Best Haircuts for Hair Loss: Expert Advice

Craig Whitely [00:00:02]:

I mean, I feel like they match my perfectionist personality. You know, they’re just as intense about how they look as I am, just as intense about how I want them to look. So we match. You know, it works out really well. They’re just as intense as I am, and so that’s my goal, to make you look good. That’s important.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:00:30]:

Welcome to HairPod, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. I’m your host, Kevin Rolston, and each week I get to interview people from different walks of life whose lives have been touched by hair loss in some form or fashion. Many of our guests have experienced hair loss themselves and found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. If you’ve ever caught yourself in the mirror and thought that maybe you’re seeing your hairline start to recede or there’s a spot in the back that just isn’t as thick as it used to be, you’re in the right place. That moment can hit hard, and it leaves so many people wondering what the next step is. Wouldn’t it be great to have someone in your corner who’s going to give you real, honest advice and keep you looking and feeling your best? Today’s guest is here to do just that. He’s a master barber with two decades of experience in the industry, and he cares so much about teaching people the art of self care. He created the popular men’s grooming blog, the Men’s Room.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:01:29]:

In this episode, Craig Whitely, AKA Craig the Barber, is here to talk hair loss from a barber’s perspective. He knows firsthand what it’s like to help someone navigate that moment when they first accept their hair loss and how to guide them towards whatever is going to help them feel most confident.

 

Craig Whitely [00:01:52]:

I think the first part is just really addressing the elephant in the room. You know, a lot of times guys are sometimes in denial, right? And so we both have to get on the same page when it comes to the person sitting in the chair and their advocate, their partner say, hey, listen, this is what’s going on. I foresee this becoming worse down the line. Let’s see how we can now manage it and do some preemptive strategies and proactive strategies to make sure that we can do this. So a lot of times when you’re receding from the front of your hairline, if it’s subtle, then you can definitely, depending on the hair type, you can definitely blend the rest of the hair to match the front.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:02:28]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:02:28]:

And not make hard lines in the front when you create hard lines in the front of the hairline, it brings greater attention to these areas that are being lost. Right. So then you create subtle hairlines, you know, depending on the hair type. For example, if you have straighter hair, then you can create some strategies where you’re cutting the hair in an angled formations to the front, where then you can texture here a little bit with certain types of products with the way you point cut into the hair. And then you can style it where the hair goes a little bit forward without looking like a cover up.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:02:56]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:02:56]:

And we manage it, we manage it in that way and that’s how you start.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:03:01]:

Now, are there some things that you would do that you wouldn’t recommend? I know, you know, once upon a time people were doing the comb over and they were doing that kind of stuff. And you know, people have kind of called that out. Do you have people that still want that and get that request?

 

Kevin Rolston [00:03:13]:

And how do you kind of.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:03:15]:

Because I imagine because for you it’s your reputation too. So if you got a client, you’re sending them out there and they come to you with a bad request that you know is not going to look good, how does that consultation go down? And how do you try to work with one of your clients to say, hey, you got to trust me. You came to me and if you ever put your foot down and said, I’m sorry, but that’s going to look terrible and I’m not cutting it that way.

 

Craig Whitely [00:03:37]:

I, not 100% of my clients, thankfully, trust me. But it took a lot of time for me for them to gain that trust. Right. One of the advantages for me is that I’m extremely honest and I do it from a position of love. You know, I really appreciate them and I want them to look their best. And so being an advocate for them is very helpful in that way. And so when they come in with certain strategies of trying to hide what is being lost, I have to be straight up with them and say, hey, listen, this is not going to work. Everyone can see it.

 

Craig Whitely [00:04:08]:

Comb overs just aren’t a thing anymore. We just can’t do that. It’s very obvious. Let’s see how we can strategize and make you look good. You know, it’s funny, I say this to so many guys that are losing their hair. I have yet, and hey, it might just be the man that have sat in my chair, but I have yet to see a gentleman that is losing their hair have the, have a funny shape head. And so I feel like that is Kind of like some grace that they are getting. So if they end up losing their hair, I said, hey, you know, we could work with this, we could work with this bald look, for example.

