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Broccoli haircut

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The broccoli haircut features short sides and a curly top. A 2024 photo of actor David Corenswet on the set of the 2025 film Superman went viral due to him sporting the haircut.

A broccoli haircut (also known as a Zoomer perm and in the UK as the meet me at McDonald's haircut) is a type of haircut with tapered sides and layered curls on top, usually achieved with a perm. It became popular among teenage and tween boys in the 2020s, particularly due to its spread on TikTok, and became an Internet meme around the same time.

Definition

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The broccoli haircut gets its name from its resemblance to a floret of broccoli

The broccoli haircut is a hairstyle with tapered sides and short, uneven layered curls on top, which are often permed.[1] It is referred to as such due to its resemblance to a floret of broccoli. It has also been referred to as the "Zoomer perm" for its popularity among members of Generation Z, as well as "bird's nest hair"[2][3] or "alpaca hair".[4] It has been described as a variation on a bowl cut.[1][5]

History

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Permed broccoli haircuts worn by Soft Cell in 1983.

1980s

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The precursor to the modern broccoli haircut first appeared around 1982 among fans of new wave music groups such as Soft Cell, Talking Heads, A Flock of Seagulls, Duran Duran, and Wham! It was a grown-out, unstyled version of the quiff[6] popular in the early 80s that was frequently permed or made to look big with hair spray. A similar haircut known as the punch perm was popular among bikers in Japan and pop singers in Korea[7] throughout the 80s and 90s.[8]

2010s

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During the early and mid 2010s, the permed undercuts of the 80s and 90s underwent a revival.[9] The trend was inspired by hairstyles popular during the New Romantic movement of the 1980s, such as mullets and shags.[3] By 2018, it had become known in the UK as the "Meet me at McDonald's haircut", and achieved media exposure after a school in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk banned pupils from possessing the style.[10][11]

2020s

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During the covid lockdowns of the early 2020s, many younger Gen Z guys in the UK and America experimented with new hairstyles at home before the barbers reopened. In 2020, Dillon Latham, a then-15-year-old TikToker, posted a clip of himself getting a perm in the style of the broccoli haircut, which prompted its early spread among teenage and tween boys. It soon became more a trend in 2021 after being worn by TikTokers such as Noah Beck, Bryce Hall, Harry Jowsey, and Jack Doherty.[2][1] That same year, it became an Internet meme and a subject of scorn online, beginning with a 4chan thread that coined the phrase "Zoomer perm" to describe it.[12] The haircut also became unfavorably associated with stereotypical "fuck boys" and "gym bros".[13]

The broccoli haircut was especially popular by 2022 and gained further attention online in 2024 when a photo of American actor David Corenswet on the set of James Gunn's 2025 film Superman showed him with what many online described as a broccoli haircut, which was mocked by social media users.[3] GQ's Alex Nino Gheciu argued that the broccoli haircut had reached its peak by 2024.[2] Also in 2024, Marie Claire's Samantha Holender called the haircut "the TikTok tween boy hallmark".[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Holender, Samantha (June 20, 2024). "So We're Taking Haircut Inspiration From Broccoli Now". Marie Claire. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Nino Gheciu, Alex (July 11, 2024). "How the Broccoli Perm Became the Definitive Zoomer Hairstyle". GQ. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Patrick, Lydia (August 9, 2024). "What exactly is the broccoli haircut that teen boys love?". Newsweek. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "The 'alpaca' haircut teenage boys and young men are obsessed with — explained". NPR. 23 September 2024.
  5. ^ Baker, Ariel (April 5, 2024). "The 'Broccoli Haircut' Is Taking Over Social Media". PopSugar. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  6. ^ Country and townhouse
  7. ^ Gen Z trends
  8. ^ Perm comeback
  9. ^ Gen Z haircut
  10. ^ Petter, Olivia (22 February 2018). "'Meet me at McDonald's' haircut banned in Norfolk school". The Independent. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  11. ^ Senkul, Ceren (22 February 2018). "Not lovin' it: School's beef with 'meet me at McDonald's' haircut". Sky News. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  12. ^ Encinas, Amaris (August 9, 2024). "Broccoli hair is here to stay: Why teenage boys are serving floret looks". USA Today. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  13. ^ Martichoux, Alix (August 10, 2024). "Teen boys all seem to want a 'broccoli' haircut. What is it?". Nexstar. Retrieved August 10, 2024 – via KXAN.
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