20 Butterfly Haircuts For Medium Length Hair
Twenty butterfly cuts for shoulder and collarbone hair, and the detail that keeps it from turning into a shag — the gap. A butterfly cut has two layer families with empty space between them, not one continuous graduation.
In this article · 27
- What Separates a Butterfly Cut From a Shag
- Choosing Where the Short Layer Stops
- The 20 Butterfly Haircuts for Medium Hair
- 1. The Classic Medium Butterfly Cut
- 2. Collarbone Butterfly Cut
- 3. Shoulder Length Butterfly Cut
- 4. Butterfly Cut With Curtain Bangs
- 5. Butterfly Cut With a Middle Part
- 6. Butterfly Cut With a Deep Side Part
- 7. Butterfly Cut on Fine Hair
- 8. Butterfly Cut on Thick Hair
- 9. Butterfly Cut on Straight Hair
- 10. Butterfly Cut on Wavy Hair
- 11. Butterfly Cut on Curly Hair
- 12. Butterfly Cut With a Blunt Perimeter
- 13. Butterfly Cut With a Soft Perimeter
- 14. Butterfly Cut With Chin Length Framing
- 15. Butterfly Cut With Cheekbone Framing
- 16. Butterfly Cut With Crown Volume
- 17. Butterfly Cut With a Money Piece
- 18. Butterfly Cut With Invisible Layers
- 19. Butterfly Cut Worn Straight
- 20. The Grown Out Butterfly Cut
- Styling and Upkeep
- Mistakes to Avoid
- FAQ
- Final Thoughts
A butterfly cut on medium hair goes wrong in one predictable way, and it is the face framing layer being cut too high until the whole thing collapses into a shag.
A butterfly cut is two lengths, not a graduation. A short family of layers around the face and a long, heavy perimeter, with a deliberate gap between them.
The gap is the haircut. Fill it in with more layers and you have a shag. Leave it empty and the shorter pieces read as wings sitting over the length.
What Separates a Butterfly Cut From a Shag
A shag graduates all the way down. Every length connects to the next, so the eye never finds a second edge and the cut reads as one soft shape.
A butterfly cut leaves a hole in the middle. The short family stops around the chin, the next hair is at the perimeter, and nothing sits between them.
The perimeter stays heavy. It carries the whole impression of length, so it is cut blunt or barely broken, never layered into.
The wings are cut, not styled. A large barrel curl only bends what is already short enough to bend. Without the short family there is nothing to flick.
Choosing Where the Short Layer Stops
Four inches of clear space is the target. That is enough for the eye to register two lengths and not so much that the cut splits into two haircuts.
On collarbone hair that means a chin length wing. Chin to collarbone is about four inches on most people, which is why the classic version looks the way it does.
On shoulder length hair raise the wing to the jaw. The perimeter is higher, so the short family has to come up with it or the gap disappears.
Never take the shortest piece above the cheekbone on medium hair. Above that line there is not enough weight left in the wing to hold it down, so it lifts and reads as a fringe.
The 20 Butterfly Haircuts for Medium Hair
1. The Classic Medium Butterfly Cut
Wing at the chin, perimeter at the collarbone, nothing cut in between. That four inch gap is what lets the shorter pieces sit over the length as a separate layer instead of merging into it, and it is the only measurement the cut really depends on.
2. Collarbone Butterfly Cut
The perimeter finishes just above the collarbone, which is the length that gives the cut the most room to work. It is long enough for two clear layer families and short enough that the ends never sit on the shoulder and push outward.
3. Shoulder Length Butterfly Cut
The hardest length to cut well, because hair that finishes exactly on the shoulder gets pushed back up by it and flicks outward. Either take the perimeter an inch above the shoulder or an inch below, and raise the wing to the jaw to keep the gap.
4. Butterfly Cut With Curtain Bangs
The curtain bang is really the shortest member of the front layer family, cut short at the centre and longer toward the outside. Adding it extends the wing all the way up to the forehead, so the frame runs unbroken from brow to chin.
5. Butterfly Cut With a Middle Part
A dead centre split gives both wings the same amount of hair, so they open symmetrically and sit at matching heights. It also means any difference in length between the two sides sits directly beside its twin, where it is impossible to miss.
6. Butterfly Cut With a Deep Side Part
Sweeping the top across from one side loads most of the front weight onto one wing and lifts the roots on the other. That root lift is free height at the crown, which is where a medium length cut usually runs out of volume.
7. Butterfly Cut on Fine Hair
Two layer families and no more. Every extra layer takes density out of the ends, and fine hair has none to give, so the perimeter stays blunt and the wing is kept long enough to hold its own weight.
