The Ultimate Guide to Men's Short Haircuts and Styles

A short haircut is a classic choice that can suit nearly all face shapes and personal styles. It can be great for those who want a lower-maintenance style (depending on the style you choose), and it has a range of options to suit your mood or a given environment. Short haircuts are still a mainstay in traditional office settings, but if you’re on the more creative and expressive side, fear not: You'll also find styles that can add just the right amount of flair to reflect your personality. You can pick your ideal hair length, fade, texture, layers, and color, to name a few ways to make your haircut fit your style. Whatever look you go for, a short haircut by the right stylist can take you far.

With so many versions of short haircuts to choose from, how do you pick the best one to meet your personal style, hair type, and face shape? Independent LA-based stylist Heesoo Kwon tells us that short haircuts can work for any texture. For most men, he recommends a “high and tight” look, which he says originated in the military. If you choose this haircut, “tell your barber to go very short on the sides with the clippers and all the way up to the point at which your head starts to curve.”

Kwon does caution that the "high and tight" look may not work for certain head shapes. “A good way to decide if you can pull off the haircut is fresh out the shower when your existing hair is wet,” he says. “Do you like the shape of your head? Because you are about to show it off.” At the barber shop, ask the barber to use shears on the top, rather than the buzzer. “Clippers cut your hair using your skull as the guide,” Kwon explains. “The closer you cut, the more head you are showing, so with shears you are allowing the barber to be more forgiving and artistic by creating a head shape instead of just following your skull shape.”

New York-based celebrity hairstylist Dana Boyer tells us that she favors the Caesar or Roman haircut for most men. The cut originates from ancient Rome, where reportedly, Caesar had his hair cut with shorter sides and straight bangs to mask his receding hairline. “I think it’s a great cut for all hair textures and offers a wide variety of opportunities for customization,” she says. “I’m loving the longer curlier textures on top, and it’s also great for finer textures. For men with finer hair, I prefer it a bit shorter with a messy texture.” But while the style works on most face shapes, Boyer notes one case that may warrant extra consideration: “I avoid it on a very square face, as it’s a bit too square across the top of the forehead.”

Read on to see some of the best men's short haircuts, complete with insights from our experts.