 

Craig Whitely [00:04:40]:

And I feel like I give them the confidence to say, hey, the way this is going, we can make it work, or we can figure out ways to strategize on, you know, speaking to a few doctors, have some recommendations, you know, what you really want to do. And so we go through the whole gamut on strategies. I’m making that work for them.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:04:57]:

Can you size up somebody’s face and immediately tell from their face what is going to be the right hairstyle to match?

 

Craig Whitely [00:05:03]:

That is one of my skill sets. I, I specialize in cutting hair according to their face shape and strategize haircuts that complement the face shape and enhance their face shape. A lot of times, especially, you know, very popular, a very good looking approach to styling someone’s hair is finding a way to enhance their jawline. And the jawline is very attractive feature for the male. And so you want to create a symmetrical face shape and a strong jawline. And so I try my best to work with what I have to build that look for them.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:05:34]:

Okay, and do you think that there is one hairstyle that you would recommend for somebody? Because the comb over is gone. If somebody is losing their hair, what is something that somebody could walk into their own barber if they can’t get, you know, Craig the barber coming out to their house, what could they walk into their own barber and say, hey, can you try this because I’m losing my hair. Maybe they’re losing it, you know, on the crown where a lot of people lose it. And would it be different from someone losing in the crown as opposed to somebody losing in the front? Are there hairstyles or techniques that they could do to, you know, create that illusion that they’re not losing as bad as they are? What would you recommend for either one of those people?

 

Craig Whitely [00:06:10]:

Sure. I feel like, you know, when you’re dealing with the front, that’s a really difficult one. And it really is going to depend on their hair line and the hair type primarily because there’s, that’s your focal point, right? When someone looks at you, the first thing they see is the front of your face. The back is really easy to hide. There’s a lot of ways you could do different sprays, just different types of sprays that you could put in the back, fillers that will kind of fill out that particular area so no one really sees it. But the front is really a very obvious situation. So it really is going to depend on how much is being lost. And for example, if they have hair type like mine, African American hair, and as a hairline there, we’re going to go with something that’s not going to be very hard lines in the front and we’re going to try to fade out those areas where they are losing to give it an illusion that there’s nothing really happening in that space.

 

Craig Whitely [00:06:55]:

Right.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:06:56]:

So it’s more. It’s more blended. You’re going to go a little bit of a softer, not. Yeah, not a hard line.

 

Craig Whitely [00:07:01]:

Exactly. Absolutely.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:07:03]:

Okay, okay. Illusions, illusions.

 

Craig Whitely [00:07:06]:

You got to create delusions. The magic. We’re working on magic at this point when it comes to got to get creative.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:07:15]:

A great haircut is a solid starting point when you’re in those early stages of hair loss. And Craig’s honest approach lays that foundation. But sometimes a haircut alone isn’t enough. Maybe you need a little more to feel confident when you look in the mirror. That’s when it helps to lean on your barber for advice. The right tools and products can make.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:07:36]:

A big difference, but that right look.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:07:39]:

Isn’T the same for everyone. Being open with your barber about what you’re hoping to achieve gives them the chance to guide you. Recommend what works, works and help keep your expectations realistic.

 

Craig Whitely [00:07:56]:

I use a very easy product. You can find them at stores so many times. This product called Topic, that’s the one I like to use. And it’s basically it looks like how you would describe. Like you see those old movies where women are spraying perfume and they have this little pump looking product that sprays perfume. It functions as similarly and you just basically sprays fillers which are essentially. It’s not necessarily hair, it’s like fibers that essentially attach to the hair. And then to keep it in place, typically you spray a little hairspray on it and hold it in place.

 

Craig Whitely [00:08:26]:

What’s great about that is it really matches the hair color and hair type and it doesn’t stick necessarily to the scalp where it looks where say for example, if light hits it, you can see it very easily. It’s a very disguisable product which I enjoy using often. And then they have other products that are more semi permanent. For example, they call a product called Vision, which is more of a liquid form, almost like a hair color type of product that people then kind of like subtly paint and spray on and things of that nature. But I typically like the fibers because they look more realistic, in my opinion.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:08:59]:

Now Are there any downsides to this product? Let’s say you get caught in a rainstorm, are you in trouble?

