Ten Year Anniversary

This July it will be ten years since I started Tim Carr Hair and I wanted to thank everyone who’s been coming to the salon because you’ve made it all possible—from the people who have only came in for one haircut all the way through the people who followed me from Alexander’s for Hair to the Sola Salon on Wilshire and Bundy, the shop I rented a chair in on Sawtelle in Culver City, to the outdoor haircuts I did in the parking lot behind that salon when I was only able to offer outdoor haircuts during covid, to the Sola Salon Studios I work at now off Jefferson. There were tough times. When I first started on my own, I would hope to get at least 36 services in a week because if I hit that number I would be making a little more than I did at Alexanders for Hair, now I usually do around 65-70 haircuts a week and if I had a week where I only did 36 I would start trying to figure out what happened. Halfway through the ten years the Covid lockdowns happened and I was unable to work do to the restrictions, and then when I was allowed to cut hair again I had to do it in the parking lot behind the salon. Even when they allowed people to start working indoors again I had to stay outside because we had to be at 25% capacity and in a four chair salon that is only one person. The woman I rented a chair from cut mostly women’s hair so she needed access to the shampoo bowls to wash hair before her haircuts and to rinse out color and other chemical services so I stayed outside since I only do men’s haircuts. At first it was fun cutting hair outside, but the novelty wore off fast, especially when it started to get hot. I never envisioned myself cutting hair in a tank top and shorts when I first got into the industry, and knew I had to be looking ragged at the end of some of those hot days because people would say things like, “Thank you for doing this” after I finished their haircuts. I ended up cutting hair outside for a full year until I could start working in the salon again and six months after that I moved across Sepulveda Blvd to where my salon is now, in the Sola Salon Studios. I’ve been working in Sola for a little over three years now and really enjoy having my own private suite and I would only consider moving if everything is perfect because it’s so easy in the shop I’m in now. Perfect would mean the salon being in the same area in Culver City, affordable price, good parking, etc. I’m not even looking, nor have I been in case anyone was getting worried. Every once a while when I’m out and about in the West LA - Culver City area I’ll see a for rent sign in an empty salon or barbershop and I’ll do some research and it doesn’t come close to being as good as where I’m cutting hair right now.

Outdoor Haircuts

I just wanted to write a blog and let everyone know that I am currently offering outdoor haircuts. Gov. Newsom gave us permission to cut hair outside, this industry is really regulated, so it’s been the first time we’ve been allowed to do so. I am cutting behind the salon in the back parking lot. There is an alley on Sawtelle right beside the coffee shop that you turn into. I should be easy to find as no one else is cutting hair outside near me. A couple years ago I switched to all cordless clippers so there hasn’t been too much of an adjustment switching to outdoor haircuts. The only thing is I’m not allowed to do any services that require you coming into the salon so I can’t do shampoos after the cut as I normally do and right now I’m not able to offer grey blending services because that needs to be washed out. It would be best if you don’t have a ton of product in your hair as I won’t be able to wash it out, but a little is fine. Right now I have an umbrella for shade, but am planning on getting a canopy as well. We don’t get any updates on how long we’ll be allowed to do outdoor haircuts, so I didn’t want to run out and spend a ton of money only to have them tell us we need to go back in and cut hair inside. So far it’s been a great experience. The feedback I’ve been getting from a lot of people that it I wasn’t able to cut hair outside that they wouldn’t have came into the salon. It’s nice being outdoors, I did get sun burnt pretty bad the first few days, but so far the novelty hasn’t worn off of working outside and I’m having a great time seeing everyone coming back into the salon.

