5 Grooming Lessons You Can Learn from Ryan Gosling and His Perfect Hair

Ryan Gosling is GQ's November cover star. He's a great actor, a good talker, and looks damn good in a camel-hair top coat. This story is not about any of that, though. This story is about his hair. And beard.

That’s because, in addition to being a talented human, the guy is so well groomed, all the time. He’s usually rocking a weeks-old beard, neatly manicured, and a business-y haircut that somehow still looks rakish and daring. We should all aspire to be so consistently good.

He was more adventurous a decade ago, with buzzed hair or fuller beards. Recently he's been more or less faithful to one look—occasionally straying off course, in a good way. Here are five examples of great looks from recent years, and how to pull them off for yourself.

1. Un-styled is a style

Gosling rarely has a hair out of line. He’s mastered the high and tight and the businessman’s cut, and when it comes to his grooming, he rarely looks artfully disheveled (like Jake Gyllenhaal or Bradley Cooper). That’s why this look makes me very happy.

Gosling isn’t exactly looking disheveled, but he is intentionally deconstructed on our November cover, as well as on all his red carpet appearances for First Man. His hair is lightly textured (from the barber), and it’s barely styled at all. My best guess is he’s got a dab of lightweight texturizing cream like Rahua’s applied to clean, almost-dry hair. It’s enough to define the hair, but it is far from clean-cut. It’s almost militaristic, and it’s a refreshing look on someone who has steered the combed course for so long.

2. You’re one part away from a new look

Here’s that coifed look I was talking about but with one noticeable difference: His hair part is more defined here, whereas he typically wears a softer and more natural part. You have to scrutinize a bit to realize what looks different, but that’s exactly what it is: By emphasizing your hair part, you give the style a little more structure and shape instead of lightly brushing it to the side or using a dry styler. Maybe it’s a silly way of saying, “Hey, comb your hair like your dad used to!” but…that’s exactly what I’m saying.

So, take a lightweight styler—a paste like Mast’s or a pomade like Triumph & Disaster’s—and apply it to towel-dried hair. Define the part with a comb (use the big tooth at the end), then comb it all into place, the same way you would with your fingers on a looser style. You can muss up the hair for a more natural finish, so long as you leave the part untouched.

3. Try changing everything at once

That means growing or shaving more facial hair than usual and trying a new hairdo. That’s what we’ve got from Gosling here: More baby face, longer hair up top and on the sides. He kind of looks like a brother of Ryan Gosling, rather than Gosling himself. I think it’s nice to go for something in stark contrast to the usual you, because it commemorates a changed chapter in your life or just benchmarks a brief moment in time when you did something different and everyone noticed and you felt good or felt weird but it’s over now.

As for this style, it’s grown out on the sides, a month removed from a scissors cut, and styled with a lightweight cream (like Living Proof’s) and blown dry.

4. Don’t be afraid to surprise everyone

Pretty sure Gosling's wearing mascara here to thicken and define his eyelashes. It calls attention to the eyes and makes them a little more piercing.

It’s similar to but slightly different from eyeliner, which you’ve more commonly seen on rock stars. (I had to superzoom the photo to note that it was, in fact, mascara and not eyeliner. You’ll see his bottom lashes are a bit fuller and darker, too.) Either way, I give Gosling 100 points for doing something that most guys would scoff at for fear of their compromised masculinity. You know what’s masculine and attractive? Confidence.

If that’s not your speed, then maybe try going full bottle blond?

5. Experiment with facial hair

Was he shooting something while rocking this look? Probably. Doesn't matter. Try a different beard shape or style, and wear it with confidence.