40 Stunning Butterfly Haircut Examples You Will Want to Don

With TikTok and IG full of bouncy layered looks, there is no doubt you have already seen and admired the butterfly haircut. Here you will find all you need to know about this new trendy layered cut.

The butterfly haircut is sometimes confused with the ‘90s blowouts and modern shags like the wolf cut, so let’s make things clear. What is a butterfly haircut? It’s a layered cut kind of parted in the middle or to one side, with the top layers done around the face and the bottom section falling below the shoulders. Read more details below!

What Is a Butterfly Haircut?

In most cases, butterfly hairstyles can be easily recognized by their bob-length face-framing layers that feature tapered ends styled away from the face, thus creating the look associated with butterfly wings. Those shorter layers are connected with a series of longer layers running to the bottom, with the tips also often thinned out. Most of the layering is focused in the front, although some subtle layers can be added to the back.

A Butterfly Cut vs. a Layered Cut

Every butterfly cut is layered, but not every layered hairstyle has butterfly layers. We have layered pixies, bobs, shags, mullets, and other styles, and some of them may fall into the butterfly category while others don’t. For a style to qualify as a butterfly haircut, it has to be created with a cascade of blended short and long layers concentrating the weight around the face and with the ends thinned out to make it feel lighter.

A Butterfly Cut vs. a Wolf Cut

Basically, a wolf cut has two levels of layers —a shorter part on the top, and a portion of longer layers on the bottom, which lets it mimic the “business up front, party in the back” shape of a mullet. It also shows its reference to a shag through a choppy finish and wild, tousled styling, thus creating the feel of the wolf fur it is named after. In butterfly haircuts, the layers are more connected throughout the length, and the focus is placed on structure and volume rather than texture.

40 Ideas How to Wear the Trendy Butterfly Haircut for Different Hair Types

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, scroll down to see the cut in all its beauty and diversity of versions.

1. Butterfly Haircut with Intense Bottom Layers. Some girls prefer a few well-defined layers in the lower part, but you can take another approach and get more layers yet with a softer feel.

2. Bronze-Tinted Hair with Chunky Layers. Not only the placement but also the way your layers are cut and styled can change the whole look drastically, for example, giving the hair a fuller feel.

3. Ginger Butterfly Hairstyle with Flowing Layers. Unlike many other butterfly cuts, this style doesn’t show stark separation between the top and bottom layers but features a seamless cascade of locks all the way down.

4. Smokey Brown Butterfly Cut with Intense Layering. Since girls with thick manes can have as much layering as they want without sacrificing body, this ashy style is packed with fairly short layers from top to bottom.

5. Taupe Hair with Butterfly Layers. Not only does this cut debulk the dense hair with the help of layering, but it also incorporates strategically placed highlights to make the ends lighter and so much airier.

6. V-Shaped Butterfly Hairstyle. This ultra-long and super-thick hair requires lots of debulking to give it movement and shape, and the butterfly cut here ticks all the boxes.

7. Long Off-Centered Butterfly Haircut. Although the butterfly cut often comes in a center-parted version, this beige bronde style is cut to allow an off-center parting.

8. Shoulder-Length Butterfly Haircut in Dusty Blonde. This style leaves a shorter distance between the face-framing layers and the bottom strands but still creates plenty of bounce and volume.

9. Fluffy Butterfly Haircut with Bangs. Adorned with just a tad thinned-out bangs, this buttery blonde style keeps a shorter distance between the topmost and bottom layers to give a shaggier feel to the whole cut.

10. Wispy Butterfly Haircut for Straight Hair. The combination of intense layering and fiercely sliced ends in this ashy brown hair brings out some airy waves accentuated by the dreamy shade.

11. Butterfly Layered Haircut for Smokey Brown Hair. This mesmerizing style doesn’t stick to layering in the front and at the bottom and adds pieces of different lengths throughout the perimeter.