Tim

Covid-19

I just posted a page with the new procedures we will be implementing inside the salon. It has its own tab on the home page. I think our salon has an advantage over a lot of places because of the size (there are only two hairstylists working out of the shop), and the general layout. My station is right next to the door where there is plenty of natural light and fresh air when we are able to have both doors open. We have both been wearing masks inside the salon and have been requiring that everyone who enters is wearing a mask. I just read an article about two hairstylists in Missouri who had tested positive, saw about 140 clients, and with everyone wearing masks no one tested positive besides the two stylists. In addition to the procedures we’ve implemented in the salon, I’ve been doing everything I can in my personal life to avoid getting it. I live alone, I’ve been avoiding large gatherings (or any gatherings for that matter), I’ve been getting my groceries delivered and haven’t been inside a store since early March. I also stay healthy by working out regularly. I’ve stayed away from gyms, but have a decent amount of fitness equipment in my apartment that gets the job done. I take multivitamins, drink plenty of Vitamin C, Vitamin D and try to get sun by putting the top down in my car whenever possible. Attached below are links to the article I referenced about the hairstylists in Missouri, and the procedures salons and barber shops are required to follow in California.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/11/us/missouri-hairstylists-coronavirus-clients-trnd/index.html?fbclid=IwAR0OMFeEwb0AyJEIn7k2U2SNzgjApYWXbrBvLmL77zHnw9uUibMYTGtjPC0

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-hair-salons.pdf

Death of the undercut??

In 2019 I’ve noticed I did fewer and fewer undercuts. I don’t know if it’s undercut exhaustion, people just wanting to change up their style, or maybe it had something to do by the other name that haircut goes by. I still have a lot of men who get undercuts, some have even got the haircut for the first time recently. I just don’t do as many of them as I did when the undercut was at it’s fashion peak. One thing I have noticed is that many guys still like a disconnection between the top of the hair and the sides, but they’re switching the side that the disconnection is on—so instead of an undercut there is more of a distinction on the side they’re parting from. I may get more people requesting these particular haircuts than the average barber because my Yelp page is mostly pictures of that style. The reason I like to use pics of that haircut it since it’s long on top, you’re able to show potential clients that you know how to use a pair of scissors, and the sides let people know that you can do a fade. Yelp’s SEO is usually better than mine, so when people search haircut near me, they usually show up before my page.

Blog Neglect

As I get busier in the salon, it’s hard to keep up with the blog for this site. In a week I have enough slots for 78 haircuts, back when I was more active with it I was only getting about 36 guys in a week. I would bring my computer into the salon and in my downtime I used to work on the blog, do research on men’s hair to get ideas for it, and work on my social media to try to bring more men into the salon. Within a year of moving my shop to Culver City, my business doubled and I’ve had a lot less time to work on the social media aspect of the business because I’m too busy cutting hair—which is a good thing. Content is what helps me keep coming up in searches, whether someone’s searching for haircut near me, best men’s haircut, or men’s hair salon, having a blog keeps me at the top, so I try to do my best to keep up on it.

2018 Vacation

Hey guys,

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up and let you know I'm going to be out of the salon from May 31-June 14 on vacation. Prebooking your hair service is recommended, last year the time slots two weeks before I was out of the salon and two weeks after I got back filled up fast. I sent out an email last week and will send another a couple weeks before I leave. I'll get back to Culver City on the 14th, and be back in the salon cutting hair normal hours on the 15th. If you have an event around that time it would be best to book your haircut in advance.

 

Tim

2017 in Hair

As 2017 comes to a close, I thought I would take a look back at the year in men's hair. I haven't had as many opportunities to blog as much as the past, but I'm out of the salon for a few days for the holiday. 

At least for the guys that come in to get their hair cut by me, the undercut is still king. This is easily the most requested haircut in the salon. It's a great looking cut, has been in fashion for years now, and I think part of the reason for so many men requesting undercuts from me is that I have more pictures of that particular haircut than any other on Yelp, Instagram, and my website so my numbers my be skewed a little. I tend to fade my undercuts, because of that it makes for a good picture from the front and the side--while scissor haircuts can be pretty uninteresting from the side view. That leads to twice as many undercut pictures. I'm trying to get better about taking more pictures of the haircuts I do.

