Long on Top Short on Sides in Mississauga: Pick the Sides, Then Book

Three versions hide inside the same request

"Long on top, short on sides" tells us the proportion, not the method, so the side treatment is your first real decision. Our long on top, short on sides guide explains the options in depth; the table below is the booking version, with who leans toward each and how the choice affects your calendar.

Describe what the top does, not a number

The fastest way to brief us on the top is to say what it does on a normal morning: pushed back, falling forward, parted to one side or left to curl. That single detail tells us where to keep weight and where to take it, which a length in centimetres alone cannot.

If your answer is "it just sits forward with texture", you are really describing a textured crop and we will cut it that way. If it goes up and back, we leave more at the front than at the crown so it has somewhere to travel.

It is worth mentioning where you part, if anywhere, and whether the top ever has to sit under a hard hat, a helmet or a toque for most of the day. Those details change how much bulk we can safely leave in the front.

Curly and wavy tops need their own plan

Curls shrink as they dry, so a curly top has to be judged dry as well as wet or it ends up shorter than you wanted. We check the length again once your hair has dried after the wash, and trim any curl that sits out of line.

Very short sides next to a big curly top can look like two different haircuts. A taper that keeps a little density above the ears usually joins them better, which is one reason Marcel's low and mid tapers suit this combination. More on how we approach curls is on our curly hair barber page.

Add the beard when the sides go short

Once the sides drop to a fade or tight taper, an untrimmed beard suddenly looks longer than the hair around it. Book Haircut + Beard and we will set both in the same visit so the sideburns carry the side length straight into the beard.

Mark leans toward fade-into-beard blends, the seamless version where the fade continues down the cheek with no break. If you wear a full beard with curls on top, that blend is what makes the whole head look like one design.

Keeping the contrast between visits

The contrast between long and short is the whole point, and it fades from the sides first. The top can often go twice as long between cuts as the sides, so some people book a sides-only tidy between full appointments; just say so when you arrive.

We are open until 9 PM every day, Sunday included. If you are already at Heartland for Costco or Loblaws, check Booksy for a same-day opening before you head home.