Thanks to the rapid spread of social media, fashion and beauty trends reach kids at an unprecedented rate. Teenagers and tweens are continuously drawn to new trends, often influenced by popular figures online, and eagerly beg their parents to let them join in on what’s currently deemed the coolest. While young girls have traditionally been the primary targets for these social media-driven trends, the latest craze is aimed squarely at teenage boys. Gen-Z boys are flocking to hair salons to get the “broccoli cut.”
The Broccoli Cut: What Is It?
The “broccoli cut,” also known as the “llama fur cut” and several other names, has quickly gained traction among Zoomers. GQ magazine describes the cut as featuring “tapered sides with long, layered curls on top that are brushed forward and resemble the florets of broccoli.” The resurgence of the man perm has been ongoing since at least 2021, with celebrity hairstylist Clayton Hawkins noting, “As someone who loves curly hair, I totally get it. I think one of the reasons guys like it so much is that if your hair is permed, you can basically just let it air dry and do its thing. There’s no need to style.”
The TikTok Influence
The popularity of the broccoli cut has been significantly bolstered by TikTok influencers. Personalities like Noah Beck, Jack Doherty, and Bryce Hall all sport the hairstyle, further fueling its viral status. Dillon Latham, a notable TikToker, has even built a not-so-mini-empire around the haircut. When he was 15, he made a bet with his followers that if a video got 500,000 likes, he would get a perm. The video ended up receiving 2 million likes and 8 million views, catapulting him into social media stardom.
@dillon.latham How i get fluffy hair #fluffyhair #dillonlatham #simpletics #saltspray ♬ original sound – 𝒎𝒆𝒐𝒘𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒔𝒔💋!
“I actually got made fun of a lot by everybody in my school. I was the perm kid,” Dillon recalled. “But after the video blew up, I had gone so viral that people couldn’t really say much. And then I saw kids around my school start popping up with it.” Dillon’s popularity has since led him to create a hair care brand called Clean Cut Cosmetics, which sells “six figures a month” in volumizing sea salt spray.
Low Maintenance Appeal
One of the key reasons for the broccoli cut’s popularity among teen boys is its low-maintenance nature. The hairstyle is particularly appealing to boys with naturally straight hair, as it adds texture and visual interest without requiring much effort. Prices for the cut and perm can range from $40 to over $100, depending on the salon.
“My mom was gonna make me either get short hair or a perm, so I got the perm,” 13-year-old Zane Probus told The Cut about his and his 10-year-old brother Levi’s choice to get the style. Levi explained, “She says she wants our hair out of our eyes so she can see us.” Zane added, “I do my own. All I do is take a shower and let it dry, and it looks good.”
“I had always wanted curly hair,” 13-year-old Nico Afflerback, whose hairstyles were limited due to his stick-straight hair, told The Post.
When his mom, Alejandra Durand, finally agreed to bring him to a salon, the stylists reassured her that the perm is currently one of their most popular requests among teen boys.
“He had been asking me so many times,” Durand, 38, told The Post, adding that it looked “really good” on her son. “I noticed that it gave him a lot of confidence.”
