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How To Avoid Bad Hair Days

July 27, 2010 By Joe | Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Also, we take your privacy rights seriously. Head here to learn more.

Three Steps to Avoiding a Bad Hair Day

Seems like it happens at the worst time.  You’ve got a job interview or a huge date.  You don’t want to look like a tool, and every so often your uncooperative head of hair can make you look unfairly awful.  Keep these three tips in mind for those days, and your chances of looking like Phil Spector, Nicolas Cage, or Ricky Martin will be greatly reduced.

1. Don’t care.

I know that sounds ridiculous, but hear me out.  You can over-knead bread.  You can over-rev an engine.  And if you’re thinking too hard about how you want your hair to look, chances are you’ll push it around and pick at it so much that it’ll end up looking terrible.  Your hair will naturally look good as long as you don’t force the issue.  So… stop caring so much about your hair.  And it’ll look better because of it.

2. Give it a solid towel dry

Take a shower.  Get out of the shower.  Your hair at that moment when it’s dripping wet?  Let’s quantify and call that a 10.  When it’s bone dry with not a drop of moisture in it?  That’s a 1.  Take a towel and dry your head off until it’s somewhere between 2 – 3.  That’s when you apply product.  Most guys put product in when their hair is way too wet and they’re fighting the weight of the water all day.  But on the other hand if it’s completely dry and you add product, you get unnecessary volume.  Aim for 2-3 on the Dappered Scale of Dampness (Patent Pending).  That’s what you want.

3. Go easy on the product.

You know there’s been an epidemic of over-greased heads when AXE (yes, AXE for crying out loud) starts telling guys to stop gooping it on.  Your hair most likely has decent natural shape.  You just want to put some stuff in there to hold that shape, and add a little texture.  Try using 75% of what you’re using now.  Just for a day.  If that’s too fast and loose for you, you can always switch back tomorrow.  If the wind blows hard, your hair should move.

Other Suggestions?  Got a favorite hair product you want to share?  Drop it in the comments section.

Filed Under: Grooming Tagged With: bad hair day, hair, hair product, how to avoid bad hair days, men's hair

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Comments

  1. Bryan says

    July 27, 2010 at 7:47 AM

    Nice tips. To be honest I’ve tried a few salon quality products and in the end of I have had the best luck with one of the AXE products (the only one I use by them). It’s their “Messy” look, which they label as supposedly being a paste. It is the only product I have seen with that sort of pasty texture and such, so perhaps I just have been trying the wrong type of higher quality products.

    Also, I have a problem where when I first get out of the shower and dry my hair it is a bit … puffy or something. I have straight hair, and it is kind of like when you get a static charge and your hair puffs out. My use of product is mainly to get that to go away, but even still on the sides of my head it still puffs out a bit at a downward angle. I wonder if there is something I can ask my hair dresser to do differently so that it cuts down on this issue.

  2. kyle says

    July 27, 2010 at 8:19 AM

    There can be nothing better than the American Crew forming cream. I think I noted a month or so ago that it’s available at Wal-Mart. Interestingly enough, my stylist sells the stuff, but I’ve found American Crew pointed a shrink-ray at the can and decreased its size significantly, yet are still charging the same amount…

    Wal-Mart has the same old larger size, and at the same price.

    I agree with the hair wetness being a must. Too wet and you’re back in the 80s. Anything less than a 2-3 makes it nearly impossible to apply.

    Great tips!

  3. Dave says

    July 28, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    Shampoo your hair every other day. Condition only once or twice a week. Your hair is supposed to have a bit of oil to it, that’s what protects it and prevents the kind of puffiness that Bryan is talking about.

  4. Bryan says

    July 28, 2010 at 11:39 AM

    Yea I shower every day but only shampoo every other. I don’t condition ever though, I wonder if that would help if I added it once or twice per week.

  5. Ben says

    July 28, 2010 at 7:28 PM

    I also love and currently use the Axe “Messy”! If you can get past the fact that it’s Axe, then it’s a great product, I think, and also forces you to not use too much… if you do it just DOESN’T work. I have tried both Aveda and American Crew and like them both, but it seems like it’s gone way too quickly given the price! Hard to argue with Axe pricing…

    @Bryan: I suffer from the same “issue” of sorts, in that if my hair is totally dry after a shower it gets a bit…poofy. I think conditioner can really help. Again, once every 2 days MAXIMUM, but it will keep your hair smoother, and certainly healthier!

    Cheers,
    Ben

  6. Joe says

    July 28, 2010 at 8:18 PM

    Not one but two endorsements for Axe. I can’t really knock the products (aside from the body spray and the annoying marketing) because I’ve never tried them. Sounds like there are a few diamonds in the axe rough. Maybe they could come out with a more mature line? Mneh?

  7. Ted says

    July 29, 2010 at 10:38 AM

    I’m a American Crew pomade user that has recently made the switch to Brylcreem. It’s been around since the late 1920s. Smells like you just got a fresh cut at the barbers and gives you a nice natural look with the hold/flexibility you need.

  8. mike says

    July 29, 2010 at 6:30 PM

    I use Alberto Extreme Style …. Add a little to damp hair, style with my fingers and I’m good to go. I hardly ever use a comb anymore.

  9. Rafe says

    March 9, 2012 at 7:35 AM

     I prefer there reverse shampoo once a week, condition every other shower.

  10. justin says

    November 25, 2014 at 6:11 PM

    old spice spiffy pomade is nice. strong hold without being stiff. the matte finish looks good too.

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