(27 votes, average: 4.85 out of 5)

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Rocking it all without the baloney: The Men’s Hair Book review

As a long-haired dude, you probably are more into going out and enjoying the wind caressing your long locks than you are into reading about hair itself. But reading (about your hair) is sometimes a good endeavor to partake into since growing one’s mane long (and longer!) is an ever-learning process. After all, you’ve got us at Long Hair Guys deciphering all on long hair for you, so chances are that, if you’re here, you’re interested in learning about the tidbits of properly growing men’s hair long. As such, I’ve gotten messages asking for my opinion on a popular hair book titled “The Men’s Hair Book: A Male’s Guide to Hair Care, Hair Styles, Hair Products and Rocking it All Without the Baloney”. Indeed, that’s the book title, although you’ll commonly see it shortened as simply “The Men’s Hair Book”.

What’s special about this book is that it was written and published by Rogelio Samson, a good dude who has given our long-hair community a lot of great advice and resources via not just his books but also via his two great lifestyle websites Manly Curls and Men’s Hair Blog. The guy has sported super-lengthy curly locks for years which got him a lot of positive attention and he basically decided to let all his wisdom out (through his websites and books) in the name of advancing the cause of having great hair as a dude. As a long-haired guy yourself (or perhaps as someone wanting to grow long hair), you’ll be familiar with the perils of growing long hair as a male; yeah, it ain’t an easy world out there for us, so a book purporting to help us (and others with shorter hair) becomes a real necessity.

The Men’s Hair Book reviewed

The book consists of nine chapters making a total of 257 pages. Yup, that’s a long book. But, here’s the thing, the book has a solid flow of information from the very-first chapter designed to have you understand, learn and apply all the concepts in the book. “The Men’s Hair Book” is famous for its emphasis on hair care and not just on hair styling or hair products, which I have to say is a fantastic way to have the reader grasp all concepts to owning a good head of hair. This is more-so for long-haired males as good hair care is critical to growing and maintaining healthy long hair. In fact, rejecting the notion of good hair-care habits is the number one mistake that want-to-be long hair guys make. “The Men’s hair Book” literally hands it all to you in a plate for your ease of reading and learning.

For those of you obsessed with hair products or hairstyles, there are specific chapters in the book for you to have a blast reading through such topics. But, again, it’s the factual hair-care methodology that matters the most for any male with long hair, and “The Men’s hair Book” absolutely covers all the details that are necessary to care for men’s hair. In my opinion, this is what makes “The Men’s Hair Book” ever-so special.

The first chapter of “The Men’s Hair Book” has you being introduced to your own hair with some very helpful knowledge gems scattered throughout the chapter. On the second chapter, you’re off to learning about hair profiling and you’re then to work out your own hair identification (i.e. ID), including your hair type; don’t worry as it takes mere minutes to do this once you’ve read the chapter. Hair profiling is paramount for your success in your journey to owning an “awesome mane” (as the latter is used to describe great hair; the opposite being a “dead rat”). The following chapter covers hair grooming, which is your daily interaction with your hair: from how to shampoo it to how to condition it and how to prepare it for any desired hairstyle; it’s here where you’ll learn about Rogelio Samson’s totally-epic “Sebum Coating method”, which works superbly for guys with long hair.

Following from the above, we’re now onto the book’s detailed hair-care methodology and routine. As a matter of fact, hair care on its own takes two chapters in the book, as the second hair-care chapter explains the nutrition needed to rocking great hair as a guy, which I can confirm (i.e. nutrition) is of the utmost importance to making the most of your hair. On to the next chapter and you have all the stuff on hairstyling, including suitable hairstyles for each hair type and ID, how to use hair-styling tools, how to get a good haircut, and even what hair accessories to use (this is extremely useful for long-haired guys! See our guide on long hair products for more). The next chapter then shows you how to put it all together so that you can leave your house every day in no time and with your sought-after awesome mane.

The proceeding two chapters (last two of the book) are dedicated to debunking the many hair myths abounding nowadays; Rogelio Samson goes on to debunk some seriously-wrong men’s hair myths that are still being repeated on and on by so-called experts in the industry. You’ll be amazed at the amount of silliness that is, to this day, being spread out by barbers and hairdressers; I’ll admit that even I have been guilty of one or two myths debunked in the book but, hey, that’s what “The Men’s Hair Book” book is for (i.e. to learn), even if it means keeping my barber ego in check.

