Guys, listen up: the tides of men's hairstyles are turning, and you'd better be on board.

Those super close fades and tight barbershop-type haircuts are on the way out, and longer hair is coming back in.

"Guys are going for natural looks," Riki Bryan, head of marketing at Fellow Barber, a chain of high-end barbershops in New York City and San Francisco, told Business Insider.

"Either classic gentleman's cuts that have a natural back and sides, or fully growing out the sides and back and just going for a more long and natural look."

This makes sense when you consider other loosening trends in menswear, like athleisure.

So what should you ask for next time you sit in a barber's chair? One word: scissors.

Ask your barber to use scissors on the back and sides instead of clippers, which will give your hair a more natural, longer look.

For everyday maintenance you're going to need to remember to shampoo less often and condition regularly, as longer hair has a tendency to look terrible when it's dried out.

And when you get out of the shower, you're going to want to use styling cream in it, which was created especially for longer hairstyles. It'll tame any frizz and basically replicate the natural oils you just washed out of your hair, creating a "three-day dirty look", according to Bryan.

The good news is that you can get away with going to the barbershop less often. Longer hair requires only a one-a-month trim, versus the every-two-weeks shape-up that the close-cropped styles required.

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While we will always recommend shaving your head if you're losing your hair, we'd be remiss if we did not outline some other options.

Some patterns of male hair loss can be covered in different ways, depending on where you're losing it and how far it's progressed.

We've teamed up these methods with some of their most famous practitioners.

The Jason Statham buzz cut

Statham has stopped short of shaving his entire head with a close-cropped buzz cut all over. This is a hyper-masculine style he carries with aplomb. It's less severe than an all-over shave, and is a less drastic change to your lifestyle. Since Statham still has some hair on top, he can pull it off.

Getting it done is pretty simple: It's just clippers all over, set to a low setting.

The Jude Law one-inch

According to a dermatologist quoted by Esquire, the hair above your temples is the first to fall out for most men. This provides an interesting dilemma for men whose hairline doesn't recede evenly, providing a sharp point inches long.

Jude Law has cleverly gotten around this problem with a one-inch all-around haircut, which is tapered on the sides. This will give you enough hair on top of your head, without looking like you're trying to hide things or cover anything up.

The Roger Sterling part

Roger Sterling, the "Mad Men" character played by real-life balding guy John Slattery, suffers from the same problem Jude Law does, but his peninsula is less severe.

This enables him to leave his hair a bit longer than Law, according to Art of Manliness, and it looks great parted to the side. The sides are still kept short, however.

The Prince William layers

Prince William exhibits a different pattern of hair loss, with a thinning top but little front hairline loss.

For this, the prince can get away with cutting his hair into layers that lay on top of each other, creating the illusion he has more hair than he really does.

To get this from a barber, ask him to cut it in uneven layers, which you can tousle when you style it, hiding the thinning hair.

A word of warning, however: this won't work forever, and you'll eventually need to shave.

The Last Resort

If all else fails, just shave it all off. 

Don't worry: this isn't as drastic as it sounds. Getting used to your newly bald head should be a breeze. 

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Every guy who starts losing his hair has to make a choice: do I attempt to disguise it, or do I shave it all off and own the look? 

Either way, here's what you can't do: try and do a comb-over.

Comb-overs, as anyone who has eyes would tell you, don't actually hide anything. The long strands actually do the opposite, highlighting the bald head underneath.

The way a comb-over works is that you try and "teach" your hair, which naturally wants to grown down, to grow across your head instead.

This makes the strings of hair look wiry and limp. It usually moves the parting of the hair to a section lower on your head, so that more hair can be used as cover. This has the effect of making not only the balding spot look larger, but your head larger as well.

Basically, it's not a good look.

What else can men do to avoid the comb? We've recommended some haircuts that balding men can use to lessen the effects of balding without shaving it off, but a shaved or close-cropped buzz cut can also work very well provided you have the scalp for it.

Or, you could always just rock the power doughnut and own the hair pattern nature has given you, à la Larry David.

SEE ALSO: Here's how you should dress when you're losing your hair

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We've written a lot about changing haircut trends, but what if you don't want to follow the trend and just want a solid haircut that will last forever? We can help you there, too.

