Shag

Read this out: “Choppy layers with volume at the crown; short layers framing the face; curtain bangs; cut to air-dry.” That's 3–5 in (7.5–12.5 cm) on top with a rounded neckline, recut every 6–8 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The shag and the wolf cut share medium length, the same best textures (2A–3B), medium to high density, a recut every 6–8 weeks and the same fringe (curtain bangs), which is why they get mixed up. The shag is cut as “Choppy layers with volume at the crown; cut to air-dry”; the wolf cut as “Heavy crown layers; texturise the lengths; mullet-ish back”. The neckline differs too: rounded against tapered. On texture, the shag takes 2A–3B hair, plus 1B with adjustments; the wolf cut takes 2A–3B hair. Beyond the trim the shag needs volume at the crown, 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 shag 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 2A–3B hair at medium to high density, and it still works with a hairline a little higher at the temples. The free check measures your texture, density and hairline, then ranks the shag against every other women's cut.

It's best on 2A–3B hair and possible on 1B with adjustments. On 4A–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 6–8 weeks: 7–9 cuts a year, about $210–$270 at $30 a cut, plus 5–15 minutes of styling a day.

4A–4C hair (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 2: at stage 3 it's shown with a caveat; beyond that we hide it. Barbers also flag: Very fine low-density hair; a round face if the volume sits at cheek level (move it to the crown); straight 1A–1B hair needs daily styling.

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

“Octopus 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.