How to Make the Most of Long Hair For Men

Welcome back Lions for another blog post. Today we’re going to be taking some notes from celebrity hairstylist Mark Bustos on how to make the most of long hair for men.

Today's Teacher: Mark Bustos

Born June 7, 1984, Mark has earned his stripes as a celebrity stylist by tending to high end clients such as Norah Jones and Marc Jacobs and has been cutting hair since he was 14. Mark's report card is pretty flawless and he certainly knows a thing or ten about hair.

Aside from the above, Mark’s work in the world of hair goes far deeper than years of experience and celebrity clientele. Bustos is well known internationally for his charity work of giving free haircuts to the homeless after making a visit to his parents home province of Pampanga in the Philippines.

In an interview, Bustos said that he realized how powerful and special what he does for a living is, and his job as a hairstylist is simply to make people happy no matter who they are. He also realized he could take this idea of free hair cuts for the homeless anywhere in the world and has now brought the concept to the streets of New York City. Read the full interview here.

Mark Bustos cutting hair for the homeless in the Phillippines

Mark Bustos cutting long hair for men in the streets of New York City

Mark’s Tips For Men With Long Hair

The long hair tips we’ll be covering today are from a video featuring Mark Bustos on the GQ YouTube channel. The model Mark is working on in the video appears to be somewhere between a 2a to a 2b hair type, however the same tips could be suitable right up to a 3b.

Video Transcript

- I'm Mark Bustos, and today I'm gonna go over long hair styling tricks and tips on men's hair. So today we're gonna go over how Michael can style his hair himself at home.

This is dry, naturally outta the shower, and with minimal product in it right now. You're gonna notice that sometimes it's gonna fall into that triangular bell shape, and there's not too much going on up here, which is really where we wanna build a little bit more volume in through there. We're gonna apply a little bit of a Camellia oil to his ends.

When applying this oil, you really only want to use about a drop of it. You don't wanna run your fingers through it too much, you really just wanna scrunch it in there, and this will help protect the hair throughout the day and keep it nourished and moisturised throughout the entire day. Next thing we're gonna do is apply a little bit of product in through the root of his hair at the top of his head. My favourite product is this Dry Texture Spray by Oribe.

So you wanna just run your finger right at the scalp, and pull out, and lift the hair right up. You're gonna spray really... right at the root of the hair. You don't wanna hold it too close. You wanna hold it about, maybe about a foot away. You could already see some of that bodybuilding in through the root at the top of his head, and it's made his hair much more balanced all around.

So another look we can do on Michael's hair is to pull it back. Depending on the day of the week, and the outfit that he's wearing he may want to pull it back away from his face. My personal preference is to just comb it with your fingers, and not with an actual comb. You don't want it to look too done. Depending on how long the hair actually is will determine how high or how low. I think it's a pretty cool look when you wear it up. And some of it kind of falls out, gives it some of that natural weekend look.

But if you really want to get it all in there, then you can probably drop his ponytail down to right about the occipital bone back here. I'd probably put it around this hair tie maybe two or three times, and kind of just pull it halfway through, so it's a little messier. Some of this hair will fall out a little bit a wax or a gel or a little bit of hairspray even can really hold that into place. And some of this hair back here will also fall out, but when this falls out, it gives it a pretty cool look too.

So let's drop this a little lower, see how that works. The hair in the back now reaches, but now the hair on the sides doesn't, so depending on where you wear the bun will determine what hairs will fall out, and as the hair grows, he's gonna be able to wear this bun at different heights in the back of his head. The last thing I want to go over is the neck hair.

Rather than having your hairstylist or barber make a nice clean, sharp line, we want to keep it a little bit more natural. I like using this feather razor, and it's got these little notches in it, so it's not gonna give it like too much of the clean line, It'll give it a little bit more of a broken up textured line. And the key is to just keep it as natural as possible, you don't want it to look like you work too hard. Kinda looks like he didn't just get it done. It's much cleaner than it was, but at the same time, not presently cut into a sharp shape.

Tip 1: Nourishing Your Hair

First up Mark recommends adding an oil to the hair for extra nourishment. Wavy/curly hair types usually become dry at the ends so using an oil can help lock in that much needed moisture to keep the hair looking healthy and give it some extra protection throughout the day.

NOTE: A little bit of oil goes a LONG WAY. Mark recommends using a small amount of oil on your palms and evenly scrunching the product through the mid lengths and ends of the hair.

The oil Mark Bustos used in this video is called Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil.

(Buy This Product)

Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil is quite pricey so if you’re looking for something more affordable that does relatively the same job, we’ve left some alternatives below for you.

Cheaper Alternatives

(John Fieda Frizz Ease)

(Hask Argan Oil)

Tip 2: Adding Volume

Next, Mark Recommends using a texturizing/volumizing product to add volume around the top of the head. It’s common for long hair to naturally sit in a triangle bell shape which can make the face look a little out of proportion. By using a texturizing/volumizing product in the top layers of the hair, we’re able to add more bulk up the top to give the head a much more even appearance.

NOTE: If you’re using a texturizing/volumizing spray as opposed to a cream, hold the product about a foot away from the head for even distribution. When using a cream, evenly apply the product to your palms before distributing it through the top layers of the hair.

The texturizing product Bustos used in this video is called Dry Texturizing Spray by Oribe. This product is also quite pricey however we’ve also listed some cheaper alternatives for you below.

(Buy This Product)

Cheaper Alternatives

(bhave Gun Powder)

(BluMaan Ascend Volume Cream)

Tip 3: Best Practices for Messy Man Bun Styling

After adding texture and volume to the models hair, Mark shows us how to transform the look into a relaxed messy man bun style. This look is a great look for casual settings and looks good without making it look like you’re trying too hard.

Depending on how long your hair is will depend on where the bun sits on your head. The shorter the hair, the lower the man bun will usually need to sit.

Mark recommends combing the hair back with your fingers to keep that rough textured style we worked on earlier and then securing the bun by looping your hair tie around the hair 2 - 3 times and pulling the hair half way through to give that messy bun look.

For the best man bun hold, we recommend using something like a sports elastic. They are designed for strong lasting hold on the hair without tugging and pulling making it the perfect option for a sturdy man bun.

(SlideProof Hair Tie Elastics For a Study Man Bun)

To finish up the hairstyle Mark pulls a few loose pieces out of the back of the bun to shag it up and lightly trims the models neck hair using his feather razor to give a more natural finish to the hairline as opposed to sharp hard lines that some barbers tend to go for.

The real key here is to keep the look as natural as possible without making it look like you worked too hard.

Conclusion

And that brings us to the end of today’s post. We hope you got some value from this one and if you’re interested in learning more about Mark Bustos and his work, visit his Instagram page right here.

If you have joined the Man Buns & Manes Facebook community yet, you can join by clicking here and to stay up today with more of our long hair content make sure you follow us on Instagram when you get the chance.

Until next time!

ROAR!

The Man Buns & Manes Team

How to Make the Most of Long Hair For Men

Today's Teacher: Mark Bustos

Mark’s Tips For Men With Long Hair

Tip 1: Nourishing Your Hair

Cheaper Alternatives

Tip 2: Adding Volume

Cheaper Alternatives

Tip 3: Best Practices for Messy Man Bun Styling

Conclusion

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