The number one haircut girlfriends have been sending guys in with pictures of is Ryan Gosling's haircut. There wasn't one picture that everyone brought in, but a few different lengths. All of them were long enough on top where the hair could be parted to the side and fall over (as opposed to spike up) and the sides were long enough to where the hair could be pushed back. This haircut looks great at a few lengths, so you could get one of the shorter versions of the cut and have it grow into how he wears it when it's longer. You could even come in for the hairline clean up service I offer ($10) and get the sideburns neatened, back tapered, and neck trimmed so your hair doesn't look sloppy as it grows out to keep your hair looking its best. 

This year I've also seen classic barbering come back into style--men getting their hair cut with a shorter clipper blade and short on top as well. Some guys like the look because it's low maintenance at home. These usually get the hair cut finger length or just a little longer on top. Others just like the classic, clean look or have really thick hair on the sides and need the clippers to rid some of the bulk. 

I get a decent amount of guys with long hair coming in to the salon as well. For this blog, when I say "long hair" I'm talking about any hair that touches the collar or longer. While I do see a lot of guys with this length of hair, I think I would see more if I had more pictures of longer haired men.  I didn't really take  a lot when we first moved to Culver City--when we were in west LA I had a great spot with a neutral background inside Sola to take pictures of my haircuts, and I'd been trying to find a spot at the new salon. The best spot I could think of would be in front of the brick wall at the bank, but no one (including myself) wants to run across the street and dodge traffic on Sawtelle to get their picture taken. I settled on just taking pics at the chair in the salon after I do my detailing and get the hair styled.

Overall, it was a great 2017 at the salon. We left Sola in west LA and moved to Culver City in February. In the hair industry moving is really stressful because there is no way to tell who is going to follow you, especially with the traffic in Los Angeles. I saw a dip in the amount of haircuts I did in the first month we were at the salon, but things really picked up as I got going and I ended up having over 50% growth for the year. I'd like to thank everyone who followed me, and all of the new people I've met while working in the Culver City salon for making this year one of the best. 

On to 2018!!

Tim

Back from Vacation

Now that I've been back from vacation for a few weeks and things have calmed down a little in the salon, I thought it would be a good time to catch up on my blog posts. Vacation was great, it was nice getting out of LA for a while and getting the chance to relax for a little bit, but towards the end of it I was ready to get back into the salon and cutting hair again. Generally, I don't bring my tools home to cut hair when I'm back--most hair cutting tools that professional stylists use are pretty expensive (at least the clippers, shears, and clipper blades) and I don't trust checking them. The only updates I really have for the salon at the moment is that we're finally getting air conditioning, most guys who came in to the salon said it wasn't that bad--maybe they they were just being polite because working in there was pretty hot with the weather we've been having in Culver City lately. Now that I've been cutting hair in the Culver City location I've noticed they don't enforce the 4-6 no parking on Sawtelle very much. (I've had a lot of guys ask about that while getting their haircut) But still it's an "at your own risk" type of thing. Another tip--there's been a speed trap on Sepulveda a lot lately, it seems like everyday I see multiple people pulled over on Sawtelle that they've caught. No one who was coming to the salon fortunately, but just wanted to give everyone a heads up. They have a few red light cameras right around the salon on Sepulveda as well, so be on the lookout for that if you come that way to the salon. As I build, weekends have been filling up a little faster. Most Friday nights, I don't have any slots left for haircuts for Saturday, this Friday it's already 9 and I still have a handful of spots. Lately same-day has been hard to do on the weekends, especially if there are only a couple times that work for you.

Just wanted to check in with everybody, hope you had a good 4th of July and to see you in the salon soon!

 

Tim

Salon Updates

Hey guys, it's been a while since I've written anything, so I just thought I'd give you some updates of things going on in the salon. Everything's still great in Culver City, with the addition of the TV, the salon is pretty much all together. I've been doing about the same amount of haircuts and other services as I did on the Wilshire location, the main difference in Culver City is that the weekend appointments have been filling up a lot faster. If you're looking for a haircut on Saturday or Sunday, it's best to book the day before to be sure to get your spot reserved. I generally have room for a men's haircut or two on the same day, but it's a bit of a crapshoot. I have vacation coming up in a little less than two months. I'm expecting appointments for the week before I leave and the week after I get back to fill up a lot faster than normal, so if you have an event around that time period that you need a haircut for, booking in advance is recommended. I can extend my hours in the evenings to fit people in within reason. I'm leaving my schedule open for online booking for Easter in case anyone needs a haircut or anything. Hours may be shortened if it doesn't fill up--the holidays can be hit and miss in this industry. 

