The GazettE, a Japanese visual kei rock band.

Visual Kei is an emerging genre within Japanese music. However, this genre goes beyond the sounds of the music. Band members wear makeup, dress in colorful, flamboyant styles, and create unique hairstyles that are believed to be as much a part of the performance as the music itself.

If one were to visit the Harajuku district in Tokyo, he would likely see many Visual Kei hairstyles for guys.

X Japan

Visual Kei was first seen in Japan during the late 1980s. Bands like X Japan, Color, Buck-Tick, and D’Erlanger were the original pioneers of this style of music. The name for the genre was taken from a slogan created by X Japan, which translates as “Psychedelic violence crime of visual shock“.

Luna Sea

The early 90s saw attempts to get this genre of music into American and European markets. However, it was not until the late 90s that fans around the world really began to take an interest.

Even so, this style of music was never incredibly popular outside Japan. Visual Kei saw a decline in popularity around the turn of the century, but was revitalized in 2025, thanks to a one time performance by Luna Sea and the reunion of X Japan.

How to Get Visual Kei Hair

A growing number of men are deciding to try out Visual Kei hairstyles for guys. However, many of them have little or no idea what to do to reproduce these styles. It takes a lot of work and more hair products to achieve this look.

The first step is to get the hair the desired length. This is done by either growing it out or cutting it. Some choose to use hair extensions to eliminate the growing out phase when their hair is not long enough. Cutting the hair should be done with a razor to create added texture. The hair should also be layered to produce different lengths.

Color is also an essential element of this type hairstyle. Since most Japanese have naturally black hair, it is a good idea to dye the hair black. However, this is not the end. Visual Kei hair is often brightly colored, using neon blue, pink, red, and other colors. One should choose a color scheme that works for the style of hair he wants and do all of the coloring before attempting to style the hair.

Finally, spikes are a common element with Visual Kei hair. They may stand straight up, out to the sides, or at odd angles. Creating these spikes can be a difficult task that requires patience and a good deal of hair product to hold them in place. Recommended products include hair glue and freezing hair spray.

Dampen the hair a bit and pull it into the spiked position desired. Apply hair glue over the length of the spike and allow it to dry. Too little glue will not hold. Too much will make the hair look shiny and plastic.

After the hair glue has dried, one should move the spike into its final position and spray with freezing hairspray. After this dries, it should be virtually impossible to move the hair into any other position.

Popular Visual Kei Hairstyles for Guys

Visual Kei bands hairstyles.

Many of the more popular Visual Kei hairstyles for guys give them a somewhat effeminate appearance. This effect is multiplied by the makeup they wear and the feminine clothing. However, most of the men in Visual Kei bands are heterosexual. They just look the way they do to project a visual image that accompanies their music.

Japanese anime hairstyles.

Several of these styles are based on characters appearing in Anime series. One example would be Goku from the program, Dragonball Z. These styles look impossible to create in reality, which provides the challenge needed to make people want to duplicate them.

Two main divisions in Visual Kei hairstyles for guys are those with spikes and those without. There are a few, however, that blur the lines here by using a few smaller spikes to complement long straight hair.

The one common factor in most of these styles is that the hair is grown out long and is very straight. Those with curly hair who wish to adopt these styles must use a chemical straightener before they can even begin to style their hair in this fashion.

LM.C spiky hairstyles.

Spikes can vary from small, needle sharp groups of just a few strands of hair to large, bulky things that are huge at the base and become narrower as they approach the tips. Often, the spikes are not as prominent right on top of the head. It is more common to see them standing out to the sides or leaning at crazy angles.

Kazuki hairstyle.

Visual Kei hairstyles for guys have a lot in common with emo hairstyles. It is not uncommon at all to see the hair styled with a fringe that covers one eye. The use of bright colors and unusual spikes are tools used to create individuality.

The secret to Visual Kei hairstyles for guys does not lie entirely in the way the hair is styled. In order to successfully pull off the look, one must do as the Japanese creators of the style have done.

The hair is a part of the total package that consists of wearing makeup and adopting flamboyant costumes. They make their appearance a part of the performance when they play their music. This is what gave rise to this genre of music and style and has kept it somewhat popular around the world.