Curtain Haircut for Men: What to Ask For and How to Style It
A curtain haircut is a longer fringe parted in the middle or just off-center, so the hair falls forward and outward on both sides of your face like curtains, with shorter sides and back. It works best when the cut is built around your hair type, growth pattern and daily routine, not copied from a photo. Below you will find the variations, how to choose one, exactly what to tell your barber, and how to style and maintain it.
TL;DR
A curtain haircut is a long, center-parted fringe with shorter sides. “Middle part” describes where the hair splits. “Curtains” describes how the fringe falls. The eBoy cut is a variation of it.
You choose the fringe length (about eyebrow to chin) and the sides (taper, fade, undercut or grown-in).
Bring photos of looks you want and ones you don’t, and tell your barber whether you air-dry or blow-dry.
Blow-dry forward first, part second, then finish with a light, matte product.
Expect to book a trim every three to six weeks, depending on how short the sides are.
Table of Contents
What a curtain haircut is, and how it differs from a middle part or an eBoy cut
The three terms overlap, which is why people order the wrong thing. Here is the plain version.
Curtains is the haircut. Man of Many explains that a middle part describes where the hair is parted, while curtains describe how the fringe falls on both sides of the face. So a middle part can exist on a short, neat cut, but a true curtain cut needs length on top to drape.
Middle part is the parting. You can wear it with a classic scissor cut, a fade or a slicked look. It is the line, not the whole haircut.
The eBoy cut is the same family. The same Man of Many piece describes it as a slicked-back twist on the curtain fringe, with a defined middle part and the rest pushed back slightly. It usually pairs the long top with faded or undercut sides, and it got its name from its popularity on TikTok.
The style itself is a 1990s revival. In a recent GQ trends roundup, stylist Jake Murphy says newer techniques can bring 1990s haircuts into the modern era by combining the flavor of the past with modern ingredients. In practice that means less gel and shine, more texture and movement.
Fringe length and sides: the choices that define your cut
Two decisions shape the haircut: how long the front is, and what happens at the sides and back.
Fringe length
Curtain fringes run from roughly eyebrow length to chin length, according to Gatsby’s curtain hair guide. Here is how that plays out:
Eyebrow to cheekbone: easiest to manage, less likely to fall in your eyes, and a good first step if you have never worn this style.
Cheekbone to jaw: the full 90s look. It needs daily styling and a barber who can layer it so it moves.
Chin length: a commitment. It works with wavy or straight hair that has enough weight to hang cleanly.
If you are starting from a short cut, plan on growing the top for a few months. A barber can shape the in-between stages so you don’t live through an awkward bowl-like phase.
Sides and back
The top stays long, but the sides change the whole mood of the cut:
Scissor taper: soft and natural, a good fit for office dress codes.
Low or mid fade: crisper and more modern. The contrast with the long top is the point.
Undercut: a sharper, more dramatic version, often seen in eBoy styling.
Grown-in sides: the longest, most relaxed look, with the most upkeep in the shape of the outline.
The sides are clipper work, and the guard choice and blending matter. If you are curious how professional clippers behave, this guide to rotary clippers covers the tool side of tailoring a cut to a client’s hair.
For a messier, lived-in center part, GQ’s trend piece recommends carefully adding layers and texture to long-ish hair so it can move and flow naturally. A blunt, heavy fringe tends to look like a helmet. We cover the difference in our post on textured versus blunt fringes.
Will it suit your hair and face?
Nearly any man with enough length on top can wear curtains, but the version changes with your hair and your face.
Hair texture and density
Straight, thick hair holds a clean center part but can look flat and heavy without layering. Wavy hair is the easiest, because the natural bend creates the curtain shape on its own. Curly hair adds volume at the sides of the part, so the fringe needs to be cut with the curl in mind. Allure notes that for textured or curly hair, dry-cutting helps a stylist gauge how curtain bangs will fall. Our guide to hair texture types explains how we read each one, and if you wear curls, our post on a softer mid fade for curly hair shows what to ask for at the sides.