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:05]:

Yes.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:07]:

Okay.

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:09]:

Yes you are. I mean, the only way you’re going to prevent that is you’re going to have to use something that is more semi permanent. It’s going to last a few days or so, but if you’re using that product topic, it’s definitely going to wash off.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:21]:

So even on a sunny day, you take an umbrella with you just in case.

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:24]:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just in case. Just in case. You gotta, you gotta be, you know, no one needs to know. Just, just walk around with your umbrella and it’s okay. They won’t know why you just, there’s being percussed.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:35]:

Have you ever seen one of your clients trying the minoxidils or some of those topical?

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:39]:

Oh, yeah.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:40]:

And what do you think about those? Have you seen great success with clients that use that?

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:44]:

Yeah, it’s an off and on situation. You know, I feel like the secret and the, the solution is still out there.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:09:50]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:09:50]:

They have not found the perfect scenario for everyone. But I have seen success for some men and no success for others. It’s some, sometimes, maybe, I would say maybe a 60, 40 scenario at this point I see more guys moving in that direction trying to use these types of products and seeing great, great success, you know. And then surprisingly, I’ve actually had clients that were taking it for years and then disclosed to me years later that they have been taking it for three or four years, for example, and I never knew. And so then I could say, oh wow, so it has been working because I’ve been cutting your hair. I haven’t seen any hair loss. And so I think it really depends on the person. I think sometimes diet is a plays a factor sometimes and stress on how these products are going to support.

 

Craig Whitely [00:10:34]:

But I’ve seen success surprisingly.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:10:37]:

Okay, now tell me, doing what you do, how are you staying up on the new hairstyles? Where do you go, where do you look? How do you make sure that are you learning from your clients? Are you watching pop culture stuff like how do you know what is and what are some of the biggest trends right now in the hairstyles that you’re seeing?

 

Craig Whitely [00:10:54]:

Yeah, so the popular, I typically, you know, you’re always seeing. Social media has such a wide array of these opportunities to be able to see what’s there. I always like to also go to and watch videos and footage of fashion shows because a lot of times they typically are going to be showing me what’s Coming down the bike. You know, a lot of times it’s not. Hasn’t reached the United States yet, but a lot of times you can go to Europe and you see a little trance. You see a lot of hairstyles that are coming out that are sometimes very radical or sometimes going back into 70s, 80s, and then we typically tie. The United States typically likes to follow that maybe four or five years after the fact. And so that’s where I see a lot.

 

Craig Whitely [00:11:36]:

The trends. And, you know, I think what I see is a lot of big hair right now. You know, I say a lot of African American men, all races, are typically liking the full hair effect, surprisingly, the big looks. And so I feel like that is kind of an advantage when it comes to hair loss.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:11:52]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:11:52]:

Where you can cover up a lot of that. The more hair you have on the top of your head, the more you can disguise where the hair loss is.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:11:59]:

Now, my question, because sometimes I see younger guys with hair like what you’re talking about.

 

Craig Whitely [00:12:04]:

Yeah.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:12:05]:

And like, for instance, there’s a football player named Cam Newton. And I don’t know if you know who Cam is, but he has got some law. He’s got some long hair and everything twisted. It’s tied. And the one thing I think, you know, he’s. He’s a younger guy right now, but I’m thinking in 10 to 20 years, whenever I see Cam Newton’s hair and he’s always wearing the hats and everything like that, is he doing damage to his scalp and to his hair that in 20 years he might regret? Are those kind of hairstyles harder on somebody who might be prone to male pattern baldness later on?

 

Craig Whitely [00:12:35]:

That’s a great question. So I think one of the biggest challenges with hair when it comes to, like, Cam Newton’s hairstyle and things of that nature, is the weight.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:12:42]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:12:43]:

The heavier the hair, it looks heavy.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:12:45]:

His hair looks heavy.

