A formal look for both men and women is the slicked back hair style. I like to personally refer to this hairstyle as the “Pat Riley” or “the Wall Street” or even “the Gordon Gekko”. This style has been in use since the Pompadour hairstyle originating in the 18th century. It was named after Madame de Pompadour, a French mistress of King Louis XV. Since then, it has gone in and out of style. Notable time periods of its use include WWI, the 1940s and the 1950s due to Elvis Presley. The film “Grease” is named after the term greasers. Greasers are a youth subculture from the 1950s that were known for their greased back hair. The image was tied to rockabilly music and hot rod cars. Nowadays the slicked back hair style is a more refined, classy look used by notable actors and actresses such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale and Claire Danes.
The slicked back hair style has become a very popular trend among both men and women. It’s a handsome style that’s up to date and refined. With this haircut, you’ll appear both sophisticated and charming. For men, this cut is very appealing to women in that it exudes assurance that he can take care of both himself and her. For women, it radiates a level of confidence and beauty that men find attractive.
The appearance of this style is typically sleek hair that is pushed back from the crown and behind the ears and held in place with crème or gel. This hairstyle looks good with men who 
have dark hair and square jaws. Pushing the hair back brings out the strong contours, angles and shape of your face. Women who have shoulder length to long hair with no bangs can pull of the style. It looks good with women who have pronounced cheekbones and jaws. Face shapes that go well with this look are round, oval and square.
Before you decide to use this look, make sure you understand your hair. You need the right texture and volume to pull this off. If your hair has a fine texture, it will lie flat against your skull. If it’s too loose or curly, it’ll be difficult to fight into place. Thankfully, there are ways to rectify this. Use a volumizing product on thin or fine hair and take a flat iron to curly hair. If your hair is wavy, make sure you cut it short enough to discourage waves. If you’re older, and you’re receding or balding, don’t use this style as it will look too similar to a comb-over.
How To Get Slicked Back Hair
To achieve slicked back hair, you must first wet your hair. An excellent way to do this is to fill a bottle with water and spray it over your hair. Remember you want it to be damp, not soaked like a cat left out in the rain.
Next, you must comb your hair from front to back. There are two ways to do this. Either push it straight back from the crown, or part your hair down the middle or side. Be sure to push the sides back behind your ears. Depending on the desired look you want, the style can appear sleek and neat or scruffy and loose at the ends.
Use a product to hold the slicked back hair in place. A crème, gel or pomade will work just fine. Pump a coin size drop of crème and rub it between your hands. This warms the product up and will help style and hold your hair in place. It will also keep your hair glossy, which adds to the slicked back hair aesthetics. Once it’s warmed up, apply the product by running it through your hair in the direction of the style.
To fix any tousles the product may have created, run a comb through your hair once again. To hold the completed look, apply hair spray. Hair spray will ensure that your hair will hold all day and strands won’t come loose or fall back. If this happens, simply wet the misbehaving part, comb it back into place and reapply hair spray to the area.
Once the comb puts your hair in place, use a brush to create that smooth, shiny aesthetic. You don’t want to weigh your hair down with too much gel or crème. If you use an oily product, be careful not to get any on your face as this can clog your pores. Simply wipe off any excess oil that gets on your skin.
If your hair is naturally thick or curly, it’s important to straighten it before wetting and slicking it back. To straighten your hair, use a flattening iron. A hair crème will help prevent heat damage to the hair while styling.
Slicked Back Hair Products
Good products to use are top quality hair products such as WEN Styling Crème, American Crew Firm Hold Styling Gel and American Crew Pomade. It’s important to use a good quality product to ensure your hair does not become heavy, flat or too oily. You need to find the right balance between slicked back hair and weighed down, flattened hair.
If you work your hair correctly, you’ll have a new popular, attractive style you can whip out whenever you feel it will work for you. The slicked back hair style is excellent for both formal and casual occasions, depending on how classy or stylish you want to look.
For more information take a look at the short YouTube video below that shows how to get the slicked back hair look.
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