12. Copper Brown Medium Butterfly Haircut with Accent. Here we have a killer combo of face-framing layers and money pieces since nothing works to spotlight a face better than a pop of color on an eye-catching texture.

13. Butterfly Layers with Retro Vibes. Adorned with the lavish curtain bangs styled upward to build more volume in the front, this caramel brown hair is a fresh and more low-maintenance take on the ‘70s shag.

14. Polished Top, Shaggy Bottom Hair. This buttery blonde style is kept perfectly sleek around the crown but it gets much choppier and more undone towards the ends, gaining texture and movement.

15. Fluffy Butterfly Cut in Dirty Blonde. Both fluffy hair and butterfly cuts are in, so why don’t you pair the two and add a refreshing blonde that spotlights the face and highlights the texture?

16. Butterfly Cut Hair with Graduated Side Layers. Layered quite moderately on the bottom, this long brown hair catches the eye with tons of texture around the face gained through feathering, graduation, and flipped-out styling.

17. Butterfly Hair Cut with Long Side-Swept Bangs. No, you don’t need to wear your fringe center-parted all the time, and this girl shows how to arrive at an extra volume on the crown with the front pieces effortlessly swept to one side.

18. Medium-Length Butterfly Haircut with Wispy Layers. If you want to rock a full and bouncy style but with an airy touch, ask for wispy layers across the mid-length while keeping them rather chunky around the ends.

19. Long Butterfly Haircut with Definition. Getting straight hair feathered is a nice way to bring texture into your otherwise flat tresses, but accentuating the flips at the ends with proper styling doubles the effect.

20. Butterfly Layers with High-Contrast Bangs. We can’t help falling in love with this stunning color scheme that starts with spectacular illumination near the face and melts into a dreamy, muted shade.

21. Rachel 2.0 with Butterfly Bangs. Here is a new take on one of the most iconic styles of the ‘90s era — heavily layered, bouncy, and voluminous hair but this time, it’s complemented with light, feathered bangs that grow longer toward the edges.

22. Disconnected Butterfly Hairstyle. By spacing out her curtain bangs and the rest of the face-framing layers, this girl has got a chance to emphasize her beautiful cheekbones while balancing the width of the face with visual elongation.

23. Ashy Brunette Ombre Layers. Judging by these impressive butterfly haircut images, pairing a contrasting ombre with a heavily layered V-shaped bottom is truly a brilliant idea.

24. Butterfly Hair with Honey Blonde Balayage. This mix of brown and golden blonde pieces does a good job of creating dimension in the straight hair, which is further filled with texture and dynamics through masterful feathering and layering.

25. Shaggy Butterfly Haircut with Bangs. We are used to seeing butterfly cuts with long face-framing layers, but it’s also fun to wear them with a shorter fringe covering the forehead.

26. Butterfly Layers with Reduced Bounce. This almost straight style avoids over-layering and extra slicing to retain fullness but still gains texture and added volume around the face.

27. Texture-Rich Medium-Length Butterfly Haircut. Although this style is anything but shaggy, the abundance of wispy layers creates tons of texture in the one-color brown tresses.

28. Butterfly Haircut with Farrah Fawcett Vibes. You will probably need a shorter butterfly haircut to recreate this vintage style with loads of flipped-out ends cascading a bit past the shoulders.

29. Springy Black Butterfly Cut. This shorter version of the butterfly cut has the bottom cut in dense layers to give support and better bounce to the face-framing pieces.

30. Extremely Choppy Butterfly Layers. This enviable mane immediately catches the eye with the shaggy texture throughout the ends and the beautiful structure created by layering.

31. Messy Butterfly Layers with Caramel Highlights. You don’t need to polish your butterfly layers to perfection to enjoy bounce and volume, but you can make them even more dimensional with masterfully placed highlights.

32. Long Butterfly Hairstyle with Contrast. This layered style mixes blonde and brown to land a contrasting color scheme that makes the texture and movement more visible while enhancing the airy feel.

