33 Modern Spiky Hairstyles For Men

The spiky hairstyle is a cool choice for men who want to experiment with an edgy and effortlessly stylish look that can suit any occasion. Trendy and versatile, these modern spiky haircuts can be combined with a fade or undercut on the sides and back to create the perfect aesthetic.

While there are several cool variations, the most popular spiky styles often feature short hair with a messy and textured finish. With so many different looks, it can be a challenge choosing the right haircut style and length.

For the coolest visual inspiration, here are some of the best spiky hairstyles for men that will enhance your look.

Spiky Haircut Styles

Short Spiky Hairstyle

Short spiky hair is a popular style for men that can be easy to maintain and will always look good with little product. A short spiky haircut style comes with a bold and edgy look that starts with closely-cropped back and sides.

The foundation of short spiked hair starts with shorter sides, such as a high bald fade or disconnected undercut. A short haircut on the sides will provide the necessary contrast to focus the eyes on the spiked up top. A low taper fade with short spikes can also be a clean-cut business professional look.

To style short spiky hair, use a strong pomade, wax or cream. For a textured, natural look, apply a matte hair product. Guys can pull a few textured spikes on top, keep their hair spiked in the front, get a full spiky hairstyle, or leave it messy.

Messy Spiky Hair

Messy spiky hair has become exceptionally popular in barbershops all around the world. Messed up spiky hairstyles are seen as casual, fun and sexy, and guys can easily style the look at home with good hair products and a short haircut.

First, you’ll need to decide whether you want well-defined thick spikes or just a messy top of hair going in every direction. The latter can be a great option for men with thin hair who need to cover up a receding hairline or bald spots. Instead of jagged, pointy tips, try a loose look as you spike up your hair.

Spiky Hair Fade

The spiky hair fade is the most popular and versatile of all spiked up hairstyles. With a fade on the sides, the modern spiky styling on top becomes the main focus of the look.

For the right style, you can choose between several different types of fade haircuts. Starting with a low, mid or high fade, men can choose where the blending begins. You can also ask your barber to cut down to the skin for a bald fade or just a taper fade with some hair left.

The spiky fade is a cool choice that works with most face shapes, hair lengths and textures. To change up your look, you can always transform their spiky hair into a comb over fade, short slicked back, or faux hawk fade for a new hairstyle.

Spiky Undercut

The spiky hair undercut is another cool men’s hairstyle. With short sides and longer hair on top, the spiky undercut is similar to the fade. The difference is that the undercut starts very high on the sides and is trimmed all one-length (unless it is an undercut fade).

Bold and edgy, undercut hairstyles are perfect for boys, teens, college guys, and young men. An undercut on the sides with short to medium-length hair gives guys the ability to style a messy comb over undercut, a slicked back undercut, quiff, fohawk, textured crew cut, or short fringe.

Similarly, you can spike your hair towards the middle, straight up, or in all directions. Add a beard for a masculine finish.

Long Spiky Hair

Long spiky hair can be a very handsome and stylish look if you know how to style your spikes well. With a fade or undercut on the sides and back, long spiky hairstyles are trending right now.

Whether you want to spike your hair straight up, to the side or back, you’ll want to use a high-hold, matte hair product. We recommend a textured, messy look for long hair, especially if you want hair spiked in the front.

Hair Spiked in Front

There are many ways to spike your hair in the front. While hair spiked in the front was the classic 90’s hairstyle, modern styles are mixing and matching different looks and the trend has made a huge comeback.

Guys can spike up their hair in the front with a quiff, comb over or crew cut in the back. In fact, whether you want long or short hair spiked in front, spiky hairstyles are great for creating rebellious volume and movement.

To spike your hair in front, you’ll want to apply a high hold pomade, wax or cream. Run the product through your hair, from root to tip, and use the fingers to start spiking your bangs. Avoid using a brush or comb and make sure to leave your hair textured, natural and tousled.

Spiking your hair up in the front is a hot, easy and simple hairstyle, and can look great on guys with short, medium and long hair.

Thick Spiky Hair

Thick spiky hair is best kept short due to the sheer weight of thick hair. Short spiky haircuts for thick hair start with very short sides to accentuate the spikes. A fade or undercut paired with a layered trim on top can thin out your locks just enough to rock the look.

Just remember that the longer your thick hair gets, the harder it will be to spike up and keep your hairstyle in place all day. To spike up thick hair, you’ll need to use a decent amount of good pomade or hair product. Start with slightly damp hair, style your desired spiky hairstyle, and blow dry it into place.

Textured Spiky Hair

Textured spiky hairstyles are growing in popularity, and the good news is that there is a style for everyone regardless of hair length, texture, or thickness. The only difference between these textured styles and their classic counterparts is the use of a matte pomade, clay or cream (depending on your hair type and needs).

