If you want to keep your hairstyle on trend but don’t want a lot of upkeep, the French Crop is the haircut for you. This timeless, low-maintenance style looks just as good with a 3-piece suit as it does with jeans. While it requires a little styling to look its best, the French Crop has many variations, so you can make it your own for a truly unique look. Read on to find out what a French Crop is, what to ask your barber for, and how to style it.
French Crop Haircut: Explained
A French Crop is a versatile men’s hairstyle that’s longer on the top and shorter on the back and sides. Ask your barber for a French Crop cut with short, tapered sides. To style your hair, rake a dime-sized amount of gel from the back to the front then comb your hair forward.
Steps
How to Style a French Crop
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Use styling products for texture and hold. Wash your hair using shampoo and conditioner designed for your hair type to help keep your hair healthy and looking its best, then towel dry your hair. Apply a dime-sized amount of styling product to your hands and rub them together. Run your hands through the ends of your hair, avoiding the roots, then push your hair forward over your forehead.
- For a sleek look, run a brush or comb through your hair to smooth it. For wavy or curly hair, scrunch your hair with your hands to encourage the wave or curl pattern.
- Hair gel is great for sleek looks because it has a stronger hold.
- Try serums to smooth frizzy hair or slick the top of your hair back.
- Hair wax , pomade , or hair clay to add texture and flexible hold for more tousled styles. Pomade usually has a shiny finish, while waxes and clays are more matte. [5] X Research source
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Try styling tools for a more finished look. While the French Crop is a wash-and-go cut, use a blow dryer for more control over your style. For the Classic French Crop, hold the blow dryer above the crown of your head, directing the airflow along the top of your head toward the front. Using a brush, sweep the hair forward so your fringe falls over your forehead.
- Use a flat iron if you have curly or wavy hair and want a sleeker look. Section off pieces of dry hair. Clamp the heated flat iron as close to your scalp as possible without burning yourself. Run the flat iron along the length of your hair, pulling in the direction you want the hair to lay. Continue until you have straightened all of the sections of your hair. When you’re done straightening, run your fingers through your hair to break up the sections.
French Crop Haircut Ideas
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Classic French Crop A Classic French Crop features a short back and sides that fade up to the slightly longer top. [6] X Research source The fringe falls straight across your forehead.
- How to Get the Look: This is the basic style most barbers will have in mind when you ask for a French Crop or textured crop, so you can just ask for it by name. It’s also called a Mid-Fade French Crop or Tapered French Crop.
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French Crop Mullet A French Crop Mullet combines elements of the French Crop and the Mullet. The cut is exactly like the Classic French Crop on the top and sides, but with a longer back to get a Mullet's traditional “business up front & party in the back” look. [7] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop, but lightly tapered into a longer back like a Mullet that gradually blends into the longer hair at the top.
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French Crop Fauxhawk A French Crop Fauxhawk leaves the top longer than a French Crop and the sides longer than a traditional Mohawk. Use wax or pomade to style the top up and toward the center like a Mohawk.
- How to Get the Look: Ask your barber for a French Crop with tapered sides and a longer top and back to style into a Fauxhawk. When styling the Fauxhawk, you may need more product than a dime or quarter-size to get the look. Gradually add product a little at a time until your hair stays where you want it.
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Low-Fade French Crop This French Crop style features a low fade that begins transitioning from short to long hair lower on your head, usually close to the tops of your ears. This fade works well if you want a longer top that doesn’t appear disconnected. [8] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop with a fade that starts at the top of your ears.
- A temp fade is similar to a low fade, but the taper starts slightly higher at the temples instead of the top of the ears.
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High-Fade French Crop A High-Fade French Crop is more dramatic than the Low-Fade version. While the low fade starts at the tops of your ears, the high fade begins at your forehead. [9] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Ask for a French Crop with a short back and sides that start the fade to the longer hair on top at your forehead level.
