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Men's haircuts: fades, tapers and longer styles

For men's cuts, the difference between a good and a disappointing result is usually a single number: the clipper guard on the sides, the height of the fade, or how much length stays on top. Pictures alone rarely carry that information, which is why every style here comes with a short script for the chair that names those numbers in plain words.

You will find the classics, such as crew cuts, side parts and buzz cuts, next to textured crops, low tapers that grow out gracefully and longer styles for men who want movement rather than a sharp outline. Notes on hair type matter more than most people expect: a crop that sits flat on straight hair can turn into a dome on thick wavy hair, and the pages say so.

Try a cut on your own photo first, compare two fade heights side by side, and only then sit down with the clippers running.

Men's haircuts

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Man in his 50s with a low taper fade and a short textured top, back three-quarter detail beside a front view in a warm barbershop

Low Taper Fade With Textured Top

Young man with coily hair cut to one inch, faded only at the temples and nape, with a sharp line-up, close front and three-quarter view in a barbershop chair

Temple Fade With Shape-Up

Man in his 40s with fine straight hair in center-parted 90s curtains falling to the cheekbones, front view in a record store

90s Curtains (Middle Part) for Men

Man in his 30s with a round picked-out afro about four inches long and a crisp shape-up, front view on a park bench at golden hour

Round Afro With Shape-Up

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Man in his 50s with thinning crown cut short with even texture and #2 sides, high three-quarter view of the crown beside a front view in a warm hallway

Textured Cut for a Thinning Crown

Man in his 20s with straight-back cornrows over a low skin fade, back view beside a side profile on an outdoor basketball court

Cornrows With Low Skin Fade

Man in his 40s with ear-covering wavy surfer hair, backlit three-quarter view on a beach at golden hour

Surfer Hair for Wavy Men

Man in his 50s with collar-length wavy hair swept back into a flow, back three-quarter view beside a front view on a mountain trail

Bro Flow: Medium Length Swept Back

Man in his late 20s with a frohawk of picked-out coils three to four inches tall and faded sides, front view beside a profile on a rooftop at sunset

Frohawk With Faded Sides

Man in his 50s with a modern pompadour four inches at the front over tapered sides, three-quarter view in a vintage garage

Modern Pompadour With Taper

Man in his 40s with a choppy wavy shag covering the ears and a broken fringe, front view in a rehearsal room under warm lamps

Shag Haircut for Men

Man around 30 with three-inch starter locs on top and a clean temple and nape taper, back three-quarter view beside a front view at a street market

Taper Fade for Starter Locs

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Young man with thick straight hair cut two inches on top into choppy separated spikes over a #2 taper, front view at a night market

Modern Spiky Hair

Man in his late 40s with fine straight hair in a classic combed side part and scissor-tapered sides, front view in a wood-paneled study

Classic Gentleman's Side Part

Man in his 30s with three inches of defined curls on top and a low fade at the sides, three-quarter view in a sunny courtyard

Curly Top With Low Fade

Man in his 20s with a K-style two-block cut, four inches of heavy straight hair on top falling into a soft fringe over a hidden #3 undercut, front view on a city street at night

Two-Block Haircut for Office Days

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Young man with a modern wavy mullet, temple taper and four-inch back at the nape, profile beside a three-quarter view at a skate bowl in afternoon sun

Modern Mullet With Taper

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Young man with a high skin fade up to the parietal ridge and an inch and a half of curls on top, profile beside a front view on a rooftop at sunset

High Skin Fade With Short Crop

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Man around 40 with a Caesar cut, one inch on top combed forward into a short straight fringe and #2 sides, front view on a sunny plaza

Caesar Cut With Short Fringe

Man in his early 50s with a #1.5 low Caesar showing a defined 360 wave pattern and a soft line-up, high three-quarter view under raking light on a gray backdrop

360 Waves on a Low Caesar

Man in his late 30s with a receding hairline, tight #1 temples and an inch and a half of messy top pushed forward, front and three-quarter views by a café window

Short Cut for a Receding Hairline

Young man in his 20s with an Edgar cut, a straight blunt fringe across the forehead over a high taper, front view on a sunny street

Edgar Cut With Blunt Fringe

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Man in his 50s with four inches of loose wavy hair on top swept to a side part over #2 sides, three-quarter view on a café terrace in autumn

Long on Top, Short on Sides for Wavy Hair

Man in his mid 30s with a razor hard part, three-inch comb over set with pomade and a low fade, three-quarter view in a chrome barbershop

Hard Part Comb Over

Man in his 30s with a mid fade from skin to #3 at the temple line and three inches of wavy hair swept to the side, front view on an office terrace

Mid Fade With Side-Swept Top

Man in his early 30s with two and a half inches of straight hair brushed straight up over a low fade, front view in a coworking space

Brush Up With Low Fade

Man in his mid 40s with an executive contour, three inches of straight hair combed back with light hold over scissor-tapered sides, front view in a glass office at dusk

Executive Contour (Short Slick Back)

