The Ultimate Blueprint to Growing Long Curly Hair for Dudes

One heck of a hair myth that gets repeated ad nauseum is that men with curly hair cannot grow their manes long. The actual reality, though, is that curly men can grow their hair just as long or as much as straight-haired males; hair growth is achieved via the same mechanism at the follicles, so any claim of curly hair being impossible to grow long is simply wrong.

In the quest of providing you with the right knowledge on long men’s hair, it’s my duty to publish, among my many other men’s hair guides here at LongHairGuys.net, a guide on long curly hair for men. It’s the internet’s biggest guide on men’s curly hair, so I’ve published this guide as six parts (i.e. installments) so as to make it easier for you to use the guide as your go-to reference at any time. As such, here are the six parts to this guide listed below, with each of the six parts linked so that you can reach them easily:

• The 3 Types of Curly Hair: I go through the three curly-hair types for men and give you the knowledge to profile your hair, as this is an important part of having a great-looking long curly mane.
• How to Grow Long Curly Hair as a Male: I go through the steps and method to growing your curls as long as you want them to be.
• Hair Care and Grooming for Long Curly Hair: I detail and explain the (easy) routine that you should be implementing to get the best head-turning curls possible.
• Haircuts and Hairstyles for Long Curly Hair: I go through the range of best haircuts and hairstyles for long curly hair and explain how to get the most out of your long curls.
• Men’s Products For Long Curly Hair: I go through all the hair products that you can use to style your curly mane as well as take care and groom those long curvy tresses of yours.
• Concluding This Guide on Long Curly Hair: I conclude this guide and give you my final thoughts on how to have a long curly mane that you’re happy with and proud of.

The first part of this guide (i.e. The 3 types of Curly Hair For Men) is published below on this first page of our guide. I have included links throughout the guide like the ones above to allow you to go back and forth between the six parts of this guide. Likewise, I have linked the many-other useful guides and articles on this site that are worth reading as you grow your curls longer.

So you, over there, the one with the unruly curls, get ready to have your mind blown with the right type of advice to grow your shapely locks. Let us now cut to the chase, and off we go.

The 3 types of curly hair for men

Let’s start this guide by introducing you to the three types of curl types that men can have. You will have probably heard of curly hair being called “waves” (or “wavy”), “spirals”, “coils”, “kinks”, “spring-like” and even “nappy”, to name a few examples of other names commonly used to refer to curly hair. This whole craziness going on to describe all kinds of curly hair makes it quite difficult for us barbers to get the right hair-profile for your hair when you step into a barbershop and ask for a good curly haircut with a dapper gentleman’s style. Are you looking for a wavy-hair cut? Or are you looking for a tapered cut on those tight spirals of yours? Believe it or not, barbers will appreciate if arrive at the barbershop with a solid haircut idea and give him or her important information like your hair type.

So, a couple of years ago, hair expert Rogelio Samson pioneered a smart protocol for profiling men’s hair in his book titled “The Men’s Hair Book”. The protocol, which is called the ISEZ hair-typing method, calls for four hair types (i.e. categories) that any given male can have. These are the referenced four hair types for men:

• Straight hair
• Wavy hair
• Coiled hair
• Kinky hair

Wavy hair, coiled hair and kinky hair are what make curly hair a texture (i.e. curly hair is a texture and not a hair type!), which means that these three hair types are thus curly (e.g. if you have wavy hair, you do indeed have curly hair). However, each of these three hair types that make up curly hair do have several differences among them, meaning that a curly male can have curls that resemble a wave-like pattern (i.e. wavy hair) or a sharp-like pattern (i.e. kinky hair).

Here are the three curly-hair types for men described:

• Wavy hair: wavy hair grows in a wave-like pattern (hence its name) and is the easiest to style out of the three curly-hair types. Wavy hair can look like straight hair at lengths between one and three inches (of hair length). Here, in the picture below, is how long wavy hair looks like so that you can use it as reference to put your curly hair into a hair type:

• Coiled hair: coiled hair grows in a coiled-like pattern (i.e. as coils) and it’s a moderately-difficult hair type to style once it’s over four inches in hair length. Coiled hair achieved a good amount of natural volume, which is why tapered haircuts and fade haircuts work so well with coiled hair. See the picture below for what coiled-curly hair looks like:

• Kinky hair: kinky hair grows in a Z-like pattern as the coils in kinky hair are formed sharper and tighter than coiled hair. Ergo, one can say that kinky hair is the curliest hair type for men available. Kinky hair is a bit more difficult to style than coiled hair but, on the other hair, kinky hair naturally achieves the biggest hairstyle volume by itself, hence the popularity of big-hair styles with those who have kinky hair. Last but not least, kinky hair has the least-noticeable curl shape of the three curly-hair types due to the coils being so tight and being formed in fractions of an inch throughout the length of the hair strands. This is how kinky hair looks on a male:

It’s important that you find out your hair type to better understand your long hair and/or your hair-growing efforts. While growing either of these three curl types requires the same approach as outlines in this guide, you will still need to know your hair type so as to choose the best long hairstyles for you as a long-haired male! On another note, I must note to you that curly hair is an inherited dominant trait, meaning that, if either one of your two parents has it, you too will have curly hair. However, you may have slightly-less curly hair than your curly-haired parent if your other parent has straight hair. For example, if your father has straight hair and your mother has kinky curly hair, you will inherit coiled curly hair (which is not as curly as kinky curly hair).

Finding out your hair type as a male is very easy: simply stand in front of a mirror and inspect the shape of your hair. Contrast what you see in the shape of your hair with the description of each curly-hair type above. Furthermore, do use the visual references (i.e. images) for each hair type. The great thing about finding out your hair type is that it will take you less than a minute and this acquired knowledge of your hair will be extremely useful for you over the lifespan of your long hair.

Conclusion on the 3 types of curly hair

Profiling your curly mane will make things much easier for you when it comes to growing your curls and/or keeping them looking their best. Your curly hair, no matter how long it may be or how frizzy it may currently be, will fall under any of the three curly-hair types: wavy hair, coiled hair or kinky hair.

By knowing your curl type, you will be several steps ahead from the rest of curly males who go about their lives complaining about their hair. Your curl type is, in fact, the first step to having an epic mane of curls that you are happy to own. So, first find out your curl type and then move on to the second part of this guide. Happy profiling!

Last updated: 30th September 2016

This is the first part to our Long Curly Hair Guide – Please visit now the second part to this guide: How To Grow Long Curly Hair for Men.