To get a haircut that will never go out of style, the best thing you can do is err on the side of simplicity. Those trendy fads and layering will come and go, but a true timeless cut will still be stylish in 2016 as it was in 1916.

These aren't the most adventurous of haircuts, but we guarantee they'll never fade in and out of relevance. Here are some examples, and how to obtain them:

Crew cut

It doesn't get much simpler than this: It's just a buzz all around. Like other very short cuts, it can't come in or out of style, since there's just not much to it.

Recommended for: guys worried about losing their hair or who just want as little hair maintenance as possible.

The high and tight

A variant of the crew cut, this one has military roots. And like most military styles, it's completely devoid of trends and hype. It's a little bit more interesting than a buzz cut, but don't be surprised when strangers come up to you thanking you for your service.

Recommended for: ex-military, someone looking for something similar but more interesting than a typical buzz cut.

No hair

There isn't anything more low-maintenance than no hair at all on your head. You don't even need to buy and use shampoo! It will undoubtedly create a drastically different silhouette on your head, but that is easily remedied. It's obtained by shaving the head with a razor.

Recommended for: any man who has lost most of the hair on his head or is looking for something more severe than the buzz cut.

The long cut

Another timeless cut is the long cut, which is starting to come back into style. It never really goes away, however, and is obtained by asking for a scissor cut on all sides. Make sure to ask for the sides and crown to be slightly shorter than the top.

Another benefit is that the style is easy to maintain and requires fewer trips to the barbershop than other longer styles.

Recommended for: any man with wavy or curly hair looking for an easy haircut to maintain.

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There are few rituals a guy prizes as highly as his haircut. Every month, like clockwork, right?

If you follow that rule, you may not be going as often as you need to — or you may be going too often. That common once-a-month rule is actually much more flexible than you think.

It all depends on the length of the cut you're looking to maintain. For someone with shorter, razored hair on the sides, in order to maintain that style you will need to go back to the barbershop every two weeks, according to Riki Bryan, a strategist who works with New York City- and San Francisco-based barbershop chain Fellow Barber.

If you have a longer haircut, say an inch or two all around, a month is an acceptable amount of time to go in between cuts.

That's because hair always grows at the same rate — about 0.5 inches every four weeks, according to GQ. It's all about maintaining ratios.

Since 0.5 inches can be up to double the length of the shorter sides of a close-cropped, clippered haircut, to maintain that shape you must go within a few weeks. However, if your hair is two inches or longer, that ratio of growth after a month is going to be much smaller, and no one will really notice a 0.5-inch increase in hair length.

Basically, the longer your hair is, the longer you can go without getting it cut. However, we'd still follow a plus- or minus-two-week range from a month schedule.

After six weeks, you're going to need at least a trim, no matter how long your hair is.

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You walk in, you greet your barber, and you sit down. The barber asks what you want done today.

You reach into your pocket to pull out a picture of a man with hair that looks nothing like yours. The barber groans, but, being a professional, he does the best he can with the instructions given.

Both of you leave unhappy. But this could have been avoided.

Unfortunately, finding a haircut online and showing it to your barber isn't the best way to ask for the cut you want, and if you do that, you're always going to end up with an approximation of what the barber can do with your hair. It's important to remember that the hair of the guy in the photograph and your hair could be different in any number of ways.

These differences can include:

• Length: You may not be giving your barber a lot of room to work with if your hair is shorter than or around the same length as the man in the photo.
• Texture: Thick or thin is one of the defining features of a person's hair, and you're never going to be able to get a thick person's hair if you have thin hair — and vice versa. 
• Type: If you have straight hair, and the model in the photo has wavy hair, it'll just never look the same.
• Hairline: Your hairline is due entirely to genetics, and it will have a huge impact on the way the front of your haircut looks. 
• Color: This one's pretty obvious.

But there is a simple solution: instead of someone else's hair, bring a picture of yourself with a haircut you really liked.

Then, the barber will be able to replicate the haircut on you without concern to any differences in hair texture or type. And you'll both be happy.

