How to Grow Your Curls Long as a Male

This question pops up on the radar of my barbershop every-so-often by a starry-eyed curly male who has seen a great curly hairstyle online and wants to grow his short curls into said hairstyle.

The problem is that the answer to this question isn’t so-much welcomed by most curly hair men wanting to grow those curls of theirs: you need (a lot of) patience and you need to continue to take care of your growing mane anywhere for the next two to five years.

However, by the time I finish the sentence, most curly customers who asked this question will simply request a short haircut so as to call it a day and move away from their hair-growing dream.

I personally think that properly-grown curly hair looks awesome on a male, and, as a barber, I’ve seen a lot of curly heads with all kinds of lengths on all kinds of faces. The fact of the matter is that, no matter what your curly-hair type may be, you can grow a great-looking head of long curls and look great during the process. You just need to keep yourself on track and not lose your patience.

Do not get any more haircuts until you achieve your desired hair length

The first rule to growing curly hair fast is to avoid the barbershop or hair salon altogether. Do not get any trims or remove bulk off your growing mane (also known as “thinning out” your hair); all that things like these do is slow down your journey to our long-hair kingdom.

Never mind that your girlfriend/wife/partner (or any random female) will probably tell you that thinning out your hair will make it grow faster or make it look better, all that you’ll be doing is delaying your hair growth. So do not cut, trim, layer, taper or buzz any hair on your head; at least until your achieve your desired long length for your curly hair.

Be aware of the coiled effect of wet hair versus dry hair

Most curly men growing their hair long will find out that their hair, when wet, is substantially longer than when their hair is dry; this is called the coiled effect or curl factor and has been extensively covered by Rogelio Samson in his published works.

Men’s curly hair has an extraordinary ability to soak up the water from wet hair, which temporarily increases the weight of the curly hair while it remains wet and prior to the water being lost via evaporation.

Since curly hair is indeed (as implied by its name) “curled”, the added weight of the water retained by the hair when wet uncurls the hair just as a coil will lose its tightly-coiled shape when you pull one of its ends (assuming the other end of the coil remains fixed).

According to Rogelio Samson, each curly-hair type has a different curl factor, with long wavy hair lengthening the least when wet while long kinky hair lengthening the most; from my many years in the world of barbering, I can confirm that this is correct and, in hindsight, is pretty useful.

Why? Because, by knowing your curl type, you know how much your hair will change from a wet state to a dry state, which makes getting a good haircut a plausible event instead of having to guess how much (or whether) your hair will shrink if you get a wet haircut (i.e. your barber wets your curls prior to cutting them).

If you can’t till visualize what the curl factor or coiled effect is, then watch the following video below of the man himself, Rogelio Samson, showcasing how his long curly hair differs in length from a wet state versus a dry state.

Drop down your shampooing frequency

This may sound random, but it is not: do not shampoo your hair daily when growing your curly hair long. Your follicles secrete a wonderful, liquidized substance known as sebum which acts to protect, lubricate and strengthen your curls. All shampoos (no matter their strength) remove your secreted sebum off your growing curls, which is counterproductive to growing an aesthetic curly mane.

A good frequency of shampoo use is every-other-day, which means that you shampoo today, then you don’t shampoo tomorrow, and then you shampoo again the day after tomorrow. You can even drop your shampooing frequency to once per week if you start to notice that your hair looks better with less shampoo use.

Use the least amount of hairstyling products

Nowadays, us long-haired guys have to be very careful with the hairstyling products that we choose to use on our manes. Many men’s hair products leave a buildup of residue on your hair that is supposed to be removed by using shampoo (either on the same day or on the next day).

However, long curly hair does best when shampoo use is kept at a bare minimum as outlined in the previous point, hence the use of hairstyling products daily and a low frequency of shampooing do not work together.

As a barber with long hair, I can wholehearted recommend that you do not use any hairstyling products on your long curly hair.

Yes, you’ve read that correctly: do not use hair gel or hair-styling pomade on your long curly mane! The reason for this is that your own sebum is a quasi-styling product that will make you curly hair shine naturally, look thicker and sit on your hair with with better-shaped curls.