Thinning hair
If you have light, even thinning or slightly recessed corners, GQ’s advice on thinning hair is that a curtain cut can distract the eye and give some coverage. Keep the hair longer in the middle than at the sides and build volume. Heavy thinning at the crown or a bald patch on top is a different conversation, and a barber is the right person to tell you honestly whether curtains will help.
Face shape
Face shape guidance is a matter of taste, not rules. The general pattern is that classic curtains suit oval and heart-shaped faces, while round faces often look better with a fade at the sides to add definition and long faces with a softer, less severe part. Joe Mills, quoted in GQ UK, says middle partings can lengthen the face and draw attention to the forehead, while side parts can add height and width and help frame the face. If a perfectly centered part feels wrong on you, an off-center part is the fix. It still reads as curtains.
Growth patterns matter just as much. A cowlick at the front hairline can make a center part fight you every morning. Our post on how barbers read hair growth patterns explains what we look for before we cut.
How to ask your barber for curtains
Most bad curtain cuts come from a vague request. “Curtains” alone could mean five different haircuts. Use this checklist:
Bring photos, and include ones you don’t want. Allure’s advice is to show looks you like and ones you want to avoid.
Name the fringe length. Say where you want it to land: eyebrow, cheekbone or jaw.
Name the sides. Taper, low fade, mid fade, undercut or grown-in.
Say how you style your hair. Allure also recommends telling your stylist whether you air-dry or blow-dry, because that changes how the cut should be built.
Mention your routine. If you give yourself five minutes in the morning, say so. A barber can cut for that.
Point out problem spots. Cowlicks, a thin temple, hair that flips out.
We have more on this in how to communicate your haircut style to your barber. If you are still choosing who should cut it, read finding a barber who matches your personal style.
A good barber will push back where needed. If your hair is very fine, they might suggest a shorter fringe. If your part won’t sit in the center, they might shift it. That is the consultation doing its job, and it is how a cut ends up fitting you. See how barbers customize cuts individually for how that conversation goes.
How to style a curtain haircut at home
The goal is soft movement, not a locked-in helmet. Gatsby notes that the current trend is less tight and shiny than the 90s original and recommends natural hard wax or matte wax.
The blow-dry method
This is the most reliable way to get the shape.
Start with damp, towel-dried hair. Work a little styling cream through it with a wide-tooth comb or your fingers.
Blow-dry the whole fringe forward over a round brush. Stylist Larry King explains in Vogue that drying forward helps the fringe blend with the rest of the haircut, while drying straight from a middle part can create an unwanted flick around the face.
Part it in the middle with your fingers or a comb.
Mess it up with your fingers and use a bit of styling cream to separate the hair, as King suggests.
Davines’ US styling guide adds a few refinements: apply heat protectant first, wrap each section around the round brush, dry it away from the face, and finish with a texturizing spray worked in with your fingers. A blow dryer and a round brush are the two essential tools.
The air-dry method
With wavy hair, you can skip the dryer. Uppercut Deluxe’s wavy-hair curtains tutorial suggests scrunching a few pumps of lightweight foam into the hair and letting it air-dry. A stronger cream or a styling powder gives more control or volume when you need it.
If your hair is curly
Byrdie’s curtain styles guide says a curl cream can enhance curls, and an anti-humidity leave-in product is recommended for curly hair. No-crease clips can help train hair into place as it dries.
Product guide
Hair type | What to reach for | Result |
Straight, fine | Light cream or texturizing spray | Movement without weight |
Straight, thick | Matte wax, small amount | Defined pieces, less bulk |
Wavy | Light foam or cream, air-dry | Natural drape |
Curly | Curl cream, anti-humidity leave-in | Defined curls, less frizz |
Start with less than you think you need. You can always add a second pass, but heavy product is exactly what makes curtains look dated.