8. Butterfly Cut on Thick Hair
Density makes the short family sit on top of the long one like a shelf. Bulk has to come out from inside the wing, an inch or two below the surface, so the visible ends stay intact while the volume underneath goes.
9. Butterfly Cut on Straight Hair
Straight hair shows both lengths at their clearest, which is exactly what this cut wants, and it also shows every unevenness in the wing. The ends of the short family need point cutting or the gap turns into a visible shelf across the back.
10. Butterfly Cut on Wavy Hair
The bend in a wave lifts the shorter pieces away from the longer ones on its own, so the wings form without a brush. It also blurs the gap, which means the wing can be cut slightly shorter here than on straight hair without the cut reading as a shag.
11. Butterfly Cut on Curly Hair
Curls spring back by a third to a half as they dry, so a wing measured at the chin on wet hair arrives at the cheekbone. Cut it dry, curl by curl, or agree a wet length two inches below where you want it to end.
12. Butterfly Cut With a Blunt Perimeter
The bottom edge cut in one clean line with nothing removed from it. All the density in the hair collects at that edge, which is what makes medium length look thick, and it is the reason this version suits fine hair best.
13. Butterfly Cut With a Soft Perimeter
Scissors held vertically into the ends, taking small wedges rather than a straight line. The edge diffuses into the air behind it, which stops thick hair finishing in a heavy horizontal across the collarbone.
14. Butterfly Cut With Chin Length Framing
The wing stops level with the point of the chin, drawing a long vertical down each side of the face. Those verticals narrow the face visually, which is why this is the version that suits round and square shapes.
15. Butterfly Cut With Cheekbone Framing
The shortest pieces stop level with the top of the cheekbone, which pulls the eye up toward the widest part of the face. It needs a longer perimeter to keep the gap open, so it belongs on collarbone hair rather than shoulder length.
16. Butterfly Cut With Crown Volume
A third, much shorter layer family cut at the crown only, sitting on top of the ones beneath and propping them up. It is the fix for medium hair that goes flat at the top, and it never touches the wing or the perimeter.
17. Butterfly Cut With a Money Piece
The two front pieces of the wing lightened a level or two against the base. Lighter hair advances visually and darker hair recedes, so the frame reads harder without the wing having to be cut any shorter.
18. Butterfly Cut With Invisible Layers
The short family cut underneath the surface section rather than through it, so the top layer covers the ends of the shorter ones. Movement without a visible second edge, which suits anyone who wants the shape but not the obvious two lengths.
19. Butterfly Cut Worn Straight
No barrel, no flick, just the two lengths as cut. Without the outward bend the gap between the families has nothing to soften it, so the wing needs its ends broken up or the cut reads as a shelf rather than as layers.
20. The Grown Out Butterfly Cut
Three months on, the wing has dropped past the collarbone and the gap has closed. It reads as long layers now, which is a perfectly good haircut, and only the short family needs recutting to bring the shape back.
Styling and Upkeep
Curl the wings away from the face. Away opens the frame and shows the gap. Toward the face closes both.
Use a barrel wider than the wing is long. A narrow barrel puts a full turn in a short piece, which reads as a ringlet rather than a bend.
Dry the crown up before anything else. The wings sit on the crown, and a flat crown drops them onto the perimeter.
Trim the wing at eight weeks and the perimeter at sixteen. They are two lengths with two different jobs and two different schedules.
Keep product off the last two inches. The perimeter is doing the work of looking thick, and product makes it hang thinner.
Mistakes to Avoid
Cutting the wing above the cheekbone. Above that line there is no weight left to hold it down, so the piece lifts and turns into an accidental fringe.
Layering the perimeter. It is the only place medium hair looks dense. Take the layers from the wing and the crown, and leave the bottom edge intact.
Filling in the gap. Adding a third length between the two families is how a butterfly cut becomes a shag, and it happens one well meant trim at a time.
Cutting the wing wet on curly hair. The wet length and the dry length are different numbers, and the difference is measured in inches.
Copying the layer position from a photograph of longer hair. The wing works as a proportion of the total length. The same chin length layer sits very differently on hair to the waist.
FAQ
How is it different from a shag? A shag graduates continuously. A butterfly cut leaves a gap.
Where does the short layer stop? Chin on collarbone hair, jaw on shoulder length hair.
Does it shorten the hair? Not if the perimeter is left blunt and unlayered.
Final Thoughts
Ask for two lengths and the empty space between them. Wing at the chin, perimeter at the collarbone, nothing cut in between, and the perimeter left blunt. Those four instructions produce the cut, and every version above is a change to one of them.
For the shape on longer hair see the butterfly haircut, for the continuously layered alternative see the medium wolf cut, and for what to do with it on an occasion see updos for medium hair. More in Womens Hairstyles.
