Butterfly cut

Read this out: “Keep length; short face-framing layers from the cheekbone; long layers; for round-brush blowouts.” That's 6–8 in (15–20.5 cm) on top with a rounded neckline, recut every 8–10 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The butterfly cut and the long layers (v or u) share long length and medium to high density, which is why they get mixed up. The butterfly cut is cut as “Keep the length; long layers; cut for round-brush blowouts”; the long layers (v or u) as “U- or soft V-shape at the back”. On texture, the butterfly cut takes 1B–2C hair; the long layers (v or u) takes 2A–3A hair, plus 1B with adjustments. Beyond the trim the butterfly cut needs volume at the crown, a blowout in humid weather and heat tools, the long layers (v or u) needs nothing beyond the trim. Our engine scores both against your own texture, density and hairline, so the free check tells you which of the two ranks higher for you. Full spec: long layers (v or u).

People search the butterfly cut and the wolf cut together; on spec the two share medium to high density. The butterfly cut is cut as “Keep the length; long layers; cut for round-brush blowouts”; the wolf cut as “Heavy crown layers; texturise the lengths; mullet-ish back”. The neckline differs too: rounded against tapered. On texture, the butterfly cut takes 1B–2C hair; the wolf cut takes 2A–3B hair. Beyond the trim the butterfly cut needs volume at the crown, a blowout in humid weather and heat tools, the wolf cut needs volume at the crown and a dress code that allows a statement cut. Our engine scores both against your own texture, density and hairline, so the free check tells you which of the two ranks higher for you. Full spec: wolf cut.

Yes: our catalog lists the butterfly cut as a women's cut, so it comes up when your check is set to women's cuts, and not in the men's list. That is where gender stops counting: the shape is decided by your hair and your proportions. The spec wants 1B–2C hair at medium to high density, and it still works with no recession. The free check measures your texture, density and hairline, then ranks the butterfly cut against every other women's cut.

It's best on 1B–2C hair. On 3B–4C hair the shape doesn't hold, so our analysis rules it out.

Not as a first pick: the catalog allows medium to high density, because the shape relies on bulk that thin hair doesn't have. Our analysis scores it lower if you have fine hair and low-density hair. It also needs volume to hold its shape, so anything that flattens your hair works against it. Density is measured in the free check, and our thinning hair guide lists the cuts our engine favours for thin hair.

A trim every 8–10 weeks: 5–7 cuts a year, about $150–$210 at $30 a cut, plus 10–20 minutes of styling a day.

3B–4C hair (curly and coily): the shape depends on a texture it can't hold, so we rule it out. Low-density hair: the cut relies on bulk that thin hair doesn't have. A hairline past Norwood 1: at stage 2 it's shown with a caveat; beyond that we hide it. Barbers also flag: Fine low-density hair, 3C+ hair, no heat tools (it needs a blowout).

On proportions alone, our engine places it in the top 3 for square, heart and triangle faces. Proportions are the smallest part of a real score; texture, density and hairline count for more, which is why the free check looks at your hair first.

“Butterfly haircut” is one of the names people use for it. Ask for it by the spec above rather than the name, since names vary between barbers.