The perfect slick back doesn’t come from “one perfect product”; it all depends on your brushing angle and combination of products. As a wavy-haired girl who loves to straighten her hair, I think I’ve mastered a pretty universal slick-back routine.
To start, I love either using a hair mask or a hair strengthening oil as my base. Since slick-back days tend to be my hair wash days, I alternate between my Dove hair strengthening mask and my Mielle scalp and hair strengthening oil.
After applying the first round of product to my hair, I grab my Tangle Teezr hairbrush to brush the product well into my roots. Then, I start brushing my hair in the direction of a ponytail and make a “mock slick back.”
I call it a mock because this is just where the perfecting process starts. Once I see the style I’m envisioning come to life, I choose a styling cream to help hold my hair back for the rest of the day. On hair oiling days, I tend to apply more styling cream, but on hair mask days I only apply a light amount to keep my flyaways down.
For styling cream recommendations, my go-to is the Dae styling cream, but I’ve found the e.l.f. Wonder Magic Styling Cream has the same results on my hair type! I make sure to spread it out evenly across the roots of my hair before going in with my slick back brush to brush my hair away from my face at a curved angle.
Once I’m done flattening out the top, I make sure to get the flyaways in the back brushed down before securing my hair in a ponytail. This time, I keep it in a little longer while I re-brush the top section of my hair to make sure everything is as slicked back as possible.
After it seems like there are no bumps and that my hair is perfectly slick, I remove the ponytail and re-tie it so that it feels more secure before going in with a second hair tie for extra hold.
The last steps of my routine include adding either a layer of mousse or hair gel into my hair. Since my slick back days tend to be my busiest days, where I know I’m not going to be home for hours, I like leaving feeling like nothing could make my slick back look messy. This extra layer of protection is what really holds in the slickness for me and keeps my flyaways down the entire day.
If gel or mousse seems like too much, either eyebrow gel or the e.l.f. Wonder Magic Styling wand can work as a great substitute. They’re easy to use to tame down any flyaways, and they are also compact and perfect to throw in your bag for any touch-ups needed throughout the day.
What I love about a slick back is that it doesn’t ever have to be just a ponytail. Sometimes, on my hair mask weeks, I add a hair mask to the ends of my hair as well and tie one or two braids in the back so that the mask can sulk in my hair while I run errands.
On more elegant days, such as days I’m at work or have presentations, I put my hair up into a slick back bun and pin it back to stay secured all day.
Even on game days, I feel like I can wear a slick back with a bubble braid or two braids in the back and spend the entire day out without feeling like my hair is a burden in the Florida heat.
The variety of styles and outfits I’m able to put together with a slick back has made it my go-to hairstyle, and it’s much easier to do than people think.
If you’re looking to perfect your slick back routine, the best recommendation is to find something that nourishes your hair type, to ensure that your slick back is an opportunity to maximize putting healthy products in your hair and end the day with healthy hair.
While thinking about hairspray and hair gel in your hair can be overwhelming, there are so many ways to approach your slick back in a way that will optimize hair health and growth.