The faux hawk, also known as the fohawk, is a modern men’s hairstyle with longer, spiky hair on top and a short taper, fade or undercut on the sides. This cut offers a stylish look, blending edgy punk allure with contemporary sophistication to achieve a versatile, charming alternative to the classic mohawk.

The latest faux hawk styles feature a timeless, playful and easy-to-maintain aesthetic, making them a popular choice for guys seeking a cool vibe that also works in professional settings. These adaptations look more like a quiff with defined, spiky styling than the retro punk-rock symbol for rebellion and non-conformity.

From short to long, a faux hawk can provide fresh inspiration for those daring individuals willing to experiment with a trendy style.

Popular Faux Hawk Haircut Ideas

Short Faux Hawk

A cool, short faux hawk is a popular style that offers a striking, masculine appearance with minimal effort. The cut, characterized by a short layered top and faded sides, delivers modern edge with dimension and structure. Ask your barber for a mid-to-high skin fade and incorporate a v-shaped back for a seamless blend. Maintain natural flow with a sea salt spray, or lock your look in place with pomade for a textured, matte finish.

Faux Hawk Fade

A faux hawk fade is a fresh, trendy haircut with impressive versatility, allowing guys to experiment with everything from a low taper to an edgy burst fade. The faded back and sides highlight the longer top while ensuring a sleek, timeless feel. Your barber should perform a clipper fade while leaving length at the front and around the crown to texturize with a styling cream. Add lift to shorter styles by blow-drying the hair upward and back before blasting it with cool air to establish an all-day hold.

Modern Faux Hawk

The modern faux hawk is an awesome hairstyle for guys involving a burst faded cut paired with a short, textured wider strip of hair across the top, creating a sharp silhouette. This iconic variation naturally works with a mid or high burst fade to emphasize contrast. Grow out the hair to achieve high-volume spikes that settle into place with a strong-hold pomade. Add a few choppy layers through the length to enhance movement and flow.

Low Fade Faux Hawk

A low fade faux hawk modernizes the classic style with classy blended sides, making it the perfect look for professional men who need to abide by a strict corporate dress code. The spiked front and voluminous crown bring visual interest to the style, but the lack of clipping and V-shaped back bring classic refinement to the cut that looks more natural than sharper fades. Keep the hair short, but feel free to scissor-cut the top and use a medium to strong-hold product for lifting your spikes.

Mid Fade Faux Hawk

A mid fade faux hawk is a versatile, contemporary style with personality, combining a voluminous, messy top with faded sides for a cool, textured appearance. This version starts higher on the head, typically tapering down from the temples. Slick the hair back for an elegant look or unleash your rebellious side by spiking damp hair upward with a firm-hold pomade or wax. Graduating the back brings structure to the style while emphasizing the seamless cut and cheekbones.

High Fade Faux Hawk

Dramatic and daring, a high fade faux hawk achieves a high-contrast feel by creating sharp sides that taper close to the skin. Removing weight from the sides draws the eye to the voluminous top, and it’s worth emphasizing dense locks with purposeful, thick spikes to give this textured style more oomph. A sexy line up and a clean shave will bring striking dimension to square, angular faces for an ultra-masculine, punk aesthetic that lets your natural features shine.

Faux Hawk Taper Fade

A faux hawk taper fade is a classic haircut for guys seeking a ruggedly handsome look that blends edge and versatility, offering something suitable for any occasion. Infuse volume into the punk-inspired style using a vented brush and blow dryer before spiking the front backward with pomade or matte clay for effortless lift. Mixing clipper techniques and scissor-cutting lets the subtle taper blend beautifully into a full beard to create a masculine look that enhances a strong jawline.

Textured Fohawk Fade with Beard

A textured fohawk fade looks dashing with a grown-out stubble beard, bringing balance to your look while maintaining a modern feel. The bulk is point-cut to create a rough, slightly messy look, and the sides fade from the temples for a gradual transition into an immaculately trimmed beard. This style works on virtually any hair texture but looks best on thick, straight hair. Apply sea salt spray to damp locks and add depth around the front by blow-drying the hair for a natural finish.

Textured Faux Hawk with Drop Fade

A dramatic drop fade, a modern cut characterized by an arc shape that curves around the head, gives a textured faux hawk an edgy appearance. The hair gradually tapers down the back for a dynamic touch while setting it apart from a traditional mohawk’s shaved sides. The lower-grade fade contrasts against the textured top, creating a unique aesthetic that exudes confidence. Ask your barber to neatly define the hair around the nape to bring light structure to this rebellious look.

Messy Faux Hawk Undercut with Beard

A messy faux hawk gets dramatic flair from an undercut and beard, creating a bold style with striking contrast and a rugged, Viking-inspired feel. Grow the top long, ask your barber to use thinning shears to remove bulk and add layers to the mix for lightweight movement. While a disconnected undercut with ultra-short sides looks edgy, a close crop offers a more seamless transition into your full beard. A medium-hold pomade or matte wax should keep your hair in place, but feel free to use a salt spray for a more relaxed, windswept finish.

