Buzz Cut

The buzz cut is the most honest haircut in the world — there's nothing to style, nothing to fix, nothing to hide behind. Hair is clipped to a uniform length all over with electric clippers, usually somewhere between a #1 (3mm) and a #4 (12mm). The hairline at the temples is either left natural or sharply lined up, depending on whether you want military-clean or barbershop-soft.

The buzz suits oval, square, and diamond face shapes most — strong bone structure is what carries it, because there's no hair to distract from your face. It works on every hair texture, including coily and curly (where it actually shows the curl pattern beautifully at #3 length and up). The buzz is also the easiest growing-out cut on the planet: by week six it's a soft cropped look, by week twelve it's a textured pixie shape.

Lowest maintenance available to humans — under thirty seconds in the morning, no product required. Re-buzz every three to four weeks if you want to maintain a specific length; let it grow if you're transitioning out. The buzz has been with us since electric clippers in the 1920s but enters fashion every decade or so: GI Jane (1997), Britney Spears (2007), Cara Delevingne (2017), Florence Pugh (2024). Specify the clipper guard size — '#2 all over' produces a very different result than 'just shaved' would suggest.