How to grow your hair out without looking scruffy

Everyone who's ever grown their hair out has hit the same wall around week six: it's not short, it's not long, it sits weird, and the temptation to just buzz it all off is enormous. Here's how to get through the awkward phase without surrendering.

Counterintuitive rule: keep getting cuts

Growing your hair out does not mean avoiding the barber — it means the opposite. Shape has to be maintained as length comes in, or the whole thing turns into a shapeless mushroom. Book every 6–8 weeks for a shape-up: the barber removes weight and keeps the outline clean while letting overall length increase.

The sides are the hard part

Tops grow out fine; sides pop out into wings first. Ask your barber to blend the sides back and keep them under control while the top catches up. This is the single trick that makes the in-between phase liveable.

Learn to use product and a comb

Mid-growth hair needs help sitting where you want it. A light matte paste or a sea-salt spray plus 30 seconds with a comb or blow dryer turns 'scruffy' into 'deliberate.' Your barber will show you which product suits your hair — just ask at the chair.

When to commit

If you're growing toward a proper scissor cut or longer flow, the Full Scissor Cut is the destination — shape, movement and weight removal without losing what you've grown. Tell your barber the goal at the start and they'll cut every appointment to get you there, not just tidy where you are.

“The people who successfully grow their hair out are the ones who came in more often, not less. Sounds backwards. It's not.”