If your hairline is mostly intact, then Gonzalez suggests a pompadour, even if it’s a small bump like a gentleman’s haircut. Grow the hair longer in front, then comb it backwards and use a volumizing hair paste or clay. “Bentonite clay is a tacky substance which binds hair follicles together, making the most of your strands,” he says. Many hair fiber creams do the same.

 Like with receded hairlines, a comb over can also mask crown thinning. “Your barber can help determine where your hair is thinning most and where you’ve got the most density,” Gonzalez says. And let’s be honest: If your barber can’t do that, then maybe get a new barber. 

One more option, if your hairline is intact, is to go really short, to pull focus on the hairline. (Tall guys have an even bigger advantage with this one, since nobody can see the tops of their head.) “You can get a #1 or even .5”, and then a very high fade which nearly reaches the crown,” Gonzalez says. “This look is common amongst Black men experiencing thinning at the crown, embracing a sharp hairline while essentially removing the crown.”

Hairstyle Tips for Recession and Thinning Crown

If you are experiencing both types of hair loss, then you need to find some ideal middle ground. The most obvious solution is to wear your hair slightly forward and to the side, in a sweeping comb-over that masks one half of your recession and helps fill in the density up top. That being said, this won’t work as well if you…