Here’s a classic men’s short haircut that will never go out of style. If you’re looking for pictures of modern ways to wear the crew cut, you’ve come to the right place.
What is a Crew Cut?
A crew cut is a type of men’s haircut that features short hair on top with short hair graduated in length on the sides and back. It gets its name from crew teams at American Ivy League schools as a way for guys to keep their hair short and out of their eyes while rowing. This cut became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, especially at universities like Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Cornell.
Initially, it used to be more known as the short pompadour. It’s also sometimes referred to as a butch cut, but the difference between the two is that butch or a men’s buzz cut is very short and all one length at the top. The sides and back are evenly buzzed or shorter, typically faded using taper fade or shorter faded clippers down anywhere between a skin fade to clipper sizes from 1 to 4, depending on the look you’re going for.
How to Style a Crew Cut
It’s common to brush the crew cut hair on the top forward, while the bangs go straight up, up, and back or parted to the side, depending on how long it is on top. Depending upon your hair length on the top, you may not have to style it at all. The longer it is on top, the more you’ll want to style your men’s crew cut. If you wish for a brush-up, short pomp look, you’ll want to use a hair product like wax or pomade. For a younger look, comb and blow-dry your hair to force it to go up and to the side.
Tips for Crew Cuts
The neckline is great to taper off for an even cleaner and more modern look. For an even cleaner look, keep your face shaved and short sideburns. For a more casual crew cut style, go with a longer length on top and keep it more tousled. Just so you know, a short haircut like this is easier to style, but it requires more frequent cuts to maintain the look.
Talking to Your Barber/Stylist
Here’s how to ask for a crew cut:
– Ask them for a short, medium, or long crew cut.
-Let them know if you’re willing to style it or not, as this will affect the length of the top.
– Request your fade type. This can range from a simple taper fade with scissors to a skin fade with clippers.
Who Pulls off The Crew Cut Best?
Crew cuts are classy hairstyles for men and a great choice regardless of age, especially for professionals or those who have a more active lifestyle and don’t want their hair getting in the way. This cut also works well with sideburns and short and long beards.
This crew haircut tends to work best for guys with thicker hair. Guys with thinner hair can pull it off at the right length. This can also work well if you have a receding hairline or want a more mature look. Talk to your barber and get their input. The best thing about the crew cut haircut is that it compliments most head and face shapes, which is one of the reasons why it’s a popular look.
The Most Popular Crew Cut Hairstyles:
#1: The Modern Crew Cut Trend
When it comes to modern crew cuts, this is it! Short haircuts like this are perfect for college guys who want that clean, sharp look.
#2: Caesar-Inspired Crew Cut with a Beard Fade
If you want to try a men’s bald fade but also have a beard, ask your barber to fade your beard as well. This will create a sharp connection between your haircut and your beard. Pair this with a crew cut on top for an even crisper look. You might be able to recreate this exact style at home by using products. Ask your barber or stylist for suggestions.
#3: Stylish Crew Cut with a High Fade
With the darkness of the afro Caribbean hair type, crew cuts with high fades work well. This has faded to the skin around the back and sides and at the midpoint of the skull, starting near the temples. The top is clippered short and then brushed forward to be able to line up the hairline sharply. A trendy cut and style for many, regular cuts are needed to keep it fresh.
#4: Silver Crew Cut with Bangs
Color is popular with men now. This silver crew cut with bangs could be a good choice for you. As with all colors, you want to pay attention to your complexion as you choose what to have. With silver being very light, it’s recommended to have a bit of color on your face instead of a pale look. A light hair color can make a pale complexion look even lighter. I recommend silver to men who have a glow or Mediterranean complexion.
#5: Easy-Maintenance Crew Cut
Some guys want an easy-maintenance crew cut that only requires a little upkeep. It’s faded to the skin around the ears and blended into the short top. Remember to be specific to your barber on how much you want off the top, and remember the grade last used. This crew cut has been left long enough to style, so I suggest using a good styling powder for the natural finish.
#6: Perfect Crew Cut with a Low Fade
Enhancements are popular with customers and barbers alike to finish off the style. This would be good to consider if you have thin hair or a receding hairline. This crew cut with a low fade has been executed perfectly to enhance the areas to make it look full. Unfortunately, it’s temporary, and regular visits to the barbershop will be needed to keep it fresh.
