Men's Hair Tutorial: How to Cut and Style the High and Tight

High and Tight Requirements

** Hair at the neckline should be skin tight (a #0, in buzzer speak) and tapered up slightly, until just above the temple. This is whats known as a "high fade." (See Nick Jonas, above right.)

** There should be a blunt shift between shorter and longer hair past the temple. Up top, you want enough hair to play with, but it should still be pretty short. Aim for anything between 1/2 inch (a #4) and finger length. (Above, Channing Tatum's longer high and tight style is slightly grown out.)

How to Style the High and Tight

1. Take a dime-sized amount of water-based pomade (use in towel-dried hair for a light shine) or paste (use in dry hair for no shine, or in towel-dried hair for a light shine), and work it through your hands.

2. Starting at the back, work the product in while pushing the hair forward. Concentrate the product around the roots of the hair for maximum control.

3. At the forehead, it's your call: Push the hair down, straight up, or comb it to the side with your fingers.

More Mens Hair Styling Tips

Be sure to pick a hairstyle that matches your face shape.

Learn how to properly apply hair product.

Different stylerslike wax, paste, pomade, or creamdo different things. See where they fall on the Hold vs. Shine hair-styling matrix.