Hair mail

"This is going to seem like the dumbest question in the world," e-mailed Paul, "but I'm going to college this fall, living far from home and, really, starting over. I wanted a new look and thought about dreds but didn't want to be yet another White guy in dreds and plus I only started letting my brush cut grow out in April so there's no way it will be long enough. I don't want the same haircut. I don't want to be the same Paul. I feel like this is my chance to show Paul the adult and really take control of my own life. So, if you're not laughing too loud and all, any hair suggestions? Thanks, Paul. P.S. I won't have a big budget so I may be stuck with SuperCuts."

Paul, we didn't laugh. We fully understand what you're saying which has a lot to do with excitement and hope for the future. It's not just a hair issue. Were it just a hair issue, the fact that it means something to you means we wouldn't be laughing.

The brush cut. Keanu. Speed. What was that, over ten years ago. Did even the Farrah last this long?

There's a new style needed for males, absolutely.

Jim and Dona are in grad school, Jess is in law school, Mike's in college as well. Kat, Rebecca, Ava, C.I. and Wally have been to campus after campus this summer (and Wally's a college student when he attends! -- he took time off for the Democratic primaries). So we see a lot of things. One thing that the gang on the road noticed was a hair style that's a cross between Edward Furlong's Terminator 2 and Conor Orbst's hair. It's basically one long layer. Some guys are shaving it cutting it close right above the ear but the top layer covers it. (If you have a wide or boxy face and pursue the cut we're talking about, you should try cutting it very close on the sides above your ears.) The back? Some keep it as long as the top layer all the way in the back. Some shave or trim the last section and let the top layer fall over it.

You can probably do this cut yourself (which will help you with money). You want to let the bangs (that's the whole top layer) grow out so that if you pull it down, it's over your eyebrows and in your eyes.

Now that's the cut and Rebecca notes she's seem similar cuts in the last few decades several times. Here's the difference. It's not bed hair (apparently too 90s). It's more stiff hair in places. That's what everyone's been noticing. Jim called a guy in his class this morning who has that cut to ask him what he product he uses to get that look? He uses Herbal Essences Set Me Up Spray Gel. And he says that is not expensive and is available "everywhere." What you do for the style is wash your hair in the morning. Towel dry it so that it's still damp and then spray the Herbal Essence on it. You're not coating it. He says once around is enough. You let your hair dry like that. If you have wavy or curly hair, after you run your fingers through it later in the day you'll still have a few waves or curls that are hardened. If you have straight hair, you'll still have a few waves. You do not comb it for the look and he says you let it hang loose before you spray. Don't try to part it or push it around.

Last week alone, Ava, C.I., Kat, Rebecca and Wally saw the look in Athens, Atlanta and Miami. If it lasts through the fall it will be because it's becoming more popular. But it is a new look currently going around.

Hope that helps and, if it doesn't, remember you can shave it all off, go with a flat top or a brush cut. That's the plus. It's long so if you hate it, it can easily be cut into another style. Hope that helps and good luck this fall!