A buzz cut, or wiffle cut, is a variety of short hairstyles, especially where the length of hair is the same on all parts of the head. Rising to prominence initially with the advent of manual hair clippers, buzz cuts became increasingly popular in places where strict grooming conventions applied. In several nations, buzz cuts are often given to new recruits in the armed forces or newly incarcerated inmates. However, buzz cuts are also used for stylistic reasons.
The buzz cut rose to popularity with the advent of manual hair clippers by the Serbian inventor Nikola Bizumić in the late 19th century. [1] These clippers were widely used by barbers to chop hair close and fast. The clipper accumulates hair in locks to rapidly remove the hair from the head. This type of haircut was normal where strict grooming conventions were in effect. Buzz cut styles today include the brush cut, crew cut, and flattop. [2]
The top of a buzz cut style may be clipped a uniform short length, producing a butch cut, or into one of several geometric shapes that include the crew cut, flattop, and other short styles. Also known as a fade haircut, the back and sides are tapered short, semi-short, or medium, corresponding with different clipper guard sizes. [3] [4] [5] Buzz cuts can make the face look more defined and are popular with men and boys who want a short, low-maintenance hairstyle, as well as those with thinning or receding hairlines. However, thanks to the popularization by public figures like Sinead O'Connor, Natalie Portman, Amber Rose, and Willow Smith, the buzz cut has also become a popular haircut amongst women. It has also become a symbol of protest - going against society's standards of feminine beauty. [6]
In countries such as Australia, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, military recruits are given buzz cuts when they enter training; this was originally done to prevent the spread of head lice, [7] but is now done for ease of maintenance, cooling, and uniformity. [8] [9]
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
The quiff is a hairstyle that combines the 1950s pompadour hairstyle, the 1950s flattop, and sometimes a mohawk. It was born as a post-war reaction to the short and strict haircuts for men. The hairstyle was a staple in the British Teddy Boy movement, but became popular again in Europe in the early 1980s and experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 1990s.
A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut for women, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, and no longer than shoulder-length, often with a fringe at the front. The standard bob cut exposes the back of the neck and keeps all of the hair well above the shoulders.
The high and tight is a military variant of the crew cut. It is a very short hairstyle, characterized by the back and sides of the head being shaved to the skin and the option for the top to be blended or faded into slightly longer hair. It is most commonly worn by men in the U.S. armed forces. It is also popular with law enforcement officers and other public safety personnel. Although "high and tight" is the primary term used in military and law enforcement, the same haircut is sometimes referred to by civilians as a "walker".
A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest at the back of the crown so that in side profile, the outline of the top hair approaches the horizontal. Relative to the front view, and to varying degrees, the outline of the top hair can be arched or flattened at the short pomp front and rounded or flattened over the rest of the top to complement the front hairline, head shape, face shape and facial features. The hair on the sides and back of the head is usually tapered short, semi-short, or medium.
A flattop is a classic hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back of the head, with the top hair cut short and styled to stand upright in a flat, level plane.
Hi-top fade is a haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short while hair on the top of the head is grown long.
A hair clipper, often individually called the apparent plurale tantumhair clippers, is a specialised tool used to cut human hair. Hair clippers work on the same principle as scissors, but are distinct from scissors themselves and razors. Similar but heavier-duty implements are used to shear sheep, but are called handpieces or machine shears.
An induction cut, also referred to as a mighty fine, is the shortest possible hairstyle without shaving the head with a razor. The style is so named as it is traditionally the first haircut given to new male recruits during initial entry into many of the world's armed forces, but most particularly in the United States.
The wings haircut, also known the Mod haircut, Mop top, flippies, flow, Justin Bieber haircut, or skater hair is a popular hairstyle used in the skateboarding, surfer, mod, and preppy community. Typically long, the style can range from long and drooping below the eyes, to a shorter length. The haircut is typically wavy and, if straight, the length comes to halfway down the ears. Instead of lying on the wearer's ears, the hair flips up and comes straight out like an airplane wing, hence the name. The hairstyle was popular among men in the 1960s, 1970s, mid-late 2000s, early 2010s and 2020s.
