Wolverine Hairstyle

Q: Since the first X-Men movie, I've wanted to try the Wolverine style. Now that the sideburns don't look too bad, I'd like to add the hairstyle to it as well. Not too overly pointy as in some of the scenes but a general look. Could you give me some tips?

A: I grew up as a comic book fan and loved Wolverine for his strange hairstyle, which somehow looked just right on him (although I thought the hair was the result of his mask from his costume). After seeing the X-Men movie and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan I realized the hairstyle image they were creating for him.

In the film, Logan has a classic late 1950s "Duck Tail" hairstyle. It is a man's cut following the perimeter of the hairline around the ears and at the nape of the neck, but allowed to remain long enough to be combed back so that the lengths meet and overlap slightly to feather along the back of the head down the center. The name was given to the haircut because the look of the hairstyle from behind is similar to the look of a duck from the same angle.

If you've already got the sideburns, what I can recommend is to cut a horizontal guide at the sides of the head to approximately the mid-point of the ear. Comb the hair at the top of the head forward and cut a horizontal guide to a point just below the eyebrows. Next comb the hair at the sides and cut an angled guide to connect the lengths of hair from the mid-point of the ear to the fringe area at the brow.

The hair is then cut at the top section and crown using the front guide as a traveling guide and working your way backward, using the contour of the scalp to indicate the cutting angle and holding the hair at 180-degree elevation. To cut the hair on the sides, use the length of the mid-ear horizontal guide to cut the hair from front to back on each side, taking care to blend the length of the sides to the length at the top of the head.

At the back of the head, continue to use the length from the top of the head as a guide, blending the lengths from the sides at the nape area with the length being cut down the back. Blunt cut the hairline at the nape of the neck.

The haircut is properly styled with gel or mousse, using a blow dryer and round brush. Blow the hair at the sides in a slightly upward angle using the brush to curl the hair back following the shape of the head. Do the same with hair at the top of the head, working from back to front. Once done, you can use the round brush to flip a small band of fringe hair forward as shown in the movie posters, or to "twirl" the front of the hair to create a "C" curl over the forehead as seen in other places in the movie.

Alternately, you can simply apply product to freshly shampooed, conditioned, rinsed hair, and towel-dry the hair to the point of being nearly dry. Then use a wide tooth comb to style the hair back and slightly upward at the sides (following the crown) and back at the forehead. Allow the hair to dry naturally then re-comb the hair to soften the "wet" look.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

Men's hairstyles

How to use hair gel