Wolf cut

Read this out: “Heavy crown layers; thinned-out lengths; mullet-ish back; curtain bangs.” That's 3–5 in (7.5–12.5 cm) on top with a tapered neckline, recut every 6–8 weeks. Your own barber card adjusts it for your part side and texture.

The wolf cut and the shag 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 wolf cut is cut as “Heavy crown layers; texturise the lengths; mullet-ish back”; the shag as “Choppy layers with volume at the crown; cut to air-dry”. The neckline differs too: tapered against rounded. On texture, the wolf cut takes 2A–3B hair; the shag takes 2A–3B hair, plus 1B with adjustments. Beyond the trim the wolf cut needs volume at the crown and a dress code that allows a statement cut, the shag needs volume at the crown. 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: shag.

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

Yes: our catalog lists the wolf 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 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 wolf cut against every other women's cut.

It's best on 2A–3B hair. On 1A–1B, 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 5–10 minutes of styling a day.

1A–1B, 4A–4C hair (straight 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 2: at stage 3 it's shown with a caveat; beyond that we hide it. Barbers also flag: Fine low-density hair, round faces, a conservative look; trend-dependent (Janif 2014: rarer looks rate higher).

“Wolf 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.