Why most haircuts go wrong
A bad haircut is rarely a technical mistake. The stylist cut what was asked for. The problem is that what was asked for was wrong for one of three things: the face it sits on, the hair it is cut into, or the mornings of the person wearing it.
Choosing a haircut is choosing for all three. This guide does it in four steps. The fourth step is the one most people skip, and it is the one that removes the regret.
Step 1: know your face shape
Pull your hair back and look at the mirror straight on. Compare the width of your forehead, your cheekbones and your jaw, and compare your face’s length to its width. You will land in one of six shapes: oval, round, square, heart, diamond or oblong. Each has its own page on this site, under face shapes.
The face shape decides three things about the cut:
- Where the shortest layer ends. Below the chin for a round face. At the jaw for a heart or diamond face. At the cheekbone for a long face.
- Whether to have a fringe, and which. A fringe shortens the face, so long faces want one and short faces want it long and parted.
- Where the volume goes. Height on top lengthens a round face and worsens a long one. Width at the sides does the reverse.
If you are not sure of your shape, the HaircutAI app measures it from a selfie. That is a better answer than guessing in a mirror.
Step 2: know your hair
Face shape tells you where the cut should sit. Hair type tells you which cuts will hold.
| Hair | Cuts that hold | Cuts that fail |
|---|---|---|
| Fine, straight | Blunt cut, lob, curtain bangs, one or two face-framing layers | Heavy layers, shag, anything razored |
| Thick, straight | Long layers, internal layers, butterfly cut, shag | One length at the shoulder |
| Wavy | Almost everything, especially shag, wolf cut, butterfly cut | Blunt fringe |
| Curly | Layered long cuts, curly shag, curly wolf cut, all cut dry | One length, wet cuts, thinning shears |
The rule underneath the table: thin hair needs cuts that keep hair, thick hair needs cuts that remove it, and textured hair needs cuts made while it is dry.
Step 3: know your mornings
A cut that needs twenty minutes with a round brush is a bad cut for someone who has five. Be honest about this before you choose.
- Five minutes or less. Cuts that air-dry into shape: the shag, the wolf cut, layered curls, a blunt cut on straight hair.
- Ten minutes with a dryer. Curtain bangs, long layers, the lob.
- Twenty minutes with a brush or a wand. The butterfly cut, any smooth blowout style.
Pick from the row that matches your real mornings, not the mornings you plan to have.
Step 4: see it on your own face first
This is the step that removes the regret, and it is the step most people skip because until recently it was not possible. A photo of the cut on another woman tells you what the cut looks like. It does not tell you what the cut looks like on you.
The slider at the top of this page shows one woman at one cafe table. Only the hair changes. That is the comparison that matters: your face, one change, everything else the same. The HaircutAI app makes that photo from your selfie, for every cut on this site, in about a minute. It reads your face shape, suggests the cuts that fit it, and shows each one on your own head next to the hair you have now.
Do that before you book. Bring the result to the salon. Point at it. The stylist sees what you want on your actual face, and you walk in already sure.
What to say at the salon
Say the name of the cut. Then say three plain things:
- Where the shortest layer ends. Point at it.
- Whether you want a fringe, and which kind.
- How long the back stays. Point at it.
If your hair has any wave, add “cut it dry”. If your hair is fine, add “no thinning shears”. Show the photo of the cut on you. That is the whole conversation.