 

Tim

Culver City

I haven't blogged in a while, mostly because everything's been a little crazy with the move to Culver City, not really with physically moving things, but getting my information on Google, Yelp, my social media, and all those no-name directory sites that pop up and then texting everyone once they make an appointment to make sure they got the email and know I am in a different salon before their appointments. I've had a few people go to the old spaces, so I've been trying to stay on top of it. Now that we're settled in Culver City, everything's been running smoothly and I've picked up right where I left off from the Wilshire location and starting to build again. One of the main changes that I've noticed is that a lot of guys that used to come in for evening haircuts aren't able to make it to the salon during the week since the move to Culver City, so they have been making appointments for the weekend which have been filling up a little faster at this salon. Nothing crazy to the point where you have to book your haircut a month in advance, but I've had people looking for something on a Saturday the night before that haven't been able to get in. I have a few guys who thought this location was a little far for them, but they have just been making their hair appointments when they travel since we're somewhat close to LAX. I haven't got a chance to explore Culver City much yet, mostly just down Sawtelle and Sepulveda. I'm still trying to figure out the best times to try to get back to the valley, so I've been going straight home as soon as I get done doing hair. I know this is a little down the road, but I also wanted to let everyone know that I will be taking vacation the first two weeks of June. I will be out of the salon starting Thursday, June 1 and returning on Wednesday, June 14. I'm not going anywhere exciting, just back to Iowa to visit family. I don't take a lot of time off, and haven't taken any since April 2015, so I like to give people a lot of notice since you can generally expect me to be here six days a week, every week. For mid May-mid June appointments, you might want to book a little earlier than you normally would have to. I'm guessing I will fill up quick since I will be out of the salon for so long. As my books fill up I will extend the days and work later to try to get everyone in. I will send an email reminder as well when it gets closer to the date, I always just like to let people know as soon as I book the flight.

The Big Move

We finally got everything moved over to Culver City and have been getting settled in. I put some pictures of the new space in the location tab and also have some pics of the salon on my Facebook and Instagram. It's between Elena's Hair Salon and King's Kabobs on Sawtelle Blvd in Culver City. Unfortunately, Google makes you wait on a postcard with a pin code to change anything, so my address is wrong on Google, Google Maps, and Waze until I can get that switched over. It should be right everywhere else, I spent a few hours Saturday night changing everything after I closed down at Sola Salon. I've had an issue with Yelp switching back and forth between the address for the salon in Culver City and the old one, but after three phone calls and me changing it myself a couple times, I think they have it locked on Sawtelle now. We are still doing some work to the salon, there's a love seat for the waiting area we're still waiting on, the drink fridge should be coming in any time now, and Krissy is going to pick up a TV for the salon. We already have cable and internet hooked up, we're going to have a wifi hotspot in the salon too, they still have to set that up though. So far it's been  a pretty smooth transition, there have been a couple people go the old salon, and it's a little farther drive for me to get to Culver City from Woodland Hills, but everything else here has been great. Sometimes at the other space everything was so close together it felt like you couldn't even breathe, so it's been nice working out of a bigger space. With everything going on with the move, and how booked I get with haircuts during the day, I haven't had much of a chance to check out the area, and I hadn't spent much time in Culver City before doing hair here--but it seems like a nice area, I hope everyone is able to give it a try.

 

TIm

Reminder

Just a reminder, the salon will be closed on Sunday January 29th due to the move to Culver City. We'll be moving things between the Los Angeles and Culver City salons, and both will be torn down, so I will be unable to do hair that day. The last day in the west LA suite will be Saturday the 28th, and I will start in Culver City on Tuesday the 31st. 

