At the barber’s, you ask “what would suit me?”. The real question lies elsewhere: what do you want people to see of you when you walk into a room? A sharp cut and confident volume don’t tell the same story.
The eight styles that follow are sorted by what they say and what they cost in time. None is better than another, but some age well between appointments while others demand daily discipline. All of them assume a fibre in good enough shape to hold: our step-by-step tutorial details the six steps of the Rituel Texture®.
When a man sits down in my chair, nothing changes: the same welcome, the same advice. He often arrives more at ease with his hair than a female client, with less history behind him. What he’s looking for comes down to two things, hydrating and repairing, and a place to come back to.
Ghana Elin, founderLook 1The afro
It’s the style that shows the texture as it is, without constraining it. It has a political history nobody is unaware of, and today it remains the most outspoken look: you don’t wear it by default, you choose it.
Its demands are real. Dull volume shows immediately, because light no longer reflects off the surface of the hair. So everything happens upstream, in the state of the fibre, not in the morning’s styling. The shape itself is reworked at the hairdresser’s every eight to ten weeks: a trim is enough to restore a clean silhouette without losing any length.
Look 2The fade
The fade says precision. The gradient goes down to the skin on the sides, with a sharp break line you can see from three metres away. It’s the most readable look in a professional setting, and the most effortless: nothing to do in the morning.
What it costs is paid elsewhere. A fade lives on its sharpness, and that sharpness fades in ten to fifteen days. So the rhythm of appointments becomes the real constraint, far more than upkeep at home. Add to that a point many people discover too late: short hair doesn’t mean a trouble-free scalp. The scalp is exposed, and that’s often where tightness and itching appear.
Look 3The taper
Same family, opposite intention. The taper grades the sides and the nape gradually, with no visible break: it adds structure without making an announcement. You choose it when you want a well-groomed head that doesn’t draw attention, and it’s the cut that best survives the time between appointments, because a soft transition doesn’t go out of shape as it grows.
Look 4The high top
Short sides, real height on top, defined angles: the high top is a silhouette, almost a sculpture. It says confidence and it gets noticed, which is exactly the point.
Technically, it relies on a contrast that has to be maintained on both fronts at once: the sides must stay sharp, and the top must hold its height without collapsing. It’s the style on this list that calls for the closest partnership with a hairdresser, because it’s built cut after cut.
Look 5Locs
Locs are a long-term commitment, and that’s the story they tell. You don’t try them: you start them. Day to day, life then becomes very simple, with few gestures and no styling, but the decision is made for several years.
The critical point is washing. A loc holds inside whatever rinsing doesn’t reach, and residue ends up weighing it down and weakening it at the base. A silicone-free wash, a long rinse and thorough drying take care of most of it. The roots are reworked by a hairdresser who knows the craft, at a rhythm that depends on your density and growth.
Look 6Waves
Waves are the only look on this list you can’t get at the hairdresser’s. You earn them at home, through daily brushing on short hair that gradually lays the fibre down in a single direction. What they say is precisely that regularity: a crisp pattern signals weeks of consistency.
One technical point decides everything. Here, brushing is a styling gesture, not a detangling one: it’s done on a supple fibre, coated in product and still damp, never on bare hair, which would break instead of laying down. Detangling itself stays what it is in the Rituel Texture®, with the fingers and then the comb, with no brush at all. The night does the rest of the work, under a silk scarf or a satin durag.
Look 7The shaved head
It’s a deliberate choice, rarely a surrender. A shaved head frees the face entirely and removes every styling question. On the other hand, it asks you to look at your scalp, which becomes the visible surface: dry or irritated skin has nowhere left to hide.
One stubborn misunderstanding needs clearing up: a very short cut changes neither the care nor its rhythm. The Rituel Texture® stays the same, every seven to ten days, and Chadian finger detangling becomes possible again from about two centimetres. The temptation to wet your head every day, because it’s pleasant and quick, is exactly what to avoid.
Look 8Twists
Two strands wound around each other, all over the head or just on top. It’s the most textured of the eight looks, and the most flexible: you wear it as it is for a few days, then take it out for defined volume that lasts another two or three days. Two styles for a single gesture.
Twists are done on hair coated with La Crème Coiffante, never on a bare fibre, and they’re never pulled tight at the root. If you prefer cornrows, they call for a different technique and different precautions: we cover them in our article on braids for men.
Choosing, in practice
Two questions are enough to decide, and neither is about style. The first is your time in the morning. Under five minutes, the fade, the taper, the shaved head and locs ask for nothing. Beyond that, volume, waves and twists become possible, because they need working.
The second is the rhythm you’re willing to keep with a hairdresser. A fade or a high top requires frequent appointments, otherwise they lose exactly what makes them worthwhile. Confident volume, locs or twists can manage with much less frequent visits.
A third criterion sometimes imposes itself. If your hair is breaking right now, no look will make up for it: it’s better to go through a style that removes daily handling while the lengths rebuild, and then choose.
For everything else, washing, drying and everyday moisture, our article on the men’s hair routine sets out the steps, the same whatever style you go for.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a man wash his coily hair?
How do you detangle coily hair without breaking it?
Should you sleep in a scarf or a durag?
How do you stop volume from turning dry and dull?
Does a very short cut need less care?
A look is decided by two people
Our partner salons were chosen for their mastery of coily and curly textures, and trained in the Rituel Texture®. They’re the best place to try a look before committing to it, and to find an appointment rhythm you can keep up.
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