The butterfly haircut is one of the most popular hairstyles of the moment. The heavily layered, feathered cut combines a ‘70s shag with ‘90s hair trends, including “the Rachel” and big, bouncy blowouts. Influencers like Matilda Djerf and celebrities like Sydney Sweeney and Sabrina Carpenter have been donning the ‘90s-inspired hairstyle, bringing it to the beauty forefront once again. If you love the look and are wondering how to style a butterfly cut, we’ve rounded up all the inspo you need, no matter your hair length.
What Is a Butterfly Haircut?
The butterfly haircut combines short layers with long layers to emulate the shape of a butterfly’s wing. The shortest layer is face-framing length and the longer layers cascade down the back to add movement, definition and volume to the look. It allows for the illusion of short hair, while still maintaining length. There are slight variations of the butterfly cut, depending on length, face shape, texture, and hair density. Keep in mind, it’s a hairstyle that requires some maintenance and blow drying if you want to style it how it’s meant to be worn, which is essentially a ‘90s-style blowout.
How to Style a Butterfly Haircut: 7 Tips & Tutorials
1. Round brush and blow dryer: use a blowout cream or mousse on your hair when it’s damp, as well as a heat protectant. Go in with a large round brush and style your hair away from your face with a blow dryer. You can also use a blow drying brush for the same effect. Finish with a leave-in styling treatment for a blowout that lasts all day.
2. Curling iron and rollers: Use a large barrel curling iron and roll 1-inch sections away from your face as you style. Wrap each section around a hair roller to help maintain the volume. Let them cool and sit for 20 minutes before taking them out. Finish with hair oil to maintain the shape.
3. Pull your hair back: On the days where you want to wear your hair up, butterfly cuts lend themselves perfectly to updos like mid-height ponytails and pulled back claw clip looks. They allow the shorter front pieces to frame the face, while still showing off the length and layers of the cut at the back.
4. How to Do the Perfect 90s Blow Out Like a Pro | Kayli Boyle
This is the perfect ‘90s blowout routine to follow if you have a butterfly haircut. It’s super voluminous and allows the layers of the cut to bounce and fall seamlessly, giving you that fluttering butterfly wing look. She uses products including the COLOR WOW Dream Coat Spray, a root lift round brush, and a hair oil to maintain the blowout overnight.
5. Styling My Butterfly Cut | @hairtellraj
This is a super easy tutorial to follow. She shows you how to style your butterfly cut using a flat iron and rollers. She shows you the right direction to curl each section of your hair so you get the flipped out butterfly effect the look is known for. She uses a texture spray at the end to set it and a wide tooth comb to perfect the look.
6. How to Style the Butterfly Haircut | Liz Does Hair
If you have a medium length butterfly haircut, this tutorial is for you. She shows you how to get the blown out butterfly effect when you have lots of layers, and the result is a straighter blown out look. She uses products including a volumizing mousse, a volume spray, and hairspray to lock it in place. Follow along the get the look!
7. How I Style My Layers with a Straightener | @eggdressesup
The butterfly cut is known for its multitude of layers. Watch as she styles and talks you through her styling process using a hair straightener. It’s a super easy technique and she offers tips along the way. Along with the straightener, you’ll need a clip to separate your hair and hairspray to keep the look in place.
How to Style a Butterfly Haircut: 5 Looks to Inspire You
1. Butterfly Haircut on Short Hair
This is a great example of what a butterfly cut looks like on short hair. You can see how much dimension and movement the cut adds to the hair, especially styled in the go-to blow out. The bouncy curled ends add gorgeous volume that’s effortlessly chic.
2. Medium Length Butterfly Cut
The butterfly cut looks incredible on medium length hair, especially blown out like this. We also can’t get enough of this hair colour, and love how the subtle highlights are played up by this cut and the way it’s styled.
3. Mid-Height/Low Ponytail
As we mentioned above, a ponytail is a stylish way to wear your butterfly cut if you want it up and off your back. Allow a few face framing pieces to fall at the front and gather the rest of your hair into a chic ponytail. Wrap a few pieces of hair around your hair elastic to hide it.
4. Long Butterfly Cut with Curtain Bangs
The butterfly cut is amazing on long hair as the combination of different layer lengths can really be shown off. The addition of curtain bangs with her face framing layers really emphasizes her sculpted cheekbones and jawline.
5. Straightened Butterfly Cut
The butterfly cut doesn’t always have to be styled in a bouncy ‘90s style blowout. You can also style it straight with a slight bend at the ends to ensure it still has the butterfly wing effect. This would work well on short, medium or long hair.
If you’re thinking of getting a butterfly haircut, we hope you were inspired by these looks and tutorials!
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