Dandruff

People have been using the word dandruff as a catch-all for anytime you get flakes in your hair, but just because you have some flakes doesn't necessarily mean you have dandruff. Dandruff is large greasy flakes while dry scalp is the little white flakes in hair most people think of when they talk about dandruff. In the ten years I've been cutting hair, I've only seen actual dandruff in someone's hair two or three times. Now that we've got that out of the, I was reading a good article on GQ about habits men have that are causing their dandruff. I agree with what they wrote and don't really have anything to add to their list, but there are some environmental factors that you can't control that can affect your scalp. Except for the weather we've been have recently, Los Angeles is generally dry, and I know a lot of guys that started noticing flakes in their hair after moving to LA. The changing of the seasons can also do a number on your scalp. Even though we don't get much of a winter in LA, I do see more flakes while cutting hair this time of year. 

If you've followed the advice in the GQ article, and still have flakes, it may be time to switch to a different shampoo and conditioner. I have read good things online about Nizoral AD, but I don't have any experience with that particular product. What has worked best for me is Aveda Scalp Benefits and the Eufora Complete Shampoo with their Revitalizing Treatment. If you do everything in the article, get a good shampoo and conditioner, and still have scalp issues and see flakes in your hair, it may be best to go to a doctor. Below is a link to the article I referenced.

http://www.gq.com/story/bad-habits-causing-dandruff

Moving

I wanted to write a blog post to let everyone know that we'll be moving and I'll be cutting hair in a salon in Culver City. I will be sending an email with the details in addition to this blog post, so unless you've unsubscribed from Vagaro emails you should be getting that shortly. Besides the location of the salon, everything else will remain the same as far as services offered, prices, and the hours I work. I will still be renting a chair from Krissy, not working for her--I know it can be confusing since I worked for her in the past, but I've been working for myself ever since moving out of the salon on Pico. The reasons for the move are because of how expensive it is to work out of a suite, Sola doesn't make any money off of the hair services we provide so they charge a lot in rent so they can make money. The other reason is that at the new salon we will have more space. Sometimes it can feel like we're working right on top of each other in the suite, and there's not really anywhere to wait for your service if you get there early and I'm still cutting hair. 

There will also be some benefits on your end by the move to Culver City. I haven't been able to scout it out myself, but there's a free parking lot. No more having to use the garage, valet, or walk from Ralphs. With the extra space in the Culver City salon, we'll be able to have a waiting area and you won't have to find a bench outside of the suite while waiting for your haircut like you currently do at Sola. With the addition of a waiting area, we want to serving drinks again. I don't have a timetable of when that's going to start, Krissy is taking care of that, but we are planning on having coffee, soda, water, and beer again. The beer is something that people who have been getting their hair cut by me since the beginning have been asking for ever since my former salon got rid of it, so I'm glad to be bringing it back. We're planning on getting a bigger TV, putting it on the wall, and having the same set up for sports on it as I do now with the WatchESPN, NBA League Pass, etc.

Just as it was with the move from the last salon, I'm sure there will be some people that Culver City is more of a drive for so I'm willing to be flexible with my hours. I can't open everything up in Vagaro, but if you're looking for a hair appointment a little later than you see available in the online booker so you can miss traffic, give me a call or shoot me a text and we can try to schedule a hair appointment that will work best for you. For earlier appointments, I need to know the night before so I can plan ahead since I'm driving from Woodland Hills to Culver City.

I would just like everyone to know that this decision wasn't made lightly--but this was the best of the few options that were available to me. I looked into staying at Sola, but there are no suites opening up soon enough, and there's a waiting list (which I'm not currently on) for when one does open up. Staying in the current suite by myself would cost too much, and not even an option since I'm not on the waiting list for it.  All of the other West LA salon suites are full as well. I checked with Salon Republic and Phenix. I also looked at closer hair salons to rent a chair in, but they were all very expensive, and I also wouldn't have the access I would need to work my hours six days a week. Some people at Sola offered to let me do hair out of their suite, but I would only be able to work one or two days a week doing that. I don't want anyone to think I'm just going to be bouncing around all over different salons in Los Angeles, Krissy signed a five year lease on this space, so this will be my last move until I'm able to open my own salon--which is years away at this point. With very few options, I think the salon in Culver City will work out best.

