Shoulder length haircut 2012 men’s key hair cuts and hairstyles

Grecian God or not, shoulder length hair is never truly out, but it’s not always in either. The question for when it is in is always what style of man it’s being worn by. Is it popular the kick-back Indie kid, the guy whose life revolves around catching the next wave or an altogether different kind of man? In 2012, long, shoulder length men’s hair sits as a haircut with both a smart and sleek finish.

Straight and smooth, shoulder length hair.

You’ll note that there’s a big difference between long men’s hair as a surfer would wear it and as a guy would wear it into the office. While we’re under no illusion that you’re going to start seeing shoulder length haircuts around the boardroom table of the world’s stiffest financial institutions, it is a haircut that again has an office-edge. It just happens that it’s an office filled with creatives instead of bankers and accountants. Zegna took the lead with the sharp and somewhat conservative take on shoulder length hair at their spring 2012 showing.

From Zegna’s spring / summer 2012 showing.

Of course, just because it’s a haircut that is again the domain of the well heeled doesn’t meant that it’s naturally without its relevancy to those with a more relaxed attitude to life. Falke showed off just how that interpretation can work with long, wavy red hair in their spring / summer 2012 look book.

A casual version of long men’s hair for 2012, from Falke.

Who is it for

• Any man with long straight hair or managable waves not opposed to turning the heads of the sex they’re hoping to attract.

How it’ll be cut

• Ask your hairdresser to remove the just right amount of weight from the hair – you want it to sit and hang in a way that suits you, and a lot of this comes down to the weight.
• Particularly with long, straight hair layering the hair is an option, but do not forget that a layered take on this haircut will require frequent follow-up appointments.
• If layering, stay with longer layers that end at the shoulders. Don’t take the overall length of your hair too short as that’ll detract from the overall impact of the styling.
• Maintain one length for the hair; create one solid line that ends just where the collar starts. If any longer, it’ll be hard to manage.

How to style it

• When styling this look, create texture with a sea salt spray and a smoothing cream to eliminate frizz.
• If you have long, fine hair and don’t have time to properly style it, wear it back in a ponytail.
• The styling for this works best if the hair is one-day old, as scalp’s natural oils assist in the creating texture.