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Flattop

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For other uses, see Flat Top (disambiguation).
American basketball player Gary Thompson sporting a flattop haircut, c. 1958

A flattop is a type of haircut where the hair on the top of the head is cut and styled upright to form a flat profile when viewed from the front or side.

Styling

In the most classic style of flattop for men and boys, the hair on top of the head is styled upright and cut level from front to back before contouring to the crown at the back of the head. The shortest portion of hair on top, which is at the highest point on the head, is cut to about a quarter of an inch, resulting in the hair at the front being about 3/4 to 1-1/4 inches long, depending on the roundness of the head. The back and sides are cut to about a quarter of an inch (usually the same length or slightly shorter than the length of the shortest hair on top) and tapered into the upright hair. The ears are cleanly outlined and the sideburns are squared just above the orifice of the ear. The neckline is cut with a low taper.

Other versions popular in counter-culture are cut longer on the top and often upward sloping to the front to 2-3 inches, or with modified back and sides which are either left longer or shaved to the skin. A variant form known by several names including flattop with fenders and flat top boogie has long sides known as "fenders". Another version, often worn by soldiers in the U.S. military, shaves the hair to the skin from the highest point of the crown all the way down the back and sides with lather and razor, leaving only a small amount of remaining hair in a flat horseshoe shape on top. This is known as a “horseshoe flattop” or “shoe”. Regardless of the form, the flattop is usually cut with electric clippers, using both the clipper-over-comb and freehand techniques on the top and detachable blades on the back and sides.[1][2][3][4]

Flattops are typically groomed with wax pomade (known as butch wax in the 1950s), hair spray, mousse, gel, or cream—dependent upon hair texture and personal preference of the wearer regarding rigidity and sheen. Certain straight, coarse hair textures do not require product to maintain their hold. Since the haircut is short and quickly grows out of its precisely-cut shape, maintenance haircuts are required every 2-3 weeks, and some flattop wearers get haircuts weekly. Most style their hair upward after washing with a blow dryer.

When a flattop is viewed from the front, varying degrees of squarish appearance are achieved by the design of the upper sides as they approach and round or angle on to the flat deck.[5][6] Possibilities are somewhat limited by skull shape, the density of the hair, and the diameter of the individual shafts of hair, but may include: boxy upper sides with rounded corners; boxy upper sides with sharp corners; rounded upper sides with rounded corners; and rounded upper sides with sharp corners.[5] Natural skull shape and certain deck inclinations and heights often leave an area at the center top of the head where the scalp is visible through the hair. This area is called a "landing strip", a metaphor for the landing strip on the deck of a flattop (aircraft carrier). Some flattops are designed to cause a landing strip to show to varying degrees.[6] Whether or not the wearer wishes to have a landing strip is a typical discussion point when getting a flattop. While most all of a flattop is cut with clippers, master barbers with an attention to detail use shears at the end of the haircut to confirm that no stray hairs remain on top, which is known as giving the patron a “scissor salute”.

The flattop was popular in the early and mid 20th century, see photos below, and maintains a contingent of dedicated wearers today. It is considered a classic, short male hairstyle.

  • Football player and analyst Howie Long, c. 2015
    Football player and analyst Howie Long, c. 2015
  • US Senator John Tester, c. 2013
    US Senator John Tester, c. 2013
  • NASA astronaut Douglas G. Hurley, c. 2000
    NASA astronaut Douglas G. Hurley, c. 2000
  • NASA astronaut Walter Cunningham, c. 1964
    NASA astronaut Walter Cunningham, c. 1964
  • Football player Johnny Unitas, c. 1958
    Football player Johnny Unitas, c. 1958
  • Former Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Karel Kramář, c. 1920
    Former Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia, Karel Kramář, c. 1920
  • German general Paul von Hindenburg, c. 1914
    German general Paul von Hindenburg, c. 1914
  • Atsumaro Yabu, c. 1913
    Atsumaro Yabu, c. 1913
  • French physicist Pierre Curie, c. 1906
    French physicist Pierre Curie, c. 1906

Haircutting methods

Left: Roger Maris, flattop. Right: U.S. President John F. Kennedy, Ivy League-type haircut

The hair on the lower two-thirds of the sides and back of the head are cut using the direct contact clipper method, with a 1/4 inch or shorter attached guard or detachable blade. Care must be taken to "box in" the flattop using the clipper-over-comb method on the upper third of the sides rather than contour it to the head. This is accomplished by holding a vertically-oriented comb directly to the side of the head and running the clippers upwards on the comb. On the back, the hair is typically more contoured to the crown. The top hair is typically cut with clippers utilizing the clipper-over-comb technique, though it can also be cut shears-over-comb. When the top hair is well-styled, often referred to by barbers as "trained", the top can be cut freehand with a clipper to best adjust the shape of the flattened top to suit the shape of the head and preference of the wearer.[7][8] Some barbers utilize a large 4-inch wide comb designed for cutting flattops, while others use wide rotary clipper blades specifically designed for freehand cutting the top of a flattop.[9] However, for master barbers these specialized tools are normally not required or used.

See also

References

  1. ^ Thorpe 1967, pp. 133–134.
  2. ^ Trusty 1971, pp. 110–111.
  3. ^ "MANNERS & MORALS: Teen-Age Moderation". Time. 16 February 1959. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008.
  4. ^ Victoria Sherrow (2006), Encyclopedia of hair, ISBN 9780313331459
  5. ^ a b Thorpe 1967, p. 134.
  6. ^ a b Trusty 1971, p. 110.
  7. ^ Thorpe 1967, p. 133.
  8. ^ Trusty 1971, pp. 110–112.
  9. ^ Trusty 1971, p. 111.

Bibliography

  • Thorpe, S.C. (1967). Practice and Science of Standard Barbering. Milady Publishing Corporation.
  • Trusty, L. Sherman (1971). The Art and Science of Barbering. Wolfer Printing Co.
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