15 Men’s Haircuts with Highlights: From Subtle to Statement
Ready to elevate your hairstyle from basic to brilliant? Highlights are no longer just for women—they’ve become a powerful tool for men to add dimension, depth, and modern edge to their look. Whether you want a sun-kissed effect that looks naturally amazing or bold, fashion-forward streaks that make a statement, there’s a highlighting technique perfect for your style. Get ready to discover 15 inspiring ways to incorporate highlights into your haircut, transforming your hair into your best accessory.
1. Textured Crop with Subtle Ash Highlights
Add depth and definition to a modern textured crop with subtle ash highlights that create movement and dimension throughout your style. The key to this look is keeping the highlights fine and tonal, using shades that are only slightly lighter than your natural base color for a sophisticated, sun-krenched effect. Ask your stylist to concentrate the lighter pieces around the crown and front where light naturally hits, enhancing your haircut’s texture and separation. This approach works exceptionally well on medium to dark brown hair, creating interest without high contrast. It’s the perfect introduction to highlights for men who prefer an understated, modern look.
2. Undercut with Bold Money Piece
Make a dramatic statement with an undercut featuring a bold “money piece“—concentrated highlights that frame your face and create an eye-brightening effect. This technique places the lightest, brightest pieces specifically around your face, creating a striking contrast against the darker sides and back. The result is a modern, attention-grabbing look that emphasizes your facial features and adds significant style impact to a classic undercut. Pair this highlighting technique with a disconnected undercut or fade for maximum contrast and contemporary appeal. It’s the perfect choice for fashion-forward men who want their hairstyle to make a powerful first impression.
3. Long Hair with Balayage Highlights
Embrace the surfer-inspired look with long hair enhanced by soft, hand-painted balayage highlights that create a natural, sun-lightened effect. This technique involves painting highlights onto sections of your hair freehand, resulting in a graduated, natural-looking color that grows out beautifully. The highlights should be concentrated around your face and through the ends of your hair, mimicking how the sun would naturally lighten your hair over time. Whether you wear your long hair loose, in a man bun, or half-up style, the dimensional color adds movement and visual interest. This is the ideal highlighting approach for men who want low-maintenance color with maximum style payoff.
4. French Crop with Frosted Tips
Put a modern spin on a classic with a French crop featuring lightly frosted tips that add texture and contemporary flair to this timeless cut. The highlighting focuses specifically on the ends of your hair, creating a subtle, piece-y effect that enhances the haircut’s textured finish. Keep the contrast soft and tonal, using a color that’s just two to three shades lighter than your base for a sophisticated take on the “frosted tips” trend of the past. This works particularly well on men with straight to slightly wavy hair textures, adding visual interest to an otherwise simple, clean cut. It’s a subtle yet effective way to experiment with color without dramatic commitment.
5. Curly Hair with Dimensional Highlights
Celebrate your natural texture by adding dimensional highlights to curly hair that enhance your curl pattern and add depth throughout your style. The key is placing highlights strategically to follow your natural curl formation, creating a multi-dimensional effect that makes each curl stand out with its own unique color variation. Avoid uniform highlighting and instead opt for a balayage or foilayage technique that creates soft, natural-looking dimension throughout your curls. This approach works beautifully on all curl types, from loose waves to tight coils, bringing life and movement to your natural texture. Well-executed highlights can actually make curly hair appear thicker and more voluminous.
6. Slicked-Back Undercut with Hidden Highlights
Create a style with secret dimension by adding subtle highlights to a slicked-back undercut that reveal themselves when your hair moves or catches the light. The highlights are placed underneath the top layers or distributed throughout in fine, subtle slices that create depth without obvious stripes of color. When you slick your hair back, the color appears solid and sophisticated, but when you run your fingers through it or when the wind catches it, the dimensional highlights become visible. This sophisticated approach to color allows for professional appropriateness while still incorporating modern style elements. It’s the perfect balance between conservative and contemporary.
7. Textured Fringe with Sun-Kissed Pieces
Draw attention to your best feature by incorporating sun-kissed highlights into a textured fringe, creating brightness and dimension right where you want it. The highlights should be concentrated in the front section of your hair, lightening the pieces that fall across your forehead and frame your face. This technique naturally draws eyes upward toward your face, creating a brightening effect that can make you look more awake and vibrant. Pair this highlighting approach with a textured crop or fringe cut that allows for movement and separation in the front. It’s an excellent choice for men who want to maintain mostly natural color while adding a strategic style boost.
