Men's Hairstyles by Hair Type

Working out what you have

Wash your hair, towel it off and let it dry with no product at all. Then look at it.

If it hangs straight from the root to the end, it is straight. If it bends into loose S shapes, it is wavy. If it forms spirals or ringlets, it is curly. If it forms tight coils or zigzags and shrinks well below its real length, it is coily, sometimes called afro or type 4 hair.

The numbering you may have seen, type 1 to type 4 with letters after them, follows the same order. It is useful for buying products and not much use in a barber's chair, where straight, wavy, curly and coily cover it.

Then check two other things, because they matter as much as the curl. Density is how many hairs there are, which you can judge by how much scalp shows when the hair is parted. Thickness is how coarse each hair is. Roll a single hair between finger and thumb. If you can barely feel it, it is fine. If it feels like a thread, it is coarse.

Most men are a mix, wavy at the front and straight at the back, or curly on top and straighter at the sides. Go by the part of your head the haircut will show most.

Hair types side by side

Straight hair

Straight hair is the easiest to cut clean and the hardest to hide mistakes in. Every step in a fade shows, so pick a barber who takes their time over a blend.

It suits sharp shapes. A slick back, a side part or a French crop with a straight fringe all rely on hair that goes where it is put. Its weakness is volume. On fine straight hair a long top lies flat against the head, so ask for it to be point cut, which breaks up the ends and gives it some lift.

Wavy hair

Wavy hair is the most adaptable, and the most unpredictable. It can be pushed into most styles, but it will do something slightly different every day depending on the weather and how it dried.

The styles that suit it use the movement, like a textured crop, a loose quiff ou curtains. Leave some length so the wave has room to show. Cut too short, wavy hair just looks untidy.

Let it dry naturally where you can, or on a low heat, and use a light cream rather than a strong hold. Heavy product flattens the wave you wanted.

Curly hair

Curly hair shrinks as it dries, sometimes by a lot, so a barber who cuts it wet and pulled straight can take far more off than you expect. Ask for it to be cut dry, or at least shaped dry at the end.

It grows outwards as well as down, which is why the sides need to be kept tight. A high taper fade ou um burst fade keeps the sides close and leaves the curls on top as the feature. Without that, a curly cut tends to grow into a triangle.

Curly hair is usually drier than straight hair, because the scalp's oil travels down a curl more slowly. Wash it less, condition it more, and do not brush it dry. Finger comb it, or use a wide-tooth comb while it is wet.

Coily hair

Coily hair is dense and tightly packed, and it holds a shape better than any other type. That makes it ideal for precise cuts, such as a skin fade, um drop fade, a short top with a sharp line-up, or a buzz cut at any grade.

The single most useful thing is a barber who cuts coily hair every day. The blend, the line-up and how the hair is handled all differ from straight hair, and it shows when they do not know.

It is also the driest hair type. Moisturise the hair and scalp, wash less often, and be careful with line-ups on sensitive skin, because a razor taken too close along the hairline can leave bumps and ingrown hairs.

Thick hair

Thick hair holds any style but adds bulk wherever it is left long. A medium length cut all over tends to go square, with the sides pushing out over the ears.

The fix is to take weight out of the sides. A high fade, um undercut or a traditional short back and sides all do it. On top, ask the barber to thin it out with point cutting or thinning scissors so it lies down instead of standing up.

Fine or thinning hair

Fine hair is soft, lies flat and shows the scalp through it, more so under bright light. The answer is usually shorter rather than longer. Short hair stands up and looks denser, while long hair separates and shows the gaps.

A textured crop with a forward fringe, a crew cut ou um buzz cut all work. Use a matte product, because shiny ones clump the hair into strands and show more scalp.

Avoid high fades with a long top. The contrast between bare sides and thin top makes the top look thinner. If the thinning is from a receding hairline or the crown, the haircuts for balding men page goes further.

Using this with the rest of the directory

Hair type is one of three things that decide a haircut. Face shape and how much time you will give it in the morning are the others. Every style page in the men's hairstyles directory lists which hair types it suits, so start with this page, narrow it down, and read the style pages for the detail. If length is the question, the medium and long hairstyles page covers what happens to each type as it grows.

Frequently asked questions