Your Official Guide to the Undercut as a Hairstyle and Haircut

The Undercut is more than just a hairstyle or a haircut; it’s a way of carrying yourself. Because of the intrinsic shape of the Undercut, the hair on the top of your head is given more emphasis, which gives you a chance to really enhance your looks and carry yourself with more confidence. Indeed, the Undercut is an aesthetic-boosting haircut for any male regardless of hair type or hair-styling preferences.

Here at MensHairForum.com, our team of barbers and industry experts have been busy building this website and forum as your one and only stop to men’s hair. With regards to the Undercut, we not only have guides on the different types of Undercut hairstyles but we also have plenty of examples on how an Undercut can be worn and styled. However, questions constantly arise with such an intricate and forever-trending men’s hairstyle, so it’s thus that we wanted to publish this Undercut hairstyle FAQ for you to find answers to any Undercut questions of yours.

The questions and answers that you’ll find below in this FAQ guide on the Undercut hairstyle have been compiled by our team and are based upon real-life barbershop client talk as well as our own forum discussions. You are also welcomed to ask us any questions that may not be on this guide so that we can give you specific answers too.

Right, so, all in all, here’s our Frequently Asked Questions guide on the Undercut!

What is an Undercut?

An Undercut is, first and foremost, a haircut. An Undercut revolves around the idea of buzzing the hair on the sides and back of the head at very short lengths while the hair on the top is left long enough to style it.

Typically, the Undercut follows a flat line around the head connecting the forehead’s left temple to the right temple, so all the hair under the perimeter of this line is what’s buzzed to create the Undercut; such a line is what we call a “disconnecting line”. However, said disconnecting line need not be flat from temple to temple; it’s just that most Undercuts that you see these days are of the flat-lined type. Rarely, the disconnected haircut line of the Undercut will be set lower in height (from the temples) and/or it will follow a curved shape as in the Undercut haircut photograph below.

Because of the innate haircut characteristics of the Undercut, the shape of the hair on the top of the head ends up looking mushroom-like and thus the utmost need to actually style the Undercut and not just leave it as a buzz cut haircut. This then gives rise to the different types of Undercut hairstyles that can be implemented thanks to the evenly-buzzed sides and back of an Undercut.

What are the haircut lengths for an Undercut haircut?

There are two main haircut areas to consider in the Undercut: the sides and back of the head, and the top of the head. As such, these are the haircut lengths for each haircut area in an Undercut:

• Sides and back of the head: the hair is to be buzzed with a hair clipper only. The hair clipper length used will vary between a shaved length (i.e. the hair is shaved) to a hair-clipper length equating to a half of an inch in hair length (this is usually a “size 4” in a hair clipper length). With that said, the hair on the sides and back of the head is buzzed with only one hair-clipper length of your choice. So if you choose a size-4 hair-clipper guard (i.e. length) for your Undercut, then you only use that hair-clipper guard all across the sides and back of your head.

• Top of the head: the hair is to be at a length that exceeds two inches. If the hair on the top of the head is shorter than two inches, then the haircut will not be an Undercut but a High and Tight haircut. Most trendy Undercut hairstyles have the hair on the top ranging in length from two inches to six inches.

What is the ideal hair length in the Undercut for the top of the head?

The ideal hair length for the top of the head will vary depending on the type of Undercut hairstyle that you want to get. However, a great hair-length range for all the types of Undercut hairstyles is four to six inches. The shortest hair length suitable for the hair on the top is two inches while the longest hair length is ten inches.

What are the types of Undercut hairstyles?

Since the hair on the top of the head in an Undercut is left long enough to be styled, you can pretty much style your hair in many of the regular male hairstyles. However, since the hair on the sides and back of the head is kept at such extremely-short lengths, not all regular hairstyles will look good enough for aesthetic purposes. Thus, the best Undercut hairstyles for men are:

• Slicked back Undercut: by far, this is the mos popular type of Undercut hairstyle. The slicked back Undercut has the hair combed back (i.e. slicked back) flat (classic version) or with volume (modern version). The slicked back Undercut became a very trendy hairstyle in 2011 thanks to Jimmy Darmody in Boardwalk Empire (played by actor Michael Pitt).

• Man bun Undercut: this is a new long hairstyle for men that has become more and more popular since 2014. The man bun Undercut has the hair on the top of the head longer than 6 inches and tied in a bun that’s placed on the crown area of the head.
• Brush Up Undercut: this type of hairstyle was made popular by Zayn Malik in 2013 and by our team of barbers through our famous Brush Up hairstyle guide which was even mentioned by Zayn Malik himself as one of his hair-styling references! The Brush Up Undercut hairstyle has the hair on the top of the head styled up and with volume. The hair is not spiked nor is it tousled, instead, the hair is lifted up with the fingers using a hair wax and a hair dryer. This is how the Brush Up Undercut hairstyle looks like:

• Messy top Undercut: the hair in this type of Undercut is styled up first with the fingers and then tousled (with the fingers too). This achieves a shaggy look that has been popular since the late 2000s when the messy top was cut with a taper haircut and not an Undercut.
• Quiff Undercut: a quiff always looks great no matter what the actual haircut is, and thus the quiff Undercut is the kind of men’s hairstyle that you can always turn to if you’re out of hairstyle ideas and need a quick and aesthetic Undercut hairstyle.
• Middle-parted curtained Undercut: this was a favorite hairstyle of those who were in their teens and twenties during the 1990s. The hair is parted on the center of the head and left to hang down as a fringe, hence the curtained-hair name. See our middle-part curtained hairstyle guide for more on this peculiar look.
• Side part Undercut: a side part with an Undercut is a classic hairstyle that has been used for decades since the 1930s. The most popular side part style at that time was the side swept (i.e. a flat side part) while, nowadays, the most popular side part style is done with volume and no real parting.

