3 Quick Ways To Make Your Hair Famous - Esquire

How to fix [fill in the blank] hair

From Esquire's Spring 2010 Big Black Book. Order it here.

Frizzy

What to ask for: Ask your barber to take in your sides, with the hair on the top and in the back loosely textured. Anything longer than that and you run into immediate frizz.

How to style it: To towel-dried hair, work in a paste cocktailed with a serum. It helps prevent frizz and brings out your hair's natural shape. Also, try not to touch your hair too much as it dries; this can pull the "togetherness" of the hair apart and leads to frizz.

Wavy

What to ask for: Keep the sides and the back short, and up top, ask your stylist to parallel-point cut when texturizing. This maintains the length while removing some of the weight. Also, if you wear a side part, consider a looser parting that deemphasizes the wave.

How to style it: Use a grooming cream to smooth and straighten the sides. After you towel dry your hair, apply paste by working back to front, then use your hands to push hair to the right, then left, really spreading the product and moving hair all around.

Fluffy

What to ask for: You want to remove as much of the bulk as possible without making it look wispy. Ask your barber to "de-bulk" he'll know what you mean and cut it short with a little bit of texture.

How to style it: Shampooing too often leads to puffy, unmanageable hair, so you want to try shampooing no more than once a day. Towel dry hair, then use a styling lotion that will smooth and soften coarse, unruly hair.

With thanks to Hillel Ulysses, hairdresser at Serenity Salon in New York City; 212-971-0944. Illustrations by Joe McKendry

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