How to Spike Long Hair

Conventional wisdom is that the spiked hairdo is a style afforded only to those with short hair, perhaps under five inches. Common sense would seem to back this up. But for anyone with long hair and an insatiable desire to spike it skyward, conventional wisdom and common sense are easy to brush aside. It's much easier than the act of actually spiking said hair, too.

Stock Up on Heavy Equipment

Don't even think about spiking up a flowing mane without the proper tools. Hairspray is essentially useless, and even ordinary gels will buckle under the pressure of long, heavy spikes. You're going to need a powerful hair dryer, a large quantity of extremely strong hair gel and, ideally, a container of styling pomade to help with the finishing touches.

Let's begin with the hair dryer. You may already have a compact travel model at home, but you're going to need serious power in order to dry your hair as quickly as possible. To make sure the hair dryer you pick is up to the task, start by shopping based on wattage. Focus your hair dryer search on models at the 1800 watt level and higher. Next, you can eliminate all of the models that are not ionic. Ionic hair dryers blow air with a negative ionic charge, which helps dry hair faster and reduce heat damage. Narrow the options down even more by looking for hair dryers with attachments that will help you dry your hair even faster. This should thin the field down to just a few hair dryers, leaving you free to choose based on customer reviews and price.

Now it's time to find the right gel. There are several brands and formulas that will work well with long hair; the strongest formula of each major brand would probably perform just fine, assuming you use enough of it. But if you want the absolute strongest stuff on the market, look to the hair gels and waxes marketed for mohawks. Some of the larger general retailers and beauty stores might carry this, but mohawk gels tend to be harder to find than those designed for more general use. Look for them online or call fashion and accessory stores that cater to punk and alternative clienteles.

If you just can't find a super-strong formula, there is an emergency solution. You can always find the strongest gel available and mix it with regular white hobby glue in a mixture of about two parts gel and one part glue. With extensive regular use, such a combination may really take its toll on the health of your hair. But the same could be said for regular application of large quantities of almost any hair styling products. Use this technique sparingly if at all, and be sure to wash your hair very well when it's time to take down your do.

Finally, get yourself a stiff, sticky pomade to help with the finishing touches. Pomade typically comes in shallow, round jars and has a consistency similar to paste. Formulas and scents vary, but as long as you choose a brand that satisfies your taste, just about any kind will do.

Prepare Your Hair

To spike your hair effectively, it's best to begin with clean, damp hair. Wash your hair thoroughly using a shampoo that does not contain a conditioner. Shampoos that are designed specifically to purge accumulated styling products are the best. Do not follow up the shampoo with a conditioner.

After rinsing your hair thoroughly, pat and gently wring it dry with a towel. Leave it somewhat damp if you're going to style your hair right away, otherwise just dampen it with a spray bottle of water just prior to applying the gel.

The Basic Technique

The specific approach you should use to spike your hair depends on the length of your hair and the type of spikes you want to achieve. However, there are a few basic principles that apply in each case.

As stated above, you should begin with slightly damp hair. You must apply massive quantities of strong gel to spike a long haircut, but they must be applied gradually, in small amounts. Work the gel into the hair one small handful at a time, doing your best to distribute it evenly throughout your entire head of hair. Depending on the style of your cut, this may lead you to get hair gel on your shoulders, back, arms, ears and face, so don't put on any fancy outfits prior to applying the gel.

With a wet and gel-saturated head of hair, it's time to start styling. But it's important to keep the hair dryer on your hair at all times during styling, and to work fast. Make sure you know exactly what you're going to do and how you're going to do it before you get to this point, otherwise you may get stuck with a rock-hard yet half-finished do.

Another common truth of hair spiking is that you cannot have too many stylists or too many hair dryers. With three hair dryers and four sets of hands working on a single head of hair, you can create some magnificently ridiculous spikes in a matter of a few minutes. Some of the more ambitious spiking jobs may be nearly impossible for one person to style by him or herself.

Spiking Medium to Long Hair

Medium length haircuts are significantly easier to style than longer hairstyles, mostly due to the fact that they can often be done standing up (more on that later).

For fine spikes, saturate damp hair with strong gel and blow dry it with one hand while combing it outward and upward with a fine toothed comb in the other hand. Make sure you focus the hair dryer on the sections you're combing. When your hair is hard as a rock, you're done. For slightly thicker spikes, use the same technique with a wide toothed comb.

If you want bigger spikes, you'll need to form them by hand. This is much easier to do if you can have someone hold the hair dryer for you. Form each large spike one at a time by grabbing a section of hair, twisting it into a cone shape with a fine point and molding it into shape as it is dried with the hair dryer. If your hair dryer can't dry your hair very quickly, you may want to apply the gel one section at a time instead of all at once.

When your spikes are dry, give them about fifteen minutes to cool and set. If they haven't moved, you're done. If they've sagged a bit, touch them up with pomade before considering the job done.

Spiking Really Long Hair

If you've never spiked your very long hair before but are committed to doing it, you should know going in that there's a chance it might not work out. Gravity never rests and gel-saturated hair is heavy, but there's only one way to find out of your desired do is theoretically possible. You've got to give it your best shot.

You will definitely need the help of at least one person, and there's going to be very little you can do to actually assist in the styling of your own hair. This is because you'll be lying on your stomach on a table, in the middle of an open-sided staircase or anywhere else where you can dangle your hair directly toward the ground. Doing it standing up would be an exercise in futility.

As you crane your neck and dangle your damp hair downward, have your helpers grease it up well with the strongest hair gel you've been able to find. Let them blow dry it, ideally using two ionic blow dryers, as they style it into the spikes you desire. The same styling techniques apply here; fine combs give you fine spikes, wide combs create slightly bulkier spikes and larger spikes must be formed and dried by hand.

The drying and styling time for longer haircuts can take several minutes, so make sure that you're in as comfortable and safe of a position as you can be before allowing your stylists to begin. If you must get up or move before your spikes are set, you could botch the entire operation.

When your stylists think you're done, stand up and keep your spikes upright. Make sure your helpers keep an eye on your spikes continuously for the next half hour. If any of the spikes begin to fall or droop, have them touch them up immediately with pomade. If styling with pomade is difficult while you're still standing, you may need to re-assume your upside-down position for a few more minutes.