The butterfly haircut is a viral hairstyle coined by celebrity hairstylist Sunnie Brook. One editor tried the trend to add more volume to her fine hair. Check out photos of the haircut and tips on how to style the look.
Affected by the Rachel haircut when it first made an appearance in the late '90s. Of course, I begged my mom to bring me to the salon so I could get it cut into the iconic layered 'do. However, once I sat down in the stylist's chair, they would always tell me my hair was too fine and would fall flat.
So when the butterfly haircut — a style that consists of face-framing layers and was originally coined by celebrity hairstylist Sunnie Brook — went viral on TikTok, I thought this would be my one chance to
Butterfly Haircut: How To Wear The Long Layered, Textured Style
Get the Rachel in an elevated way tailored to my specific hair type. When I went to see Lindsay Victoria, master stylist and educational director at Spoke & Weal in Los Angeles, I asked her to both keep my length and give me as much volume as possible.
Keep reading for tips on what to expect from the cut and how to style it based on your hair texture — plus photos of my own butterfly haircut.
A heavily layered '90s-inspired haircut, the butterfly cut consists of a more uniform layer and carved-out face framing, with the shortest layer starting anywhere between the cheekbone and below the jaw line, Victoria tells . The shape is typically more round, which allows the style to have a max amount of volume. This type of haircut has pushed the trend toward polished and refined with less of a messy undone style.
Why Is The Internet Talking About The 'butterfly Haircut'?
Since there are slight variations of the butterfly haircut, Victoria says it's best to go to the salon equipped with photos of the style and length you're after. Based on what length you are currently at, face shape, texture, density, and curl pattern, ask your stylist what length the face-framing layers should be and what overall length would suit you best, she says. Talk about your daily routine, including the products you use, to see if any adjustments need to be made in achieving this look. If you have a curl pattern and would like the option to wear it natural, let your stylist know so it is taken into consideration when designing the haircut for you.
Depending on your texture — fine, medium, or coarse — and your curl pattern, there can be technical adjustments made to customize a version of this style for you, Victoria says. This haircut can be worn with natural texture as well. Similar to a blown-out style, the shape will be round and voluminous.
She explains that the best at-home tool for creating the butterfly effect is the Dyson Airwrap's long barrel attachment, but it can also be achieved with a round brush or a medium to large curling iron. Using your tool of choice, split your hair in half down the center back, curling each side in the same direction (toward or away from the face), and let it cool before brushing out the wave for a smooth polished finish, Victoria says. Regardless if you are curling toward or away from the face, you want to curl the shortest front layer away from the face to create that signature butterfly wing.
Butterfly Hair: Flying Into 2022's Top Hairstyles
When it comes to products, she says they'll really be determined by your hair texture. People with fine hair will want to look for products that are intended for volume and hold. A root-lifting spray, mousse, styling foam, thickener, dry shampoo, and dry texture spray, Victoria says. Stay away from oils and creams to not weigh down the hair. Medium textures will want a light blow-dry cream, volume spray or mousse, and a dry texture spray to finish. Coarse hair should look to a blow-dry cream, hair milk, or leave-in conditioner paired with a light hold product, finished with a light hair oil or styling cream.
On the left, you'll see what the haircut looked like when I used a blow dryer and a 3/4-inch-barrel curling iron, and on the right is the cut when I let my hair air-dry. The butterfly haircut has definitely given my hair much more movement and volume, especially when I let my natural curl pattern do its thing. I'm a big fan of the longer face-framing layers that Victoria added in, which curl around nicely to get that iconic butterfly-wing flip.
Overall, it's been an extremely manageable style (I just use some texturizing cream or spray) that works both air-dried and blow-dried and gives that extra boost of volume to my thin hair without making it look stringy. Basically, it checks all my boxes.
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What Is The Butterfly Haircut?
Unlike the wolf cut and octopus hairstyles, the butterfly cut consists of shorter layers on top, blended into a series of longer layers to deliver movement and texture. The style is often referred to as a two-in-one haircut: the shorter, bob-length top layers create a whole new shape when the hair is tied back, giving the appearance of a shorter cut from the front. For visual, see this look created by Vintage Esther on Instagram.
I've dipped into long-bob territory before, but otherwise have always loved having long hair. I'm lucky that my hair grows quickly, and although the strands aren't particularly thick, I'm always told by hairdressers that there are
of them. A downside to having fuller, longer hair is that it can easily go flat and look heavy. My last flirtation with a multitude of layers was longer ago than I can remember (my usual cut pretty much keeps the hair one length, with shorter strands blended at the front for a sweeping fringe).
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Swiping through glossy images of the butterfly haircut on Instagram, like this one by Richard Anthony, I was excited to give my flat and shapeless hair some life but equally nervous about the maintenance it could demand. I'm going to be honest: I am very lazy when it comes to my hair. I shampoo, condition, and leave it to air-dry. That's my go-to daily routine — if you can call it that. Luckily, within minutes of arriving at Blue Tit's London's Brockley salon, my hairstylist Kostas calmed my worries. Even though I've mostly seen the butterfly haircut on Instagram rather than IRL, he explained that it's perfectly suited to my hair type — and is actually lower maintenance than it looks.
The butterfly haircut works much better when the hair is past the shoulder, Kostas told me, adding that the cut is great for those with a natural wave or curl to their hair. A bit of a wave makes it look much nicer and you can actually see where the layering sits. Although Kostas thinks that the cut would suit a multitude of different hair types, he wouldn't recommend it for those with very-fine hair as the layers can start to make the hair look wispy. It's mostly about the weight that needs to be taken out in order to create the softer look around the top, he said.
Kostas divided my hair into sections and tugged at my grown-out fringe (I fell into the trap of wanting to emulate Daisy Edgar-Jones' fabulous bangs after watching
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And, sadly, it didn't work out.) He showed me how the shortest layer would sit just below my ear, and then guided the longer layers so that they would blend in seamlessly. This would help us avoid the dreaded 'step' you so often see when layering goes wrong.
To begin, Kostas snipped an inch or so off the bottom of my hair to achieve the right length. Then, the layering began from the top. In his opinion, the shorter the layers, the better. The shorter we go with them, the longer the haircut will last, he explained, and I was surprised to hear that the cut doesn't demand increased visits to the salon. Kostas said that by going higher with the layers, and thus creating natural bounce in the hair, the style shouldn't go flat, meaning it can last 10-12 weeks before a freshen-up is needed.
Once the top layers were done, Kostas worked on the longer layers, meticulously checking that they
