If you want a modern-looking hairstyle you need to know what it’s called. Otherwise the preferred stylist or barber you’ve been going to for the past 12 years might wing it and leave you asking for a shaved head instead. If you’ve seen a new and interesting haircut on the street and wouldn’t mind crowning your own dome with a similar look, chances are it’s one of the following four modern hairstyles for men:
The Fade
Photo: How To Cut Hair
Okay so while it’s modern in a sense that it’s mainstream as opposed to part of subculture, the fade has admittedly been around for decades. It’s just that now it’s acceptable to have a fade when going into a job interview. Traditionally composed of buzz-cut short back and sides slowly growing out into an inch or so of growth on top, current fade styles are seeing more hair on top than before. This time around there’s less emphasis on designs, logos, and dirty words shaved into the sides and back.
The Pompadour
Photo: Esquire
Another one which sounds like the same old same, but the modern pompadour is different from the classic version in a few ways. For one, like so many other styles on the list, there’s a big emphasis on practically no hair on the sides and back. This maximizes the effect of the signature forward-then-backward flip of the hair we all know as the pompadour.
Short Sides and Back
Photo: Annech
Again, it’s a bit disingenuous to claim a hairstyle is modern when it was popular during the Second World War. With that said the short back and sides look has been shelved for so long it’s worthy enough to be considered fully incarnated for the 21st century. Two-inch or so long hair on top can be combed in a clean side part or flipped backward, though if the bangs get especially long the style is becoming more like an undercut (see below.)
The Top Knot a.k.a. Man Bun
Photo: Huffpost
Picture the iconic samurai hairstyle: hair pulled back into a tight knot or bun up top toward the back. It’s an ideal hairstyle for men desiring to grow their hair out and are stuck in that phase where they resemble Prince Valiant. It’s also a style suited for utility; keeping strands out of your eyes is a daily ritual for anyone with over four inches of hair growth to handle.
The Undercut
Photo: Xpress Mag
A close cousin to the short back and sides style, the undercut is different in that the bangs are left to grow out even longer than hair farther back on the top of the head. In this sense it could also be claimed the undercut is a close relative to the pompadour, as the extra growth in the front results in an extra mass of hair to be combed backward or at a sideward angle.
There’s a lot of interesting variety to modern hairstyles for men, but at the same time these looks all have a few things in common. The extremely short sides and back relative to the top, and a tendency to comb long hair backward as opposed to forward. Despite the similarities, these modern styles are distinct enough to have their own names, so it’s worth knowing them if you ever want your barber or stylist to attempt something new, specific, and interesting. Just remember, it’s an experiment. Hair grows back eventually…usually.