In closing, I really hope this works out and everyone is able to make it into the new space. I genuinely like cutting everyone's hair who comes in. I've had friends who don't do hair ask me how I handle difficult/rude clients and I always tell them that there's not anyone who's hair I cut that I wouldn't go out and grab a beer with. I will be sending an email when I know the exact date for the move to Culver City, which depends on how long it takes a plumber to get our shampoo bowls and sinks in. We're hoping for Feb 1st, but will know for sure after the plumber gets a chance to to look at the salon. I will send out an email as soon as I know. Stay tuned for photos or the new salon!

Hope to see you soon!

Tim

 

Update 1/3-/2017

The plumbing is done and the moving day is set. I will start doing hair out of the Culver City salon on January 31st. The last day in the Sola suite will be Saturday the 28th, I won't be working in either salon that Sunday because we will be moving things between the west LA and Culver City spaces. If you didn't receive an email, you may have unsubscribed yourself from Vagaro's emails. I will update the confirmation emails when we move with instructions for getting to the new salon, parking, etc.

What's New in Men's Hair for 2017?

That's a good question. With 2016 almost over, I've been looking for the best answer to that on different men's fashion websites, blogs, instagram posts, and a few youtube videos. I clicked on a link that said long hair will be in and the new thing, but then when I got to the article it was all pictures of guys with fades and undercuts. I have a client who I've been giving an undercut to for a few years now, and at the beginning of 2016 he was looking for something new, checked a few websites, and found the same thing as me--that undercuts were the "new" thing for 2016. I'm not knocking the haircut, it's one of favorites to cut in the salon (and one of the best looking haircuts in my opinon, I was just using that example to make the point that men's haircuts don't change too much over time. I mean guys are still getting a haircut make popular by Julius Caesar. One thing I have noticed about the current trend for men's hair is that anything goes, which could explain why that particular haircut has lasted so long. When you can do whatever you want nothing (which exception to avant garde styles) really goes out of style. I don't know about other places, but in Los Angeles you can feel free to get that trendy undercut, grow your hair long, get a business/professional haircut, or pretty much anything you can think of. As long as it's cut properly and put together, your hair will look its best.

Holiday Hours

I just wanted to let you guys know that I am staying in west LA for Thanksgiving this year, so I will be doing hair in the salon this week. The salon will be closed Thursday for the holiday, Friday I'll be working by apointment, and Saturday/Sunday will be back to normal hours. This is the busiest time of the year for hairstylists, so it's best to plan a little ahead.

 

For Christmas the only day I plan on being out of the salon is Christmas day. In the past I haven't had many guys trying to get appointments for haircuts on Christmas eve, but I'll leave my salon schedule open normal hours for online booking until the day before.The salon will also be closed on New Years Day, and then I will be back cutting hair normal hours Tuesday, the 3rd. Hope everyone has a great holiday! 

For New Years I plan on having the salon open normal hours on New Year's Eve, and will be closed on New Years Day. Then I'll be back to regular hours starting on Tuesday. Looking forward to 2017--stop in early to be sure you're looking your best when you go out!

Why West LA

People often ask me why I chose to cut hair in west Los Angeles instead of a place in the valley since I live in Woodland Hills, or why I just didn't move to west LA in the first place. When I was living in Iowa and looking for an apartment, almost everyone I contacted wanted me to visit their office in person before they would rent to me. The place I live at now let me do everything through email and fax, which worked out best for me. When I first came to Los Angeles, I didn't have a job or anything. After applying and interviewing with a few different places all around LA, I chose to work at Alexander's for Hair salon because of their male clientle, since I had only been cutting men's hair for a few years at this point and felt if I wanted to start doing women's hair again that it would be best to assist for a while to bring me back to speed on the latest techniques and trends. After working there for five years, a lot of guys were concerned that I would take a job closer to where I live, but in this industry, to start cutting hair at a salon that far away from where I had been working would be basically starting over since most men wouldn't drive from the west LA area out to the valley to get a haircut. That's the reason we picked the studio we did when we moved, this is the closest one to the old salon. Traffic sucks driving all the way from Woodland Hills, but I have a few podcasts I like to listen to on the way here to pass the time and I genuinely like working in west LA, being on Wilshire with all of the different places I can walk to to grab something to eat, and I know I've been saying this for years, but eventually I'll move to the westside.