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If you can't keep up with the times, your hairstyle might quickly become outdated.

Our friends at Hairstylism created an infographic to illustrate the top men's hairstyles — and what separates one from another. It seems close-cropped haircuts are still the norm these days, but longer hair is quickly coming into vogue.

Whether it's the undercut or the pompadour, one of these 10 cuts is sure to fit your hair and tickle your fancy.

Whatever your preferred style, just be sure to get a haircut that fits your face shape.

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Forget everything you think you know about face shapes and haircuts — it's probably all wrong.

All that nonsense about heart- or oblong-shaped heads? For the most part, it just doesn't apply to the short, tapered, long-on-the-top haircuts popular with today's gentlemen.

According to barber Kyle Holbrook of Fellow Barber in San Francisco, you need to know only one thing about your face shape to get the most flattering haircut — whether your head is round or long.

In other words: The only thing you need to know about the shape of your head is if your face is rounder than it is long, or longer than it is round.

It's really that simple.

A rounder, wider face, like actor Daniel Craig's, should get a haircut that is tighter on the sides. This will give the whole face more length and balance out your proportions, thus giving you the illusion of having a less-round face, exactly as Craig has done.

For those with a longer, squarer face — like Ryan Gosling's — they should ask for a longer length of hair on the sides and around the temples. This will frame your face and make it appear wider, which is clearly what Gosling has done.

These two subtle shifts can make a world of difference in how your new haircut will look on you, and the haircuts on these two leading men is proof of that.

Of course, a good barber will do this automatically, but Holbrook warns that you should always take charge of your hair if you're unsure.

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Situation: You've got a wedding, gala, or other similar event coming up on Friday, and it's the beginning of the week. You look in the mirror and see that your hair is dangerously overgrown.

You must make an appointment for a haircut this week. What day should you choose to look the best for your event?

If you answered "the day before"— sorry, but you're wrong.

Tuesday or Wednesday would actually be your best bet, as it turns out most professionals would recommend a buffer of one or two days,according to Max Berlinger of The New York Times.

This lets the cut "settle" and ensures your hair looks less freshly shorn for your big event.

This also allows enough time for any corrections to be made before the big event, if the event really is of that much importance that your hair must be perfect.

Nick Wooster, who is widely regarded as one of the most important men's style icons of today, even told The Times, "Some barbers say the only difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is three days."

This matters more the shorter the haircut, and with scissor cuts it matters a little less. Don't let this affect your choice to get the haircut that would be best for you, however.

SEE ALSO: How to get the best haircut for your face shape

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Kurt Stenn has studied hair for 30 years and lectured extensively on the biology of the hair follicle. In his recent book "Hair: A Human History," he dives into the biology, evolution, and cultural history of the subject. 

We asked him whether hair really grows back stronger and thicker after you shave it. 

Produced by Grace Raver. Camera by Darren Weaver.

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Summer means change — new shoes, new clothes, and a new grooming routine.

But don't forget your hair — it also deserves a fresh look.

Sure, we've said that longer hair is coming back into style lately — a correction in response to those overly trendy razor-fade styles reminiscent of the early part of the 20th century.

The problem with that in warmer climates is that all that extra bulk on top of your head can actually make you feel hotter. If your hair is a dark color or really thick, this effect can be magnified.

But there's a way to combine the two for the summer, while still keeping cool. Yes, the perfect cut for summer.

Just ask for your hair to be shorter on the sides than the top. Yes, it's as simple as that. It's much more stylish than buzzing it off, and it's incredibly versatile for anything summer will throw at you.

Some guidelines to get this type of cut:

• Tell them how short you want it on the sides. It can be helpful to know the specific number of the clippers you want your barber to use. If you don't know what setting of clippers you prefer, ask your barber to start with a longer setting and progressively get shorter until you find a style you like.
• When saying how long you want it kept on top, inches are the best figure (1 inch, 1 1/2 inches, etc.).
• Specify what kind of part you'd like. For no transition, ask for a shaved part (long on top, buzzed on the sides). For a more conservative style, ask for a natural or blended transition.
• If you don't want your sides to be all the same length, ask for a tapered cut, which means your hair gets gradually longer toward the top of your head.
• For more manageable hair, ask the barber to add some texture to the top. Texturing will thin out the bulk of your hair and is great for anyone with thicker hair. This is also great to thin out thicker hair for the summer.
• Lastly, tell your barber how long you want your fringe (aka bangs) to be in the front, and if you sweep it to the side or style it in any way.

