Modern Mullet — Short Sides, Length at the Back
What a modern mullet is, how the fade at the side changes it, and how to ask for one without getting the 1980s version.
Walk-ins welcome · Mon–Sat 9–7, Sun 10–3 · (516) 328-0724
What a modern mullet is
A mullet is short at the front and sides and long at the back. What makes it modern rather than a period costume is that the sides are faded instead of blunt, and the change from short to long is a gradient rather than a step.
The 1980s version had a hard line: short hair stopped, long hair started, and you could see the join. The current version blends the sides up into the top with a burst fade or a drop fade, and leaves the weight at the back to fall on its own. It is closer to a shag than to anything your father had.
Where the fade goes
A burst fade is what makes a mullet look current. It arcs around the ear and stops, which leaves the hair behind the ear long — and that hair is the part of a mullet that has to stay.
- Burst fade — the default. The arc around the ear keeps the length at the nape untouched.
- Drop fade — dips behind the ear, so slightly more is taken off the back corner. A softer transition into the length.
- A taper — the most conservative version. Nothing goes to skin and the mullet reads as long hair rather than as a mullet.
- What not to ask for — a straight high fade all the way round. It cuts the length off at the side where the mullet needs it and leaves a shelf.
What to ask for
The two numbers that matter are how short the sides go and how much length stays at the back. Everything else follows from those.
"Burst fade around the ears, start it at a one and blend up. Keep all the length at the back — don't take the corners off. Take an inch off the top and leave the fringe where it is."
| Decision | What to say |
|---|---|
| Sides | the guard at the bottom of the burst — a #0, #1 or #2 |
| The back | how much length stays, in inches — and say "keep the corners" |
| The top | how much off, and whether the fringe comes forward |
| The join | blended, or a visible change from short to long |
| Texture | ask for the back point-cut if you want it to sit rather than sit flat |
Curly or wavy hair takes a mullet well — the length at the back holds its own shape instead of lying there. See curly hair fade for what changes at the blend.
How often it needs redoing
Four to six weeks. The length at the back does not need touching for months; what dates a mullet is the fade growing into the length until the shape closes up. When the sides stop reading as short, it is time.
A shape-up at $15 will reset the front line and the sideburns between cuts.
Price and who cuts it
Booked as a fade haircut — $30, the same as any men's haircut.
Mullets we have cut
Every photograph here is a cut from our chairs. A style is missing only because we have not photographed it yet.
Visit us in Franklin Square
Franklin Square, NY 11010
(516) 328-0724
- Monday – Saturday
- 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sunday
- 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Walk-ins are welcome during all opening hours, and appointments can be made by phone.
