an Excerpt from Playboy written by Jay Sebring...
With a wide cross section of customers, I've had ample opportunity to observe every variety of men's hair. My conclusions: The condition of most American men's hair is deplorable. Their heads are burdened with grease and oil. They favor totaly unnatural hair styles. Most wear their hair too short and bristly. And more men than realize it wind up looking like the village idiot, their heads gummy with gook and grime, their haircuts completely out of keeping. By the time half of them reach 30, they've started to lose large quantities of hair and have difficulty understanding why.
The reason is simple...
They are negligent. The majority don't know how to care for their hair, and those who do frequently lack the patientce to do it. And yet American males spend roughtly $350,000,000 annually on a motley array of shampoos and hair dressings. They succeed only in loading down the scalp with more oil than it can naturally handle. Men with very fine-textured hair like mine are encouraged to anoint themselves with tonics, creams and elixirs. Their hair looks like a cat with water on its back. A man can have a good, full head of 350,000 hairs, but if it is very fine and he uses oil on it, the oil mats the hair down, and you can see right through to the scalp. If the hair is cut properly, there is no need for oils, since their only function is to keep the hair in place.
The Hair Cut...
If it's done correctly, the hair cut should be so much of a part of the man that it's never conspicuous. You don't want women to say "Look at that guy's hair," even in admiration. Only "Look at the guy." The aim should always be to bring the face into a symmetrical, compact unit, so that from any angle it seems well balanced. No hair should be left on the head that isn't absolutely mecessary for fullness or outline. Each time the hair is cut, every hair on the head should be cut. Don't sit still for a trim around the edges. Most barbers merely trim hair around the ears and the nape fo the neck, then splash on something that smells nice and get you out of their chair. Few of them as I do, take the time and consideration mecessary for an attractive hair style.
The first thing...
I look at in cutting and designing the hair are the location of the cowlick, the structure of the hair, and the way it grows from the pores. These are considered only fleetingly by most barbers, but it's the only sensible way to cut hair. You can't just cut men's hair any way that seems fashionable, as you can with women. Somebody might go to his barber and say: "I want a haircut like Tony Curtis," but if he does not have a head of hair like Tony Curtis, it can't be done.
Several important factors...
should be considered before the haircut begins. Probably the most critical is the shape fo the face. There are four basic types:
Long Face...
The hair should be cut lower on the top than with other face shapes, but not necessarily shorter. A part is desirable for this shape of face. The sides should be full in order to make the top of the head seem lower. An oblong face is a problem because it can tend to look even longer if the sides are too short and a lot of hair is worn on the top. I try to bring the face down into more of a compact unit by lowering the sideburns and making them fuller. Many times a high forehead goes along with an oblong face. In theis event. I try to bring some hair to the forehead by combing it flat down over the top of the forehead. This is the only way to proportion such a face. Next Page
Copyright 2004 all rights reserved