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It's no secret that men are playing more attention to their appearance these days. Clothes, beards, shoes, and, of course, haircuts.

Now, guys are paying so much attention to their hair, that world leaders keep barbers on staff for $10,000 a month and hedge funders summering in the Hamptons have stylists fly out via helicopter from Manhattan, according to the New York Times.

And the $800 price doesn't even include a color treatment.

“I maintain that men’s prices should be the same as women’s,” Tim Rogers, a stylist at Sally Hershberger Salon, told the Times, adding that men can often be more demanding when they are required to travel and work around busy schedules.

“There is never a bad time for them,” Rogers said. “And everything has a price.”

But even if you're not having a stylist flown in, prices can still reach into the hundreds in Manhattan, according to stylists like April Barton, who charges around $300, and Martial Vivot, who asks $320.

For that kind of money, these hair cutters do more than just take a little off the top. They also dispense helpful advice to clients, like how to cover up their peeking gray roots and hide thinning hair.

Men pay these costs and trust their hair to these hairstylists because they're seen as the trusted experts. With a little research, however, you can guide a barber or hairstylist in the direction you'd like them to go, gaining power over your hair and how you'd like it to look while paying significantly less.

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Getting a haircut isn't supposed to be complicated. 

After all, you've been doing it since you were old enough to sit still in a chair.

But there are some things you can do to make your next barbershop visit run smoother for both you and your barber, that you might not have realized.

J. Clark Walker, a barber who works at Fellow Barber in New York's West Village, has enumerated eight tips on how to be the best barbershop client you can be.

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1. Don't be impatient.

As Walker says, a good barber is probably a busy barber. And a good barber takes his time. They always try to stick to their schedule, but it doesn't always pan out that way, especially with pickier customers. Additionally, don't jump in the chair as soon as the previous client hops out.

2. Don't freak out about hair clippings.

"Things will get a little hairy sometimes," Walker writes, but that's what the cape is for. 

3. Don't expect your barber to be a magician.

Bringing an inspiration photo is always helpful, but know that the person in the photo has a completely different quality of hair and scalp. Your haircut isn't going to be a dead-ringer for the one in the photo. 

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What overall style are you going for?

Above all else, this is the most important piece of information you need to be able to communicate to your stylist when getting a haircut. Tell it right, and all the rest should fall into place relatively easily. Tell it not-so-right, and the chance that you walk away disappointed will skyrocket. So figure out what you want, and figure out how to express it to another person. Bring a picture if you have to. Or, maybe, a guide.

Do you like structure, or do you style your mane more on the messy side?

Once you've told them your overall hopes and dreams for your cut, many barbers will then ask what vibe you're going for with your 'do; i.e. are you going to style it more conservatively, or are you going to be embracing the current trend of more messed-up manes? Or, do you want a 'do that can do both? Depending on your answer, a quality stylist will then be able to make a few decisions of their own with respect to things like texture, edges and the use of of thinning shears.

How long do you want it?

Now that you've got the general chop down, and how you plan on styling it, time to get down to the nitty gritty. To start, there's the question of length. For longer cuts, the answer's easy: simply show them where you want the base of your hair to land and they’ll figure out where to go from there. For shorter cuts, though, there tend to be follow-up questions. Such as, how much of a contrast do you want from the sides to the top, in any at all? And do you want to be able to see skin through the hair? How much? Essentially any haircut can be adjusted to meet your preferences here, so don’t be shy.

We'll admit it's not always easy to tell when you need a haircut, or if it can wait another week or so.

But if your hair checks any of the following four boxes, it may be time to take care of it.

And when you do, make sure you're getting the best haircut possible.

1. You're getting tired of taming it in the morning.

Fighting with your hair to stay straight every morning is a hassle you just don't need when you're getting ready for work.

