From Carlos Alcaraz to Finn Wolfhard, Buzzcuts Are Back. Here’s How to Rock It

When Carlos Alcaraz suited up for Sunday’s final match, he was already a victor. Two weeks before he took the winning title, the 22-year-old sportsman from Spain debuted a fresh buzzcut — and generated enough talk to make “buzz” a double entendre. Initially, it was an accident: “My brother just misunderstood the machine […] but, to be honest, it’s not that bad!” he said before the tournament. Mistakes aside, Alcaraz showed the sort of off-the-cuff confidence required to win the trend.

As it happens, Alcaraz isn’t the only one charmed by clippers. SHARP cover star Finn Wolfhard sported a closely-cropped style at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in May, and continued to rock the look on the cover of our September issue. And, while Justin Bieber’s new albums, SWAG and SWAG II, revive a nostalgic term, the Canadian singer hasn’t brought back his once-signature bangs; instead, he’s sticking with a shaved head.

To be clear, these aren’t the severe, shaved-to-the-skin haircuts developed for the military — nor are they the cuts we saw during the height of COVID, whose choppiness captured the do-it-yourself desperation of 2020. Today’s buzzcuts are diverse, done in barbershops and bathrooms alike. If they have one common trait, it’s impulsivity: “I got bored — that’s about it,” laughed Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals when asked about his bleach-blonde buzz. Meanwhile, Jack Schlossberg defended his haircut with a simple statement: “Buzzed myself.”

Although uncomplicated, buzzcuts are by no means uniform. Thanks to a slew of men’s styling mousses, gels, and — of course — razors, there are plenty of opportunities to embrace your personal taste. In the Cut — a top Vancouver-based barber shop — the leading suggestion is to use a trimmer for minor touch-ups on the neckline, sideburns, and hairline between appointments. If you’re willing to take the plunge and shave it off at home, it’s worth investing in a proper hair clipper, too. At Braun, a German company dedicated to grooming, hair clippers are quality tools, ranging from five to seventeen (!) settings.

Since short hair requires frequent washing, quality shampoo is a must. You’ll want something with a gentle hand, designed for frequent use. For inspiration, check out the shampoo by Truefitt & Hill, available at Harry Rosen. (The rosemary-mint scent is unbeatable.) Another point of consideration? Moisturizer. Depending on the length, a buzzcut can expose your scalp to the sun. Leaving your head unprotected means risking dry skin, dandruff, or — in the worst-case scenario — a sunburn. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to fight the flakes: try a natural moisturizing serum for all-season use, spray a scalp-friendly sunscreen, or invest in a signature cap.

Guards and gels aside, there’s one essential ingredient to rock a buzzcut: confidence. If and when you take the leap, don’t second guess it — when you feel good, you look good. As the barbers at Old English Grooming Club, a full-service barbershop in Yorkville, Toronto, put it: “When we are well-groomed, we don’t waste our inner energy worrying about messy hair or uneven beards, and we simply show up as our best self and people do notice.” Plus, in the words of Lorde, “It’s buzzcut season anyway.” So, what are you waiting for?

Feature photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images.

Credits for Finn Wolfhard: