooming market is predicted to reach a net worth of US$78.6bn in 2023, achieving a CAGR of 5.3% from 2017, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.
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This story is from Cosmetic Business

Every decade has a signature haircut. The fifties had a neat short, back and sides, the seventies had long hair and sideburns, the eighties had mullets. In the nineties, it was all about curtains. Worn by everyone from David Beckham and Brad Pitt to countless boyband members and that guy from Dawson’s Creek, it was the style for would-be heartthrobs and a generation of men getting more and more comfortable with the idea of grooming.

The curtains hairstyle – should you have missed it or forgotten – is a style where hair on the top of the head is grown into a fringe and defined by a strong middle parting along the centre. It’s floppy, it’s quite high maintenance and it’s very much back.

A quick glance at the spring collections from any number of brands will confirm the nineties fashion revival is still going strong, and with it is the haircut that defined the decade. But it wouldn’t be the first comeback, because the history of curtains goes back a lot further than the turn of this century.

“It was a hugely popular haircut with men at the end of the 19th century,” explains Jos Gibson, principal at the Sassoon Academy, “with famous icons like the writer Oscar Wilde and artist Aubrey Beardsley sporting the look. The trend continues among working-class men until the end of the 1920s, and then returns briefly when hippie culture spreads from America in the 1960s.”

The 1990s revival came with the rise of grunge and home-grown indie bands. Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder, Placebo singer Brian Molko and Blur bassist Alex James were notable champions of curtains. Then the boy bands took over; Take That wore them (apart from Gary who was still in his awkward phase) and Westlife, along with every teen TV star (see Jared Leto, straight out of the test tube, in My So-Called Life) and the look subsequently filtered down to the teenagers and beyond.

How To Wear Curtains Today

Back in the nineties, this cut looked best on people with poker straight fine hair. This type of hair emphasises the strong parting that defined the look but not everyone had the right kind of hair or cut (see Olly Murs). It didn’t stop them and neither should it stop you, because modern curtains have evolved. In fact, that floppy look with a rigid parting didn’t really do anyone any favours and now, a bit of texture is your friend.

“The look can be updated by making it more personalised to you,” says Gibson. “It tends to suit narrower, boyish face shapes but can be undercut to make it look slimmer on the face. Essentially this haircut works best on someone with a natural middle or offset parting.” The hidden bonus of our recent love affair with quiff haircuts means that some of us probably have some length left at the top. Simply stop slicking it back and let it flop apart and voilà – you’ve got the foundations for curtains.

What To Ask For

First, identify your favourite curtains role model (see below) and ask yourself if you have similar hair types. There’s not much point adopting a style if it doesn’t work for your hair. It just means more hassle and time spent styling it (unless you want to embrace a more radical option like an undercut or permanent relaxing treatment which can make hitherto impossible looks achievable)

“If your hair is curly or wavy it might be better to go for a slightly longer version to avoid getting a really thatched look,” advises Gibson. The thatch he refers to happens when very thick hair is given a wedge shape underneath or isn’t styled properly on top. There’s a case here for an undercut if you want the look but your hair is super thick.

“With straighter hair it’s probably best to ask your stylist to keep the length at the cheekbones,” says Gibson, “as this will frame the face.” You can leave it long and layered at the back, or take the lengths to just above the ears and keep it tight at the sides for a classic look.

How To Style It

For anyone currently shuddering at the memory of frizzy thatch-like curtains, take heart from the fact that today’s styling products are about million times better than they were back then, when salt sprays, matt wax, hair oils and straightening irons didn’t exist. In fact, in the nineties there wasn’t much apart from wet look gel, crunchy mousse and hair spray on the go.

For anyone currently shuddering at the memory of frizzy thatch-like curtains, take heart from the fact that today’s styling products are about million times better than they were back then, when salt sprays, matt wax, hair oils and straightening irons didn’t exist. In fact, in the nineties there wasn’t much apart from wet look gel, crunchy mousse and hair spray on the go.

Men with curly hair especially had it rough, says Gibson, who recommends “leaving curly and wavy hair to dry naturally and using a generous amount of Illuminating Oil by Sassoon Professional or Sassoon Curl Form to get that grungy lived-in look.” We’ve talked about co-washing before (forgoing the shampoo every other day to wash with conditioner instead) and it can help dial down the frizz and give curls definition.

For straight hair it’s easiest to take it polished: “Use less product and dry downwards and forwards using a vent brush to keep the follicles flat and to stop flyaway hairs,” says Gibson. Visit your barber as often as you normally would, even if you’re growing it out. And never, ever use gel – or risk looking like Peter Andre.

I found this article on The Longhairs blog, a site I've mentioned before.
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I’ve got 2 questions for you:

Q1. Do you struggle with curly/frizzy or damaged hair?

Q2. Have you ever heard of a keratin treatment?

If you said yes to question 1 and no to question 2 then you’re definitely going to want to see this.

We recruited our boy Thomas In Action to shed some extra light on how getting a keratin treatment can dramatically decrease your day to day battles with unruly curls and frizz.

Wouldn’t that be nice?

Frizzbuster: Keratin Treatments For Men

Need a solution for your frizzy curls?

Perfect, in this post I’m going to cover why keratin treatments are one of the best long-term solutions for guys struggling with curly, frizzy hair.

Firstly, frizzy hair is a pain in the ass. Secondly, a keratin treatment is my “AK-47” for dealing with it. A keratin treatment provides ultimate control over unruly hair and can save you from long, time-consuming hair routines every day.

Why Does Hair Get Frizzy?

Understanding frizzy hair is the first step to finding the best solution.

In short, frizzy hair is caused from the amount of open space between your hair cuticles. If you’re wondering what cuticles are, they are microscopic fish-like scales that sit on the outside surface of the hair shaft and behave in a similar fashion to the pores on your skin.

The proper term for the space between your cuticles is called “porosity,” and depending on the conditions of the air and the natural porosity of your hair, your cuticles can open wider and shut tighter.

Some guys naturally have lower porosity and experience minimal or no frizz, whilst other guys, particularly with curly hair, may experience unpleasant poof and frightfully frizzy conditions.

Understanding your hair type and where you are on the porosity chart is key when choosing a solution for your hair. In the next section I’ll explain how a keratin treatment can help guys who have curly hair and identify on the higher end of the porosity scale.

How Does a Keratin Treatment Fight Frizz?

A keratin treatment, made from same protein as your hair, is an in-salon procedure designed to close your cuticles and reduce porosity for an extended period.

Much like hair ties, these hair treatments are not well-marketed to men, usually labelled as a “beauty product.” In fact, both men and women can benefit from this type of treatment.

I recently did a post on my YouTube channel demonstrating how a keratin treatment worked on my frizzy curls and what to expect when getting a treatment. You can also find more useful information about keratin treatments on my blog to get more familiar with what this kind of treatment can do.

Are Keratin Treatments Permanent?

No, keratin treatments are not permanent and do not straighten your hair. It’s a common misconception for people to think keratin treatments work the same as a chemical straighten because they both give the hair a significantly more relaxed look.

The main difference between these two treatments is:

a) Chemical straightening psychically breaks the structural bonds of your hair. This permanently disables your curl pattern and leaves your hair vulnerable to breakage. This treatment is also irreversible so you need to think carefully before deciding on something like this.
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b) A Keratin treatment lightly coats the structural bonds of your hair, giving them a smooth, relaxed look. Instead of losing your curl altogether, it becomes looser and frizz-free, making it far more manageable every day. This treatment typically can last anywhere from two-four months, depending on how you care for it.

When I got my first keratin treatment, I was given 3 different options. I was able to have the treatment on for either 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 1 hour.

Each time length was going to give me a different result in terms of how relaxed I wanted my curls to look. The longer I had the treatment on, the more relaxed and frizz-free my hair would turn out.