When the part won’t stay in the center
This is the most common complaint, and it usually has a mechanical cause: the hair has a natural fall in one direction. The Haircut.info guide suggests training it. Set the part with a comb on damp hair every day, sweep each side toward the temples, then air-dry or use medium heat with a round brush. A light-hold cream or lightweight pomade helps. If it still won’t behave, try shifting the part 1 to 2 cm toward the side your hair naturally falls.
Length matters too. A middle part needs enough length at the front to fall on both sides. If the hair is too short, it will stand up or split awkwardly. In that case, wait a few weeks or ask your barber for a shorter, softer version of the style in the meantime.
If you have tried a month of daily training and the part still splits in the wrong place, the issue is probably a growth pattern, not your technique. Show it to your barber in person.
Keeping the cut sharp between visits
Curtains look best at a certain length, and they lose their shape quickly once the sides grow out. Byrdie recommends washing every two to three days, using dry shampoo between washes if needed, and trims every six to eight weeks for longer curtains. That is a reasonable outer limit for grown-in sides.
If you wear a fade or an undercut, plan on shorter gaps. The contrast is what makes the cut look intentional, and fades blur in about three to four weeks. We recommend the same three to four week rhythm for fringes in our post on textured versus blunt fringes. A quick tidy of the sides and the ends of the fringe keeps the shape without cutting the length you spent months growing.
Two small habits help. Don’t use sea salt spray every day, since it dries hair out and increases frizz, and consider a silk or satin pillowcase to cut friction overnight. Both tips come from wikiHow’s eBoy guide.
Our perspective
We see the same pattern every week: a man walks in with a photo, and the photo is of someone with different hair. Curtains are the clearest example. On one head the fringe falls cleanly into two halves. On another it splits into a wedge, flips at the ends or flattens against the forehead. The haircut is the same name, but it needs a different build.
That is why we spend the first few minutes talking, not cutting. We look at how your hair grows at the hairline and crown, how dense it is, how it behaves when it is dry, and what you actually do with it in the morning. Then we decide the fringe length, the layering and the sides. Our aim is a cut that looks natural, needs little product and holds its shape for weeks, not one that only works on the day it is cut.
Our honest advice if you are growing out for curtains: be patient through the middle stage, keep the sides tidy while the top grows, and don’t chase a part that your hair doesn’t want. Move the part a centimeter or two and the whole look relaxes.
— Evgenii
Get the cut at Manhattan Barbershop
We are on the Upper East Side, and curtains are built to your hair, not copied from a template. A regular haircut with us is $42, and that is the service to book for a curtain cut with a scissor taper, fade or undercut at the sides. Dads can book a kids haircut for $42. If you want a clean-up for your facial hair at the same visit, a beard design is $25, and a hot towel shave is $40. Grey camouflage is $45 if you want to blend in the first silver strands.
You can book online and choose your service, or read more about the regular haircut first. Tell us how long you want to grow the top, and we will plan the stages with you.
FAQ
Is a curtain haircut the same as a middle part?
Not exactly. A middle part is where the hair splits, and curtains are the longer fringe that falls on either side. You can have a middle part on short hair, but curtains need length at the front to drape properly.
How long does my hair need to be for curtains?
The fringe needs to be long enough to fall on both sides of the face, which in practice means reaching at least eyebrow length when it is pulled down. A common range runs from eyebrow to chin. If you are shorter than that, ask your barber to keep the top long while shaping the sides so you get through the growing stage.
Does the curtain haircut work with thin or curly hair?
Yes, with adjustments. For light thinning or receding corners, keeping the hair longer in the middle than the sides and adding volume can help hide the area. For curly hair, ask for a cut that accounts for how the curls spring up, ideally one that is checked while dry.
How often should I get a trim?
Six to eight weeks is the outer limit for longer curtains with grown-in sides. With a fade or undercut, come back every three to four weeks to keep the contrast sharp. If the fringe starts to poke into your eyes or lose its shape, it is time.
What is an eBoy haircut?
It is a curtain-style cut that usually pairs a long, center-parted top with faded or undercut sides. It tends to be slicked back a little more at the part. If you want it, bring a photo and tell your barber how much length you want to keep.
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