What haircut should I get?

Choose by hair type, not face shape.

Most haircut advice starts with your face shape. The better starting point is your hair: how it behaves when it dries on its own, how much of it there is, and how much time you'll give it in the morning. Get those right and almost any cut you like will work.

Step 1: Know your hair type

Let your hair air-dry once without product. Then pick:

• Straight — dries flat, no bend.
• Wavy — dries with loose S-shaped bends.
• Curly — forms defined curls or ringlets.
• Coily — tight coils or a zig-zag pattern, lots of shrinkage.

Step 2: Decide how much time you'll give it

• Under 2 minutes: go short and even.
• About 5 minutes: some length on top, a little product.
• 10+ minutes: longer top, styled with a blow-dryer or comb.

Step 3: Match the two

Straight hair

• Low effort: Crew cut or Textured crop — short, sharp, almost no styling.
• Medium: Classic taper — works for the office and the weekend.
• More effort: Side part with a fade or Quiff — polished, needs product daily.

Wavy hair

• Low effort: Textured crop — the wave does the styling for you.
• Medium: Classic taper with 2–3 inches on top, worn loose.
• More effort: Medium flow — grow to 4–6 inches, trim the ends every 6–8 weeks.

Curly hair

• Low effort: Curly top with a taper — short sides, curls on top, a bit of cream.
• Medium: same cut with more length on top, shaped curl by curl.
• Tip: ask your barber to skip thinning shears. They turn curls into frizz.

Coily hair

• Low effort: Buzz cut or Temple taper with an even top.
• Medium: Temple taper with defined coils (sponge or twists for definition).
• More effort: Waves (daily brushing and a durag) or Locs (retwist every 4–6 weeks).

Before you go

Screenshot the cut you want and the exact words on its card. Barbers work faster with a picture and a guard number than with "short on the sides."