Curtains / middle part

Read this out: “Top 4–6 in, centre part; fringe falls to the temples; scissor or low-taper sides; texturize the ends.” That's 4–6 in (10–15 cm) on top with a tapered neckline, recut every 4–6 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The curtains / middle part and the mod cut share medium length, medium to high density and a recut every 4–6 weeks, which is why they get mixed up. The curtains / middle part is cut as “Point-cut and texturise the ends”; the mod cut as “Scissor-over-fingers layering for a rounded silhouette; point-cut the fringe; curly hair: cut dry”. On texture, the curtains / middle part takes 1A–2C hair, plus 3A with adjustments; the mod cut takes 1A–2B hair, plus 2C–3A with adjustments. 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: mod cut.

Yes: our catalog lists the curtains / middle part as a men's cut, so it comes up when your check is set to men's cuts, and not in the women's list. That is where gender stops counting: the shape is decided by your hair and your proportions. The spec wants 1A–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 curtains / middle part against every other men's cut.

It's best on 1A–2C hair and possible on 3A with adjustments. On 3C–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. Nothing else in its spec marks it down for fine strands or low density. Density is measured in the free check, and our thinning hair guide lists the cuts our engine favours for thin hair.

A trim every 4–6 weeks: 9–13 cuts a year, about $270–$390 at $30 a cut, plus 5 minutes of styling a day.

3C–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: A prominent nose; an off-centre front cowlick; hidden from hairline stage 2.

On proportions alone, our engine places it in the top 3 for 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.

“Curtain 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.