33. Intense Layers with Bardot’s Bangs. Here is a trendy blast from the past, combining Brigitte Bardot’s sexy and relaxed curtain bangs with intense layers cascading down no less effortlessly.

34. Subtle Brown Ombre Layers. This fine hair gets a nice volume boost with the wispy layers around the face and gains more body on the bottom thanks to the shaggy finish.

35. Curly Butterfly Layers with a Touch of Blonde. Whether you have natural waves or want to mimic them using a curling wand, butterfly layers are sure to maximize their volume and bounce.

36. Bronzed and Chunky Butterfly Layers. By amassing wild layers in the mid-length rather than around the bottom, you can arrive at enhanced volume on the sides and a more balanced look for narrow faces.

37. Jet-Black Butterfly Hairstyle with Picture-Perfect Blowout. Those wishing to channel their glamorous self should tread in this girl’s steps and polish their fresh layers with a bouncy blowout.

38. Butter Blonde Layered Hair with Flippy Ends. Add a retro feel to your butterfly hairstyle by adopting Farrah Fawcett’s vibes through a feathery finish and flipped-out ends.

39. Feathery Butterfly Haircut for Straight Hair. For your mane to feel less heavy and more structured while retaining the length and showcasing its healthy smoothness, consider subtle butterfly layers with a feathery finish.

40. Disconnected Brunette Butterfly Hair Cut. Overall dark brown hair gives off texture not easily, but you will surely make it with clearly disconnected layers and some thinning out around the ends.

What Hair Types Is a Butterfly Haircut Good For?

First of all, hair experts recommend butterfly haircuts for straight hair of medium to high thickness since it needs some shorter layers to gain volume around the top and can be nicely debulked on the bottom with longer layers and feathered ends. Wavy hair can also benefit from the cut by getting the waves released when excess weight is removed and then packing them into a more defined shape. Curly hair may not be that good at showing where the layers sit, and thin strands may look even sparser if overlayered.

What Hair Lengths Is a Butterfly Cut Good For?

The haircut truly shines out on past-the-shoulder lengths, as longer hair can accommodate more layers and beautifully show off all the texture and movement created on the bottom. However, girls with shorter strands can mimic the cut by adopting curtain bangs and face-framing layers.

What Face Shape Is a Butterfly Haircut Good For?

Adaptability to any bone structure is one of the reasons behind the butterfly cut’s vast popularity. Its face-framing portion can be used to accentuate or soften different facial features, and the length and volume on the bottom can be tailored to balance every face shape.

How Should I Ask My Stylist for a Butterfly Haircut?

Explain that you need a combination of short layers, sitting around the face and cascading down to the chin, and long layers placed throughout the rest of the length. Ask for wispy ends that will make your hair feel lighter, and discuss where you wish your short layers start and end, as well as whether you want bangs. Bring a couple of reference photos to ensure you are on the same page.

Butterfly Haircut Results

After getting a butterfly haircut, you can expect to see better lift at the roots and lots of volume around the face, complemented with bounce on the bottom. Your hair will feel lighter and look more textured and structured while retaining the whole length. Although the cut comes with built-in movement and volume, which promises less time invested in styling and products, you will need regular trims to maintain the structure of layers.

How Much Does a Butterfly Haircut Cost?

It depends on your hair length, the location and level of your salon, and the expertise of your hairdresser. Low-end salons may charge around $50. High-end salons can charge from $100 to $200 and much more.

How to Style a Butterfly Haircut?

Although you can wear a butterfly haircut unstyled, with just a dab of live-in conditioner worked into the hair to tame frizz and smooth the ends, the cut truly pops when given a blast with a blowout. When blow drying, you will need to style the hair upwards and away from the face for volume and use a barrel brush to slightly curl the ends outwards for better movement. Alternatively, you can use a curling wand or rollers.

We hope some of you got hooked on the butterfly haircut after viewing our collection. Feel free to use your selected pics as a reference for your hairdresser. Enjoy your journey to your next hair goal!