Pompadour

Read this out: “Top 4–6 in, longest at front; high taper or undercut; blow-dry up and back.” That's 4–6 in (10–15 cm) on top with a tapered neckline, recut every 3–4 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The pompadour and the slick back share medium length and medium to high density, which is why they get mixed up. The pompadour is cut as “Blow-dry up and back with a round brush”; the slick back as “Keep weight at the crown”. On texture, the pompadour takes 1B–2B hair; the slick back takes 1A–2B hair, plus 2C–3A with adjustments. Beyond the trim the pompadour needs volume at the crown, a blowout in humid weather and heat tools, the slick back 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: slick back.

Yes: our catalog lists the pompadour 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 1B–2B 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 pompadour against every other men's cut.

It's best on 1B–2B hair. On 3A–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 3–4 weeks: 13–17 cuts a year, about $390–$510 at $30 a cut, plus 10–15 minutes of styling a day.

3A–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: Hidden from hairline stage 2; long faces, high foreheads and fine hair.

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