 

Craig Whitely [00:12:46]:

Yes, it is, and it will be. Right? So the thing with him is that as long as he’s able to manage the weight, if he doesn’t have male pattern baldness in his line, then he’ll be safe. But a lot of times it’s really just a root area. You know, if you’re careful with how much weight is being stressed on the root, and then you’re also carefully taking care of those areas. You naturally exfoliating the scalp, you’re moisturizing your scalp, and you’re doing all the necessary precautionary measures. He may or may not struggle with that. It really is going to depend But I know that when your hair is long and there’s a lot of stretching and pulling, that is going to speed up the process of any form of hair loss. Sometimes it takes quite some time for that hair to grow back because you’re damaging the root.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:13:31]:

A great barber will point out all the hair don’t like avoiding heavy hairstyles that constrain your roots or skipping proper scalp care. But the best barbers go one step further. They’ll steer you towards the routines and products that can actually strengthen your hair and keep it looking its best. Hair loss might feel overwhelming, but with the right advice and daily habits, you can protect the hair you have and give it the care it deserves.

 

Craig Whitely [00:14:02]:

I think what is important is a lot of folks, especially men, they’re are extremely unaware of the fact that when you apply products to your hair, there comes buildup. Especially when you’re styling your hair on a day to day, right. So it’s important for you to be able to make sure you’re shampooing and conditioning your hair. A lot of guys, the two day their hair gets a little bit dirtier, for example, straighter hair and it, it looks better and it feels fuller, right. But at the end of the day you can accomplish that with product and good healthy product. And so you have to. I like to always recommend for customers to exfoliate their scalp at least once a week, get a hair exfoliating product or you could just literally just go to the store and buy an exfoliating product that you exfoliate your skin with and apply to your scalp. And that really loosens all of the dead skin cells that are on your hair.

 

Craig Whitely [00:14:50]:

A lot of the product that is just stuck and deposited on your scalp because sometimes a lot of guys don’t realize their hair is not breathing right. And so it’s important for all of these types of gels and creams and putties for those to be washed out of the scalp from time to time. And then you also, I always recommend, whenever someone goes to bed, always recommend some aspect of a moisturizing product on your scalp. You’re not styling your hair before you go to bed, right. But you’re shampooing, you, conditioning your hair. I always recommend say a grooming cream that keeps the scalp moist and it keeps the scalp healthy. And preparing your scalp for tomorrow when you’re getting ready to style your hair, those are key things.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:15:30]:

Any products that you would stay away from anything that you think is out there that either is not worth the money, kind of a scam or maybe it’s actually something that winds up damaging your hair.

 

Craig Whitely [00:15:39]:

I’m not a fan of gels.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:15:40]:

Okay.

 

Craig Whitely [00:15:41]:

I don’t think hair gels are supportive in any way for a gentleman’s hair. A lot of times it clumps up the hair. It does not have any form of moisturizing component to the product. It actually dries the hair in the scalp. That is not going to help any way, shape or form. If you’re trying to prevent hair loss when your scalp is dry. When your hair is dry and you don’t have and you’re drying out the scalp, you do not have any support that is allowing hair to naturally. Allow in hair to naturally grow and you will get a lot of breakage with those types of products.

 

Craig Whitely [00:16:12]:

I’m not a fan of gels at all. I feel like you can achieve any look you want without having to use a gel.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:16:17]:

Okay, what would you use? If somebody’s listening this right now, being dang, I use gel. What should they try instead of the gel?

 

Craig Whitely [00:16:24]:

So a lot of times, a lot of guys like gel because they like it to not move. They like the hair to not move.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:16:28]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:16:28]:

And so I personally like to use products that are going to be, say, a matted putty like a Sumo Tech, for example, from Bumble and Bumble. You can style the hair and get. Get a hairspray. Get a hairspray, not too heavy, medium whole hairspray and spray your hair. You want to get the same effect, but you’re going to get the moisturizing components that comes from the Sumo tech as well as the grooming cream earlier. And you’re not having any deposit or even any flaking that comes from these gels from time to time as well.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:16:52]:

Right?

 

Craig Whitely [00:16:53]:

Nice.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:16:53]:

Awesome.

