You’ve brought the photo. Choppy layers, a fringe that looks like it cut itself, and hair that somehow looks better the less you brush it. Then your stylist asks how short you’d like the top, and you realize a shag could be ten different haircuts.
The short layers are what make it a shag. They sit at the crown and around your face, and everything gets longer toward the ends. Paul McGregor cut the original for Jane Fonda, who wore it in Klute (it was nicknamed “the Klute”). Today’s version is longer and softer, and it often falls past the shoulders.
Below are 16 shags by working stylists, from long layers and curtain bangs to curly cuts, pixie shags and cuts for women over 50, each shown twice. Every look ends on what to say in the chair, so you can pick one and read it out.
Long shag haircuts
Long shag with curtain bangs
Long, light brown waves, curtain bangs that sit just behind a pair of aviators, and layers that start at the cheekbones and keep going past the chest. The ends are cut piecey, so the waves break up instead of hanging in one sheet. It keeps nearly all of your length.
What to ask for Long shag with curtain bangs, face-framing layers from the cheekbones, and piecey, textured ends kept past the chest.
70s shag with curtain bangs
Here’s the Jane Fonda look, a little softer. Thick curtain bangs sweep out from a center part, and big, rounded layers bounce around the shoulders and down the back. It’s made for a blow-dry, with a round brush through the bangs.
What to ask for A 70s-style shag with heavy curtain bangs from a center part, rounded layers from the cheekbones to below the shoulders, and a bouncy blow-dry finish.
Black shag with bangs
Wispy bangs, a short, full crown and long black layers that fall down the back. From the side you can see the step from the short top to the long, piecey ends. It suits you if you want a shag and don’t want to lose your length.
What to ask for Long shag with wispy bangs, a short, full crown, and long, piecey layers down the back.
Medium shag haircuts and shags with bangs
Blonde shag with curtain bangs
Soft blonde waves, a darker root, and wispy curtain bangs that brush the lashes. The layers start around the jaw and stop just past the shoulders, and the ends are cut piecey so the wave breaks up. Salt spray and a rough-dry are enough on hair with a natural wave.
What to ask for Shoulder-length shag with wispy curtain bangs, layers from the jaw down, and piecey, point-cut ends, cut to air-dry with the wave.
Dark shag with bangs
Black hair, full bangs that split at the center, and choppy layers that flick out around the jaw. The crown is short and full, and the length stops at the collarbone. It’s a nod to where the cut started, with Joan Jett and the 70s rock crowd.
What to ask for Collarbone-length shag with full bangs that split in the center, a short, full crown, and choppy layers flicked out around the jaw.
Auburn shag with bangs
Micro bangs, a full crown and ends that flick out around the collarbone. The auburn color shows how the layers stack from the top down. Short bangs grow fast, so plan on a fringe trim between cuts.
What to ask for Collarbone-length shag with micro bangs, a short, full crown, and flicked, choppy ends.
Medium brunette shag
Bangs, a short crown and ends that flick out around the shoulders. From the back the layers step down one after another, which is what gives a shag its shape. Blow the ends out with a round brush for the flick, or rough-dry for a messier finish.
What to ask for Shoulder-length shag with bangs, a short crown, and layered ends cut to flick out.
Shaggy lob
A lob is a long bob, and this one is cut shaggy: choppy ends just past the shoulders, a center part and highlights that show each layer. From the back the ends are uneven on purpose, so it never looks like a helmet. It’s an easy shag to grow into from a one-length cut.
What to ask for Shaggy lob just past the shoulders, a center part, and choppy, point-cut ends through the back.
Curly shag haircuts
Curly shag with bangs
Short curly bangs and full sides give this curly shag its round shape. Both clients keep the curls longer at the sides and shorter at the crown, one in copper-tipped brown and one in blue-black, and the length stops around the collarbone. Ask for a dry cut, then scrunch in a curl cream, diffuse, and leave it alone.
What to ask for Collarbone-length curly shag, cut dry, with short curly bangs, a full crown and rounded layers that frame the face.
Curly shag bob
Take a curly shag up to the jaw and you get this: a short, round shape with curly bangs and lots of volume at the crown. The back view shows the stacked layers that stop it from turning into a triangle. The shag takes weight out, so thick curls suit it.
What to ask for Jaw-length curly shag bob, cut dry, with curly bangs, stacked layers at the back, and volume kept at the crown.
Short shag haircuts
Pixie shag
A pixie shag is a pixie with choppy, wispy layers, and this one has a flick at the nape and bangs that stop well above the brows. It’s short enough to wash and go, with enough length on top to push around. Emma Stone is one of the names tied to it.
What to ask for Pixie shag with wispy micro bangs, choppy layers on top, and a longer, flicked nape.
Short textured shag
This short shag sits just above the shoulders, with piecey layers all over and a lot of texture at the crown. From the back the layers look deliberately messy. Rough-dry it with a texture spray and you’re done.
What to ask for Short shag above the shoulders, choppy layers throughout, texture at the crown, and a razored, piecey finish at the back.
Blonde layered shag
Side-swept bangs, layers that stop at the jaw and a stacked, short nape. From the side you can see how the layers build the shape from the crown down. It’s a softer shag, with more polish than choppiness.
What to ask for Jaw-length shag with side-swept bangs, soft layers from the crown, and a stacked nape.
Shag haircuts for women over 50
Gray curly shag
Gray curls and a shag get along well, because the layers take the weight off and let each curl spring. This one stops around the jaw, with curly bangs and a full crown. From the back the curls are stacked, so the shape stays round.
What to ask for Jaw-length curly shag cut dry, curly bangs, stacked curls at the back, and volume at the crown.
