For a professional look, Massey encourages curly men to keep their hair in a gel cast so it stays in a compact state. To achieve the style, she suggests guiding gel through the hair with your fingers when it’s wet, remembering to keep your head up so the curls stay out of your face. Then, squeeze out the excess with paper towels, and leave it alone to dry.
“This way the hair can appear to look shorter then it really is. Then, after work, you can break the cast, loosen it with your fingers and have your evening look,” Massey says.
She acknowledges that the growing-out phase is the hardest part.
“It’s really tough,” Massey says. “Sometimes, the hair is going through a growth spurt and it can be kind of discombobulated for a week or two.”
Before you rush into cutting it all off, Massey suggests adding more conditioner or a little more gel to compact the curls—and just wait it out. Rodriguez says he’s committed to doing just that.
“You want to be yourself and express yourself, and you can show the confidence in yourself by letting your curls grow,” he says.
Cutler sums up the current trend for curly men.
“Men have always cared about their looks, and today they don’t have to pretend they don’t,” Cutler adds. “It’s socially acceptable for them now, which allows them to step out. But they still want to be themselves—just the best that they can be.”
By Teri Evans
Photo Courtesy of Naturally Curly
PREVIOUS PAGE
