It’s important to take care of your hair, especially if it is thinning. These 20 hair care tips for men will ensure you are doing everything properly to maintain and keep your healthy head of hair.
Although not exhaustive, these hair care tips for men should be universal, regardless of hair thickness, hair type and hair length.
1. Pat Dry
Hair is most vulnerable and prone to damage when it is wet. Rubbing with a towel can cause the hair to tangle with the towel fibers, causing hair to stretch, break and damage.
To combat this, shake out your hair completely with your fingers when you turn the shower off. Then, stroke your hair with a towel in the same direction it grows, which will minimize stretching and breaking.
This is especially important if you have thinning hair, since preserving every follicle and hair strand is vital. You can also use a soft cotton T-shirt to minimize friction with thin hair if needed.
2. Avoid Excessively Hot or Cold Showers
Lukewarm showers are what you are going for here.
Hot showers can strip necessary oils from the hair and scalp, which can lead to dryness.
Cold showers, on the other hand, can constrict the blood capillaries in the scalp, which carry essential nutrients to the hair follicle.
3. Put a Stop to Over-Washing
Like hot showers, too much hair washing can strip the hair and scalp’s essential oils, making hair look dry and dull.
Shoot for washing two to three times per week and always apply a conditioner. This will result in smoother, healthier hair.
4. Try an Egg Wash
You might have seen your wife or girlfriend do this and made fun of them for it. However, they are on to something!
Protein deficiencies are major contributor to unhealthy hair. Eggs are packed with proteins, minerals and complex vitamins that can give hair increased volume, thickness, elasticity and root strength.
Give the egg wash a try once a month by whisking one egg and one tablespoon of olive oil together in a bowl. Apply the mixture to clean, dry hair and let sit for roughly 20 minutes. Hop in the shower and rinse hair with cool water, as hot water will literally cook the egg. Condition hair and let it dry.
* Hair Care Tips for Men suggestion: The use of olive oil is optional, but you can also try using coconut oil as an alternative. Coconut oil is full of vitamins, minerals and fatty acids, which keeps the hair strong and nourished.
5. Get a Haircut!
Try getting a haircut every 4-6 weeks to eliminate any split-ends. You don’t necessarily need to get a lot trimmed, just enough to get rid of any damage. This will result in less breakage and flyaways, making hair look and feel healthier.
6. Incorporate a Pre-Styler Into Your Routine
Pre-stylers like sea salts and serums can make a significant impact on a finished hair style.
Hair serums can provide a shiny, flexible, moisturizing effect that makes hair look and feel healthy prior to adding a finishing product like pomade or clay.
Sea salts can add texture and volume to fine hair, reduce frizz and static for thick hair, and soften curly hair.
Our Choice Sea Salt Spray: Toni & Guy Label.m $12.99
Our Choice Serum: Paul Mitchell $19.58
7. Cleanse with Vinegar and Dish Soap
Hair styling products, professional shampoos, and conditioners can build up on the scalp and individual hair strands overtime. This can lead to dull, brittle hair.
Once per month, it may be necessary to remove the product build-up that occurs as a result of using waxes, conditioners or thick shampoos. Luckily, you should have all you need under your kitchen sink for proper removal.
Put a small amount of dish soap into the hair and wash/rinse normally. After rinsing, douse your hair with regular white vinegar and rinse again. The vinegar restores the PH balance of hair, leaving it shiny, while simultaneously refreshing and cleansing the scalp.
* Hair Care Tips for Men suggestion: If you find the smell of white vinegar repulsive (I do), try using apple cider vinegar instead. Its smell is a little more subdued.
8. Remove Stubborn Hair Wax
Sometimes it can be difficult to get waxes out of hair. By nature, wax is impervious to the solubility effects of water, which can be a problem when trying to remove it from your hair.
Try massaging shampoo in your dry hair before you get it wet in the shower. This will allow the soap to break up the wax without water molecules diluting the shampoo. Afterward, rinse, and if needed, apply a second round of shampoo. This should remove all unwanted wax from your hair.
9. Avoid Greasy Hair
If you’re susceptible to greasy hair, keep your hands out of it during the day to avoid transferring the oils from your hands to your hair. Also, avoid hot showers and vigorously scrubbing hair. Not only does the hot water strip oil, leading to more oil production, but scrubbing hair can further activate the oil producing sebaceous glands.
This is mentioned in number 2, but washing and rinsing in lukewarm water is best. Lightly massage hair when shampooing for best results.
10. Avoid the Negative Effects of Chlorine when Swimming
Chlorine can wreak havoc on hair. The chemical can not only turn light hair green, but it can also severely dry it out. This happens when the chlorine chemical bonds with the hair proteins. As a result, the hair is microscopically lifted, leading to brittleness as the chlorine dries.
To reduce the negative effects of chlorine, rinse hair with clean water prior to swimming. This will help dilute the chlorine upon contact.
Even better, apply a small amount of conditioner to dry hair before dipping in the pool. The conditioner will act as a barrier to the chlorine.
Make sure to rinse off in clean water after swimming. Of course, you can always wear a swim cap to keep the chlorine water at bay.
11. Get to the Barber at the Right Time
Avoid going to your barber or stylist during busy hours. It is natural to see a line forming and begin rushing in order to keep the line down and keep customers from walking out the door.