#7: Short Crew for Thinning Hair
A short crew for thinning hair is great for fine textured hair. The short sides will accentuate your hair on top, making it appear fuller than it is.
#8: Messy Crew Cut
The messy crew cut is perfect for men with long, straight hair wanting a quick and easy haircut to style and maintain. The haircut is short and faded tightly around the ears, while a lot of texture has been added to the top to create a messy, lived-in finish. In styling this haircut, use a styling powder and a sea salt spray to enhance the shape of your cut and keep your style longer.
#9: Low-Maintenance Crew Cut
The low-maintenance crew cut is perfect for men who desire a haircut that requires little to no styling. It’s great on any hair texture and has been perfectly cut following the shape of the head, faded to the skin, and worked up into a slightly longer top.
#10: Crew Cut for Balding Men
A crew cut for balding men creates an illusion of thicker tresses. A skin fade at the sides and back is coupled with a lengthier top to compliment the shape of your face and head.
#11: Bold Curly Crew Cut
A curly crew cut is perfect for men who want to boost their bold curls. It’s short around the ears and faded into a heavy disconnected top. Daily styling is needed with this cut. A good quality sea salt spray scrunched into your tresses will enhance the intricacy of the curls.
#12: Crew Cut Blowout Style
A crew cut blowout style works wonders on men with thick tresses who prefer a quick and easy haircut to style and maintain. This cut is faded down to the skin, taken high, and tight into the top. To recreate this look, blow-dry your hair, add sea salt spray to the top and finish it with styling powder.
#13: Cute Crew Cut for Boys
Most parents are fond of the crew cut for boys for its practicality and formality. It’s short on the sides while leaving some length at the top to allow a wide array of styles. Adding a strong pomade keeps the style longer.
#14: Side-Swept Crew Cut Style
Another fade cut is this side-swept crew haircut, but more casual, with a natural look for the top portion and medium to short hair to match. This works well for guys with wavy hair and creates one of the most well-balanced side-swept crew cut haircuts for men.
#15: The French Crop Crew Cut
The French crop crew cut is becoming more popular. The texture on top, combined with the straight, forward-facing bangs, gives this a clean and easy-to-style look.
#16: Easy Crew Cut with a Surgical Line
Like the famous Japanese paintings of waves, this short crew cut haircut with a surgical line keeps everything low and trimmed. This then directs attention to the front side, where a gush of hair goes across.
#17: Side Part Crew Cut with Hard Part
A side part crew cut with a hard part is simple yet effective. It’s paired with faded sides and does a great job of getting attention to your top hair. A side-parted crew cut like this makes you look dope, as always.
#18: The Modern Crew Cut with High Fade
Tidy up your look to achieve that professional form with a modern crew cut with a high fade! It fits the criteria of being sleek, stylish, and sexy.
#19: The Classic Crew Cut with a Beard
This classic crew cut with a beard is clean and versatile and can be styled to a man’s liking. It can be styled over to either side or up in the middle, making it easy and looking good.
For styling products, I recommend trying the Hudson and Hammers Alchemy, a mix between pomade and wax that creates a satin shine. Any pomade with a sheen will do. This haircut caters to the modern man looking for something clean and easy to style. Whether you’re looking for men’s or boys haircuts, this classic crew cut hairstyle suits all!
#20: The Ivy League Crew Cut
The Ivy League crew cut styles are clean and polished. An Ivy League cut is precise and sharp and showcases facial features. It’s a no-fuss cut that still makes a statement, similar to an undercut. This cut is for a variety of men. If a man is a little on the thinning side, it can help his hair look thicker. If he does manual labor or plays sports, it’s a haircut that breathes and doesn’t trap sweat and heat.
Use Kevin Murphy Easy Rider on all of your short men’s cuts. It dries with a natural finish. Any hair creams would go a long way in this cut. It can be kept or roughed up and tousled for a casual day.
#21: Taper Fade Crew Cut with Mid Fade
Try a men’s crew cut with a taper fade featuring a mid fade. With the touch of a fade and the man’s opinion on how they want to line their sideburns (i.e., pointed, square, or tapered), the haircut will still stand out.