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Messy French Crop The Messy French Crop dials up the texture with light layering or razored ends to give it more texture and movement. This is flattering for sharper facial features, like strong cheekbones and jawlines.
- How to Get the Look: Ask your barber for a French Crop with extra texture. When styling, run a quarter-sized amount of hair clay through the top of your hair then push your hair in different directions to get a messier look.
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Long French Crop A Long French Crop has longer hair on the top. The back and sides are shorter than the top but not as short as a classic skin fade. This cut is a neater version of what it looks like when you had a French Crop cut and let it grow out. [10] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop that’s longer on top and tapered at the sides and back.
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Side-Swept French Crop For this French Crop, the fringe is left slightly longer and pushed to the side for a more casual look. These bangs look great on rounder face shapes, making them appear more chiseled. [11] X Research source
- Ask your barber to leave the fringe long so you can style them to the side.
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Angular French Crop This type of French Crop features fringe at an angle or cut into a point at the center of the forehead. It’s great for square faces because it draws the eye to the center of your face.
- How to Get the Look: Ask for a French Crop with the top and front of your hair cut at an angle styled into a point.
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French Crop Quiff The quiff bangs stands up from the forehead to make a “wall” of hair. They’re flattering for round face shapes because they make them appear longer. This style may require styling with a blow dryer and hair product.
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop with a quiffed fringe. When styling, use gel to give the quiffed bangs enough hold to stand up all day.
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Undercut French Crop This version of the French Crop features a longer top with closely cut or buzzed back and sides. The length of the top can vary depending on whether you like longer or shorter hair. [12] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop with an undercut instead of a fade.
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Disconnected French Crop A disconnected style is an undercut that is drastically shorter than the top of the hair with little to no blending between the lengths, giving it an edgier look. In some cases, there’s a sharp line of demarcation between the longer top and the shorter back and sides. [13] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Ask your barber for a French Crop with a strong line without tapering or fading.
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French Crop with a Skin Fade This French Crop features a more drastic fade that tapers down to bare skin at the bottom. A skin fade starts very close to the scalp near your hairline on the sides of your head and at the nape, and then the hair very gradually gets longer as you move toward the crown. [14] X Research source
- How to Get the Look: Tell your barber you want a French Crop with tapered sides that fade all the way down to the skin.
- Drop fades are similar to skin fades, but the fade appears to dip and the front and back of your head instead of being symmetrical all the way around.
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://manforhimself.com/grooming/hair/styling/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-french-crop-hairstyle/
- ↑ https://modsofyourgeneration.com/interview-with-master-barber-belfast-mod-sam-arthur/
- ↑ https://www.thefashionisto.com/peaky-blinders-haircuts/
- ↑ https://manforhimself.com/grooming/hair/styling/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-french-crop-hairstyle/
- ↑ https://www.gq.com/story/should-hair-be-matte-or-shiny
- ↑ https://www.fashionbeans.com/article/classic-mens-hairstyle-the-french-crop/
- ↑ https://m2now.com/the-mullet-is-back/
- ↑ https://www.lorealparisusa.com/beauty-magazine/hair-style/hairstyle-trends/high-fade-vs-low-fade
- ↑ https://www.lorealparisusa.com/beauty-magazine/hair-style/hairstyle-trends/high-fade-vs-low-fade
- ↑ https://www.thefashionisto.com/french-crop-haircuts/
- ↑ https://www.instyle.com/hair/styles/find-best-bangs-your-face-shape
- ↑ https://www.thetrendspotter.net/french-crop-haircuts-for-men/
- ↑ https://www.thetrendspotter.net/french-crop-haircuts-for-men/
- ↑ https://www.revlonprofessional.com/blog/skin-fade-haircut/
- ↑ https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/style/health-and-beauty/caesar-haircut-trend/
- ↑ https://www.thefashionisto.com/crew-cut-haircut/
- ↑ https://manofmany.com/fashion/mens-hairstyles/20-haircuts-tips-for-men-with-a-receding-hairline