How to Make Hair Lie Flat When It Keeps Sticking Up

Work out why your hair stands up first

Hair that refuses to lie down almost always has one of a handful of causes, and the fix depends on which one you have. Look in two mirrors with dry, product-free hair and check where the lift starts.

Most people find more than one of these at work:

• A cowlick or crown swirl, where the hair grows out in a spiral and pushes up at its centre.
• Length in the wrong range: roughly 2 to 4 centimetres on the crown is long enough to lift but too short to fall over under its own weight.
• Too much thinning or texturizing, which leaves lots of short hairs underneath that prop the longer ones up.
• Air-drying in the wrong direction, often after rubbing with a towel, so the roots set pointing up or sideways.
• Sleeping on damp hair, which sets whatever shape the pillow pressed into it.
• Coarse or thick hair that simply has more spring than a light product can control.

Direct the roots while the hair is wet

Hair sets its direction as it dries, so the moment to control it is while it is still wet. Once the roots have dried pointing up, no amount of product at the ends will convince them otherwise. This routine takes a few minutes and does most of the work:

1. Wet the whole problem area thoroughly; spraying the surface is not enough to reset roots that have already dried.
2. Blot with a towel, pressing rather than rubbing, until the hair is damp.
3. Comb it into the exact direction you want it to lie, using a fine-toothed comb against the scalp.
4. Put the flat concentrator nozzle on your dryer, set it to medium heat and low speed, and aim the air down the hair from root to tip, following the comb.
5. Hold the hair flat with the comb or your palm as the roots dry, and finish with the cool setting for several seconds to lock the direction.
6. Only then add product.

Choose a product with weight, not lift

Heavy, low-shine products hold hair down, while powders, sprays and matte clays are designed to do the opposite. If you currently use a texture product or sea salt spray and wonder why your hair will not settle, that is the reason.

A styling cream is the gentlest option and suits finer hair. A soft, water-based pomade or a light gel gives more control for coarse hair or a stubborn crown. Warm a pea-sized amount in your palms, press it onto the problem area first rather than dragging it across the top, then comb the rest through. Our guides to using a hair cream and using pomade cover amounts and application in more detail.

What your barber can change in the cut

A barber can make hair lie flat more easily by cutting in the hair's growth direction and by leaving weight where it needs to hold down. That second part matters most: a crown that has been heavily thinned out loses the length that would otherwise fold over and cover it.

When we cut a top that needs to lie flat, we check the growth pattern dry before anything else, keep the crown either long enough to fall or short enough that it cannot stand up, and point-cut sparingly rather than thinning with shears. For a scissor finish on the top, book a scissor cut or Haircut Only and tell us in the consultation which part lifts. Our page on haircuts for cowlicks explains the length choices around a swirl.

It also helps to avoid a very fresh cut on the morning of an event. Newly cut ends are blunt and springy, and most tops settle after a few days of washing and styling.

Habits that stop the problem coming back

Small daily habits keep flat hair flat. Sleep with dry hair whenever you can, since damp roots set against the pillow. If you shower at night, dry and comb the hair into place before bed.

Hats flatten some areas and push others up at the edges, so if you wear a toque through a Mississauga winter, bring a comb and a little product to reset the sides when you take it off. Our tips on avoiding hat hair help with that. Finally, stop fighting the part: if your hair keeps falling to the left, wearing it to the left is easier than training it to go right.