This haircut is suitable for most guys since it compliments most head shapes. The styling also depends on how your hair grows. The direction of your hair will judge which side it would be best combed towards. This crew-cut hairstyle is also quite versatile. If the barber or stylist decides to leave more length on the front, the dude would be able to pull that part up as they style to give them a pompadour look.
#22: The Military Crew Cut Fade
The military crew cut is characterized by a short back and sides and hair length on top about one or two inches. The longest hair generally begins at the front hairline and gradually shortens toward the crown area. The back and sides can be as short as the skin. Crew cut hairstyles are for any guy who wants a low-maintenance hairstyle and holds a vocation or position that may require specific hair length regulations. This cut is recommended for guys who have what some call white-collar jobs because it exudes confidence.
The haircut can be designed to look good on nearly any face shape. For instance, the cut can be fitted nicely for dudes with a round face shape by maintaining squareness in the area of the parietal ridge of the head, where the sides meet the top of the head.
#23: The Neat Long Crew Cut
This is a neat and long crew cut with spikes and a surgical line. It’s easy to style and looks fresh. Crew cuts are best for men who prefer a shorter haircut. It suits all hair types. When styling, use a good matte pomade like Byrd Matte or Reuzel Clay.
#24: Modern Tapered Crew Cut with Fade
This is a tapered crew cut fade. It’s short on the sides so that the cut could show off the facial features. There’s enough length on top to get different looks, too. When you have a lot of length and texture up top, depending on how you cut it, it can give you that messy sort of “model” look that you see in the magazines, or you can sleek it down more to be more conservative. If you’re getting this cut, use products such as 18.21 paste. If you don’t, you won’t get the look that you’re going for. It takes at most 2 minutes to put in the product.
#25: Classy Textured Crew Cut with Mid Fade
This textured crew cut with a mid-fade is classic and energetic at the same time. There’s lots of texture in the evenly chopped layers on the top. The uniform layers were cut short, giving the top some movement and thickness that is very easy to manage.
If you have thick hair, crew cuts will soften and lighten the top while still appearing thick to show the fade well. For men with a receding hairline and thin hair, this artificial horizontal fringe can cover the receding hairline very well. The barber needs to be aware of the part that needs to be kept to form the thickness covering the receding part. Many face shapes can suit this cut as long as we control the height of the conjunction well. For example, a rounder face would look good with a mid to high fade, while a long thin face would look good with an even lower mid-fade.
#26: Short Crew Cut with a Hard Line
This short crew cut features a variety of personalities. The short edgy skin fade with a hard line gives it an edgy look while having professionalism at the same time. It has a bit of a greaser feel to it as well as a traditional military feel. Something to think about for this classic crew cut is maintenance. Go in to see your barber every three weeks and once in between for a neck trim cleanup.
Most men who get edgy crew cuts usually need that strong impression. When it comes to face shape, this cut can be worn on almost any guy. It just is a matter of bone structure and how high up to bring the initial fade levels on the skull. The hard line can be higher or lower depending on your head’s temple shape and curvature.
Readers Also Ask
A crew cut is essentially a clipper cut all over but there are many variations in the style. You can have the top longer than the sides, you can incorporate tapers and skin fades into it, and you can leave sharp lines on the edges and incorporate patterns into it.
A classic crew cut would be a grade two all over. It’s down to the individual on how short they want it or the style that they are trying to create. The most popular crew cut is a skin fade on the side and a grade 4-5 on top. Most clients like a tapered fringe and lined in, although this only suits strong hairlines.
Yes, a crew cut is good for thinning hair. A lot of longer styles don’t suit thinning hair as it looks sparse. Taking it short will take away the emphasis from the thinning areas and give a much cleaner and tidier finish.
A crew cut will be a better style for an oblong face, it will take away length from the face. Longer and higher fringes can draw attention to the face shape and make the face look a lot longer than it actually is.
Ask for a crew cut but you need to know how short you want it and do take advice from your barber. Make sure you know what length you want on top, what length you want on the sides, and how high you want the blend. Research beforehand and as always, pictures are best.