So, last week I’m standing in the drugstore, staring at this never-ending parade of “men’s” shampoos—every bottle yelling about “volumizing,” “revitalizing,” and, for some reason, charcoal. Since when is charcoal a hair thing? I counted at least three bottles promising “cooling” mint, “root activator,” and all that. And then I remembered my barber, who once […]

Alright, so I sit down for a haircut—twenty minutes, tops—and then get handed a bill that feels like I accidentally ordered the chef’s tasting menu. No, I’m not losing it: in some cities, the average men’s haircut is pushing $50 this year. Barbers blame rent, utility bills, and, apparently, even the cost of keeping their […]

Left my gym bag at home last week—still mad about it. All day, I kept remembering that thick hair cream I’d just smeared on with zero thought, and honestly? No one ever warns you about the creeping oil slick at your roots halfway through a meeting. Guys just grab whatever’s on the shelf, thinking, “Sure, […]

So, real talk: every morning, I wake up and it’s like—bam, that fuzzy mess clinging to my box braids, mocking me. Static, but somehow meaner. I’ve tried every “miracle” frizz tamer out there—spoiler, most of them flop. Those smoothing shampoos with “advanced polymers”? Sure, science words, but my edges still puff up the second I […]

Let’s just admit it: nobody really wants to talk about the braiding patterns stylists secretly hate doing over and over—those edge-snatching, headache-inducing cornrows, or the “perfect” crisscross parts that, honestly, nobody does on their own head unless it’s for Instagram. All that for what, neatness? Here’s the bit stylists rarely say out loud: if your […]

Root touch-up kits used to be a cheap, last-minute fix—like, I swear I grabbed one for $10 last summer. Now? Even the plain, semi-permanent stuff is $25, sometimes more (see: Behind the Salon Door; June 2025). What happened? I keep hearing it’s “ingredient costs” and “supply chain,” but honestly, I’m not convinced. Colorists keep repeating […]

Let’s just start here: why is it that every time someone drops eighty bucks on a so-called “precision short cut,” they end up blowing even more on some Frankenstein collection of styling goop? I swear, nobody warns you about this stuff. Clients ask me all the time—do barbers actually help people save money with short […]

So, thickening shampoo. Let’s just admit most of us picture some neon-green bottle from the ‘90s, reeking of cheap cologne and promising hair like a Marvel superhero. I used to think it was all a joke, honestly. But then I watched my old roommate—guy was losing hair by the handful—try some biotin-and-caffeine thing, and suddenly […]

Okay, wait—why is caffeine suddenly on dermatologists’ “maybe not” list for women’s hair serums? For years, it’s been the darling of every shiny bottle, right up there with peptides and biotin. I’ve tried so many brands it’s honestly embarrassing, and every one brags about caffeine. Health and Allure’s 2025 picks? Basically a caffeine parade. Now, […]

Somewhere between the third pass with my round brush and the moment my arm gives up, I hear my stylist’s voice in my head: “Hold tension or you’re just fluffing it up for nothing.” Okay, but why does her $8 brush in a fluorescent-lit salon create volume that survives three days, and my home attempt […]

So, I wrap my hair in that giant cotton bath towel—like, is this just me?—and every single time, those little hairs at my hairline just snap off. Feels like I’ve bleached for years, even though I haven’t. Turns out, those fluffy towels we all hoard? They basically shred fragile hair, and it’s maddening because I […]

Halfway through the week, still pulling stray hairs out of my keyboard—what’s new? Stylists say it’s hormones, stress, or some genetic curse from my grandma, but last night I basically ironed my hair flat with a curling wand on max heat. Didn’t even think about it. I mean, who actually considers what heat does to […]

Frizzy ponytail again. And, yeah, now my coffee’s all over my shirt. Great. Supposedly, if you nail the right morning hair trick, it’ll last longer than those overpriced salon blowouts—at least, that’s what stylists keep telling me. It’s not about having a drawer full of gadgets, apparently. I wasted fifteen minutes with a round brush […]

Okay, so my hair just… collapses. I mean, I can blast it with a dryer for an hour, flip it upside down, pray to the volume gods, and it still ends up sad and floppy. Humidity? Forget it. Everyone’s out here raving about deep conditioners for volume like they’re some kind of holy grail. Are […]

That soft hum from cheap clippers? Sounds innocent, right? Until it’s suddenly yanking out hair and someone’s yelling at me, “Why is it pulling?”—happens all the time. Cheap clippers? Honestly, they’re a wallet trap. They break, jam, dull out fast, and then, what, I’m buying a new one every few months? Seen it a thousand […]

So the last time I tried to get my neckline cleaned up, nobody at the shop batted an eye, but the price? Yeah, it’s creeping up again. I swear these “quick” trims—like a neck taper or edge-up—are the sneakiest price jumps in the whole place. Full cuts? Those get announced, but little touch-ups just… drift […]

Onion juice? Gave up after three days—my apartment smelled like a failed stir-fry, and my hairline didn’t move a millimeter. Not a single dermatologist I actually trust has ever said, “Yeah, go ahead, rub soup on your scalp.” Apparently, a ton of hair loss “remedies” are just money pits, and some might even make things […]

Okay, so picture me, half-awake, blasting this “miracle” thickening spray at my scalp over the bathroom sink, hoping for magic, but mostly getting… meh, slightly less limp roots. Every men’s magazine screams about these daily “filler” mists, like they’re the secret handshake to hair confidence. SPF 30 is apparently enough—at least that’s what one dermatologist […]

Cutting my hair short? Yeah, that always felt like an act of self-sabotage—one wrong snip and suddenly I’m supposed to have thicker hair, or it’ll grow back in a week? Sure, and if I believed every time someone told me, “Short hair grows back faster!” I’d have a private espresso machine by now. These short […]

So, yeah, buzzed my head again last night. Same clippers, same bathroom, same optimism. Next morning, daylight hits the mirror and—yep—wonky patch, right where I can’t even see it unless I do some Cirque du Soleil contortion. Why does no one warn you about this? Barbers must have eyes like falcons because they always clock […]