I ended up choosing the 45 minute option as I still wanted a curly appearance but really wanted a frizz-free result. You’ll see at the end of my video above, I revealed my new relaxed curl pattern two days after the treatment and was pretty stoked with my results.

Since my first treatment I’ve been getting one every three months to keep my maintenance low and feeling awesome. #wouldreccommend

How Much Are Keratin Treatments?

Keratin treatments can cost anywhere from $200 - $350 in the USA depending on how much hair you have. Some may consider this to be rather expensive, however, it depends on how you value time. If you spend a lot of time trying to tame your curls and reduce frizz on a daily basis, you may find a keratin treatment more beneficial in the long run.

For me personally, getting a keratin treatment allowed me to stop fluffing around so much with my hair in the morning and focus more on my business and the content I want to make.

Plus it made the act of just doing my hair more enjoyable, which seems to be the biggest problem when dealing with frizz.

Where Can You Get A Keratin Treatment?

Well, if you’re in San Diego, The Longhairs always recommend House of Imago. If you’re elsewhere, most professional salons offer keratin treatments. Ask your trusted hair pro—here are some tips on how to confidently navigate your visit to the salon.

Shut The Front Door On Frizz

At the end of the day, picking the right solution to deal with your frizzy hair is entirely up to you. I feel it’s also got a lot to do with how your hair makes you feel.

Personally, when I have a frizzy hair day, my confidence sinks. That’s why I deem this type of thing worthy as it’s helped me manage my hair FAR easier and my bad hair days have reduced enormously.

This type of treatment can also work guys who struggle with minimal frizz. Before writing this post, I was talking to El Rubio about my love for keratin treatments and he mentioned that he gets one twice a year. And he doesn’t even have curly hair!

If you have any questions regarding keratin treatments or need advice on curly hair, please swing by my channel and say hi or leave a comment.

I hope you found this post somewhat helpful and would love to hear about your experience if you choose to get a keratin treatment.

Keep rocking that mane!
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Yours in good hair,
T.I.A.
Thomas in Action

Certain CEOs won’t spend over $20 and contend that paying more is pointless. But, as barbershops evolve, spending a little extra can make a big difference. Inside the debate over the value of a man’s coiffure

 ON A NARROW, cobblestoned street in Milan, I got the best haircut of my life. At the halfway point of a two-week work trip, my normally close-cropped hair was creeping over my ears and sprouting into a cowlick. With Google’s help, I found Barberino’s, a throwback shop with a tidy tiled floor, marble counter tops and two bearded, 20-something barbers. The price exceeded what I typically pay—$35 compared with my usual $25 at a Brooklyn barbershop. But, boy, was that haircut good. The young stylist disciplined each errant follicle, cleaved my hair into a precise part and groomed my nape to perfection. Compliments came instantly and continued a week later when I returned to the office in New York. I wondered: Was $10 extra all it took to look that much better? And more generally, what are other men spending on their haircuts these days, and what kind of value do they expect for their outlay?

Today, I discovered, men are having vastly different haircutting experiences and paying vastly different amounts of cash. At one extreme is the $14-plus-$4-tip cut that James Santelli, a 26-year-old TV news producer in Pittsburgh, has relied on for nine years. For that $18, he can enjoy a ritual to which many men—along with their fathers and grandfathers—remain loyal: a serviceable haircut in a bare-bones shop care of a barber who can yak about last night’s hockey game.

On the other end of the spectrum is a salon-style treatment (shampooing, snipping, styling, prolonged fine-tuning) like the one offered by stylist Mackenzey Forrey for $125 at Bumble and Bumble salon in New York. “If you are looking for a more edgy style that’s not just shaved sides and short on the top, something that actually has texture and blends well from the sides to the top, then that’s coming to a salon,” said Ms. Forrey. She’s trained in traditional barbershop techniques, but also prides herself on analyzing face and head shape to find the best style.

It seems most guys fall squarely on the lower-to-middle end of this scale, if an unscientific Twitter survey I posted earlier this month is any indication. Of the 314 of my followers who responded, nearly 75% paid $40 or less. And of the 23 men I buttonholed in Midtown Manhattan a week later, 15 routinely paid in the $20 range.