The high fade with a textured spiky comb over is one of the best styles, as is the classic crew cut with textured straight-up spikes. You can also go with a textured spiked up undercut if you have longer hair. For a business hairstyle, combine textured spiky hair with a low fade.

Soft, smooth and trendy, every guy should try textured spiky hair this year!

Spiky Fringe

The spiky fringe is a very cool hairstyle for men worth trying. The style is characterized by a long fringe in the front and spiky hair everywhere else.

The tousled and wild look is perfect for men who need a bedhead hairstyle with bangs and spikes.

Blonde Spiky Hair

Blonde spiky hair look good on naturally black or brown hair, and can provide a striking contrast that will make your hairstyle stand out. While spiky hair with blonde highlights can look very 90’s, we aren’t talking about frosted tips.

Instead, experiment with different men’s hair colors. Blonde hairstyles for men can be sexy when done right, so think about streaks of blonde or dying your hair completely blonde, platinum, white, or grey.

Try the look with a taper haircut on the sides for a clean-cut finish. Otherwise, go for a badass fuckboy haircut with a skin fade, shaved sides, or undercut and longer, thick hair on top. Styling spiky blonde hair will certainly get you noticed with the women in your life.

Tapered Spiky Hair

The spiky hair taper is much like the fade variation, but the taper haircut on the sides is much more conservative and classy. The spiky taper fade blends hair very short, but avoids exposing the skin. You can ask your barber for a classic tapered cut for longer sides or a low, mid, or high taper fade.

If you need a cool haircut for business professionals, a tapered spiky hairstyle can be a great way to style your hair without being too aggressive.

Asian Spiky Hair

Asian spiky hair can be very unique and stylish. For starters, Asian men are known for their straight, thick hair, and although it can be difficult to tame and style without a strong hair product, Asian hairstyles tend to be cool, sharp, and fresh. Get short spiky hair or a quiff with the right cut and styling.

Wavy Spiky Hair

Guys with wavy or curly hair can still get spiky hair. While wavy spiky hair can be easy to achieve with products that offer a good hold, curly hair will have a more brushed up finish as opposed to a pointy, spiked up hairstyle. With at least a few inches of length, the end result with wavy or curly spiky hair is a cool style with unique texture.

Side Spike Style

The side spike hairstyle is certainly an awesome modern variation of the classic spiked up look. Side spiky hair is a mix of a comb over with spikes such that the hair is angled. Ideal for short to medium-length hair, a hard part can be added to a side part spiky hairstyle for edgy styling.

Boys Spiky Hair

Spiky boy haircuts are a new trend as little boys become more creative and fashionable with their hairstyles. Instead of a traditional school hairstyle like a side part or bowl cut, boy’s spiky hair can be layered for flexibility in styling options.

From a medium-length faux hawk to a cute boy with spiky hair to a comb over with spikes, parents and kids are experimenting with cool haircuts for boys.

How To Spike Men’s Hair

Now that you’ve had the chance to learn more about the most popular men’s spiky hairstyles, you might be curious about how to spike your hair and recreate these looks at home.

If you’re looking for tips on how to get spiky hair, this step-by-step tutorial will help you style the best spiked up hairstyles for men.

1. Start with Clean Hair. Shampoo and condition your hair with high-quality products that were designed for your specific hair type. Clean hair is much easier to style than oily hair.
2. Towel-Dry For Slightly Damp Hair. Almost every hair product – pomade, wax, clay, gel, and cream – will provide you with a better hold when used on slightly damp hair as opposed to dry hair. Towel-dry your hair until it is just damp.
3. Remove Tangles and Knots. If your hair is more than a couple inches long, this step is incredibly important. Use a wide-toothed comb to gently detangle your hair and prepare it for the styling process. Doing this also helps to keep frizz tamed and managed, which can further simplify the process of spiking your hair.
4. Work A Small Amount of Product Into Your Hands. Use less styling product for short hair and more for long hair but remember it’s best to start with a very small amount – the size of a dime – and add more as needed. When it comes to hair product, you can always apply more, but you will have to start over if you have too much. Waxes, pomades, and clays should be worked between your hands to warm them up and make these products more pliable; most gels and creams do not require this.
5. Apply Hair Styling Product To Spike Hair. Next, apply your hair product through the part of your hair you want to spike, allowing sections of hair to flow through your fingertips as you manipulate and pull them upward. You should see spikes begin to form in these areas, and if you don’t – or if you have very thick hair – you may need to slowly apply more product.
6. Styling Spiky Hair. Finally, use your hands, a comb, or brush to shape your hair into the hairstyle you want. If you’re going for a neat spiked-up style in the front, use your comb to gently style hair into the direction and shape you want. On the other hand, if you’re going for a bold spiked quiff or fohawk fade, you may have to continue to apply product and run your hands over each spike several times until it stays in place.
7. Use A Light Layer of Hairspray. If you have thick or long hair, you may need to apply a layer of hairspray to keep the spiky hairstyle looking good all day.