How to Take Care of Your Hair
It's More Than Just Lather, Rinse, Repeat
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On any given day, your hair gets washed, dried, styled, tousled by hand and wind, greased by natural oils and sweat, slept on, and so forth. Considering that your hair is already dead to begin with, it’s quite the challenge to keep it looking alive over time.
Here’s an extensive game plan to wash men’s hair — the right way.
How to Wash Your Hair
At the root of hair care is skin care. That’s because your scalp is where all that hairy magic happens, and well, that’s skin. When it comes to washing your crowning glory, your baseline shampoo cycle should be every two to three days, though that can change from one man to the next. You need at least a day to build up natural oils that are good for the scalp. If you have very healthy, resilient hair, you could get away with washing just once a week, but, be careful.
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Why? Because shampoo can strip away the good, nourishing oils while it also washes away the grime and product buildup. These healthy oils are essential to keep hair hydrated from day to day; these oils also relax the hair and make it easier to style. While you should still rinse your hair every night and morning, it’s the excessive shampooing that should be avoided. It can dry out your hair and cause more harm than good. (We bet any guy you know with “great” styled hair cites this as his secret.)
However, with every rule comes at least one exception.
Guys who use a lot of hair product should be washing almost everyday. You want to keep that hair follicle clean and avoid product buildup and clogged pores on that scalp of yours, as this can not only lead to dull, limp hair, but it can also promote hair thinning and hair loss. However, if you’re just using a dime-size amount of your favorite pomade, gel, wax, or paste each day, this should be easy to rinse out each night and re-style the next day.
Let’s Address Sulfates
Before we move on, let’s talk about something you have likely been hearing more and more about — sulfates. More specifically, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laurilsulfate or sodium dodecyl sulfate, is surfactant commonly used as an emulsifying cleaning agent. This is what makes those soapy suds we all know and love when it comes to cleaning our hair. Well, not all of us. Sulfates have been shown to speed up fading of color-treated hair.
That means guys, if you’re covering up those grays, play it safe and shop for a sulfate-free shampoo.
That said, there are some common misconceptions when it comes to the dangers of sulfates in your shampoo. A study in Environmental Health Insights reviewed the possible toxicity of SLS and found little to be concerned about. Aside from minor risks including possible eye or skin irritation and general toxicity if ingested, there is no scientific evidence that the use of sulfates in shampoo hinder hair growth, cause hair loss, or worse, cancer.
Best Clarifying Shampoo
American Crew Detox Shampoo
American Crew has been leading the way for men to take control of their hair care routine since before it was cool. Now, with one of the latest launches from the brand, it is helping men tackle a problem a lot of them didn’t know they had: oily, clogged scalp. Tiny coconut shell beads in this nutrient-rich vegan formula activate micro-circulation of the scalp, promoting healthy scalp and therefore, healthy hair.
Best Shampoo for Thinning Hair
PURA D'OR Biotin Original Gold Label Anti-Thinning Shampoo
A best seller on Amazon for thinning hair, this shampoo and conditioner set should need no introduction. In case you want a refresher, this combo is tested and proven to reduce hair thinning and shedding while promoting hair strength and thickness with increased volume and reduced breakage. That’s largely thanks to the proprietary blend of over 17 DHT blockers that fight against hair loss from, well, the root.
Best Thickening Shampoo
Evo Gluttony Volume Shampoo
Fine haired guys rejoice. This is the vegan, cruelty- and sulfate-free shampoo for you. Packed with protein to add thickness, fullness, and density, this shampoo is unparalleled with it comes to achieving fat, fibrous strands primed for styling.
Best Shampoo for Textured and Curly Hair
Bevel Shampoo
This rich shampoo is infused with coconut oil and shea butter to hydrate and cleanse textured hair without stripping it of its natural oils or patterns. Free of sulfates, silicones, parabens, and phthalates, it’s going to be hard — damn near impossible — to find a better shampoo for textured hair styles.
Best Shampoo for Straight Hair
Function of Beauty Straight Hair Shampoo
This gentle sulfate-free shampoo is formulated to work well with straight hair, but what makes it shine (the shampoo and the hair) are the 10 Booster Shots you can add to the bottle. Whether you’re looking to strengthen, lengthen, de-frizz, or add shine, there is a boost for you.
Best Shampoo for Dandruff
Head & Shoulders Clinical Strength Dandruff Shampoo
Head & Shoulders has been the go-to brand for sufferers of seborrheic dermatitis, or seborrhea, for decades for one reason — it works. The newest collection to arrive on store shelves is for those after serious strength — Clinical Strength. Featuring prescription strength selenium sulfide, this is the first dermatologist-recommended brand shampoo to beat out that prescription dandruff shampoo with 2% ketoconazole. This formula doesn’t stink, it doesn’t burn, it just works.
Best Sulfate-Free Shampoo for Colored-Treated Hair
R+Co Bleu Primary Color Shampoo
With a few sulfate-free surfactants to generate that rich lather we all know and love, this shampoo does anything but strip hair of color or softness. It’s cruelty-free, vegan, and provides superior UV protection to keep that color fresher for longer.
Conditioning and Maintenance
If a shampoo is like a cleanser (used in moderation, remember), then a conditioner is like a moisturizer. Just as different skin types benefit from different hydration delivery methods, so do different hair types. These balms, creams, sprays, and hair mask products add nutrients back into the hair and scalp that enrich it for each day’s elements and wear — and to rebound from the drying nature of most shampoos while also preventing hair damage.
