Your Daily Dose of Everything Award-Winning Hair Every DaySoftness, shine, and control in one iconic do-it-all formula
The Butterfly Haircut: What It Is and How to Style It
Discover the butterfly haircut trend with styling tips for long and medium hair. Learn what a butterfly cut is, who it suits, and how to maintain the look.
Updated on May 19, 2026 | 3 min read
Jaclyn LaBadia, Davines Writer
Key Takeaways
What to Know About the Butterfly Haircut
- The butterfly haircut features dramatic, face-framing layers that mimic the shape of butterfly wings while keeping overall length intact.
- This layered style works on long, medium, and even shorter hair lengths with the right adjustments.
- Butterfly haircuts add volume and movement without sacrificing length, making them ideal for fine or flat hair.
- Styling a butterfly haircut is low-maintenance with the right texturizing and volumizing products.
- The butterfly cut differs from wolf cuts and traditional layers in how and where the shortest layers are placed.
In This Article
What Is a Butterfly Haircut?
Butterfly Haircut vs. Wolf Cut vs. Other Layered Cuts
Who Does a Butterfly Haircut Suit?
Butterfly Haircut for Long Hair
Butterfly Haircut for Medium Hair
Butterfly Haircut for Short Hair
How to Style a Butterfly Haircut
How to Ask Your Stylist for a Butterfly Haircut
Maintaining Your Butterfly Haircut
FAQs
What Is a Butterfly Haircut?
A social media cult favorite, with its own viral hashtag, the butterfly haircut is one of the most trending cuts of the season. The ultimate cool girl cut, it's a hyper-layered chop that’s a cross between a 70s shag and 90s Rachel. Designed to mimic the flutter of a butterfly's wings, with short layered pieces around the face and cascading longer ones towards the bottom, it’s soft, blended and wearable. And it's easily tailored to work with all face shapes and hair types. If you’ve been officially influenced to try the latest TikTok-approved hair trend, keep reading. Because we’ve got everything to know about the butterfly haircut ahead.
Butterfly Haircut vs. Wolf Cut vs. Other Layered Cuts
If the butterfly haircut seems familiar it’s likely because it's not the first heavily layered cut we’ve seen blow up on our social media feeds. We’re talking about the wolf cut, another trendy chop with a very similar vibe. These two cuts both call for layers and dimension, but what makes them different? The wolf cut is more like a mullet, with choppy layers that add volume on top and a wispy look at the bottom. It’s an edgier haircut, that’s more tousled and untamed. Unlike a butterfly, which is more subtle and polished. And a traditional layered haircut features even layers throughout; butterfly layers, on the other hand, are disconnected and mimic a long fringe.
Who Does a Butterfly Haircut Suit?
With minor layering adjustments, a butterfly haircut works for all face shapes, but it’s especially flattering on oval and square-shaped faces because of how the layers frame and sculpt the face. It’s also most flattering on medium to thick hair types. Adding too many layers to fine hair, can make it look even finer. Instead try a blunt cut which creates the illusion of thickness. The butterfly haircut grows out beautifully and can be modified for all lengths, although the longer the hair, the better the layers will fall. More on this below!
Butterfly Haircut for Long Hair
When it comes to the butterfly haircut on long hair, you need to decide where you want your layers to start. If you like the illusion of a shorter cut, and a little more of a dramatic style, go for shorter, face-framing layers that start at your cheekbones. If you’d rather not sacrifice your length, and want something more subtle and lower-maintenance, go with longer layers all around. Shorter layers require more styling.
Butterfly Haircut for Medium Hair
Next up is the butterfly haircut on medium hair. Similar to with longer strands, you need to decide where you want your butterfly layers to start. In this case it should be somewhere between your cheekbones and jaw. This will give the layered style the biggest impact on your length.
Butterfly Haircut for Short Hair
The secret to the butterfly cut on short hair is thinning out the ends of your layers. This helps create the butterfly effect without making the hair look thin. Too many layers on short hair can have that effect. Removing the weight off the ends helps lift the hair, creating fullness.
How to Style a Butterfly Haircut
Wondering how to style the butterfly haircut? We told you this cut was versatile! Here are our favorite ways to style the butterfly.
Blow-Dry for Volume and Bounce
A bouncy blowout is one of the best ways to show off a butterfly haircut. After washing and conditioning your hair, apply a heat protectant, like MELU Spray, and a volume boosting mousse, like This is a Volume Boosting Mousse and use a blow-dry brush for volume.Or achieve the same effect with a round brush and blow-dryer.
Effortless Waves and Texture
Another way to make this look work is with messy boho waves. And the best way to do this is by air-drying. Start with freshly washed and conditioned damp hair. Then grab your favorite dry texturizer or texturizing serum (we recommend This Is A Dry Texturizer or This is a Texturizing Serum), scrunch your strands and let them dry. Not sure how? Follow our guide for perfectly air-dried hair.
Sleek and Smooth Styling
For a sleek, straight butterfly style, use a blow dryer or blow dry brush on heat protected strands. Once it’s completely dry, run a flat iron over the lengths of all your layers. Seal your strands straight with OI Oil, our smoothing hair oil for softness and shine.
How to Ask Your Stylist for a Butterfly Haircut
Communication is key between you and your stylist to get the end result you want. And the best way to communicate exactly what you want is through pictures. Find an image (or images) of someone with a butterfly haircut who has a similar face shape and hair length. Then ask your stylist how to get the look in a way that works with your hair type and flatters your face.
We're Gifting You A Salon Experience!
Ready for your new look? Receive a rebate for $75 toward your next Davines salon haircare or color service.
Maintaining Your Butterfly Haircut
The best part about a layered haircut like the butterfly is that it requires very little maintenance. Layers grow out beautifully, and you can typically go up to 12 weeks without a trim. Take good care of your strands in between salon visits by using high quality hair care products made from natural ingredients and free of harmful ones, like the ones from Davines. Protect your hair anytime you heat style, eat a healthy, well balanced diet, stay hydrated and stick to your stylist’s recommended trim schedule.
FAQs
What is the difference between a butterfly haircut and regular layers?
The difference between a butterfly cut and regular layers is that butterfly layers are dramatic and disconnected, mimicking a long curtain bang or fringe; traditional layers,on the other hand, are typically evenly stacked throughout the hair.
Does a butterfly haircut work on short hair?
Yes, absolutely! The secret to making the butterfly cut work on short hair is thinning out the ends of the layers to create the butterfly effect without making strands look thin. Removing the weight off the ends helps lift the hair to create fullness and avoid making the hair appear thinner.
How do you style a butterfly haircut?
Style a butterfly cut with a blow-out for volume and bounce, using MELU Spray, and This is a Volume Boosting Mousse; air-dried with effortless waves and texture, using This Is A Dry Texturizer or This is a Texturizing Serum; or sleek, smooth and straight, using MELU Spray and OI Oil.
What face shapes suit a butterfly haircut?
A butterfly haircut suits for all face shapes, with minor layering adjustments, but it’s especially flattering on oval and square-shaped faces because of how the layers frame and sculpt the face.
What is the difference between a butterfly cut and a wolf cut?
While both haircuts are heavily layered, social media cult faves, the wolf cut is edgier, resembling a mullet, with choppy layers that are tousled and untamed. Unlike a butterfly cut which is more subtle and polished, with layers mimicking a long fringe.
Ready for a New Look?
Visit your local Davines salon for customized color, cuts, and care.
You Might Also Like...
by Jaclyn LaBadia, featured contributor
Your damage control kit: essential products for rescuing stressed strands All of us get stressed sometimes - and the same...
by Jaclyn LaBadia, featured contributor
The Hush Cut: The Low-Maintenance Layered Haircut for Every Hair Type Discover the hush cut, the Korean-inspired layered haircut for...
by Jaclyn LaBadia, featured contributor
How to Style a Bob: Tips, Techniques, and Product Recommendations Learn how to style a bob at home with expert...
Leave a comment
Comments will be approved before showing up.