Unwanted Hair

As many of you know, Monday is the only day off, and even though I work in west LA I live out in Woodland Hills. Right now it's 110 degrees here, so I figured it would be a great time to stay inside and write another blog post.

For many men, myself include as we advance in age more and more unwanted hair keeps sprouting up. It can come in the form of back hair, ear hair, nose hair, and many guy's eyebrows can become bushy. Keeping this hair at bay can make a big difference in your overall appearance. Many men who visit me in the salon have me trim their eyebrows and ear hair, for some guys it's much easier for me to do it than to try it themselves at home. If your eyebrows are really bushy, I like to use a clipper over comb technique that will cut all of the long hairs and last until the next time you visit the salon. If you only have a couple wild hairs I use my comb and scissors to accurately cut only the few needed. Neither of these techniques will change the shape of your eyebrows or make you look effeminate. For men who have a unibrow, or starting to get one, I can wax the hair in the middle. If you're starting to get a unibrow, do not shave it! Not because of the old wives tale that shaving makes it grow back faster and thicker, but it just looks bad as the stubble starts to grow back in. I know I don't have any waxing on my service menu, but that's mainly because I don't do any eyebrow shaping. If you just want the hair in the middle removed, let me know a little in advance of your appointment so I get get the wax heated up, and we can do it at the shampoo bowl while the conditioner is on. I only charge $5 for this (mostly to cover the product costs) because it doesn't really add any time to what's already been allotted for your haircut. For ear hair, I generally clean that up as I'm finishing your haircut, most men just need a few cut off the lobes and the edge of the ear with the trimmers. I have a few hairs that come in on my ears, and I wax it off at home. This isn't a service I provide in the salon, but is't easy to do at home. You will need a wax pot, some hard wax, and some small applicator sticks. I buy all of this on Amazon, but make sure you get hard wax, the soft requires paper strips to get it off. If you're unsure which to get, you can email me and I'll send you a link. All you have to do is heat the wax up in the warmer, apply it to the hair with one of the sticks (go with the grain when you apply), wait for it to dry, and pull it off against the grain of the hair once dry. You'll have to work up a little corner with your fingernail to grip in order to pull it off. The reason I think this is best instead of just trimming the hair off is that when you rip a hair out over and over, eventually the follice will die and hair won't grow their anymore. I've been waxing my unibrow for long enough now, that even if I forget to keep up on it, mostly peach fuzz grows there now. If I hadn't been doing that for years and forgot about it, I would have something growing that would rival Anthony Davis.  If you're a person that gets a lot of ingrown hairs, waxing may not me for you--also if you have any questions about any of this, please feel free to ask me the next time you're in the salon.

Best Hair Products for Men's Hair (in my opinion)

You may not know it from spending time in my chair, but I'm a big product guy.  I've just never been a big product pusher while doing hair. If someone has questions or asks for a recommendation I've always been happy to help, but I never wanted to feel like a salesman in the salon.  I did telemarketing for MCI for a while in college and was so bad at it that I would wake up in the middle of the night with MCI nightmares.  My supervisor liked me but he didn't like my numbers, so he transferred me to a team to call and "sell" MCI to people who had already wrote in and said they wanted it.  I do know a lot more about hair than I do about MCI's "5 cent Sundays", so I thought I would talk about some of my favorite products right now.

For my shampoo I am using Eufora's complete shampoo.  It's made from quality ingredients (so I'm told), but the only reason I'm using it is for the Eufora Pro Amino Peptide Complex that creates the optimal scalp enviroment for hair growth and inhibits alpha-5 reductase, the hormone responsible for premature hair growth.  I use the Eufora Revitilizing Treatment as my conditioner for the same reason.  It has the Pro Amino Peptite Complex as well along with menthol and campthor to stimulate and revitilize the scalp, improving blood circulation.  There was a time where my hair was getting a little see through on top and I am fighting bad genetics. That is the reason that anytime something comes out that claims to promote hair growth, or slow down hair loss, I do a little research and try it.  

My hair is fairly easy to style with the length it is at now.  I'm still trying to get it longer and because of that I have a couple different products I rotate to style it, both don't have much hold, one adds moisture, the other adds protein.  For anyone planning on growing out their hair for an extended period of time I would recommend them because a lack or moisture or protein can cause split ends, which can travel up the hair shaft resulting in breakage, hindering hair growth.  For moisture I use Eufora's Nourish Leave-In Hydration Treatment.  I use it right out of the shower, putting about a nickel size amount in my hands and working it into my hair.  Then I brush it through for even coverage.  With my length of hair I end up looking like ESPN's Barry Melrose for the next few hours until my curl comes back.  For protein I use Eufora's Leave-In Repair Treatment from their Beautifying Elixers line.  It's applied different since it isn't as thick as the leave in conditioner and it comes in a spray bottle.  I just spray it all over my hair and then style the same way, brushing it all back, again resulting in the Barry Melrose look until it drys.

When I had shorter hair I liked to use a few different types of pomades. My two go to are Aveda's Grooming Clay, and Eufora's Traction.  Both are great products, easy to use, are made out of quality ingredients, and have a medium hold.  The big difference between them is the smell. The Grooming Clay has a strong musky smell while Traction is more of a light, somewhat citrus-like smell.  Both are really concentrated, so it only takes about a dime-sized amount of each and can be used with or without a blow dryer in wet or dry hair.  I also like Aveda's Control Paste for shorter hair.  It is used the same as the Grooming Clay and Traction and has a little more shine.  The consistency of the product feels like the Grooming Clay or Traction crossed with a wax.  I really like Eufora's Texture Putty as well.  It's a little drier than the Grooming Clay and Traction and has a very matte finish.  It's really good for guys who want a lot of hold, but don't want it to look like they have anything in their hair. One thing all of these products have in common is that there's no petroleum in them.  Some of the cheaper products use petroleum as a filler because it can lubricate and seal moisture within the hair shaft.  It also adds softness to the hair.  And it's cheap. The downsides to petroleum based products (and the reason I stay away from them) is that it can lead to scalp problems like dandruff, sluggish hair growth, and even hairloss over time.

For most guys I wouldn't recommend hairspray alone, but if you're finding you don't get enough hold, layering your products may be a good technique for you.  To layer is to put a product on top of another product.  For instance, when I needed a lot of hold, I would put a liquid gel in my hair right out of the shower, blow dry it into the shape I wanted, use a pomade to piece it out/mess it up a little, and then use a little hairspray, giving me three layers of product.  Most guys can probably get away with two layers.  Just do your normal routine with pomade or whatever styling product you like to use, and then hit it with a little hairspray. The layering also looks more natural than if you were to use a handful of pomade or half a can of hairspray to get a similar hold.

Have fun, experiment, and find out what's best for you!