After all, long hairstyles for curly men do not require you to shape up or lock your hair in gravity-defying styles, so there truly is no need for strong-holding products to goo your curls with. If you want lustrous and flowing long curls that can be styled freely with ease while looking great, then try to rely on your sebum and use as little hairstyling products as possible.

If you still insist in using hairstyling products for your long curly hair, choose only from the following ones:

• Light-hold hair gels
• Styling creams
• Hair-mousse products
• Leave-in conditioners
• Natural oils and/or butters (e.g. shea butter)
• Hair sprays

For the most past, avoid high-strength hair gels, hair waxes, hair pomades and hair sprays for your long curly hair. I strongly recommend that you read my guide on curly long hair products to better understand the use of men’s hair products to style and groom your long curls.

Persevere through the awkward stage of curly-hair growth

Every curly male attempting to grow his curls long from a short length will go through a period of time (i.e. a stage) when his curls will look funny or awkward; this is known as the “awkward stage” of hair growth.

The awkward hair-growth stage usually starts when curly hair reaches the four-inch length mark; at this length, curly hair will bulk up visually and the curls won’t be long enough to fall down into any of the many long hairstyles that suit curly males.

The awkward stage is a temporary stage in that you will eventually grow out of it (so to speak and, yes, pun intended) and your curly hair will go from looking funny and too-voluminous to looking awesome.

Unfortunately, the awkward stage for curly males can vary greatly from curly head to curly head; however, the following are the usual periods of time of the awkward stage for each of the three curly-hair types:

• Wavy hair: about four months. Once your wavy hair is six inches long, the awkward stage tends to dissipate for you wavy-haired folks.
• Coiled hair: about twelve months. Coiled hair needs about ten inches of hair length to settle down and look its best when growing it long.
• Kinky hair: about eighteen months. Kinky hair can take years to hang down/settle down by itself, so those of you with kinky curls must stay patient at all times.

The awkward stage of hair growth for curly men need not be a tragedy, and most curly guys can rock a great-looking heads of (growing curls) during this period. Just make sure that you’re using the right long hair products (more on this later on this guide) and that you’re choosing suitable curly hairstyles for men that make the most of your curls during this delicate transitioning period of your hair-growing journey.

Be patient as long curly hair takes a long time to grow

Growing your curls as long as you want them to be will require at least two years of your time. Now, a lot of things can occur in your life during those two years and, whatever happens, you must stay put and on track to your hair-growing destination.

Nothing should distract you from your curls and from their inherent grooming and care that your curly mane needs.

A frequent question that I’m asked at my barbershop is how long it takes for curly hair to reach the shoulders, as shoulder-length hair is what most curly men desire. Thus, here are the standard hair-growing periods required to grow curly hair to a length that reaches the shoulders; all periods of time assume that you’re starting from a buzz-cut haircut length:

• Wavy hair: two years.
• Coiled hair: three to four years.
• Kinky hair: five to six years.

If your hair already reaches your mouth, then the amount of time left for your hair to reach your shoulders will be half of what’s listed above.

One more thing: the above time periods are for the hair on the top of you head to reach your shoulders. Depending on your current haircut, the hair across the lower-back area of your head may only take a couple of months to hover over your shoulders. However, it’s the hair atop your head (i.e. on top of you head) that matters when achieving the milestone of shoulder-length hair.

Conclusion to growing your curly hair long

There’s no denying that growing curly hair long is a game of patience. To grow your curly mane long, you will need to change your habits surrounding your mane and you must stay away from barbershops and hair salons.

It may sound like a trivial thing, but the act of going to the barbershop for a “mild” haircut or trim will instantly take away months of hair-growing efforts.

Yes, the awkward hair stage can be somewhat nasty, but it fades away as you pull through the journey. In fact, it’s during the awkward stage of hair growth that most curly males give up on their long-hair goals as such a stage can last many months.

You must persevere, though, and you will get to your long-hair destination with ease and in style by following this guide together with the rest of guides that I’ve published here at my site (see below for the next guide).

You can also let me know of your questions and I will try my best to help you out.

Grow those curls, folks!

Last updated: 25th July 2020

This is the second part to our Long Curly Hair Guide – Please visit now the third part to this guide: Hair Care and Grooming for Long Curly Hair.