How to Tame Your Cowlicks
Everyone with hair has cowlicks. Most men have a clockwise cowlick on the back left side of the head. Almost every client I have has trouble styling this area of their hair.
Fighting against your crown or cowlicks, especially if you have very thick hair, will most likely be futile. The hair will stick straight up or spread all over the place and it seems like it has a mind of its own.
No amount of product seems to work and so what a ton of people do is cut it short to keep from having to deal with it. Don't do that. Do this instead:
Let’s talk about how to tame your cowlick.
The secret to controlling these monsters is actually to go with their natural flow. Find the direction your crown or cowlick wants to lay and comb it in that direction.
A good rule of thumb is if the hair is sticking straight up, you have it combed the wrong way. There is a center to every cowlick, sort of like the eye of a hurricane. If you find that center point, let the hair swirl around it so that it can lay naturally.
Step one: Figure out where the center of the cowlick is.
Step two: Blow the hair dry and apply a product that will keep the hair in place.
Step three: Comb the hair in a spiral pattern around the center. If the hair sticks up, comb it the other way.
Side note: don’t ask your barber to cut your cowlick off unless you visit the barber weekly and keep an extremely short haircut.
A big mistake I see new barbers and stylists making is chopping off your crown if you’re having trouble getting it to lay down.
Having long enough hair for it to lay naturally is the only way to keep it from sticking up, so when you cut that cowlick super short, you are guaranteeing that you will have a spikey cowlick until you see the barber again to have it mowed back down.
Don’t even get me started on what crown crop does to your overall haircut proportions and head shape.
So, to truly tame your crown, find the way it wants to lay and comb it in that direction. If you have a hard time seeing what you’re doing, grab a handheld mirror to easily see the back. Keep moving it from side to side until you figure out which pattern it wants to lay in and obey it.
Heavy hold products
Another way to get those swirls to stay in place, assuming you're going with their natural flow, is with a strong-hold product.
I recommend using a blow dryer to help direct the hair so that it dries in the right place. Hair stays where it dries so make sure you are drying it in the direction it actually wants to lay.
After your hair is dry, I would use a heavy hold product like our Natural Pomade - XXX.
The XXX pomade will keep your hair in place all day without a doubt. It is a very waxy product so you'll need to scoop the top layer with the back of your thumbnail but from there it's smooth sailing.
I hope you find this helpful and that you can take control of your cowlick once and for all!
- Robert Watkins
Owner + Founder
The Mailroom Barber Co
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