The Guy’s Guy Steps Out in Curly Style

Move over, metrosexual. Make room for the guy’s guy who’s now more open to tuning into his curls just as easily as he tunes into sports.

Okay, maybe not to quite the same degree, but guys are making progress—and a lot of it. Even the rough-and-tumble guys are paying more attention to their curls than ever before.

According to Rodney Cutler, grooming stylist for Esquire magazine, it’s all part of a trend among guy’s guys who want to create a “signature point of difference” that sets them apart, while at the same time not straying from what’s appropriate in their lifestyle, their career and the guys they hang out with.

“I think the guy’s guy is now expressing how he wants to look, and he wants to look great—but, more importantly, he wants to feel comfortable,” says Cutler, who also owns New York’s Cutler Salon. “Men have much more access to fashion and grooming tips than ever before, but it’s not like all these guy’s guys want to be metrosexual. For instance, a high school football coach doesn’t want to look like he’s stepped off a runway, but he wants to be a stylish football coach.”

Cutler, and other curl-centric experts, say that stylish look starts with the right cut. And that doesn’t mean cutting off all your curls, explains Enrique Grant of Elie Elie Salon in McLean, Virginia., who styles many male curlies in corporate America.

“Professional men, especially, want options,” Grant says. “I give them a tailored, precision cut, where the sides and back are more tailored for them, but the top is a little longer so they can make it looser or less controlled in the evening.”

Grant says the biggest challenge is to convince curly men that they have to actually use products if they want frizz-free, perfect-looking hair.

“They don’t realize the icons they see on television or in magazines do use products on their hair,” he explains. “They have to understand that they have to apply a little bit of effort.”

For men with longer curls, Grant uses a gel for more even distribution. For shorter styles, most of Grant’s clients prefer a wax because it doesn’t feel as wet or sticky.