 

Craig Whitely [00:16:54]:

And so that’s, that’s a really quick option. And then a lot of folks like to use mousses. Mousse does a similar process. And then you can. And again, you could just add a little hairspray and your hair set and it doesn’t have that hard, crunchy right look.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:08]:

Okay.

 

Craig Whitely [00:17:09]:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:10]:

So what is the furthest you’ve ever traveled to give somebody a haircut cut? Is it all local or if you had to get on a plane, you had to drive a crazy distance to get there.

 

Craig Whitely [00:17:20]:

I went to the Bahamas one time for the Michael Jordan golf tournament and I was the barber there for a week. Met a whole lot of cool guys, man. Met a whole lot of athletes. A whole lot of. That was awesome. That was awesome. That’s about as far as I’ve gone. Yeah.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:35]:

That’s crazy.

 

Craig Whitely [00:17:36]:

That was a fun time. Yeah, that was really cool. Beat all those athletes.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:40]:

Yeah, that’s awesome. Okay, that’s cool. He’s down in my area. I’m in South Florida, so you need to come down here and.

 

Craig Whitely [00:17:45]:

Yeah.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:17:46]:

Make some house calls in South Florida. And what’s the craziest environment you’ve ever cut somebody’s hair in? Because when you’re at a golf course. Yeah. Where. Where are you, if you had to? Somebody’s like, hey, man, you got to take care of me right now. I got something I got to do. And you’re, like, right here. And.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:00]:

Well, in that particular center, I was in their locker room. I was set up in their. The locker room. And, you know, I’m in locker room, man. I’m in the male’s locker room. So, you know, people are changing, and so that’s. That’s a little odd, but, you know, I made it work.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:15]:

Yeah, that’s.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:17]:

And, you know, they don’t care. They just.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:19]:

Nah.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:20]:

It’s like, they’re, you know, they’re like, hey, what’s up, man? I’m like, hey, I’ll just keep cutting over here, man.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:26]:

Right. Oh, man.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:29]:

It’s interesting. Very interesting guy.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:31]:

They’re.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:31]:

They’re cool guys, though. Yeah. That’s crazy.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:34]:

That is.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:35]:

I would say that. And maybe a fashion show. A couple fashion shows where. Yeah. Very, very hectic in the background. You know, they’re running in and out. They change your clothes fast, and, you know, you have to style them out really quick. And sometimes you’re using the gels.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:48]:

Right.

 

Craig Whitely [00:18:48]:

Because you have. You don’t have time to really finesse a style. You have to just do something very quick. Right. It can be quite chaotic. I would say that was quite an interesting experience as well.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:18:58]:

Yeah, I can imagine there’s some challenges with that. I imagine you probably have a few customers or have had a few customers that could be challenging and, you know, wanted a certain way and very particular.

 

Craig Whitely [00:19:08]:

Absolutely. I mean, I feel like it. They match my perfectionist personality. You know, they’re just as intense about how they look as I am. Just as intense about how I want them to look. So we match. You know, it works out really well. They’re just as intense as I am, and so that’s my goal, to make you look good.

 

Craig Whitely [00:19:24]:

That’s important. It’s very important.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:19:31]:

Thanks for joining us for this episode of Hairpod. If there’s one big takeaway from today’s conversation with Craig, the barber, it’s that hair loss doesn’t mean giving up, it means adapting. With the right team, the right tools, and the right care, you can still feel confident every time you look in the mirror. Remember, your hair journey isn’t over just because you’ve hit a rough patch. You’ve got options, and you got people like Craig and me in your corner to help you find what works for you. For more information about all things hair and hair loss, make sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app. Thanks for listening to another episode of hairpod. Check us out at Hair Club on Instagram or search Hairpod on Facebook to continue the conversation.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:20:13]:

If you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, we would love it if you would share it with them. If you’re enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or your favorite favorite podcast app. We also have a website. Check it out by going to podcast.hairclub.com we’re here to build people up and share real stories so people experiencing hair loss feel a little bit less alone. And when you share, review and subscribe.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:20:39]:

It helps us do just that.

 

Kevin Rolston [00:20:41]:

So thank you until next time.