And if you're attacking it with tons of product every morning to get it to stay in place, or it requires maintenance throughout the day, it might be time to get a trim.

2. A friend or significant other says, "Wow, your hair is getting long."

Ah, the universal way of saying "your hair looks terrible" politely. If someone else has noticed it — especially someone you don't see very often — it may be time for a trip to the barber relatively soon.

Trust me, it's not quite the compliment you're interpreting it as.

3. You notice you're looking scraggly.

You know the signs: wavy hair turning to curls around your neck, the Bieber swoop, hair over your ears, or unruly sideburns.  It's hard to look neat and well-groomed when you have this going on, so give it a fix by a professional.

4. Your intended style has faded away.

If you're trying to maintain a particular hairstyle, like a fade, you need to get a haircut pretty regularly. When you notice the style you're going for has faded away, it's time to head back to the barber for a touch-up or a new 'do.

If all of this is too much trouble, just go every month or so. It can't hurt.

SEE ALSO: How to get the best haircut for your face shape

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Damien Miano, owner and head stylist of the Miano Viel Salon in New York City, explains the right way to use shampoo and conditioner.

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Damien Miano, owner and head stylist of the Miano Viel Salon in New York City, shares his thoughts on the kind of hairstyles that will be the most popular for men in 2017.

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Damien Miano, owner and head stylist of the Miano Viel Salon in New York City, explains how to make sure your barber or stylist gives you the haircut you want. 

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Judging from a quick Google query, there are more types of fade haircuts than there are hairs on your head. Are you the "Tapered Fade With Blunt Fringe" kind of guy? Or maybe the "Scissor Fade With Quiff" type? Do you prefer a "High Fade with Low Bangs"? (okay, we just made that last one up). It's hard to know what any of those names mean, let alone what they'll actually do for your hair.

And more choices don't necessary equal better results when it comes to your grooming. It's a bit like dating: First you need to find a barber you can trust and then you need to learn to ask for what you want.

So to make sense out of the massive spectrum of fade cuts, we talked to Kirk Riley, co-founder of Otis & Finn barbershop about what his clients are looking for and how to give it to them:

What is the most commonly requested fade right now?

"Well, you know that hipster-y '40s look where it's slicked on the top really tight on the sides? I think that's a little expired now. People really like Zayn Malik's fade. He has that kind of like London boy, high fade with the shorter hair on top and he texturizes it. So when something big like that happens then people obviously come in asking for it. Soccer players are referenced a lot. For sure Beckham is always brought up. Also people are throwing in a notch or something cool to compliment the fade, if you're really bold."

How do you know how short to go on the sides and the back?

"It does come down to personal preference and also the shape of your head. You wanna kinda play around with fades and find the one that suits you and shapes your head correctly and just looks the best. That said, you definitely need good hair if you want to do a cool skin fade. That's one of the best looks, if you can pull it off. A high skin fade is kind of like a man's way of showing some cleavage, some skin."

What do you mean when you say "good hair"?

"It's usually a nice thick dense type of hair that fades the best. Not everyone has that kind of hair but you can do your best."

How should guys maintain their new fade?

"Tight fade haircuts need to be maintained every two to three weeks. For a more classic haircut we'd say every four to six weeks. But people do like to keep it tight, just 'cause it goes away. It just all starts to blend in, so you don't see the difference in the hair lengths anymore."

How about getting that textured look on top?

"Usually I use a paste or something matte usually. I've seen a big change from pomades (going back to that '40s slick), to more pastes and creams, you know stuff that's not as slick."

Here's what Riley suggests you tell your barber to get these most-requested fades:

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Zayn Malik

"A softer, high fade starting with a .5mm guard (aka half-guard). Blended into the top to leaving 1.5 inches or so on top, enough to comb over with added texture. Keep hairline natural and blend down to the beard."

Gordon Hayward

"A disconnected high fade, not too blended. Start with a 1.5mm clipper on the bottom and jump to a 3mm. Leave hair 3 inches or so on top, enough to comb over while leaving some volume when combed back."

Danny Welbeck

"A high skin fade keeping a couple inches on top when dry and a clean lineup. The top not too shaped with a bit of texture."