At the end of the book, you also have an epilogue as well as an appendix loaded with tables and charts that were referenced in the book.

What I love about “The Men’s Hair Book”

Straight to the point:

• “The Men’s Hair Book” is the best hair book for men. Absolutely 101% and there’s nothing like it. Lots of people have called “The Men’s Hair Book” the encyclopedia of men’s hair, and I agree fully. If there’s one book about male hair that should be in your shelf right now, then that’d be “The Men’s Hair Book”.
• The book is for every single male on this planet: from a regular guy wanting better hair to actual barbers and professionals in our industry. The book really is that good, and what took me aback was the Rogelio Samson’s ability to make this book an splendid resource that servers its purpose for anyone interested in reading it. This actually requires creativity and thinking outside of the book, so kudos to you, Mr. Samson.
• You’ll learn the minutiae of men’s hair that isn’t spoken about or shown on websites. Ever read an men’s hair article depicting some dude with great hair, yet the article fails to tell you how you should be doing your hair in your own personalized manner? If you don’t have male-model hair (which is mostly due to genetics) and you’re tired of spinning your hair-styling wheels, then this book is a must-have for you.
• Rogelio Samson has pioneered several male-hair methods that have been proven to work excellently (e.g. Sebum Coating method, ISEZ hair typing, hair nutrition, and more). You are taught all these methods in the book without requiring an engineering degree with a minor in mathematics. Remember that Rogelio Samson has grown his curly hair down to his butt and below, which is quite the feat and requires many years of hard work; thus this book is of special relevance to guys with long hair.
• Each chapter has a practical case study showing you how the methods and elements of the chapter have worked in real life and in barbershops. As a barber, I loved this peculiarity of the book, among others.
• The order of the chapters was done on purpose so that you don’t lose focus on the importance of integrating everything as a routine. Do not go to the hair-styling chapter straightaway (I know some of you will be tempted to do so); rather, start from the beginning and, by the time that you get to the hair-styling chapter, you’ll have become a pro already and everything hair-styling related will make sense.
• The writing of the book is easy to digest and there are moments in which Rogelio adds some comedy snippets to further make the reading quite enjoyable.
• The book does not sugar coat anything. For example, in one of the hair-care chapters, Rogelio Samson spills the beans on the reality of male-pattern baldness. He doesn’t try to sell you a fantasy (the opposite of what’s common in the hair-loss industry) and, instead, Rogelio tells you the reality on male hair loss backed by scientific research and real-world data. Hint: male-pattern baldness can be treated to a degree but cannot be cured.
• The paperback version of the book is quite neat and looks great in a barbershop like we have.
• Everything that you learn in this book will be as applicable in 50 years as it is today. Consider how most men will eventually go bald or start to bald, and owning this book takes another aesthetic-related, long-term meaning.

What could be improved in “The Men’s Hair Book”

Ah, it’s that time:

• Rogelio, brother, do a favor to all of us who loved the book and go ahead with the publishing of a hardcover version of the book. The paperback version looks physically good as it is, but a hardcover version would be epic-er.
• While the book is indeed an encyclopedia, some people with attention issues may find it too long. I didn’t, nor have I heard of any of our clients mention this, but we’ve had an astonishing two people in the last year contacting us on our website saying that some of our website’s long-hair guides are “too long”, so I guess that such people would not thoroughly enjoy this book. Minorities matter, bro.
• I’ve read this somewhere else but can’t remember where; basically, the book is (as of 2018) only written in English, so a welcomed improvement would be to publish the book in other languages. I think that Rogelio Samson speaks Spanish and some other European language so maybe this could be a doable project for him?

Last words

If you want or need everything to do with your hair (and it looking aesthetic) compiled into a convenient, entertaining and ever-lasting resource, then don’t think twice about it and buy Rogelio Samson’s “The Men’s Hair Book”. There’s only so much stuff that you can read in a website like ours or hear from a qualified barber; what you need is a simple methodology that will provide results and which can be accessed anytime, and this is why at Long Hair Guys we absolutely recommend “The Men’s Hair Book: A Male’s Guide to Hair Care, Hair Styles, Hair Products and Rocking it All Without the Baloney” as one of the best purchases that you could make if you want better hair.

“The Men’s Hair Book” Rating: (27 votes, average: 4.85 out of 5)

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By the way, talking about better hair, make sure that you check out our own guide on long hairstyles if you’re truly wanting to join our ranks of long-haired dudes with awesome manes!

Review last updated: 26th August 2018