Let’s first break down what exactly a ‘cowlick’ is. It’s this nagging group of hair (amount varies from head to head) that goes against the grain and sticks out like a sore thumb. While the rest of your hair cooperates, these rebellious follicles aren’t going to play ball, and eventually, you feel like cutting the damn things off. Not all of us men are blessed with beautiful thick and nurtured manes. For most men, grooming your hair takes quality time and concentration. The cowlick is one of those many challenges. Here’s how to fix it.
Accept the cowlick
Before you create your own gameplan, sometimes you have to play its game instead. Depending on the length of your hair, you might consider making the rest of your head as dishevelled as the annoying cowlick. When it comes to uncooperative hair, you might have to hide it in plain sight. This remedy may not fix the actual cowlick but at least you’ll have a hairdo that you purposely put together.The easiest way
It really comes down to the basics and simple understanding how the body works. If you haven’t already noticed, there are certain divisions on your head and throughout your body. The top of your head never has hair growing all in the same direction. There are different patterns that are set around a central spiral. That’s why you have hair growing in the direction of your forehead and the opposite, hair growing towards the nape of your neck.
Men tend to forget, while applying hair products, that brushing or combing your hair one way doesn’t necessarily mean your hair grows in that natural direction. In other words, the best way to fix the cowlick at this stage is simply to comb (with an actual comb or your hands) the cowlick in its natural growing direction.Bring in some force
This may not be your go-to remedy, but it is an option. Using a blow dryer can apply some proper hot air to force the unruly hair to get with the program. This, of course, has to be done after you’ve used quality hair products like pomade. Again, in a hot and humid city like ours, this should be your last option to fix a cowlick. Just a general rule to treat your hair with care is to avoid applying heavy duty hair products. And the addition of hot air isn’t going to create a healthy environment around your dome.Gentle with weight
Okay, well, there’s the natural way of taking care of that cowlick, which is letting your hair grow out and have those strands of hair weigh it down by gravity. Your second option would be decreasing the amount of times you shampoo your hair, while increasing the use of hair conditioner. The natural oils, mixed in with the conditioner, will weigh the strands down as well. Finally, there’s the weighing down the hair with a cap or hat. You’ve got natural heat building up underneath that cap, and it will push down on the hair you are trying to style. But then, you’ll have to deal with combing or styling the rest of your hair in a different direction. This is possibly the least damaging of the processes.The pro route
Whatever you do, do not reach for those blades and hack away like Edward Scissor Hands. Unless of course, you’re a professional. This leads us to taking yourself to a barber to get the situation under control. Let him or her deal with how to deal with cowlicks in possibly a permanent solution. Ultimately, it’s all up to how comfortable you are with each of these remedies. Just keep one thing in mind: going against nature is only a temporary stage. If you can direct your hair in its natural growing path, work your new hairdo around it. But to be totally honest, a cowlick is not the end-all of style. It’s simply a bump in the road that can be dealt with.
