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Looking for haircut ideas for men? Your choices can be overwhelming. After all, there are crew cuts, buzz cuts, and much more. But which style is right for you? Worry not — we’ll show you different cuts and who should rock each one.
30 Trending Men’s Haircuts for 2021
If you’re planning on changing up your hairstyle this year––or if you just want some inspiration for your next visit to the barber––we’ve got you covered. We’ve handpicked 30 of the most popular men’s haircuts for 2021.
Whether your hair is short, long, straight, thin, curly, kinky, thick, or anything in between, you’ll find something here that fits your hair and your style.
1. Simple Fade
Let’s kick off the list with something simple and timeless: a short fade. If you prefer short haircuts but still want something stylish, then a fade is a great option for you.
There’s still a good amount of hair to style. But there’s not so much hair that it becomes difficult to manage. Since this type of fade is neat and clean, it’s great for work or school environments that require a more professional look.
2. 90s Waves
90s style is making something of a comeback, so if you need a haircut to match your JNCO jeans, this one might do the trick. The long, wavy nature of this style is reminiscent of many popular 90s haircuts.
This style is more suited to thick hair that’s wavy, but you could achieve a similar (though more intense) look with curly hair.
3. Shaggy Crop
The textured shag is another hairstyle that’s coming back into vogue. Once the choice of the 1970s rockstar, the shag has been updated to look a little less unkempt and a little more purposefully textured.
The result is a tousled style with tons of character. You can also tone down the messiness for a crop that’s still shaggy but not overly messy.
4. Tiny Quiff
While you still see some comically tall quiffs on social media, it’s much more common to see smaller quiffs. If short is really your style, then you might enjoy this small quiff that’s only about two inches tall.
It gives you the trendy look of the quiff without requiring you to grow out your hair for weeks (if not months). It’s also possible to get this style if you have straight and thin hair since you don’t need much volume.
5. Buzzed
Buzz cuts have a bit of a bad reputation for being unfashionable, and that’s not always true. This buzzed look uses a couple different clipper settings for a short and subtle fade that blends the top and sides together nicely. The finishing touch is the line up, which adds some structure and provides a clean border.
6. Cascading Length
If you prefer long hair, then this wavy yet choppy style should be right up your alley. Even though the hair here is quite long, it doesn’t look weighed down thanks to the cut. Obviously, this style works best with wavy or curly hair, but you can still achieve it even if your hair is only a little bit wavy.
7. Soft Curls
Curly hair looks great when it’s allowed to do its own thing, but the issue is that curls can quickly spiral out of control (no pun intended!). One solution is to keep the hair fairly short but grow it out just enough for the curls to be able to behave naturally. This results in loads of texture and a thick, full head of hair.
8. Edgy Texture
Straight fringe styles are popping up everywhere, and this is one such style that uses the straight fringe well. The combination of the fringe, the extreme fade, and the choppy texture on top creates an edgy yet clean look.
It doesn’t look like it’s trying too hard to be edgy just because. (I especially like how the texture comes forward in waves.)
9. Contemporary Side Part
The side part is a men’s hair classic, and even though this dapper style doesn’t need much updating, you can combine it with a more contemporary style to freshen it up a bit. Here, the side part is used in tandem with a side-swept style for a handsome juxtaposition of old and new.
10. Fluffy Texture
Fluffy hair is great for volume, but it also provides lots of amazing texture. You can leverage this by opting for a texture-rich hairstyle like this take on a faded shag.
The hair on top is quite messy, but the clean fade on the sides adds neatness and unifies the haircut.
11. Cut Off Crown
If you have extremely coarse or tough hair and have experienced cowlicks or other problems with your crown, then you may want to cut off the crown entirely.
When done well, this can turn the crown into a focal point and add a nice anchoring point to a side-swept or brush up hairstyle like the one shown here.
12. Classic Side Swept
To channel your inner Don Draper, ask your barber for one of these bad boys. This slicked-to-the-side look echoes classic hairstyles like the pompadour while still maintaining a personality of its own.
If you like this general style but don’t want the old-school slicked look, you can use a product like a clay instead of a pomade to style the hair.
13. Clean and Coiled
If you have tightly coiled hair (like type 4B) and prefer to keep your hair longer, this one’s for you. This texture-rich style places a spotlight on your coils but keeps everything relatively tame.
The clean line up on the temples and fringe helps immensely with this. Also notice how the hair is also long in the back for a full look all over.
14. Choppy Waves
This choppy style tows the line between clean and edgy, and that’s exactly what makes it so fun. The hair is sectioned into visibly separate waves that come together to create a great texture.