You should condition after shampooing — however, be weary of the convenience of a 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner. The purpose of surfactants and detergents in shampoo are to rid hair of oil, and conditioners are designed to replenish them. So if one has to win out over the other, it’s going to be the shampoo. Just take the extra 60 seconds and use a separate conditioner. Your healthy hair — and your split ends — will thank you.
You can also condition between washes since it really only helps the hair health. Many stylists also believe that “co-washing” (that is, using conditioner as your primary shampoo) will help flush away the majority of the grime that you’re targeting with a shampoo. However, there has been controversy about if this is actually bad for your hair, because you are not actually cleaning out the hair follicle, resulting in build up that can prevent hair growth.
Just like with all good things in life, the key lies in moderation. Using a clarifying shampoo frequently enough to offset any residual buildup should do you just fine.
Best Conditioner for Thinning Hair
Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Scalp Care Anti-Thinning Conditioner
You can’t go wrong with Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree collection. An early brand to focus on sustainability over 40 years ago, Paul Mitchell never disappoints in performance. Using a proprietary blend of kakadu plum, pea peptides, clover flower, turmeric, and ginseng to achieve fuller, thicker hair, a staggering 85% of users reported increased hair volume and strength.
Best Conditioner for Curly Hair
Briogeo Curl Charisma Rice Amino and Shea Curl Defining Conditioner
Using 97% naturally derived ingredients including rice amino acids, shea, tomato fruit ferment, and quinoa extract combine to hydrate, prevent frizz, and define curls. All this while omitting harsh sulfates, silicones, parabens, phthalates and remaining cruelty-free. Curl us, impressed.
Best Conditioner for Deep Conditioning
Olaplex Hair Perfector No 3 Repairing Treatment
If you have really, really, really dry hair, you need more than a one-and-done conditioner. Olaplex is one of the most recognized brands worldwide for working on a molecular level to not only condition dry hair, but actually fix damaged hair. With over 70,000 reviews on Amazon — over 90% positive — you don’t have to take our word for it.
Do You Need to Blow Dry?
Most guys won’t need to blow dry or use any sort of heat styling when doing their hair.
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There are, of course, a few exceptions. Men with long hair may do it to help set their styling creams or oils, and men with medium styles can use a blow dryer to add volume. Similarly, guys with thin or thinning hair may be able to create the appearance of density with a blow dryer.
To make the hair look fuller, blow dry it and finish with a matte styling product. It may be best to check with your barber next time you’re in the chair to see if it’s necessary or beneficial for your style to blow dry, because most likely a good towel dry or air drying is fine. If you have no true idea what you’re trying to achieve by heat styling with a blow dryer, skip it all together. Heat and pressure will only further dry out the hair. This can lead to frizz, hair damage, hair breakage, even a dry scalp or an itchy scalp.
This is why guys with long hair use nourishing oils when they blow dry — including coconut oil and in some cases, olive oil — and men with curly hair add a diffuser to their hair care routine to keep their hair from becoming a mess of frizz. If your barber or stylist does recommend using a blow dryer, ask him or her to show you how to do it at home.
Brush vs. Comb
There’s a difference between brushing a combing. While combs help set your style in place, brushes are best used at the end of the day, after showering. By running a brush through wet hair (longer styles work better, obviously), you can evenly distribute the oils produced in the scalp — those natural oils that hydrate and condition the hair (sebum).
This is why women with long hair brush theirs at the end of the day; in addition to detangling it, they’re fortifying the hair and preventing all that sebum from gathering at just the base of the hair and blocking the follicles.
Any guy with brushable hair should get a wet brush to untangle when he gets out of the shower. A comb can sometimes rip or damage hair when it's wet while brushing activates the scalp and helps release the natural oil "sebum."
Best Hairbrush for Men
Denman Classic Styling Brush
Sometimes less is more, and with this brush, you get what you need. Nothing more, nothing less. Featuring sculpted round-ended nylon pins suitable for all hair types from thick to to curly.
Best Wave Brush for Men
Neter Gold No-Kill Hair Brush
Much like shave brushes, wave brushes often rely on boar bristles to provide that stiff resistance that helps lift hair from the root yielding smoother shaves or softer waves. Well, now we have electric cars and vegan meat, so there is no reason we need to keep using boar bristle brushes — especially when there are vegan, halal, kosher options as good as this one from Neter Gold. Using sisal fibers to offer superior medium-hard stiffness to reach the skin and scalp, this brush brings life to your waves without causing any “unnecessary death.”
Best Comb for Men
Kent Handmade Pocket Comb
If you have one comb, make it worth your while. This classic style from hair mega-brand Kent works as well in the morning in the bathroom as it does midday pulled from your pocket. That’s because the size and shape is universal and the teeth are spaced so that they can handle detangling sizable knots while also taming unruly hair into sophisticated styles.
Hair Styling 101
For your hair’s own longevity, the best styling advice is this: Don’t use too much product, and rinse the hair daily while scrubbing the scalp, in order to remove each day’s product buildup. This will also stimulate circulation in the scalp, which helps prevent hair loss. Doing a self-administered scalp massage each time you shower, especially if you wear hats or are under a lot of stress, helps to keep the scalp in prime shape.
There isn’t a major difference in hair care regimen for gels, waxes, pomades, fibers, clays, crèmes, pastes, oils, sprays, and so on. Rinse daily, wash at least one to two times a week, condition between three and four times a week, and use hair products sparingly. Start with a smaller amount than what you might suspect needing and work your way from the back. Experiment each day with a little more product until you find the amount that’s right for you.
Lastly, avoid products with alcohol. They’ll dry out your hair.
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