Most guys aren’t really concerned with different hairstyles as such.
When men ask me what they should say when they sit in the barber’s chair, nine times out of 10 they just want to know how to get it short on the sides and long on the top – that classic cut that’s popular these days.
But sometimes, confusion creeps in, and you don’t know what to say to avoid other, more drastic haircuts that also involve having your hair cut short on the sides and long on the top. After all, you don’t want to look like Macklemore or a mushroom.
The solution is simple: add the word blended to your vocabulary. That will signal to your barber that you want the hair on the top to blend seamlessly into the hair on the sides, gradually getting shorter as it goes down.
This is called a natural or blended transition. Most barbers will do this automatically, but if you want to be sure you know what you’re getting, it never hurts to ask. Note that this is not the same as a fade – a fade is where the hair on the side is not all the same length, but gets longer gradually as you go from bottom to top.
From there, you just need to specify exactly how long you want it on both the top and sides. Use figures like inches if you're specifying scissors, or clipper blade guard numbers if you're looking for a buzz. If you're unsure how long, you can always ask for longer to see what it looks like, and then go shorter if you'd prefer.