Platinum shag with choppy bangs
A short platinum shag with choppy bangs and feathered layers above the collar. The crown is full and the nape is stacked short, so it keeps its shape between cuts. Short shags need a trim every four to six weeks.
What to ask for Short shag with choppy bangs, feathered layers through the crown, and a stacked, short nape.
Shaggy bob over 50
This is a bob cut with a shag’s texture: choppy layers through the sides and back, and a long side-swept front. Silver highlights on brown show every layer. From the back the ends are cut uneven on purpose, so the bob never looks helmet-shaped.
What to ask for Chin-length shaggy bob with choppy layers through the sides and back, a long side-swept front, and uneven, textured ends.
01 of 01
What is a shag haircut?
A shag haircut is a cut layered to lots of different lengths, with the shortest layers at the crown and around your face and longer ones toward the ends. The result is full on top and lighter at the edges.
The layers are textured rather than blunt, and that texture is what makes a cut read as a shag. Stylists take the weight out with point cutting, slide cutting or a razor. The modern shag comes with bangs, often curtain bangs or a choppy fringe that grazes the eyebrows and gets longer at the sides.
The cut goes back further than you might think. New York hairstylist Paul McGregor is usually credited with it, and he gave one to Jane Fonda around 1969 (he first called it “the Funky”). She wore it in the 1971 film Klute, and the cut was nicknamed “the Klute”. Joan Jett, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks all wore one, so the shag was unisex from the start.
It came back in the early 2020s, a little tamer. L’Oréal Paris describes today’s version as longer, often a few inches past the shoulders, with the choppy layers but without the wild volume of the 70s.
Who suits a shag haircut?
A shag suits almost every face shape, and wavy hair most of all: Cosmopolitan UK calls wavy hair the ideal type for it. Curly hair suits a fuller shag. Straight or flat hair works too, but it needs more styling to show off the layers.
Thick hair is where a shag earns its keep. John Frieda says it takes the weight out of thick hair and brings out its natural texture. Just make sure your stylist has a plan for the bulk, or the shape can turn into a triangle.
Face shape changes the details. With a round face, go longer: a shag that lengthens rather than covers, with layers that start below the widest part of your face, and maybe skip the full fringe. With a long face, the forward-framing layers help shorten it. Oval faces can wear a medium shag or shorter, more dramatic layers.
What to ask your stylist for
Start with photos, because “shag” means something different to every stylist. Every look above ends on its own ask line, so you can read one out word for word.
Then cover three things. Where the shortest layers should sit, whether at the crown, around the cheekbones or at the jaw. Whether you want bangs, and which kind: curtain bangs, a choppy fringe at eyebrow level, or bangs that reach the tip of your nose. And how much length to keep.
Ask for textured layers rather than blunt ones. If your hair is straight or wavy, a razor gives the layers a softer, “melted” movement that scissors can’t quite copy. If your hair is curly, ask for a dry cut with scissors, so your stylist can work curl by curl and allow for shrinkage.
How much upkeep does a shag haircut take?
A short shag needs a trim every four to six weeks, and a longer one can wait six to eight. Some stylists stretch that to eight or twelve weeks. Bangs are the exception: a short fringe grows fast, so book a fringe trim in between.
Day to day, it’s easy to live with. The Hair Standard calls it one of the lowest-maintenance cuts you can get, Davines calls the shag one of the most versatile wash-and-wear styles, and Matrix says it looks better on day two than on day one.
What’s the difference between a shag, a wolf cut and a butterfly cut?
All three are layered cuts, and the difference is where the short layers go and how hard the lines are. A shag’s layers are balanced and taper gradually. A wolf cut crosses a shag with a mullet, with short layers at the crown and a sharper jump in length between sections. A butterfly cut keeps its short layers around the face and cuts them soft, so they fan away from it.
| Cut | Where the short layers sit | The finish |
|---|---|---|
| Shag | Crown and face, tapering gradually to the ends | Choppy and textured, often with bangs |
| Wolf cut | Crown, with a sharp step to longer lengths | Part shag, part mullet |
| Butterfly cut | Around the face, from the cheekbones or chin | Soft and blended, with the length kept |
If the softer, blown-out version sounds more like you, our butterfly haircut guide has two dozen of them.
Are shags good for wavy hair?
Yes. Wavy hair is the ideal type for a shag. For styling, InStyle’s pick on wavy hair is a salt spray.
Are shags good for fine hair over 50?
Yes, as long as the ends stay full. The textured ends of a shag add movement from roots to ends and stop fine hair from lying flat. Ask your stylist to keep weight at the perimeter and to skip the heavy thinning, so the ends don’t look wispy. The over-50 looks above show how that works on gray curls, short platinum layers and a shaggy bob.
Who should not get a shag?
A shag isn’t for you if you want hair that looks polished without effort on straight, flat hair, because the layers need some styling to show. It also asks more of very short hair, where careful layering is what stops it from puffing into a mushroom. And if you hate trims, skip the bangs.
How do you style a shag haircut?
Use a product that matches your hair: salt spray on straight or wavy hair, curl cream on curls. Mousse suits finer hair, and creams or balms suit coarser hair. Texture sprays help a shag more than serums or oils do.
Then rough-dry it without fussing over the parting, or diffuse it if your hair has a wave. Blow-dry the bangs with a round brush, and leave the rest a little undone. A shag is meant to look lived in.
How long does a shag haircut last?
A shag holds its shape for about four to eight weeks, depending on its length. Hair is commonly said to grow about a centimeter a month, so after a couple of months the shortest layers have dropped and the shape softens.
If you’d like to see the shag next to lobs, butterfly cuts and curtain bangs before you choose, our shoulder-length hairstyles guide has 69 more medium cuts.
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