Haircuts for thick wavy hair: ideas for men and women
Thick wavy hair has two things to manage: the amount of hair and the bend in it. Stylists commonly deal with the first by removing bulk (point-cutting, internal layers or thinning) and with the second by cutting the hair so the waves stack instead of puffing out at the sides. That is a salon convention, not a rule, and density and wave pattern vary a lot from head to head.
The FitMyFace catalog does not record how thick a cut is meant for. It does record texture: 12 of its 67 haircuts are pictured on wavy hair, and 60 are marked as ones a stylist can usually cut on wavy hair. The lists below come from that texture data.
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Cuts the catalog pictures on wavy hair
Short cuts
- French bob (women's cut, short). Chin to jawline blunt bob with soft bangs and minimal layering.
Medium-length cuts
- Soft texture perm (men's cut, medium-length). Cut first: sides #2-#3, top 8-10 cm with layers. Then a loose perm on the top only (medium rods). Finish with sea-salt spray.
- Long bob (lob) (women's cut, medium-length). Length: collarbone, about 1 cm longer in front. Light invisible layers; soft A-line. Style with loose waves.
- Shag / wolf cut (women's cut, medium-length). Heavy layering: short at the crown, longer at the nape. Wispy fringe. Razor or point-cut the ends; style with texture spray.
- Bro flow (men's cut, medium-length). Grow to ear-length and layer through sides; remove bulk behind the ears.
- Shaggy lob (women's cut, medium-length). Collarbone length, disconnected light layers, softly feathered ends.
- Korean S-curl perm (women's cut, medium-length). Collarbone-to-shoulder layers, medium S waves through lower lengths.
- Italian bob (women's cut, medium-length). Neck-length bob with interior movement, retain full lower perimeter.
- Octopus cut (women's cut, medium-length). Short rounded layers at the crown (about 10 cm), razor the lengths into long wispy pieces to the shoulders. Curtain face-framing, middle part. Finish with texture spray.
Long cuts
- Shoulder-length flow (men's cut, long). Grow to the shoulders. Long layers, ends texturized; keep weight at the bottom. Trim every 8-10 weeks to keep the shape.
- Long beach waves (women's cut, long). Long layers below the shoulders. Style with a 32 mm curling iron, alternating directions; brush out for loose waves.
- Long surfer layers (men's cut, long). Long layers below jaw, remove bulk delicately, allow natural wave.
Cuts with no texture requirement
The catalog marks clipper-based cuts as workable on every texture, wavy included: Buzz cut with fade, Classic taper fade, Crew cut, Caesar cut, High fade, Drop fade, Burst fade and Braided crown. On thick hair these are the lowest-maintenance route, because the sides are cut short and the bulk stays on top, where you can see it.
What to ask for on thick hair
- Weight removal: ask whether the stylist would thin or point-cut the ends and mid-lengths, and how much. Too much on thick waves can leave frizz, so ask them to go lightly the first time.
- Layer placement: longer layers keep length; shorter, higher layers add shape and reduce bulk. Say which you want.
- Cut dry or wet: some stylists cut wavy hair dry so they can see where each wave sits. Ask what they prefer for your hair.
- Length: waves usually look shorter than the hair is, because they pull up. Ask for the length measured on straight, stretched hair in centimetres, not only a word like "shoulder".
How to compare them
Use a clear front-facing photo in even light. Try two or three cuts from the lists above on the same photo and look at the outline, the length and how much styling each seems to need. When one feels right, open the barber card: it writes the cut out field by field in English and Chinese, with guard numbers in millimetres, and you can change any field before you save it. The card records the look you want and starting measurements; your barber checks and adjusts the final cut. The picture is illustrative.
FitMyFace hair previews are approximations, not predictions of how your hair will fall, curl or grow. Ordinary hairstyle try-ons perform face analysis on-device. The optional AI previews (hair and glasses) send a photo to Cloudflare; your consent is the one "I agree" on the scan screen, and a switch on the results turns them off. FitMyFace is for adults 18 and over and is not available in Illinois.
Questions
Should thick wavy hair be cut long or short?
Either works. Long keeps the weight pulling the waves down; short cuts remove bulk. Try one of each on your photo, remembering that the preview shows an illustrative outline, not how your own waves will fall.
Does the catalog know how thick my hair is?
No. It only asks for texture (straight, wavy, curly or coily), which you choose yourself. Thickness is a conversation to have with your stylist.
What about thick curly hair?
Set the texture to curly in the app and the list changes. The curly hair for men guide covers the men's cuts, and haircuts for 3C curly hair and haircuts for 4C hair cover men and women.
What about hair colour on waves?
See brown hair with highlights and blonde hair shades for the colours and colour techniques the app can preview.
Is my hair 2A?
See haircuts for 2A wavy hair for loose waves that sit close to straight.