How to Grow Out an Undercut

Growing Out the Back and Sides

Allow the hair on the back and sides of your head to grow uncut. As stated, this will take a while. Be patient, and just let the hair on your back and sides grow until it matches up with the hair on the top of your head. The goal here is to get all of your hair the same length. This means letting the short hair grow out.

Trim the hair on top of your head every 1 to 2 months to maintain length. If you let all of your hair grow without cutting it, you'll just end up with a longer undercut. To prevent this from happening, you need to trim the hair on top of your head to maintain its length while the hair on your back and sides catches up. Regular trimming will also eliminate damage and split ends, which will keep your hair healthy and allow it to grow out more quickly. Plan on trimming the hair ⁄2 to ⁄4 inch (1.3 to 1.9 cm) every month or so. If you are on a tight budget, trim it about 1 inch (2.5 cm) every 2 months instead.

Cut your hair into your desired style once everything is the same length. At this point, you have a fresh start. You can cut your hair into a new style, or you can let it keep growing. Regardless, it would still be a good idea to visit a hairdresser for a trim. A hairdresser will be able to even out your hair and give you a cut that flatters your face shape.

Styling Your Growing Hair

Blow dry your sides down to prevent them from poofing out. Wash your hair first, then pat it dry with a towel. Hold the hair dryer above your head, and aim the nozzle down at your sides as you blow dry your hair. Set the style afterwards with some hair wax. Add a flat, wide directional nozzle to your hairdryer to make the process more effective and give you more control over the direction of the air flow.

Wash your hair every 2 to 3 days. There is no need to wash it more often than that. Not only can over-washing affect the texture of your hair, but it will also remove any styling products that you applied to the sides. If you remove these styling products, the sides will poof out.

Wear caps and beanies as an alternative. Not only can they look stylish and keep you warm during the colder months, they will also help keep down the sides and prevent them from poofing out. Make your hair look longer by parting it down the middle before you put the hat on. If you don't like wearing hats that much, try leaving it on for about 2 hours; after you take it off, your hair should be flatter along the sides and not so poofy.

Change up the way you part your hair to conceal the sides. Rather than combing your hair back, try a middle or side part instead. This works best when the sides are still short, but you can use this technique after you've flattened the sides with a hairdryer. If the sides of your hair are starting to get long, you can keep them flat by applying some hair gel and using the palm of your hand to smooth the gel downwards into your hair. Use the handle of a rat-tail comb to make the parts nice and neat.

Growing an Undercut into a Different Cut

Trim the hair on top of your head to your desired length. You will still be growing out your back and sides, but since the hair on the top of your head is shorter, the overall process won't take as long. How short you cut the hair on the top of your head depends on the style you're going for. For example, if you want to go for a quiff, trim your hair to about 2 to 2 ⁄2 inches (5.1 to 6.4 cm).

Allow the sides and back to grow until they match the top. Since you are starting with a shorter goal, this should only take about 3 to 4 months. You can stop when the sides are about 1 to 1 ⁄2 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) long. This will give you enough hair to work with for the final blend.

Blend the sides and back into the top. Once the sides and back are almost the same length as the top, it's time to blend them. Run a pair of trimmers along the area where the sides and back curve into the top of your hair. If you aren't sure how to do this, go to a hairdresser. Ask for a medium taper or a clean-cut taper. If you still want to keep your back and sides short, try a quiff or pixie. Both are similar, except that the pixie has more feathering.

Trim the bottom edges of your hair to complete the cut. Again, how short you go depends on what your goal style is. For example, a quiff or taper may have trimmed edges along the bottom, but a pixie may have slightly longer hair. If you went to a hairdresser for the blending, then they will already have done this for you, based on your desired style.

Style the longer part of your hair, if desired. Depending on what style you chose, there are lots of ways that you can go about with this. In most cases, you will need to blow dry your hair by brushing it back and upwards. If you got a quiff, apply a volumizing mousse to your damp hair, then blow dry it upwards and back with a round brush. If you got a pixie, you can go as wild as you like. Blow dry shorter pixies like quiffs; blow dry longer pixies short. Use a little bit of styling wax or pomade to set your style.