Men’s Hair Trends For 2012

Men’s Hair Trends For 2012

The 2012 Indie Hairstyle

To get this look right you will need to take your hairdresser in hand and arm yourself with some pictures. Unlike the stronger looking more brutish style; these are – although short – gentler on the eye. The length on the sides can be military short or enough to pinch between your fingers, but it should be blended into the longer top length with no hard lines (or a very soft undercut). Lookbook:

The Curly Hair Alternative

If, like so many men, you have felt left out over the years because you have been blessed with curly or wavy hair, then you have just landed in the lucky house. Nothing in my mind looks cooler than a mop of curly hair atop a short back and sides; believe me when I say that this is going to become an envy cut amongst your friends. However, you need to make an effort getting the right cut, and you will also need to use a bit more than shampoo and some wax to shape this baby up.

You will need to have more of a discussion (rather than a quick chat) with your hairdresser about this one – the detail (see ‘the cut’ below) is make or break. This is definitely not an “off the shelf” style, it needs to be personal to you and hopefully have some individuality.

The Quiff – Not Dead Yet

The strongest look in both 2011 and most of 2010 was – and still is – the quiff. The great thing about this style is that it works well with most types of hair, and there are so many ways to style it and create your own personalized take.

If you have fine to medium texture hair, then look to have the sides and back taken down very short, whilst leaving the top extremely long and disconnected. This will help give it a more individual look and allows you to style slicked back in a 50s inspired style, or with volume that only serves to enhance the disconnection from the sides and back. We covered a version of this style in depth in our last article on updating the classics.

How you style your quiff really comes down to personal preference. You may want to keep your quiff slick and refined, because you dress that way on a daily basis. You may want more of an edgy Rockabilly inspired style, which means you will be looking for much more volume and a structured version. Get creative and play with direction, volume, finishing products and hair length in order to develop a trademark for yourself. By leaving the length slightly longer on top you give yourself more options in terms of styling, but it can also become unruly and unmanageable if your hair is thicker in texture – this often leads to frustration. Your stylist can take some of the weight out of the hair in order to allow you to create the longer, slicker styles but be warned that it will need regular cutting and upkeep in order to preserve this.

2012 is about finding the quiff style for YOU, so make sure it fits in with your image, lifestyle, budget and personal hair type. 2012 Quiff Lookbook: Notice how different each and every one is:

Extreme & Wearable

It does seem that the current trend in male hair is extreme and almost brutal in appearance, matching the period of austerity prevalent at the moment. Embracing these styles that are sometimes overly mannish in appearance can be refreshing – and what could be more brutal than having your hair cut short to the skin on the sides and back?

Instead of leaving a really long length on top (such as with the new Quiff styles), have the length cut shorter but long enough to enable you to wear it back, forwards or to the side by using a wax or paste. The top will look best if it’s cut shorter at the crown, moving to a slightly longer length at the front: