Style
Creating the Butterfly Cut – A Step-by-Step Guide to the Trend
Sep
The butterfly cut is a style that harkens back to the 90s and has been compared to styles worn by Jennifer Aniston and Pamela Anderson with their iconic television hairdos. With the butterfly cut blowing up on social media it’s no surprise that people want to try it. The cut is meant to emulate the shape of the wings of a butterfly with lots of layers framing the face. This gives the wearer volume and movement and is suitable for many hair types and textures. The shorter layers start around the chin while the longer layers create a soft flowing effect. Let’s look at this trending style and see how it’s done:
1. SEPARATE HAIR
Begin by separating the hair into four sections: two in the front, split at the center and two in the back also split at the center. This will allow you to work in smaller sections and make sure the layering is consistent.
2. CREATE A LAYER GUIDE
Create a guide for the shortest layer: take a small section of hair from both of the two front sections of hair and meet them at the middle. Cut that section to about the base of the neck or a couple of inches below the chin. This creates a baseline to help make your layers consistent.
3. LAYER THE TOP SECTION
Starting on one side, separate the upper and lower portion of the front of the hair at the spot where the hairline begins to round toward the forehead. Taking a small section from the upper portion of hair, line it up with your layer guide hair and cut at an angle along that guide to create a tapering effect. Continue working with that top section, using your guide to get the proper angle and shape.
4. LAYER THE SIDE SECTION
Following the same procedure as with the top section, pull hair from the side section forward along with recently cut hair from the top section. Using a small section of hair from the top section as your new guide, use that to get the proper angle and shape for the side section. The end result should be a cut that goes from short to long as it goes farther back. Repeat steps 3 and 4 on the other side.
5. LAYER THE BACK SECTION
Using much the same process as before, separate a back section of hair into an upper and lower portion. Using a small section of hair from the front side as the guide, work through the upper portion of the cut much like you did the upper section of the front, then use a portion of that as your guide for the lower section. Once all sections are cut, repeat this process on the other side.
From that point you can remove any excess length from the back should your client request it, and it can be blow dried and styled. Use of heat protection is recommended, of course.
