Everything You Need To Know About The Trendy Wet Mop Haircut

The latest TikTok trends are almost as hard to keep up with as the app's most popular dance moves. From the BeautyTok hacks for foundation application to the newest memes, to which hairstyles are being popularized by TikTok creators, it's enough to give anyone whiplash — or an extreme feeling of FOMO. You'd be forgiven for missing some of the latest crazes as they seemingly pass through the realm of interest in the blink of an eye. One trend that is sticking around for the foreseeable future though is the wet mop haircut adopted by many of the app's male users.

Chances are, you've probably already seen this hairstyle without registering what it was called. TikTok creator Noah Beck has sported this look in the past, and Bryce Hall has as well. According to Celeb Saga, the trendy wet mop haircut is an updated version of the broccoli haircut that was popular a few years ago. Having our hair compared to a wet mop or a head of broccoli sounds like a nightmare either way, but the names for these styles are misleading. In fact, the wet mop haircut doesn't look anything like an actual wet mop, so clearly the kids are at it again with their fancy lingo.

All that being said, the wet mop haircut seems to be sweeping the nation — no pun intended — so we've broken down everything you need to know about this latest TikTok trend.

"The wet mop hairstyle is a modified bowl cut," hairstylist Devin Toth told PopSugar. "If the Beatles or Justin Bieber had wavy hair instead of smooth, straight hair, it would resemble the current 'wet mop haircut.'" 

The trend started during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, as many young men grew out their hair since they were unable to have their hair trimmed at the barber shop. While anyone can try out this men's hairstyle, it's typically adopted by people who have curly or wavy hair as this adds texture to the overall look.

Even though Esquire considers the traditional bowl haircut to be one of nine styles for men to avoid at all costs, the trendy wet mop haircut is a modern take on the less-flattering style. The wet mop haircut is shaggier, messier, and more natural. It incorporates the same basic structure of the bowl cut, but instead of holding the same uniform shape around the entire head, the wet mop haircut is shorter in the back than it is in the front. This creates more of a choppy, almost bangs-like situation in the front with a more tapered look in the back. It's essentially a reverse mullet if you will — party in the front, business in the back.