The middle ground between the basic barber and the fastidious salon has grown more populated over the last decade thanks to a wave of neo-retro barber shops that offer relatively brisk pampering and beard finessing. Beginning with the openings of Freemans Sporting Club (F.S.C.) Barber and Blind Barber in New York City in 2006 and 2010, respectively, a new standard has emerged with cuts running around $40.

When it comes to prevailing attitudes, explained Blind Barber coiffeur Jeremy Pelser, “there’s still a separation...the salon is for women and the barbershop is for men.” Shops like his help put men at ease with a masculine atmosphere—subway-tiled walls and winkily antique mirrors that allude to more dapper times (and an optional beer to sweeten the deal). They often hire bearded, tattooed barbers trained in nuanced techniques who’ll use a straight razor to shape your hairline or feather your hair so it grows in evenly.

Barber Ruben Aronov first went to F.S.C. in its early days, fleeing a 71-year-old, 70-seat, walk-in barbershop which he described as a “chop shop” with “no finesse because you had no time, you had to do more haircuts quickly to make more money.” He found that F.S.C., with its longer appointment windows and correspondingly higher prices, encouraged a better cutter-client interaction.

Today, these barbershops (as well as variations catering to LGBTQ clients, and others that specialize in curly or long hair) have mushroomed in popularity in many American cities. “It’s kind of a throwback to the real barbershop era but with a modern, hip edge to it,” said Stan Perry, a 53-year-old lawyer in Houston. Mr. Perry pays $35 plus tip to get his hair cut by one of the “inked-up” barbers at Cutthroat Barbershop, where they do a better job than the no-frills $20 chain he used to go to, he claimed, taking time to focus on finer points like shaving the back of his neck.

Yet, among the dozens of men that I spoke with about their hair, many expressed an apathy or uncertainty about how they looked. As Chris Polychronides, 35, a system engineer in New York, replied when I asked if he liked his haircut, “Enough. Is it bad?”

Though men’s hair styles tend to be less complicated than women’s hairdos, there are ways to tell if your barber is up to snuff. Price matters, but the relationship matters more: A $20 haircut can trump a $40 cut if your barber really knows you and gets your hair. “I’m half-black, half-white, so I have difficult hair to cut and style,” said Austin Mallot, a 26-year-old personal stylist in San Diego. Mr. Mallot found that neither mainstream salons nor barbers who worked with black hair met his needs, but he ended up finding a good fit at an old-school barbershop. “He just knows what he’s doing, and I trust him,” he said.

Trust can take time, but a good barber should be able to “get a feel for what you will and won’t do” style-wise right away, explained F.S.C. veteran Mr. Aronov, who recently opened his own shop, MOI, in downtown New York. They should ask questions and guide you properly; if you’re wearing a suit, a bohemian man bun should probably be discouraged.

It helps if the barber is flat-out nice. Josh Archer, 40, an English teacher in Knoxville, Tenn., has been paying the same barber about $27 for 10 years and in that time the two have become friends. When Mr. Archer’s two children were born, his barber even visited at the hospital. The shop itself should be a place you’re comfortable patronizing for years to come. If there’s a mangy cat prowling around or the barbicide looks putrid, get out of there. And if that hip barber spends more time gazing at himself in the mirror than at your part, that should be a red flag as well.
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Jason Stewart, a 37-year-old DJ in Los Angeles, recently tired of the twee spot he’d been going to, with its period Edison lights and chalkboard sign-in sheet, because the self-consciously retro vibe got to be “too much.” Now, Mr. Stewart pays $30 at Vinny’s, a lower-key outfit. He said that a barbershop should be an “oasis for the modern man.” A place where he can get pampered, have a chat and escape the world for 40 minutes. And so, after my experience in Milan (and, candidly, the compliments that ensued) I’m searching for my own oasis and a better haircut. For that, I might even pay $10 more.