Crop texturé

What a textured crop is

The texture is the point. Instead of cutting the top to a flat, even length, the barber point cuts into it, snipping into the ends at an angle, or uses texturising scissors, so the hair breaks into separate pieces of slightly different length. Those pieces catch the light and move, which makes the top look thicker and gives it shape without any height.

The top is pushed forward, but not into a neat line. The fringe is broken up and uneven on purpose, sitting anywhere from high on the forehead to just above the eyebrows.

The sides are usually faded. A mid or high fade is the common pairing, because the short sides make the choppy top stand out. A taper or a plain grade 1 to 2 works too, for a softer finish.

Textured crop vs French crop and Edgar

Textured crop vs French crop. Same frame, different finish. A Récolte française has a flatter, neater top and a tidy fringe line. A textured crop is choppier on top, with a messy, broken fringe and a little more length to work with. If you want tidy, ask for a French crop. If you want it to look good slightly scruffy, ask for a textured crop.

Textured crop vs Edgar. Le Edgar haircut has a dead straight, blunt fringe and a sharp line-up at the temples. It is all hard edges. A textured crop has no hard edges on top at all.

Textured crop vs crew cut. A crew cut lifts the front up or to the side. A textured crop pushes it forward. The textured crop also usually has more contrast at the sides.

Who suits a textured crop

It suits a wide range of men, which is a large part of why barbers cut so many of them.

Type de cheveux. Wavy and curly hair are the best match, because the texture is already there and the barber only has to shape it. A curly textured crop, with the curls left on top over short faded sides, is one of the most common versions. Thick hair takes texturing very well, as long as the barber removes enough weight that it does not puff out. Straight hair works, but needs more point cutting and a little product to show the texture. Coily hair kept short gives natural texture with no effort.

Fine and thinning hair. The texture helps. Choppy pieces disguise thin areas better than a flat cut, and a forward fringe softens a receding hairline. The risk is over-texturising, where the barber removes so much weight that the scalp shows through. Ask for a short top with light texture, and keep the sides tight so the top looks fuller. More on that in coupes de cheveux pour les hommes qui perdent leurs cheveux.

Forme du visage. Oval faces suit almost every version. A round face benefits from tight sides and a little lift on top. A square face is softened by a longer, looser fringe. On a long face or high forehead, a lower, fuller fringe helps balance things.

Work and lifestyle. It reads as casual but tidy, and the same cut can be pushed neater for work and roughed up at the weekend. It copes well with hats and helmets, because the texture hides flattening once you run your fingers through it.

How to ask a UK barber for a textured crop

Say "textured crop", then fill in the three parts. Barbers know the name, but the details vary a lot.

Les côtés. Fade or taper, and how high.

• "High fade, grade 1 going down to a 0 at the bottom."
• "Mid skin fade."
• "Just a taper, grade 2 on the sides going to a 1 at the neck."

The top. Give a length and ask for it textured. "About 4cm on top, point cut so it's choppy, and pushed forward."

The fringe. Say where it should finish and how broken up it should be. "Messy fringe, sitting about mid forehead" or "longer fringe, down near my eyebrows, choppy rather than straight."

It also helps to say:

• your hair type, especially if it is fine, thick or curly;
• how you style it, so the barber leaves enough length to work with your product;
• how often you will be back, because a high skin fade looks grown out after two weeks.

If it is your first textured crop, start with the fringe a bit longer. It is easy to take more off. Waiting for it to grow back is not.

Styling a textured crop

One to two minutes, one product.

Towel dry until damp. If your hair is straight or lies flat, a little sea salt spray on damp hair gives it grip. Blow dry with your fingers, pushing the hair forward and lifting at the roots, or just let it air dry if it is wavy.

Then take a small amount of matte clay or paste, warm it between your palms and rough it through the top, back to front. Push the fringe forward and pinch a few pieces to separate them. The finish should be matte. Shine makes a textured crop look wet and clumped, which works against it.

• Fine hair: a light matte paste or cream, very little of it.
• Thick hair: a firmer matte clay to keep the bulk in check.
• Wavy or curly hair: a little curl cream, scrunch and leave it.

Do not overwork it. Most of the texture is in the cut, and the product just shows it off.

Upkeep and how often to cut

Hair grows roughly 1cm a month. A textured crop hides growth better than most short cuts, because the choppy layers blur where the length was. The sides give it away first.

• High or skin fade: every two to three weeks.
• Low or mid fade: every three to four weeks.
• Taper: four to five weeks.

At each visit the barber can clean up the sides and re-texture the top without taking much length off. Very thick or fast-growing hair may need the top thinned more often.

Wash out product most evenings, or at least every couple of days. Build-up on short, textured hair makes it sit flat and greasy, which is the opposite of the point.

Variantes et laisser pousser ses cheveux

The same basic cut, with different settings.

• Textured crop with a high fade. The usual version. Short sides, choppy top, plenty of contrast. The dégradé haut page covers where that starts.
• Textured crop with a skin fade. The sides taken to bare skin with a foil shaver. Maximum contrast, most upkeep.
• Curly textured crop. Curls left on top, short tapered or faded sides. The curl does the texturing.
• Longer fringe. The fringe left down near the eyebrows. Softer, and good for a high forehead.
• Tapered textured crop. Only the edges taken short. More conservative and it grows out gently.

To grow it out, keep the sides tidy and let the top run on. Because it is already choppy, the top grows into a longer, messier crop without an obvious awkward stage. At 6 to 8cm on top, you can push it back, sweep it to the side or move towards something longer. The coiffures selon le type de cheveux page suggests where to go next for your hair.