Tools of the Trade

Men who come into the salon are always saying, "How do I style my hair like you do?" or "I can never get my hair to look the way you can in the salon." The purpose of this blog is to help you get the right tools to use at home so you can get your hair looking its best as it does when you leave the salon.

Unless asked not to, when I get done with a man's haircut, I always shampoo it and blow it dry. I do this because after all of the tugging and pulling on a guy's hair that goes on during a haircut, I think the shampoo kind of hits the reset button on the hair, puts whatever wave you may have back in, and gets the hair to lay as it naturally would. The reason for the blow dry is because I need to see how the hair looks dry and the way you are going to style it so I can do some detailing before you leave the salon. Since I use the hair dryer on just about every man who comes into the salon, if you want your hair to look the same at home, this is the most important tool you will need. A guy may be able to get by without some of the tools I use or substitute for something different, but the hair dryer is something you can't replicate in your hair with a towel or by letting your hair air dry. 

Another tool that is good for every guy to have at home is a vent brush. You don't have to get the best or most expensive one, just about any will do. If you are using a hair dryer/vent brush combo, put your product in wet hair and brush your hair in the direction that you want it to lay, and then dry it in that direction before you start to dry it. As the hair starts to get drier, you can brush your hair as your drying it. Once the hair is completely dry, it may look too perfect for your taste. If you're a guy who likes a little messier look, just take a little product and break the hair up a little bit.

For men looking to get a nice, crisp part in their hair, I would just reccommend just using a standard comb. If you're going for a slick look, you can put product in your hair, comb the part in, and then let it air dry. If not, put the part in your hair with the comb and then follow the blow drying steps. For a sharper part you may have to go back in with the comb after the hair is dry and then set it in with a little more product. 

These are tips that I used to do back when a had shorter hair. Now that it's longer and I'm growing it out I don't want to put any heat on it so I don't use a hair dryer, and since hair is at it's most fragile when it's wet, I use a wide tooth comb out of the shower to help avoid breakage. 

With shorter men's hairstyles you really don't have to break the bank buying any of these tools. You can get a good hair dryer in the $30 range from a place like Sally's, a vent brush from there would probably be under $5, and a 12 pack of combs is in the $5 range too. The only hair dryers I wouldn't recommend are those smaller ones like you see in a hotel. They don't have a lot of power if you're trying to get your hair to go up, and even if you aren't the lack of power makes it take longer to dry your hair. 

 

Men's Hair FAQs

I thought this would be a good place to answer some frequently asked questions that men have while getting their haircut in the salon. I will add more as they come up.

 

Does my hair grow faster in the summer?

There may be a slight shift in your hair growth do to UV exposure, but it should be marginal and mostly unnoticeable. With men who wear shorter hairstyles, I think the hot summer days make them want to get a haircut sooner, so it feels like the hair came back faster. In the summer I have some men come in to get their haircut every two to three weeks.

 

Do I need to use conditioner?

This really depends on your hair. If you come in to the salon often, and have a really short hairstyle, you might not have to use it because your hair is getting cut off before it becomes too damaged. The longer your hair is, the older the ends of your hair are, making a need for conditioner to put moisture, protein, and other nutrients back into your hair that get stripped out everytime you shampoo. For men having issues with dry or frizzy hair, I recommend using conditioner. I use it everytime I shampoo, and if I go to the gym on a day where I don't normally shampoo, I use conditioner instead. Experiment a little and you can figure out what makes your hair look best.

