How To Make Your Summer Haircut Last Longer

Getting a fresh summer haircut can be a damn-near transcendental experience, especially if it’s been a while. Feeling your dome lighten as each overgrown lock falls to the barbershop floor, while the reflection in the mirror slowly but surely comes to more closely resemble the sharp, well-shorn man you know yourself to be; now that’s a sensation that can’t be beat. The trouble is, though, that with everything you’ve got going on these days—between work and relationships, keeping up on politics and trying to catch ‘em all—it can be pretty difficult to carve out the requisite time (and capital) to sit your ass down in a barber’s chair and let the guy do his work. Which is why we’ve put together this five-step guide, specially tailored to short summer ‘dos, on how to keep you cut looking sharp for just a little bit longer. That way, you can get to it when you get to it.

Not all haircuts are created equal, especially when it comes to how they’ll grow out. For example, hard-edges styles and those with carved-in parts tend to go from sharp to scraggly quicker than those with more natural borders. Super-short buzzcuts and line-ups also require a significant amount of upkeep to look their best. So, if you’ve got the foresight to know that you might not be able to stop by for a while, tell you barber and they should be able to give you a summer haircut that will accommodate that.

Let’s get one thing clear: there’s no way to slow down hair growth. It’s just not going to happen. Instead, what you want to do is control how long hair appears, and the key to that is managing volume. In that same vein, shampooing too often will strip hair of it’s natural oils, causing it to dry out and frizz more easily. Likewise, despite the fact that summer might leave it feeling greasier than usual, keep your shampoo frequency down to 2-3 times a week, if possible.

Like we said, hair will continue to sprout, no matter how much you’d rather it not. The least you can do is make sure that whatever new growth does arise comes in as healthy as possible. Remembering to regularly condition is your best bet to ensure just that, especially when things like sun and saltwater are working against you. Also of note: well conditioned hair is less prone to expanding with humidity. Which is a plus, for sure.

We’re talking specifically about your sideburns and neckline. You see, what a lot of guys don’t realize is that no matter what the length is up top, these two areas serve as warning signs that a haircut may be past it’s prime. Making sure they’re precisely defined will keep your ‘do from broadcasting the fact that you’ve steered clear of the barber’s chair for a touch too long. Not sure how to go about doing that? Not to worry, we can help you out.

With regard to sideburns, the first thing you should correct is length. Men’s sideburns tend to migrate down the face between cuts, so before you go any further, use a trimmer to get it back up to about the halfway point of the ear. Next use a comb to brush the hair of the sideburn forward toward the face. This will reveal any hairs that have outgrown their boundaries. Use a scissor to put them in their place, carefully snipping along the hairline. Follow that up by doing the same thing, except this time comb the hairs back towards the ear before cutting, and you should be all set.

Onto the neckline. Now, this part can get a tad tricky, since you’re going to need a handheld mirror to get a good look of the back of your neck. But once that view is secured, all you have to do is use a trimmer to rid yourself of any fuzz that’s grown below where the barber defined the bottom of your hairline. Not sure you’ve got a steady enough hand? Then ask a friend for assistance. If they can manage to draw a straight line, they should be able to help you out.

As much as you might want to minimize time in the barber’s chair, the fact of the matter is that no one’s going to be able to make your hair look as good as the person that cut it in the first place. So, if you’re looking to keep a style alive for longer, why not schedule a five minute touch-up for three-or-so weeks after the original snip? That way, you can have a pro check up on things like volume, sideburns and neckline before they get out of hand. Plus, a lot of barbers and stylists will do this for free, just to keep you happy.

What have you got to lose?