What is an Undershave?

An Undershave is an Undercut that has been shaved. This means that only a manual razor (straight razor or safety razor) is used to shaved the sides and back of the head. If the hair is buzzed with no guiding comb attached to the hair clipper, that still counts as an Undercut, even though the hair will appear to be shaved.

The Undershave is a rare type of haircut which was popularized by our Undershave guide and which caused the Undershave to slowly be gaining traction among urban males in their twenties and thirties. We’ve been getting more request at our barbershops for Undershave haircuts, but the regular Undercut is still many orders of magnitude more popular.

Interestingly, the Undershave was popular with certain Native American tribes, who would “shave” their hair by ripping it off their scalp in a display of manliness as the act itself is extremely painful. That’s how they got their Mohawk haircuts back then!

Is a fade haircut an Undercut haircut?

No! We constantly see the mistaking of a fade haircut with an Undercut haircut on many online and offline publications. The fade as a haircut has many types on its own which differ on the locating of the ending fade. The Undercut is a single-length buzz cut with no graduating. Two different haircuts.

So what is the difference between the Undercut haircut and the fade haircut?

The difference between an Undercut and a fade is in the evenness of the clipped hair length. An Undercut is clipped with one hair-clipper length all throughout the sides and back of the head; there’s no tapering or contouring. On the other hand, a fade haircut makes use of a range of hair-clipper lengths to create a buzzed taper starting at the top of the sides and back of the head which then progressively gets shorter and shorter. The only similarity between the Undercut and the fade as men’s haircuts is that both utilize a hair clipper and no shears (i.e. scissors).

Here’s how a fade haircut looks; pay attention to the fading length of the hair on the sides and back:

Here’s how a very-short taper haircut (almost an actual fade cut) looks compared to the Undercut:

Should I get an Undercut haircut if I’m a guy with curly hair?

We strongly recommend against the Undercut haircut for curly-haired men due to the magnifying of the mushroom-shape hair effect. Instead, we recommend all types of fade haircuts (regular, mid, low and high) and the 2-Step Undercut for curly men to get their curls buzzed at short lengths while emphasizing the curly hair on top. If you still insist on getting an Undercut haircut with curly hair, be aware that your chances of ending up like this are very high:

Can I give myself an Undercut without going to a barbershop or hair salon?

Yes, the Undercut is actually an extremely-easy haircut to do by oneself. All you need is a good hair clipper that will keep the blades running evenly and a mirror. If you’re interested in cutting your own Undercut then have a look at our slicked back Undercut hairstyle guide as we go through the Undercut haircut in detail and describe the height of the disconnected haircut for the Undercut (the latter being very important if you are to cut your own Undercut with aesthetics in mind).

What is a good hair clipper to use for the Undercut?

Any-most hair clipper from a good brand will suffice so as to clip your own Undercut haircut. The main variable to consider in a hair clipper for a do-it-yourself-at-home Undercut is whether the hair clipper has a cord or not. Basically, a hair clipper that has a permanent cord attached to it so as to power it will be a bit less convenient than a cordless hair clipper (i.e. a hair clipper with no power cord attached). However, cordless hair clippers tend to be much-more expensive than corded hair clippers, so do consider that when going in.

Brands like Andis, Oster, Wahl and Panasonic offer excellent corded and cordless hair clippers at different price points, and any of their hair clippers will give you a pitch-perfect Undercut haircut. For actual recommendations, see our forum’s discussion on the best hair clippers (at different price points) in which we talk, discuss and list the top hair clippers suiting all budgets. Another excellent source to read about high-quality hair clippers is this tutorial on hair-styling tools for men from Rogelio Samson which includes some of the most-outstanding hair clippers that money can buy (as well as hair dryers, hair straighteners and more!).

What hair products can I use to style my Undercut?

Hair-styling products that we recommend for the styling of an Undercut are hair-styling waxes, pomades and creams. You can also use men’s hair gel although avoid extra-strong hair gel for your Undercut styling. If you want your Undercut hairstyle to have plenty of volume (i.e. vertical styling like in a Brush Up hairstyle), then it’s imperative that you also own a good hair dryer.

Check out our popular forum discussion on the best hair products for men so as to browse through our suggested hair-styling products for pomades, waxes, creams, hair gels and hair dryers.

Will the men’s hair Undercut trend ever die?

No. The Undercut is here to stay because it was always there. The Undercut is one of the pillars of the men’s haircuts foundation and its styling variants are also the bread and butter of men’s hair styling. Yes, the Undercut peaked in popularity in 2011 with Boardwalk Empire and Jimmy Darmody (and then again in 2014 with Brad Pitt in Fury), but you will still be seeing plenty of Undercuts worldwide for the years, decades and (even) centuries to come. Take our word for that!

Last revision: 8th July 2019