This requires slightly longer hair––think 3 inches or longer. It’s a fun way to add some spice to your fringe!
15. Sculpted Side Part
Another variation of the venerable side part, this men’s haircut features a tightly packed top and faded sides. To get this level of density, you’ll need pretty thick hair and a good amount of product. If you’re into spiffier, more preppy hairstyles, this is definitely a cut worth considering.
16. Swooping Quiff
This isn’t your average quiff. While it takes stylistic notes from a lot of trendy quiff styles, it still has its own personality. It incorporates waves within the quiff itself for an offbeat look.
And still provides that carefree, windswept appearance. The waves continue throughout the hair, which is a nice touch that adds dimension to the style.
17. Brush Back
Here’s a straightforward brush back hairstyle that’s hard to dislike. It’s not too loud, but it’s not generic, either. It’s a great match if your style has athletic preppy vibes (or if you just like the look and how dang slick it is). For a looser texture, finger comb your hair instead of using a non-finger comb.
18. Choppy Bedhead
To pull off the “just rolled out of bed” look, you really need to lean into the messy factor while still maintaining some sort of structure. That can be tricky, but this hairstyle nails it.
The hair is just tousled enough to achieve the bedhead look, but the fringe and sides reel things in and keep the style from looking too wild.
19. Tamed Curls
Since this hairstyle takes advantage of tightly curled hair, it’s suitable for both extremely curly hair and coiled or kinky hair. The sides flow right into the top, and that gradual increase in length contributes to the tidiness of this cut.
Of course, the star of the show here is the structured hair in front that provides quiff-like properties for the tightly curled hair.
20. Wavy Quiff
This quiff inventively uses the weight of the hair to create waviness instead of relying on the hair’s natural texture. If your hair isn’t wavy but you still want a wavy look, this could be what you’re looking for.
It’s a good middle ground between classic and contemporary, so it will suit a wide range of styles.
21. Extreme Brush Up
Here’s one for the bold guys out there. Most brush up styles have you brush the front of your hair up, but this one takes all the hair straight up. It’s best for thick hair that’s 3-4 inches long.
You don’t need a lot of length since the hair is being fully extended. This is definitely on the edgier side, so this probably isn’t a good one for the office.
22. Dyed Curls
More guys are experimenting with dyeing their hair in unusual ways, and that also allows for a lot of experimentation when it comes to the haircut itself. This adventurous look features lightly dyed curls paired with dark sides that are also faded for even more contrast.
If you’re feeling really daring, you could choose an even more uncommon color, but there’s something to be said for the monochromatic simplicity here.
23. Edgy Bowl
That’s right––that ugly bowl haircut you had as a kid is coming back in style. When done well, it has a certain edginess that’s hard to replicate, and that’s easy to see in this hairstyle.
Everything from the professional fade to the fringe texture is cut to precision, which transforms this from a grade-school bowl cut to a bona fide hairstyle.
24. Long Tousled
Like longer hair but don’t want to rock the mullet? Try out this tousled style that features a middle part. This is a great way to sport longer hair without it looking too unkempt or out of place.
25. Long Grey Locks
Grey hair looks pretty fantastic when grown out, especially if you have wavy or curly hair. If you have grey hair and haven’t grown it out, it’s something you should at least consider.
Whether your greys are natural or dyed, you can rock this European-inspired look that has just enough swagger.
26. Swept Texture
Most quiff-adjacent styles feature the hair being swept up, but with this cut, the hair is being swept slightly forward, which gives this a vibe of its own. It’s a nice alternative if you’re tired of the typical brush up.
27. Thick Bedhead
Really thick hair can be hard to manage, and one solution is to go for a messier look like the one shown here. This is a thicker, bushier look, but it works because it embraces the mess.
28. Grown Out Crop
What happens when you take a shaggy crop and let it grow out? Turns out the result is pretty cool. You get the waviness of longer hair without a lot of the visual weight that often accompanies longer styles.
29. Tangled Curls
This is another way to style curly hair that works well if your hair tends to be more matted or tangled. By controlling and directing that tangle, you can achieve a pretty cool textural cut.
30. Loose Windswept
Wrapping up our list is this excellent casual cut that features forward-sweeping hair and grown out sides. On top of being an all-around nice hairstyle, this is also a good cut to get if you’re growing your hair out and want to avoid the awkward transition period.
What’s Your Favorite Men’s Haircut?
There are so many excellent men’s haircuts out there, so it can be tough to choose. Hopefully this list will give you some inspiration for your next cut! When you do finally choose a style, be sure to show it to your stylist or barber. They’ll take it from there.