Photo: American Crew
How often should you wash your hair? What is the best styling product for men? What does it mean when your hair falls out… and more. These are the six things that every man should know about his hair.
1. You Only Need to Wash Your Hair 3 Times Per Week
It may seem like good hygiene to scrub your hair down every single day with a good shampoo, like American Crew’s Daily. And in fact, some surveys suggest over 50 percent of men wash their hair as much as two times per day. However, it will look and feel its healthiest if you allow your natural oils to do their job – to keep your hair soft and shiny. This doesn’t mean that you can’t scrub it down with some water in the morning if it makes you feel better, as you can scrub out the dead cells with water alone while also leaving its essential/protective oils in place. And if your hair is a little on the oily side, you can still prolong the need for the wet sudsy stuff by using a good dry shampoo, like Kenra Professional
2. Hair Wax is A Man’s Goto Hair Tamer
You’ve got your styling creams and pomades… but when you just want your hair to look “natural”, but behave a lot better than if it was actually “natural” – hair wax is the way to go. Most of these are mixed to avoid smothering the hair shaft, causing it to become too brittle and dry. Wax can also be restyled again and again and won’t weigh your hair down like some gels can. We particularly like the natural ingredients of American Crew’s Fiber, but we’re also impressed with their Liquid Wax, which controls your style (and goes on smooth) like a gel while maintaining the soft, pliable feel of a wax.
Photo: American Crew
3. A Blow Dryer Actually ‘Helps’ Frizzy Hair
It may seem strange that warm dry air directed at a frizzy head could be helpful to your problem, but according to expert stylist, Jason Schneidman – it is. He recommends drying your hair until it is mostly dry and then following up with a wax (or paste). You should never add a product to your wet hair unless you also plan to follow up with a pomade or balm to help control an unruly head.
4. Every Man Loses A Lot of Hair, But That Doesn’t Mean You’re Going Bald
If you’d count the number of forums dedicated to the number of hairs found in a guys sink on the web, you’d be exhausted. But let’s get one myth out of the way: Losing hair is not the sign of hair loss. We know this because everyone man loses an average of 100 hairs per day, but that number can fluctuate from as low as 50 to as high as 150 or more. It isn’t the loss that you should be worried about (unless you have other health issues), but rather your ability to grow it back. And speaking of that…
5. Your Hair is Only as Healthy as You Eat (and Think)
Hair is kind of like the rings on a tree. You can actually look at a strand in a research lab to discover everything from where you live to what you’ve been eating, smoking and drinking. In other words, your hair is very dependent on the body to maintain its health and growth and it is really difficult to improve hair that has already been damaged. In other words, your hair is essentially as good as it gets once it exits the epidermis of your scalp). The problem is while most of us guys consider our hair a priority to our image, the body doesn’t quite agree. So if there is any shortage of nutrients in your body, your hair will be one of the first to suffer. But how do you feed a healthy head of hair? Well, it needs a balance of quality proteins with plenty of Omega-3 (salmon, nuts and seeds, etc.), complex carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc.) and all the essential vitamins and minerals.
Photo: American Crew
And while poor diet can be a cause of hair loss and premature graying – so is too much stress. Your exterior image is a mirror of your life, and if you are constantly stressed, undernourished and sleep deprived – it will eventually start to show itself as damaged skin and hair. Vitamin B can be helpful if you’re experiencing pre-mature graying as a result of a deficiency in this vitamin (stress depletes vitamin B). Ultimately, the saying is true – you are mostly what you eat!
6. Aging Hair Requires More than Just Dye
Your hair will go through many changes in your life, from dark to gray to soft and dry. And after age 30 your hair has already begun to loose its natural pigment and ability to secrete sebum, which is the protective oil that keeps your hair soft and pliable. For this reason, Gray Shampoo offers more than just minimization of yellow tones, but extra conditioning to keep your hair softer, shinier and more resistant to breakage. Keep in mind that as hair looses its pigment it also looses its ability to protect your hair from UV rays. The easiest fix for this unfortunate truth is to accessorize your outdoor time with a selection of gentleman’s hats.
About Pamela Causfield
I'm a digital nomad and story teller that writes for Urbasm and a few other websites on men's interests, style, relationships and whatever tickles my fancy. In my spare time I like to play the field in search of my prince, travel, and consider myself an artisan of sarcasm at times.