How do I make my hair look thicker? Which products should I use? As a man, can I – and should I - colour my hair?
At Josh Wood Colour, we believe hair is hair – it doesn’t matter who it belongs to, it should always have the best care possible. And we know from our clients that the men in our life are often even more confused about how to make this happen. We spoke to Atelier stylist Nicholas Hardwick and colourist Mads-Sune Lund, to find out the top 6 styling and colouring hacks for men.
Intuitively wash your hair
Nicholas Hardwick tells us all his favourite styling tips; “There’s no hard and fast rule to washing – it all depends on how you feel about your hair, if you can get away with not washing it for a while, go longer to be time savvy. But don’t stress if you can’t last longer than a day without washing it either, it won’t hurt your hair if you wash it more often. You can try and ‘train’ your hair to go longer between washes by battling through the grease, but if you don’t want to do this, don’t worry too much about it”.
Take a ‘less is more’ approach to products
“It’s always about both the right product, and the right quantity of product. For most men I’d suggest something matte, like a clay or pomade, as they give better texture and don’t tend to look as greasy as wet look style products, such as gels. However, things can start looking clumpy and greasy if you use too much of it. For any product I’d advise starting small – use half of a thumbnail size worth of product and work your way up to a full thumbnail size if necessary. It’s easier to add more, but you can’t take it away without washing it out!”
Choose shampoo like you’d choose skincare…
“As men usually have shorter hair, I always advise them to choose their products carefully. you have to remember that you’re washing your scalp as equally as you are your hair. Therefore, you should choose your shampoo as carefully as you would your skincare – as you’re still washing skin, if you wouldn’t wash your face with the ingredients, why would you wash your hair with it? Josh Wood Colour care products contain no sulphates and use natural ingredients like Kakadu plum, quinoa and green walnut, so they’re kind to all parts of you!”
Stop hiding thinning hair; instead, choose a style that works with it
“Sometimes it can prove frustrating to keep trying to hide hair loss to no avail - it’s a fact of life, and it often looks so much better to just embrace what’s natural. With finer hair, it always looks better to keep it cropped and shorter. This makes it look stronger and gives the illusion of thicker hair. Think about your products, too – matte styling products are better for finer hair, because if you use something waxy or gel like, it will make your hair look see-through, and highlight the scalp by making it shiny”.
Always use conditioner
“It’s also a myth that men don’t need conditioner, or that the hair is too short to need it. Think of your hair as having tiles on a roof - the shampoo can roughen the cuticles (or ‘roof tiles’) as it cleans. Using a conditioner smooths the cuticles back down, keeping them sealed so there's no leaks! This leads to smoother, shiny hair, and makes styling easier. If you’ve had a negative experience with conditioner in the past, try a formula tailored to your specific hair needs – with Josh Wood Colour, not only do you choose the colour of your hair, you choose it to suit your needs – whether it’s frizzy or fine”.
Go subtle and simple, or all in!
Mads-Sune gives us colour advice for men, too; “As Nicholas says, when it comes to styling, the natural look often looks better for men – and it’s the same with colour. I’d always recommend men to embrace the changes to their hair and only tweak the colour accordingly, or to enhance the hair. This leads to easier maintenance in the long run”.
“However, if you do want a big change – I’d recommend going all in. If you have short hair there’s much less of a commitment to a colour than if you have long hair. You can switch it up as much as you’d like”.