As a result, your barber may not give the quality time you deserve, whether it is taking time on the haircut or asking questions to verify you are happy with what they are doing. Off peak hours are generally first thing in the morning or before closing time. I would recommend going in the morning, however, since they will be “fresh”, as fatigue can set in at the end of the day.
12. Talk to Your Barber
Speaking of asking questions, your barber should be asking questions before they begin cutting your hair. They need to be taking the time, listening to what you are looking for, prior to jumping in with the clippers.
If they seem uninterested and don’t seem to be listening, get out of the chair. It’s not worth being nice at the expense of your hair. You will be with them for 15 minutes; you will have to live with your hair for at least a few weeks until it grows beyond what they did wrong.
13. Don’t Use Tons of Heat When Hair-Drying
Not everyone uses a hair dryer, but a lot of guys with longer hair do so to give extra volume, dry hair faster, and give a good foundation prior to applying hair product. If you decide to bring a blow dryer into your routine, ensure that you aren’t using the highest heat setting.
The extreme dry heat applied directly to the head can cause the scalp to become waxy, sealing the hair follicles. Additionally, the heat can cause frizziness and damage the hair itself.
Leave the hair dryer on its lowest heat setting to help avoid the problems above.
Our Choice Hair Dryer: Jinri Professional 1875W $36.99
14. Avoid Synthetic Hats
Constant exposure to hats that are constructed of man-made materials, such as polyester, can damage the individual hair strands over time. Although it is a myth that wearing a baseball cap can cause you to go bald, having hair constantly compressed by synthetic materials will twist and contort the strands.
Ironically, natural materials, such as wool, do not tend to have the same level of negative effects that synthetic materials have. If you plan on wearing a hat frequently, shoot for one that is made from natural fibers. Make sure that it is breathable and not too tight on the skull and hair.
15. Use a Quality Shampoo and Conditioner
Essentially, using a quality shampoo and conditioner will help to ensure all the good things you want with your hair will happen, and is arguably one of the most important hair care tips for men. The combination of both will increase elasticity, add moisture, create a healthy shine and smooth the cuticle layer.
A lot of guys will stop at shampoo, but that is like washing an old car without waxing it. Conditioner will reduce frizz, make hair softer, prevent damage and retain moisture. Conditioner is vitally important, especially if you have medium to long hair.
Our Choice Shampoo & Conditioner: K + S Salon Quality Men’s Shampoo + Conditioner Set $25.95
16. Less is More When It Comes to Finish Hair Products
A little bit of pomade can be a good thing. A lot of pomade can be a bad thing, making hair look greasy and causing it to stick to the scalp. Overall, taking a minimalist approach will not only cause you to use less product, thereby saving money, but it will also ensure that you aren’t caking your hair down unnecessarily.
Before using a product, make sure you learn about the proper way to use it. For example, some products should only be applied to dry hair. Some products are only good for short to medium hair. Some products are great for straight hair but terrible for curly hair. Before spending money, do some prior research on your hair type and the look you are going for.
Check out A Complete Guide to Men’s Hair Products for more information on current men’s hair products and how they will work with your hair.
17. Use Matte Products to Combat Thinness
Going off of number 16, there are certain hair products that you should avoid and certain hair products you should lean toward if thinness is a problem.
Pomades, which are high shine and tend to bundle strands of hair together, will exacerbate the appearance of thin hair and should be avoided.
Shoot for products that have a matte finish with a light to medium hold. The goal is to increase volume without bunching hair together. Additionally, matte products will absorb light, rather than reflecting, which makes hair appear thicker.
Try pastes, texture powder, sea salt sprays, and hair dryers to increase the volume of hair.
(A Complete Guide to Men’s Hair Products for more information on pastes and texture powders too!)
18. Don’t Go Against the Grain
Did you know that you have a 9 out of 10 chance of having a cow lick that runs clockwise on your head if you are right handed?
My cowlick runs clockwise on my head, and by the time it reaches the top of my head, my hair naturally flows slightly from left to right.
If you part your hair, ensure that you move your hair toward its natural direction. In my case, I part my hair on the left side of my head, and push my hair to the right, following its natural flow. Otherwise, if I parted and pushed from the other direction, my part would have fly-aways and have hair stick up in odd spots.
Overall, make sure you are going with the grain on your hair for proper styling.
19. Take a Multi-Vitamin
Hair benefits specifically from vitamins B, C, and D, along with iron and zinc. It doesn’t hurt to take a multi-vitamin supplement in addition to eating healthy to ensure a luscious head of hair.
If your hair is truly that important to you, some guys have been known to use Hair, Skin & Nails vitamin supplements to hopefully attain great beards as one of the great hair care tips for men. Additionally, there are newer types of vitamins available, marketed toward men trying to grow fuller, thicker hair.
Like this:
Our Choice Hair Vitamin: IRON BEARD Growth Vitamin Supplement
20. This Goes Without Saying…
Avoid the bald comb-over. This is one of the most important hair care tips for men. Just try going bald instead, no problem!
I hope you enjoyed reading 20 Vital Hair Care Tips for Men. Remember to check out A Complete Guide to Men’s Hair Products to figure out your hair type and what products go best with it!
In the market for a new beard trimmer? Check out our newest guide article, Best Beard Trimmer in 2018 With Guide.
Thank you for reading these hair care tips for men, and thank you for your support!
-Chris
Thank you to my sources on hair care tips for men:
August 15, 2018
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