Give me a good hair day!

February 18, 2008 7:09 PM

Please help me reconcile my desire for a neat hairstyle with my special someone's unreasonable attraction to a Beatles-style do!

My traditional hairstyle has always been something like this:
unfortunately, the first google result turned up Ricky Martin :p

My girlfriend, on the other hand, likes something like this:
Beatlemania!

I think I look best with a short, gelled (wet) look, and my girlfriend likes a dry, long, natural Beatles-type look. I don't mind wearing my hair a little longer because I love being called cute. However, I think I look way better with a gelled look, and I'm a complete newbie to fashion.

Please help me find a hairstyle that is compatible with my new, longer hair, is easy to maintain, and will let me use gel (or something else to create a wet look). When ungelled, it should look something like a Beatles cut.

Just pictures won't do, as I'm hopeless at these things and would probably require some pretty detailed instructions.

Thanks!

posted by mebibyte to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

Dude, no wet look. Especially with a longer cut, that would just look greasy.
posted by robinpME at 7:21 PM on February 18, 2008

A picture of you would help a lot. How the hairstyle will look depends a lot on your face shape, hair color, how pronounced your facial features are, how deep set your eyes are, and other difficult-to-describe factors.
posted by amtho at 7:31 PM on February 18, 2008

I don't mean to be overly critical, but the wet look is just awful. Admittedly I haven't seen you, so maybe (maybe) it works for you, but I'll say that I've never seen a real live human being who can pull that off. It also completely prevents your girlfriend from ever wanting to play with (or even touch!) your hair.

Consider something that's either shorter and "dry," or if you're worried about taming your hair, they make a lot of products now that can control your locks without being goopy, crispy, or greasy.
posted by you're a kitty! at 8:04 PM on February 18, 2008

As you're a kitty! says, there are a number of products you can use to style your hair beyond gel, and I think you should look into them. A little texturizer (like this) will go a long way in controlling your hair without making it look overly done or greasy (which is probably what gel would do if hair gets longer than Ricky's). As for your hairdo, why not go visit the hairstylist who cuts your girlfriend's hair (if she has someone she trusts)? I would think between the two of them, they could get you a fabulous, grown-up, moden look (something, ahem, not wet).
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:23 PM on February 18, 2008 [2 favorites]

I'm putting out a further vote for abandoning the gel. "Wet" just isn't a great look.

If you don't like long, I'd go for a shorter look without the gel—maybe hair wax instead? I find it preferable to gel because it holds hair in place but keeps it pliable and un-gross.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:42 PM on February 18, 2008

mebibyte's unfortunate special someone:

You didn't look like Ricky and I DON'T like the Beatlemania pic!

mebibyte's "traditional hairstyle" was closer to a crew-cut and made his face look lumpy. He wants to cut his hair really short and then spike it up with gel. However I think the wet look is indeed awful; if he won't listen to me I hope he listens to the wisdom of the hive mind. ;)

"Beatlemania" would just make him look seedy. I think he's cute with a little more hair framing his face. I'd post a picture, but I don't know if he would like that. He's got dark brown/black hair that is very slightly curly and his face is a round to square shape.

ThePinkSuperhero, he's in Vancouver and I'm in Buffalo, NY - we've tried looking online for pics of hairstyles he might like so that he could bring it to a stylist, but can't seem to find a decent style he's OK with.
posted by Xianny at 8:44 AM on February 19, 2008