8. Buzz Cut with Subtle Shadow Roots
Make even the shortest haircut interesting with a buzz cut that features subtle shadow roots and slightly lighter ends for dimensional color. This edgy approach involves keeping your natural color at the roots while lightening the ends of your hair slightly, creating a subtle gradient effect that adds depth to short hair. The contrast should be minimal but noticeable, creating visual interest in a haircut that typically offers limited styling options. This works particularly well on men with naturally dark hair who want to add an urban, fashion-forward edge to their buzz cut. It’s proof that you don’t need length to benefit from well-executed color.
9. Pompadour with Retro Contrast
Channel classic retro vibes with a modern pompadour featuring clear, contrasting highlights that emphasize the volume and shape of this iconic style. The highlights should follow the natural flow of your pompadour, with lighter pieces concentrated on the top and front where the style has the most height and movement. Keep the sides darker to create contrast that emphasizes the pompadour’s silhouette, making it appear even more voluminous and defined. This approach works beautifully with both classic and modern interpretations of the pompadour, adding dimension to an already statement-making haircut. It’s the perfect fusion of vintage inspiration and contemporary color technique.
10. Man Bun with Balayage Transition
Elevate your man bun with beautifully blended balayage highlights that create a seamless color transition from your natural roots to lighter ends. The highlights should be concentrated from your mid-lengths to ends, creating a natural-looking gradient that adds movement and dimension whether you wear your hair up or down. This approach is particularly effective for men with longer hair who want to avoid the obvious “root growth” look that comes with traditional highlights. When you tie your hair into a man bun, the dimensional color creates visual interest from every angle. It’s a sophisticated take on men’s color that works for both casual and professional settings.
11. Side Part with Sophisticated Silver
Embrace the distinguished look of sophisticated silver highlights added to a classic side part haircut for a look that’s both timeless and modern. This technique works best on men with naturally dark hair who want to experiment with gray or silver tones without going fully silver. The highlights should be fine and well-blended, creating a salt-and-pepper effect that looks natural and age-appropriate. This color approach pairs perfectly with the clean, sharp lines of a classic side part, adding depth and character to an otherwise traditional style. It’s an excellent choice for men looking to gracefully incorporate their natural graying process or simply embrace this fashionable color trend.
12. Textured Quiff with Caramel Highlights
Add warmth and dimension to a textured quiff with soft caramel highlights that enhance the haircut’s volume and movement. The golden, warm tones of caramel highlights work particularly well on men with naturally dark brown or black hair, creating a beautiful contrast that looks both natural and stylish. Concentrate the highlights through the top section of your quiff, where the height and texture benefit most from the added dimension. The warm tones can help brighten your complexion, making this an especially flattering option for men with warmer skin tones. It’s a versatile look that transitions seamlessly from professional environments to casual settings.
13. Fade with Tapered Highlights
Create a truly customized look by pairing any fade haircut with tapered highlights that follow the shape of your fade for a cohesive, intentional appearance. The highlights should be darkest at the bottom of your fade and gradually get lighter as they move up toward your crown, mirroring the tapered effect of your haircut. This sophisticated approach to color requires a skilled colorist but delivers unparalleled results that look completely bespoke. Whether you prefer a skin fade, taper fade, or drop fade, this highlighting technique can be adapted to enhance your specific style. It represents the pinnacle of modern men’s grooming where cut and color work in perfect harmony.
14. Messy Textured Style with Chunky Highlights
Make a bold statement with a messy, textured hairstyle enhanced by chunky, defined highlights that create high contrast and modern edge. Unlike subtle highlights, this approach uses thicker sections of lightened hair that create clear contrast against your natural base color. The “chunkier” highlights should be strategically placed to enhance the texture and separation of your style, not overwhelm it. This look works particularly well on men with thicker hair that can support the stronger color contrast without looking sparse. It’s a confident, fashion-forward choice for men who want their color to be as much of a statement as their cut.
15. Comb Over with Natural-Looking Dimension
Update a classic comb over with natural-looking highlights that add depth and movement to this timeless professional style. The highlights should be fine and well-blended, using tones that are close to your natural color for a subtle, sophisticated result. Concentrate the lighter pieces where natural light would hit—across the top of your head and through the front section—to create the illusion of depth and fullness. This approach maintains the professional appropriateness of a comb over while incorporating modern color techniques that keep your style current. It’s proof that even the most conservative haircuts can benefit from subtle, well-executed color.
Find Your Highlight Style
Highlights offer an incredible opportunity to personalize your look, add dimension to your haircut, and express your personal style. When consulting with your stylist, bring inspiration photos and be open to their professional advice on which techniques and tones will work best with your hair type, complexion, and lifestyle. Remember that proper maintenance is key—invest in color-safe shampoos and regular conditioning treatments to keep your highlighted hair healthy and vibrant. Whether you choose subtle dimension or bold contrast, the right highlights can transform your entire appearance, boosting your confidence and ensuring your style stands out for all the right reasons.
