The Flat Top Haircut – A classic men’s hairstyle
A perennial of men’s haircuts, the flat top has been in and out of fashion since the 1950s. From conservative middle America to the US military and NASA through to the UK’s post punk psychobilly movement, the flat top haircut has undergone a range of variations.
Developed as a longer version of the crew cut or buzz cut, the flat top maintains a square shape with defined corners and an equal length through the top, often with a fade at the sides and back. By the 1980s the haircut saw more extremes, with a longer quiff fringe area graduating down to an almost shorn crown, or even a narrow strip of gelled up hair at the front hairline combined with a shaved skull.
The flat top wasn’t confined to men either, as teenage girls flocked to UK barbers to emulate the look. As 1980s hair got more extreme, so did the sales of hair gel, and flat tops in Britain consumed as much as any other youth movement.
Flat tops are back in the 2010s and MHD has filmed a couple of essential men’s hairdressing videos with Dale Ted Watkins, which ably demonstrate the versatility of this quintessentially masculine shape.
Long Technical Flat Top Haircut
Dale modernises the classic flat top, cut through the fingers, and incorporating the clippers to carve and shape the top.
STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO FLAT TOP HAIRCUT VIDEO
Watch Dale Ted Watkin’s step by step hairdressing tutorial
Short Clipper Flat Top Haircut
Dale’s second flat-top haircut teaches the essentials of clippers-over-comb and corner placement to produce a shorter, more traditional shape.
HOW TO DO A SHORT CLIPPER FLAT TOP HAIRCUT
Watch the full hairdressing training video
Women’s Flat Top Dressing
Just to add a little variety to the mix, we love Ilham Mestour’s interpretation and homage to the flat top haircut. Ilham demonstrates a textured dressed look, binding long hair into a ponytail, with the backcombed top skilfully manipulated into the classic square flat top shape.
HOW TO DO A FEMININE FLAT TOP HAIRSTYLE
See the full hairdressing video
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