Pixie, bixie, lob, wolf cut, butterfly cut, bottleneck bangs: haircut names multiply every year. This guide explains the most popular women's haircuts and bangs in one line each, grouped by length, with a link to the full guide for each one.
How to choose a haircut
- Start with your face shape. Layers and length below the jaw slim a round face; bangs and width at the cheekbones balance a long face; soft layers around the jaw flatter a square face. Check yours with the face shape detector and see the guides for round, oval, square and heart-shaped faces.
- Work with your hair type. Fine hair looks fuller with blunt lines. Thick hair needs layers. Curls need a cut that's shaped dry. See hairstyles for thin hair and hairstyles for curly hair.
- Think about upkeep. Bangs and pixies need trims every few weeks; long layers can go three months.
- Try it first. Preview any cut on your own photo with the AI hairstyle changer.
Short haircuts
- Pixie cut: A pixie cut is a short haircut that's cropped close at the back and sides and left slightly longer on top, often with a short fringe.
- Long pixie cut: A long pixie cut is a pixie with extra length left on top and at the fringe, usually 3 to 5 inches, while the sides and nape stay short.
- Bixie haircut: A bixie is a short haircut halfway between a bob and a pixie.
- Bowl cut: A bowl cut is a haircut where the hair is cut to one length all the way around the head, with a straight fringe, as if a bowl had been used as a guide.
- Pageboy haircut: A pageboy is a haircut where straight hair is cut to one even length, anywhere from below the ears to the shoulders, with the ends turned under and a straight fringe across the forehead.
- Undercut for women: A women's undercut is a section of hair clipped very short, usually at the nape or on one side, underneath longer hair that can cover it.
Bobs
- Bob haircut: A bob is a short to medium haircut where the hair is cut around the head at one main length, usually somewhere between the ears and the shoulders.
- Blunt bob: A blunt bob is a bob cut to a single length with a straight, sharp edge and no layers.
- French bob: A French bob is a short bob cut at or just above the jawline, usually paired with a fringe that sits at the eyebrows.
- Italian bob: An Italian bob is a chin-to-neck-length bob with heavy, blunt ends and subtle internal layers that give it body and bounce.
- Layered bob: A layered bob is a bob with layers cut through it, so the hair has different lengths inside one overall bob shape.
- Inverted bob: An inverted bob is a bob that's shorter at the back and longer at the front, with stacked layers at the back that create a curved, lifted shape.
- Asymmetrical bob: An asymmetrical bob is a bob that's cut longer on one side than the other.
- Curly bob: A curly bob is a bob cut specifically for curly or wavy hair, with layers placed so the curls stack into a rounded shape instead of spreading out at the bottom.
- Lob haircut: A lob, short for long bob, is a bob cut somewhere between the chin and the collarbone, usually just grazing the shoulders.
Medium and long layered cuts
- Shoulder length hair: Shoulder length hair falls between the collarbone and the top of the shoulders.
- Wolf cut: A wolf cut is a shaggy, heavily layered haircut that combines a shag with a soft mullet: short, choppy layers and volume at the crown, with longer, wispier lengths toward the ends.
- Shag haircut: A shag is a heavily layered haircut with choppy ends, shorter layers around the crown and usually a fringe.
- Hush cut: A hush cut is a soft, layered haircut from South Korea with wispy layers through the lengths, thinned-out ends and light, see-through bangs.
- Butterfly haircut: A butterfly haircut is a long, layered cut with two sets of layers: shorter ones that fall around the chin and cheekbones, and longer ones below the shoulders.
- Long layers: Long layers are layers cut into long hair where the shortest layer still falls below the chin or shoulders.
- Face framing layers: Face framing layers are shorter pieces cut around the front of the hair, starting anywhere from the cheekbone to the collarbone and blending into the rest of the length.
- Feathered hair: Feathered hair is a layered style where the ends are cut and brushed to flick back and away from the face, so the layers overlap like feathers.
- V cut: A V cut is a long haircut where the back is cut into a point, with the sides noticeably shorter than the center.
- Hime cut: A hime cut is a Japanese haircut with three parts: a straight fringe across the forehead, blunt sidelocks cut at cheek or jaw length, and long, straight hair at the back.
- Jellyfish haircut: A jellyfish haircut is a two-tier cut: the top layer is cut into a short, blunt bob, and the hair underneath is left long and thin.
- Blowout: A blowout is a way of styling hair with a blow dryer and a round brush so that it dries smooth, shiny and full of volume, without a curling iron or flat iron.
Bangs
- Curtain bangs: Curtain bangs are bangs parted in the center that sweep to each side of the face, shorter in the middle and longer at the edges, like a pair of open curtains.
- Bottleneck bangs: Bottleneck bangs are a fringe that starts short and narrow in the center of the forehead, curves longer around the eyes and ends longest at the cheekbones, like the neck of a bottle widening out.
- Wispy bangs: Wispy bangs are a light, thin fringe cut so that the forehead shows through.
- Side bangs: Side bangs, or side-swept bangs, are a fringe cut on an angle and swept to one side of the forehead instead of falling straight down.
- Blunt bangs: Blunt bangs are a full fringe cut straight across the forehead in a solid line, usually at or just below the eyebrows.
- Micro bangs: Micro bangs, also called baby bangs, are a very short fringe that ends well above the eyebrows, usually around the middle of the forehead.
- Curly hair with bangs: Curly bangs are a fringe cut into curly or wavy hair and worn curly, so the curls fall onto the forehead.
FAQ
What is the most popular haircut right now?
Layered cuts with curtain bangs: the wolf cut, the butterfly cut and long layers are among the most searched, along with bobs of every kind.
What haircut makes you look younger?
There's no single answer, but soft face-framing layers and bangs draw attention to the eyes and soften lines around the face.
What is the easiest haircut to maintain?
Long layers or a lob. Both grow out well and work air dried.
Which bangs should I get?
Curtain bangs are the easiest to wear and grow out. Wispy bangs suit fine hair, and blunt bangs suit long faces and thick hair.
How do I know if short hair will suit me?
Check your face shape, then preview a pixie or a bob on your own photo with a hairstyle try-on tool before you commit.