Short hair refers to any haircut with little length. It may vary from above the ears to below the chin. If a man's hair reaches the chin, it may not be considered short. For a woman, however, short varies from close-cropped to just above the shoulders. This varies from culture to culture, in more traditional societies in Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Islamic world, short hair on women means anything shorter than chest length with chest length to elbow length being considered medium-length. However, among more progressive societies with far less structured gender norms, the classic bob is considered medium-length with "short hair" referring to pixie cuts and similar hairstyles. Different styles of short hair include the bob cut, the crop and the pixie cut.
Hairstyling tools may include hair irons, hair dryers, hairbrushes, hair rollers, diffusers and various types of scissors.
A brush cut is a type of haircut in which the hair on the top of the head is cut short in every dimension. The top and the upper portion of the back and sides are cut the same length, generally between 1⁄4 and 1⁄2 inch, following the contour of the head. The hair below the upper portion of the sides and back of the head is tapered short or semi-short with a clipper, in the same manner as a crew cut. A variant form may have a slight graduation of the top hair longer from back to front or a quickly graduated bit of hair at the front hairline to achieve a little flip up of the hair at the forehead. A brush that is cut at less than 1⁄4 inch on top may be referred to as a burr. A brush that is cut at 1⁄4 inch or longer on top, and especially one that shows natural curl, depending on length, may be referred to as a short brush cut or brush cut. Brush cuts are traditionally groomed with hair control wax, commonly referred to as brush wax.
The undercut is a hairstyle that was fashionable from the 1910s to the 1940s, predominantly among men, and saw a steadily growing revival in the 1980s before becoming fully fashionable again in the 2010s. Typically, the hair on the top of the head is long and is often parted on either the side or center, while the back and sides are buzzed very shorter or shaved. It is closely related to the curtained hair of the mid-to-late 1990s, although those with undercuts during the 2010s tended to slick back and top gelled up the bangs away from the face.
Hairstyles in the 1980s included the mullet, tall mohawk hairstyles, jheri curls, flattops, and hi-top fades, which became popular styles. Amongst women, large hair-dos, puffed-up styles, permanent waves, and softer cuts typified the decade. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
An Ivy League, also known as a Harvard Clip or Princeton, is a type of crew cut in which the hair on the top front of the head is long enough to style with a side part, while the crown of the head is cut short. The length of the top hair and the degree of graduation shorter, from the front hairline back, varies with the shape of the skull, density and coarseness of the hair, and the styling preferences of the individual: side-parted crew cut, standard crew cut, brushed forward, etc.
In the Western world, the 1950s were a decade known for experimentation with new styles and culture. Following World War II and the austerity years of the post-war period, the 1950s were a time of comparative prosperity, which influenced fashion and the concept of glamour. Hairstylists invented new hairstyles for wealthy patrons. Influential hairstylists of the period include Sydney Guilaroff, Alexandre of Paris and Raymond Bessone, who took French hair fashion to Hollywood, New York and London, popularising the pickle cut, the pixie cut and bouffant hairstyles.
A regularhaircut in Western fashion is a men's and boys' hairstyle featuring hair long enough to comb on top, with a defined or deconstructed side part, and back and sides that vary in length from short, semi-short, medium, long, to extra long. The style is also known by other names including taper cut, regular taper cut, side-part and standard haircut; as well as short back and sides, business-man cut and professional cut, subject to varying national, regional, and local interpretations of the specific taper for the back and sides.
Shanghai-Style Barber Shop is a barber shop opened by a group of Shanghai barbers coming to Hong Kong mainly in the 1950s to give classical Shanghai haircuts. It is popular in Hong Kong among higher class people in the period of 1950s-1970s, offering a range of classical haircut until today. Other than hair-cutting, Shanghai style barber shops provide different unique services include trimming, massaging, nails clipping, etc. Despite the sunset of Shanghai style barber shop in Hong Kong in the modern days, it still attracts loyal customers, especially among males, and costs around HK$70 for a haircut and shave using traditional clippers.
Secular laws regulating hairstyles exist in various countries and institutions.
The dictionary definition of buzz cut at Wiktionary