Blonde Faux Hawk with High Fade

A blonde faux hawk with a high fade is an attractive look that elevates your style and commands attention. Ask your stylist for cool platinum or warmer honey-toned highlights for a natural look against dark roots. The sharp, high fade pulls focus to the textured spikes, creating the illusion of fullness on even the thinnest strands.

Low Taper Faux Hawk

A low taper faux hawk embraces class and texture to achieve a timeless style. This look combines conservative, scissor-cut sides with a rock-and-roll spiked top. The taper starts relatively low on the head and blends effortlessly into longer hair. Without a fade, the cut is wearable and the extra inches allow you to spike up or slick back your hair depending on the occasion. Leave the locks long around the fringe and keep the back shorter to emphasize the smooth transition across the head.

Messy Faux Hawk Fade

A messy faux hawk fade is a stylish hairstyle that concentrates the spikes in the middle with tousled, unkempt styling. Spiking the locks forward brings effortless height to the front and crown, while an edgy mid fade offers a bad-boy edge to the choppy layers. The disheveled finish makes this ideal for guys who prefer a relaxed grooming routine.

Short Faux Hawk with Buzzed Sides

A short faux hawk gets a fashionable vibe from striking buzzed sides, creating an ultra-masculine appearance that’s comfortable and manageable. Leave a couple of inches of hair on top and roughly spike the hair with a hard gel to achieve a shiny, sophisticated style. Buzz the sides close to the skin for daring contrast against your faux hawk, and wear a full, well-groomed beard for balance. Pairing elements of the classic buzz cut and the edgier mohawk, it’s the best of both worlds if you want to leave a lasting impression.

Edgy Faux Hawk with Razor Fade and Beard

An edgy faux hawk brings on-trend volume to your look while retaining the traditional feel of a mohawk with a daring razor fade and beard. Instead of a typical taper with a seamless gradient, the razor fade brings completely shaved sides to the mix to channel the punk-rock era. Style the thick top with a dollop of pomade to texturize it, and grab a beard trimmer to keep your facial hair well-groomed and squared off to elongate the face.

Low Drop Fade Fohawk

A low drop fade is a stylish addition to any fohawk, offering a precise, dipped appearance around the ear and the back of the head for a sleek and modern look. The drop fade lets guys retain more length and texture on top, creating a wider faux hawk that balances denser locks. Scrunch the hair lightly at the root for subtle texture or deliberately pull the hair into separate spikes for a more dynamic feel. Complement the stylish dropped appearance with a stubble beard expertly trimmed around the chin and jawline.

Disheveled Faux Hawk with High Taper Fade

The disheveled faux hawk brings a new level of unpredictability and chaos to the style, enhancing the precision of the high taper fade. The hair is left long enough to brush up and back like a quiff. While you might prefer a spiked appearance at the weekend, the cut’s extra length allows you to slick it back or brush it into submission for formal occasions.

Classy Faux Hawk with Low Fade

A classy faux hawk with a low fade is a refined and sophisticated style that minimizes contrast and choppiness for a balanced and harmonious look. Ask your barber to keep the top relatively uniform and lightly push the fringe backward with pomade or matte wax for subtle lift. The low fade tapers toward the neckline from ear level, creating a polished feel with natural flow that doesn’t sacrifice excessive length on the back or sides.

Trendy Faux Hawk with Skin Fade

A badass faux hawk with a skin fade is an inspiring cut that shows off your edgy personality while making a fashion-forward stylistic statement. The high skin fade offers a clean, refreshing canvas that lets the faux hawk shine. Inject personality into this sharp, defined style with silver highlights or a dapper, tapered beard.

Spiky Faux Hawk High Fade

A spiky faux hawk with a high fade isn’t for the fainthearted, but this dramatic style brings incredible texture to shorter, thick locks. The sides are buzzed close to the skin on a short guard and faded high on the head to create a distinctive separation against the spiked top. Boost volume with heat to embrace a grungy aesthetic and lock your rigid spikes in place with a hard, high-shine gel.

Brushed-Up Faux Hawk with Disconnected Undercut Fade

A brushed-up faux hawk will make a striking impression for guys with naturally thick locks who want to pair the style with a disconnected undercut fade. Enhance your hair’s natural volume by working mousse through the top and brushing it directly upward with a vented round brush. Keep the sides closely cropped and faded high to achieve clear contrast between the severe undercut and the swooping hawk.

Long Faux Hawk Fade

A smooth fade complements a long faux hawk hairstyle by emphasizing the length and definition while adding sharp contrast to the look. Longer hair requires time and patience but the striking profile will be worth the wait. A strong hair product will be essential to maintaining the style throughout the day. Ask your barber for a high or mid skin fade for a visually-attractive touch.

Curly Faux Hawk

The curly faux hawk is a flattering, stylish men’s hairstyle that will showcase your curls with a fresh fade on the sides, embracing the volume and texture to enhance the look. This cut features a low drop fade that blends into the skin and keeps the thicker curls cropped for easy maintenance and styling. A good moisturizing shampoo and conditioner will keep your hair healthy while minimizing dryness and frizz.