Ask about a popular men’s hairstyle that’s both good-looking and challenging to achieve, and most will place the mullet at the top.
Many male celebrities wore their hair in the iconic mullet style — short at the sides and front, but with long hair flowing down the back in the ’70s and ’80s.
Times have changed, but the mullet’s attraction remains strong. Yet, the fear of judgment, criticism, and potential mistakes stops many men from trying.
So, to end the doubts, we have covered everything on how to grow a mullet. We’ll start by understanding whether your hair can grow a mullet or not, followed by how to grow it and trim it at the salon or at home.
Can You Grow a Mullet?
Before you dive into the mullet haircuts, you need to make sure that your hair is capable of handling it. Not every hair can grow a mullet. As such, let’s look at the requirements:
- Your hair should be able to grow long without curling and looking messy.
- Your hair should be straight or wavy. Curly hair is a lot more difficult to style into a mullet.
- Your hair must be healthy and full. Dry and fine hair results in an ugly mullet.
Once you check the previous boxes, then your hair is ready to grow a mullet. There are two pathways you could take to reach your goal; the short and long one.
The Short Path
By now, you might be wondering why anyone would want the longer path when there’s a quicker one. The answer is in the “awkward phase.”
You see, the short path to grow a mullet is by allowing your hair to grow non-stop for around four months. While this may seem quick, it’ll put you in that awkward phase where your hair is neither long nor short.
This is when the judging and staring may start. People around you will wonder why you are letting your hair go like this, and if they don’t ask, they’ll stare.
If you’re too self-conscious, you may not enjoy this phase. However, if you can negate whatever people say and live as you see fit, then, by all means, take the short path!
Once your hair grows to the desired length, you can either go to a barber to style your mullet or cut it yourself at home (more on that soon).
The Long Path
The long path involves going to your barber throughout the hair growth period to give you some controlled trims.
This will elongate your mullet-growing period by a few months, but you won’t have to deal with people’s criticism, especially if you go to a capable barber who knows what they’re doing.
The barber will keep your hair looking decent while gradually styling the mullet. This will be done through some controlled visits.
Typically, you’ll need three primary visits every 3–4 weeks (depending on how fast your hair grows). These visits are as follows:
First Visit
You should start this visit around 40 days after your last haircut. If your last cut involved a classic skin fade, you should switch to the drop fade in this visit.
The drop fade allows you to place your hair strands behind your ears, which is the primary appearance of the mullet.
Second Visit
On this visit, your barber will give you some sort of a tapered mohawk. They will trim the top of your head and keep the length of your hair below the crown on the back of your head.
Third Visit
This is the visit where you’ll start noticing the mullet coming to life. Your barber will be trimming the mohawk, keeping its width similar to the hair on the back of your head to maintain the mullet appearance.
The barber will also keep those sides fading to keep the prominent mullet shape on your head.
Growing a Mullet
You’ve chosen the short path, and now it’s time to cut your mullet at home to make it come to life.
Before you start, you should keep a simple goal in mind; whether you opt for low, mid, or high fade the hair on the sides, fade should seamlessly blend with the hair on the top of your head.
As for the cutting process itself, we’ll divide it into six primary steps. After that, you may go with the classic 80s mullet or the modern mullet.
The steps we take assume that your hair has grown enough to style into a mullet. In other words, the hair above your head should be at least two inches tall, and the hair on the back of your head should be at least four inches longer than the hair on your head.
1. Grow Your Hair
The first step to achieving a Mullet hairstyle is allowing the hair at the back of your head to grow out. It takes at least 18-24 weeks for hair to grow long enough for a mullet. It can even take a year to grow a mullet for curly-haired men. depending on your desired mullet style length.
2. Hair Sectioning
Excluding the back of your head, you’ll need to divide your hair into three separate compartments. To do that, you’ll use hair clips.
The three sections will be the two sides of your head, and the hair from your forehead until the crown.
3. Bangs Trimming
The mullet often displays a wave of hair sliding over your head. As such, you’ll need to get your bangs out of the way.
Using a comb, extend your hair over your forehead, and start cutting the bangs in sections. Hold your hair between your fingers, and start cutting it bit by bit.
You can determine the length of your bangs as you see fit. However, make sure not to cut them all at once to avoid overshortening your hair by accident, which could ruin the mullet.
4. Side Trimming
Just like you combed your bangs forward, you’ll need to comb your hair sides and start removing the excess.
It’s important to stick to the same length you cut your bangs to maintain a uniform appearance of the mullet. Make sure to use vertical cuts to create that iconic tapered look of the mullet.
5. Top Trimming
Now it’s time to trim the top of your head. Once again, use the height of your bangs as the guide to make your hair look uniform.
To ensure the best look, go from front to back, and don’t grab too many hair strands in one scissor clip.
6. Blending Your Hair
You’ve now trimmed your bangs, sides, and top, but there’s a good chance that there are some uneven cuts here and there.
Now would be the time to remove those hairpins and see what kind of progress have you made.
We recommend having someone look at your hair from different angles to help you find any areas that could use better blending.
By now, you should have the basic foundation of a mullet, and it’s up to you how to style it.
Styling Your Mullet
There are plenty of mullet hairstyles like Mexican, mohawk, bowl cut, etc. However, based on the shape of the style it can be categorized into two types: 80s Mullet and modern Mullet.
80s Mullet
Once you’re done with all the steps mentioned above, you pretty much have a classic 80s mullet. All you’ll need is to take a shower and add some sea salt spray to your wet (not soaking) hair.
You’d then want to apply some styling balm on your hair. Prioritize the roots and avoid adding too much balm on the end of your hair strands. If you add too much, it’ll weigh your hair down, and you’ll lose that wavy appearance you worked so hard to create.
Modern Mullet
The modern mullet is pretty much the classic mullet with a few extra touches. The hair on the back of your head isn’t as long, and the sides often have a more prominent fade.
Styles like bowl-cut or mohawk mullet are some cool examples of modern mullet haircuts. Though each style is different, the basic of styling is similar.
If you have the modern mullet in mind from the start, trim your side hair extra as you follow the steps from the start.
Conclusion
Growing a mullet requires at least 18 weeks of waiting. You can one-shot those four months while enduring the middle awkward phase, or take your time developing your mullet with controlled cuts from your barber.
Either way, you should have the mullet style you need in mind before you begin to direct your growth period accordingly.
Modern mullets look fairly better than the classic 80s in the opinions of most people. However, they’re also harder to acquire and maintain. So weigh your options, and go get that mullet.
FAQs
How Long Does It Take to Grow a Mullet?
The average person’s hair grows around 0.5 inches per month. Since you’ll need at least two inches to have a mullet, then you need at least four months. If you want longer hair, then add one month per 0.5 inches.
Is It Hard to Maintain a Mullet?
Mullets require a fair amount of maintenance to keep them looking fresh. The maintenance depends on the style you’re looking for.
For example, maintaining a classic mullet is fairly easier than maintaining a modern mullet.