5 Manly Hairstyles For Men
In this guide we're going to cover 5 most manly, awesome and trendiest hairstyles for men to try in 2026.
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Pretty much everything revolves around the mop on the head: attractiveness, manliness, style and of course health. Healthy hair means a healthy body, and there is nothing in the world that tops healthy.
Because it is important to you (and pretty much every onlooker), taking care of hair properly, which involves proper hair styling, cleaning, oiling and many such nitty gritties is absolutely imperative. Here is how you should go with it.
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The face shape and the hairstyle should be the perfect couple.
The slight variations in the angle of the jaw, or cheekbones, and a lesser known fact: even the shape of the eyebrows can give the illusion of a different face shape than what it actually is.
There are two things that can be done:
One, the easier and safer way is to go seek professional help. You can always ask your stylist what your face shape is. In that case, keep two things in mind: don't go with the verdict of one particular stylist. Ask at least three people, not all of them have to be professional hair stylists. They might as well be people who sport great hairstyles themselves, hairstyles that suit their face shape. Also, remember to take a friend with you when you go for a haircut. The mirror that some stylists often hold up at the back for you to check the haircut at the back of your head may not always be enough to judge how good the cut is. A friend in need here is a friend indeed, as they can give much better feedback.
Two, bring out your inner Sherlock Holmes and observe the face with the scrutinising power of Snow White’s stepmom. All face shapes can be correctly judged from the seven points of the face: two ends of the temple, the two cheekbones, the two sides of the jawline, and finally the chin. This way is slightly riskier, so don't hesitate to ask someone with a great hairstyle to tag along when you try to figure out your face shape.
One small trim of the mane, one giant leap for the whole look. Therefore every little dance of the scissor on the hair has to be choreographed with care.
Related: Fade Haircuts For Older Men
Before jumping into the list of the 5 hottest manly hairstyles for men that have taken both the ramps and the streets by storm, here are the two things that must be kept in mind before entering a hair grooming regime.
If there is an occasion coming up within the fortnight of the haircut, do not go in for a very risky haircut. For one, there are no chances of compensating for a bad haircut within two weeks. Secondly, the thing that comes after a bad haircut is a hasty decision (indecision rather) to make up for it by shaving certain parts of the head and creating a fade-out effect. This only ruins it more. Steer clear of experimentation with hairstyles before important events.
Always, always ask the stylist how much time and product you are going to need to maintain the hairstyle. If it is anything that cannot be maintained within your schedule, no matter how on fleek the hair would have looked with that particular hairstyle, opt out of it. If by hasty maintenance it is ruined once, it takes both time and money to get the hair back to its usual awesome self.
The list of happening hairstyles might seem long and confusing, so we have narrowed it down to the 5 most awesome and trendiest hairstyles. Though all of these are rather popular, they are not seen on every other guy on the street, so you can claim your uniqueness. All the hairstyles have been marked by the difficulty of maintenance and face shape it suits the most. Here's to great hair:
Related: 15 Easy To Maintain Hairstyles For Men
5 Man;y Hairstyles For Men
- The Man Bun
- The Top Knot Hairstyle For Men
- The Beach Wave
- The Faux Hawk Hairstyle For Men
- The Messy Classic Hairstyle For Men
The Man Bun
Difficulty level: Low to Medium, depending upon the time it takes the hair to grow.
Face Shape: The beauty of the man bun is that it goes with each and every face shape. Also, the more angular the face, the better a man bun looks with a beard.
Getting There: Allow the hair on the crown to grow to at least 7-8 cm to achieve the look. This may take up to 4-5 months or more depending upon how fast the hair grows.
The man bun has endless advantages: the first one being that it is by its very constitution a slightly messy look, so a little hair falling out of the bun is more of a style statement than a styling error. The second one is that because it is a little more grungy than all the other cuts here, not shaving clean for a day or two adds to its charm. The third one: it is the blue-eyed boy of the season. Women, men, designers, everyone loves the man bun.
The reason why it is so loved is this: it is against all stereotypes. And breaking the stereotypes is the flavour of the season.
The Disadvantage: First and foremost, a man with this haircut will have to learn to go to bed with their hair tied up, no matter how inconvenient. Otherwise, you might wake up looking like you have just received an electric shock of considerable wattage if you go to bed with the hair open.
Secondly, not many people can carry off the man bun with formal looks. However, if anyone can do it with confidence, nothing speaks unique and classy like a bun on a man in a suit.
Related: Best Long Hairstyles For Men
The Top Knot Hairstyle For Men
Difficulty level: Medium-difficult, since the hair on the side has to be kept short always.
Face Shape: anyone but round
Getting there: allow the hair to grow to 5 cm before tying it up. Anything more than 5 cm, looks a little too much on the head. Remember it is a knot, not a bun.
Slightly more common than the man bun, and more complicated, the top knot is French Classic by its nationality. It is not easy to maintain, because the sides need to be shaved more regularly to maintain a general fade out into the beard. Also, one cannot uniformly shave the sides because that looks too contrasting to the hair of the crown. A man might just have to learn the art of contouring to maintain this.
The advantage is this: it is far more easy to carry off with a formal look than a man bun. So it is a little more versatile.
The disadvantages are threefold: it is a very sleek look, all in all, so messy hair strands falling off the knot is not good. Secondly, not everyone can twist the knot right. And thirdly, you may have to rush to stylist every 3 weeks to keep it in form.
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The Beach Wave Hairstyle For Men
Difficulty level: Difficult
Face Shape: Square, Round, Oblong
Getting there: this hairstyle needs love and products. Allow the hair to grow to a maximum of 4 cm at the back, and about 4.5-5 in the front. The hair in the front needs to be wavy, not curly, and side parted. If you can brush it back a little, it gets more fluff and looks more classic.
Classy and laid back, gorgeous and easy going, the beach wave hairstyle is slowly regaining its position as the favourite of the stylists. The major advantage of the beach wave is that it goes with every possible look. The other advantage is that it has a raw magnetism and at the same time an old world charm. The other lesser known advantage: it can effectively hide a fivehead, given the right amount of fluff.
The disadvantages, on the other hand, can be pretty challenging. For one, maintaining the waves if you did not have wavy hair in the first place is a tricky job. It is also time to consume. Secondly, a lot of product needs to be put on the hair to maintain it all through. Not only is that exasperating, it is not very healthy for your hair.
We suggest that the beach wave is kept as the slightly experimental haircut for 3-4 months if the person did not have wavy hair genetically. But for those who have wavy hair, beach wave is sheer gold.
Related: 12 Cool Wavy Hairstyles For Men
The Faux Hawk Hairstyle For Men
Difficulty level: easy, although it needs contouring
Face Shape: Almost all face shapes, except if you have a very narrow chin.
Getting there: allow the hair to grow to 4 cm and the faux hawk can be created. The sides need contouring, but not as much as the top knot.
A Faux Hawk quite literally means a fake Mohawk. Because it only borrows the central pompadour style of the Mohawk rather than completely mimicking it, the sides do not need to be shaved off completely. They can be uniformly shaved also, although a little bit contouring from the edge of the pompadour to the beard in a slow fade would complement the look.
There are not many disadvantages to it, except that it is a slightly more informal look and the hair needs to be regularly styled.
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The Messy Classic Hairstyle For Men
Difficulty level: very easy
Face shapes: all, except broad squarish faces.
Getting there: let the hair grow to 3 cm. This hairstyle is short by definition, so there is not much styling to do. It is not so good for curly hair though, as it is very difficult to pull off a half-neat, half-messy look on curly hair.
This is the most effortless, minimalistic and classic haircut this list features. The only effort that this haircut demand is that it needs to be generally short and one has to find the balance between messy and neat to get this right. The major advantage here is that you need very little product to maintain this.
The disadvantage to this hairstyle, if you are looking for one is that it is comparatively safer than the other haircuts. It is not as experimental. But even that can be cured. A number of men with this haircut are trying to have a messy side parting to make this look sexier, and it has to be said, side parting on the messy classic works like a charm.
Related: 10 Cool Men's Hairstyles For Men
Hair Care Products Guide
Once the hairstyle has been decided, the maintenance of the hair is the next imperative part that needs to be understood. Shampoo and gel are the known members of the hair brigade, let's talk about the lesser known products and how to use them:
Hair Mousse: Renders hair a just washed sheen, sort of glistening effect but does not add too much blitz. Mousse is several times lighter than hair gels. Mousse also adds volume to the hair.
Two disadvantages: one, it breaks down easily. Two, you cannot run your hand through your hair, because mousse tends to clog at the ends if it is disturbed.
Hair fibres/ Hair Clays: Fibre looks a lot like the cream filling between biscuits, it is one of the toughest products out there and is super effective in taming porcupine hair or uneven spikes and curls. Fibre needs to breathe or relax, so it has to be massaged to a thin, uniform sheet in the palms before being rubbed into the hair.
Hair Pomade: Renders hair a highly glossy sheen. Most men avoid this just because of this reason. However, pomade may also have a nutritional base, so that is advantageous to the hair. Also, pomade is a necessity to maintain pompadour or fluffed up hair.
Hair Putty: This can sort out clumped hair, or get dishevelled hair into a sort of ‘put-together’ clumped look. Hair putty too has to be massaged into a film in the palms before being applied to hair. To clump the hair together, pull the strands together with your fingertips.
Hair Wax: Hair wax is one of the strongest hair products because it can withstand disturbance and does not stick to debris at the roots of the hair if touched. Therefore it is one of the safest products to style hair with. The only disadvantage is that it can't be used to make vertical strands.
Related: Hair Care Do's & Don't s for Men
Conclusion
These five hairstyles aren’t just about looking good, they’re about owning your vibe. Whether you keep it clean and sharp or wild and messy, the right cut can change how you carry yourself. Pick one that feels like you, walk out of the chair with confidence, and let your hair do the talking.
