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Volume can be added to slicked back hair by using a thickening pre-styler, blow-drying from front to back, and using a volumizing styling product such as a clay or paste. Use a pomade on top of your hair to get the classiest slicked-back look. This product is light enough where it won’t weigh down your hair. You’ll get plenty of volume if you want it, and your hair will look clean all day long. You can use pomade on the sides and top of your hair, so don’t feel the need to stock up on extra products. If you love your current haircut but want to try out slicked-back, use this as your inspiration!
Women’s Center-Part Slicked-Back Bun

Take your wide-tooth comb and gently run it from your forehead straight towards the back. Before you start the actual process, you need to get yourself a solid comb. While some hairstylists would recommend a fine-tooth one for more delicate strokes, we personally think a wide-tooth comb is the way to go. It'll prevent any pulling and tugging and it's much more effective at detangling.
How To Slick Back Long Hair In 6 Steps
Once you’ve done this, you’ve maximized your chances of a slick back that should last for your desired amount of time despite having short hair. You’ll notice that the fine teeth leave very little separation between the hair strands once combed. This leads to a really neat, tight, and defined slick back. We've got a handy list of product recommendations down below, but if we had to choose, we'd pick a paste over a gel.
Get a nice and neat bun
The bristles or teeth shouldn’t be too narrowly spaced as this can cause hair to get pulled out. But it’s often best to distribute the product through damp thick hair first. It’s easy to tell the difference between an unclean slick back and a clean (yet shiny) slick back. Training hair for slicking back is even more important when you’ve got thick hair that tends to be more stubborn. They’ll produce more of a matte finish and are good for building texture and layering if this is what you prefer.
Can You Slick Back Thin And Fine Hair?
If you’ve got thicker hair, a wide-tooth comb would be suitable if you’re looking for more separation in between the strands and a layered appearance. You may struggle to pull a fine-tooth comb through it without pulling out hairs. If you want a shiny finish to your medium-length slick back, go for a pomade (oil-based or water-based) or a hair gel. Applying a pre-styler and styling product is just easier when you leave the hair a little damp as opposed to blow-drying it bone dry.
Products to slick back your hair
Although this won’t cover up the cowlick, it should still prevent the hair from sticking out here once you’ve styled your slick back. This is a great way of covering up the cowlick when styling slicked back hair. It almost creates a “comb over” appearance as opposed to a traditional slick back.
Either Towel-Dry Or Blow-Dry
This is great for thin-haired men where you don’t want much scalp showing through. Men with long, coarse, or thick hair often benefit from the bristles of a hairbrush. Find one you enjoy and that works for you and stick with it. There are different types of pre-stylers depending on what you want them to do. There are thickening and volumizing ones, and also smoothing ones.
Step 3: Brush your hair into your ponytail
Feel free to part your hair as usual with a side or middle part, then slick it back from the sides. This is an excellent option if you have shorter hair or want to create a low bun or ponytail. The slick back hair can look festive with some intense sheen or business-like with a matte finish. You are welcome to choose the most flattering variation of the cut, just consider the top hair length, the fade level and the pomp structure.
Best Products for Slick Back Hair Down Look
Maybe try a side-slicked style instead until you’ve got enough length to potentially slick it all back. Remember – length is probably the most important factor when it comes to slicking back your hair. Using the technique above, however, should reduce the risk of the long slick back flopping forward too soon.
We especially love this extra taut bun, which pulls focus to her striking smoky eye and nude lip. For a classic slick back like Gigi Hadid, all you need to do is rake your hair back with a generous squeeze of gel. Finally, given how stubborn long hair can be sometimes, consider a light spritz of hairspray to keep the slick back in place throughout the course of the day. Plus, with long hair, you’re not really looking for as much precision as you would be with shorter hair.
This may not sound like a big deal when it comes to slick backs. After all, it’s a traditionally “greasy” style known for that vintage shine and gloss (usually). Over time, you’ll probably find that you need less prepping and less product to get the same job done. Both of them will allow you to build texture and volume, which although aren’t typical of classic slick backs that tend to be shiny, can still work. This pressure and heat is a great way of making short hair more likely to stay in place when slicked back. But over time, you’ll find that these effective “prepping” methods will make the hair more likely to stay back once you’ve slicked it back.
Just be careful with the product you use and the type of slick back you style. Although these products are the most commonly used ones for slick backs, you do have other options if you’d prefer a more textured or layered slick back. At the end of the day, slicked back hair will breeze through all but the most extreme dress codes with no trouble.
After you train your hair, it’ll be easier to slick back each morning. Comb back your damp hair and use a blow dryer focused on your hair roots to force them into position. As they dry, they’ll naturally stay combed back so you can use less product to keep the style in place. If you have curly hair, think about how you want your slicked-back ponytail to look. For a more textured approach, Simich suggests laying your curls flat. “If you have curly hair, work with your texture and flatten the curls rather than brush through them,” she says.
They’re simply too glossy and are difficult to build volume with. Men with hair that’s shorter than 3.5 to 4 inches will often have a lot of difficulty styling it as they won’t be able to keep the hair slicked back and in place. To apply hairspray properly, hold the bottle about eight inches away from your hair. Don’t apply too much, or the hairspray won’t dry correctly.
A Hairstylist Just Told Me How to Do the Perfect Slicked-Back Bun - Who What Wear
A Hairstylist Just Told Me How to Do the Perfect Slicked-Back Bun.
Posted: Tue, 08 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
“It’s my favorite for adding texture to styles,” she explains. Another great tip that Devillier offered was to use your slick back pony look as a hair mask day. “Instead of a gel, put your favorite deep conditioning masque in and use that as your slick product,” she says.