Man in his mid 30s with an Ivy League haircut, two inches at the front swept to a side part over a short crew-length back, three-quarter view in a library

Ivy League Haircut With Clean Side Part

Young man in his early 20s with a messy, choppy wavy fringe falling to the brows over #2 tapered sides, front view on a university campus in spring

Messy Textured Fringe

Young man in his 20s with three inches of curls pushed forward into a loose fringe over a low taper, close front view on a sunny Mediterranean street

Curly Fringe With Low Taper

Man in his mid 20s with comma hair, a single fringe section curved inward above one brow and soft layered straight hair, close front view in a café

Comma Hair

Man in his early 40s with a disconnected #1 undercut and five inches of straight hair slicked back with pomade, profile beside a front view in a cocktail bar

Disconnected Undercut Slicked Back

Young man around 20 with a straight-hair wolf cut, shaggy razored crown, tapered back and center-split curtain fringe, three-quarter view on a snowy city street at night

Wolf Cut for Men With Straight Hair

Man in his late 40s with two-and-a-half-inch two-strand twists on top and a low taper around the ears, three-quarter view on a front stoop in morning light

Twists With Low Taper

Man in his late 50s with salt-and-pepper wavy hair, three inches swept to the side over a soft scissor taper, three-quarter view on a vineyard terrace at golden hour

Silver Fox Side-Swept Taper

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Man in his early 50s with a French crop, an inch and a half of choppy straight hair and a blunt short fringe over a skin taper, selfie-style front view on a subway platform

French Crop With Skin Taper

Man in his early 50s with a flat top, a level deck an inch at the crown rising to an inch and a half at the front, over #1 tapered sides, profile beside a front view in a diner parking lot

Flat Top With Tapered Sides

Groom in his early 30s in a suit with a classic scissor taper and two and a half inches of wavy hair swept to the side, three-quarter view at a garden wedding venue

Groom's Wedding Haircut: Classic Taper

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Man in his early 30s with a high and tight, skin from the nape past the parietal ridge and a #3 strip on top, profile beside a back view at a training ground on an overcast day

High and Tight

Man in his mid 40s with a butch cut, an even #3 all over with a squared front hairline, front view at a lakeside cabin in the morning

Butch Cut

Man in his early 50s at the ear-length growing-out stage, wavy hair shaped by scissors with sides tucked and neckline cleaned, three-quarter and front views by an apartment window

Growing Out Hair: the Awkward-Stage Cut

Young man around 21 with a burst fade curving in a half-circle around the ear, the nape left longer, and thick curls on top, profile against a graffiti wall

Burst Fade Around the Ear

Man in his early 30s with a #2 buzz cut all over, a squared neckline and his natural hairline untouched, front view in a garage gym in bright daylight

Number 2 Buzz Cut

Man in his early 40s with a classic crew cut, an inch on top tapering toward the crown over #2 sides with a slight front lift, front view under an umbrella on a rainy street

Classic Crew Cut for Men in Their 40s

Man in his late 30s with shoulder-length wavy layered hair in a center part, front view with hair down beside a profile with a low bun at a beach bar at sunset

Long Layered Hair for Men

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Man in his late 30s with a #1 buzz cut bald-faded at the sideburns into a shaped half-inch beard, three-quarter view in a dark studio with a single key light

Buzz Cut With Full Beard

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Man in his late 50s with a messy quiff, three inches at the front blow-dried up and forward over scissor-tapered sides, front view in an autumn park in low golden sun

Messy Quiff for Men

Man in his mid 40s with a drop fade curving behind the ear down to a low nape and three inches of straight hair brushed back, back three-quarter view in a wood-paneled barbershop under tungsten light

Drop Fade With Brushed-Back Top

Man in his late 60s with fine straight hair in a short tidy scissor cut, an inch and a half swept to the side over short tapered sides, front view by a bookshelf at home

Short Tidy Cut for Men Over 60

Man in his mid 40s with a faux hawk, a three-inch ridge of wavy hair pushed up through the middle over a mid fade, three-quarter view on a rooftop at night with city lights

Faux Hawk With Mid Fade

Questions about men's haircuts

What is the difference between a taper and a fade?

Both get shorter towards the neck and ears. A taper changes length gradually and keeps some hair at the bottom, so it looks natural and grows out softly. A fade goes down to very short or bare skin and blends upward; its height (low, mid or high) decides how bold it looks and how quickly it needs cleaning up.

Which clipper guard numbers should I ask for?

Each number is an eighth of an inch: a #1 leaves about 1/8 inch, a #2 1/4 inch, a #3 3/8 inch and a #4 half an inch. A #0 or no guard is close to skin. If you are unsure, ask for one number longer than you think - a barber can always go shorter, never longer.

How often should a men's fade be cleaned up?

Skin and mid fades look sharp for about two weeks and blurred after three, so many men book every two to three weeks. Tapers and scissor cuts stay tidy for four to six weeks. A quick neckline and sideburn clean-up between full cuts is a cheaper way to keep a fade looking fresh.