 

How often should I shampoo?

This is another question that really depends on your hair type. Again, if you're a guy who has a shorter hairstyle and you get your haircut often, you can get away with shampooing your hair everyday if you want. Every other day and every two days is fine too. I noticed when I started shampooing less my hair was greasy at first. This is because your hair is used to being overwashed and trying to put more natural oils back in. Over time your hair will get used to less washing. Even the most gentle professional shampoo have cleansing agents to clean your hair, which is why shampooing less is a good thing.

 

What is _________ haircut called?

This is one I don't really get behind the chair, but I see people asking in the male hair advice subreddit. Some men on there look all over the internet to try to find the name to a particular haircut when it's easier to just bring in the picture. Even if they get the name of the haircut right, there are different lengths and versions of each haircut, but with a picture everyone's on the same page. It's even helpful to bring multiple pictures if you like different things about a couple of different haircuts. It's also helpful to have a few pictures to pick out which ones will be best for your hair thickness, texture, and your face shape.

 

How do I get rid of dandruff?

More than likely, what you have is dry scalp and not dandruff. Dandruff is large greasy flakes. I've only seen real dandruff a couple times in the ten years I've been cutting hair. Since dandruff is greasy flakes most dandruff shampoos are really drying. If you have dry scalp that can make the problem even worse. The first step is to figure out whether you have dandruff or dry scalp. If it's dry scalp, you may need to cut back on how much you are shampooing. If you don't already, get a good moisturizing conditioner. A leave in conditioner will work too. If that doesn't help, there are shampoos and conditioners that help promote a healthy scalp. I've had good luck with Aveda Scalp Benefits (you can order that from aveda.com) or the Eufora Complete Shampoo and Revitalizing Treatment. For more serious scalp conditions it's best to see a doctor.

 

I'll post more FAQs as they come up in the salon, or if you have any feel free to comment below.

Growing out a buzz cut

I was just reading an article on GQ about Justin Beiber (sorry) growing out his buzzcut. Regardless of how you feel about him, there were some good tips in it for not just growing out buzzcuts, but ones men can apply to any type of haircut they're trying to grow out. Instead of repeating what they said verbatim, I'll link their article at the bottom and offer more tips in addition to what they wrote here.

As they touched on in the article, one of the main issues with growing out the buzzcut is how round it gets. This is a big reason I don't like buzzcuts on most men. Since the clippers are following the shape of your head, the haircut ends up really round. As your hair grows out, it gets even rounder. When transitioning from a buzzcut to something new, you'll need to come in to the salon often to get the sides of your hair cut. If you don't quite need that much hair cut, I offer a service called a hairline and neck trim. What I do for this service is clean up your sideburns, tidy up the hair around the hairline, trim the hair on the neck, and do a taper in the back. I do not touch the hair on the sides or the top or give a shampoo with this service. Since it doesn't take me a lot of time I just charge $10. It's good for growing out any type of haircut, not just a buzzcut. It's also a quick way to keep your hair looking it's best as it grows out.

When growing out any haircut it's also a good idea to get it all cut once in a while. If you just let your hair grow without trimming it, you can get split ends which can cause breakage further down the shaft, hindering the process of getting your hair longer. One strategy I have been using over the past year as I've been growing my hair out is using a leave in conditioner. This is a conditioner made to be used outside of the shower and worn in your hair throughout the day. They don't have any hold, so if you need your hair to stay put, you might want to use a hairspray alongside it.

A few other quick tips for growing out your hair--wash your hair as little as you can get away with, be gentle with your hair when it's wet (this is when hair is its most fragile and can break), and try to avoid putting heat on your hair. I know most men don't have to worry as much about the last tip, but the things to avoid are blow dryers, flat irons, curling irons, and any other hot tool. If your hair is long enough to pull back in a pony tail or man bun, try to wait until the hair is dry before putting a band around it to help avoid breakage while the hair is wet and fragile.

Here is the GQ article I referenced earlier in the post.

http://www.gq.com/story/justin-bieber-buzz-cut