The 5 men's hair trends you need to know about for 2017
A world where we have self-driving cars, VR headsets, and the final season of Game of Thrones sounds like an unimaginable future, and yet it's all happening in 2017. And while this intrepid Tomorrowland won't require cone-shaped hairstyles, it does signal a step away from the Don Draper barbershop styles that have dominated men's hair in recent years. Fabrizio Perciballi, an award-winning men's stylist at P&H Salon in Toronto, shares his top men's hair trends for 2017.
Short and Snappy
In 2016, Google searches in Canada for "men's hairstyles" outpaced searches for "women's hairstyles" eight to one. But for lots of men, something short and simple will suffice.
The most idiot-proof update to a standard men's shortcut, Perciballi says, is a fade. "It gives a little bit of your signature as well because even though the hair is short you're giving the haircut something.
"You're not just taking a clipper to the side of the head. You're creating a shape and a shadow with short hair by doing a nice tight fade on the sides."
Wonderwall Bangs
History's proven that Oasis was not, in fact, bigger than the Beatles, except perhaps when it comes to 2017 hairstyle trends. Their What's The Story Morning Glory?-era haircuts are taking over the streets of London once again.
"It's like how the Beatles used to have their hair, but a little bit edgier," Perciballi says of the bang-heavy look. "It's more of a grunge-y look for men. It's a little less polished. The old school side parts, and the 1940s and 1950s looks are slowly phasing out."
Go Wild
Bed head is going from Saturday mornings to Saturday nights. "If guys have a little bit of a curl they are really emphasizing their natural texture and letting that curl do its own thing," Perciballi says. "They're wearing it in front of their face. They're not necessarily pushing it back anymore."
Perciballi recommends a matte wax styling product to emphasise the texture, whether that's poker-straight or Cosmo Kramer curly. For those with natural waves, he recommends using a blowdryer with a diffuser, a circular attachment with about a dozen prongs that mutes the force of the dryer.
"Men are using it because it won't necessarily flatten their hair out," Perciballi says. "It gives the hair a little bit of texture so the hair moves more."
Out of the Woods
For whisker wearers, the era of the big burly beard is coming to a close. Perciballi says his clients are asking for closer crops on their facial hair.
"The lumberjack look has been really big within the last few years," Perciballi says. "[Now] beards are slowly starting to shrink.
"They're still in but they're not as exaggerated as they were the last few years. Right now it's somewhere between the five o'clock shadow and the full beard."
A Real Disconnect
Buzzed sides with long, foppish tops is still a popular request from men at P&H Salon as the era of the disconnect continues into 2017. "The top is not necessarily blended into the side," Perciballi says. "In the '90s and early 2000s it was very tight and connected. You are cutting different shapes into men's hair now."