Think the Edgar haircut looks good? Broccoli and Alpaca also in demand in Fresno area

Inside the Money Line Barbershop in central Fresno, barber Yuniel Villaseñor could sense anger building up as he finished a haircut.

Villaseñor’s customer, a Fresno teen, smiled while checking out all the different angles of his fresh haircut reflected off a mirror from the barber chair.

But also off the mirror reflection, Villaseñor could see his client’s father flashing a mean mug toward the son.

The dad might’ve been scowling at Villaseñor, too.

“You got an Edgar? What a stupid haircut,” Villaseñor recalled the customer’s dad saying.

In preparation for going back to school, many children and teens are getting trendy haircuts that are popular with the youth but draw harsh criticism from the older crowd.

Jasmine Harris, a senior district leader with Super Cuts in the Fresno area, estimated that about 60% of their haircuts for teenage boys and younger are either the Edgar, Broccoli or Alpaca.

All those styles are popularly showcased on social media.

Customers might not always call those haircuts by such specific names. But the end result typically reflects one of those looks.

“I think we all go through this stretch when we see what’s new and trendy, but it takes others a while to get used to it and comfortable seeing it,” Harris said. “So it’s easy to criticize when looks are different or new.”

Edgar

The Edgar might not be the most popular of the three trendy looks, but it does seem to be the most polarizing.

Also known as a Mexican Bowl Cut , the Edgar is a bowl-style cut that distinctly features short bangs barely past the hairline and trimmed straight down the forehead, and a low fade around the back and sides.

The classic Edgar is flat.

“Like Lloyd Christmas from ‘Dumb & Dumber,’” said Villaseñor, referencing a popular 1990s comedy movie that starred actor Jim Carrey.

In more recent times, people have added volume toward the back part of the head or even outward with a powder texture to create more of a mushroom shape. Others have grown their hair longer in the back to accompany the Edgar look.

“A flat Edgar that’s a bowl shape is dying down a little, but it’s still popular,” Villaseñor said. “It’s big in the Hispanic community. The kids see Latin artists like Peso Pluma with it and want to get it.

“But the parents, they hate it.”

The Edgar, however, hasn’t just drawn criticism.

It’s created controversy.

Because the hairstyle has been associated with street life, a restaurant owner in Texas banned those with the Edgar.

“People accusing me of racism are speaking from a place of ignorance,” restaurant owner Ricky Ortiz told the San Antonio Current in May. “They don’t want to acknowledge or admit that the majority of the kids that are getting these haircuts want to be in a culture influenced by gang affiliation and things like that.”

Some schools around the country have tried to prohibit students from sporting the haircut, too.

In the Fresno area, though, the Edgar has thrived.

According to Fresno Unified School District’s handbook: “Clothing and hair styles are a matter of personal choice (except for schools with uniforms). The school shall be concerned only when these impact the health and safety of students and staff.”

At Clovis Unified, the district’s handbook prohibits hairstyle that “draw undue attention” and “detract from the educational process.”

Broccoli

The Broccoli cut just might be the most highly demanded among Gen Z folks, based off the millions of views regarding the hairstyle on TikTok.

The look is quite shaggy and curly on the top, and often closely shaved on the sides — resembling the tree-shaped vegetable.

Sometimes, though, the broccoli look has so many curls, you can’t even see the side of their head.

“It’s a really fun cut,” Harris said. “It’s all over TikTok and Instagram, and other popular social media platforms. It celebrates different textures of hair; definitely a lot of fullness on the top.

“It’s just fun and relaxed and a casual mess.”

The Broccoli typically is for those with curly hair.

But guys with naturally straight hair have been getting a perm to get curls and sport the Broccoli look, too.

The curl craze became so popular at one New York City barbershop, Hairrari, that it stopped offering perms despite receiving multiple requests per week. The shop stopped the procedure due to the overwhelming smell of ammonia caused by the perm solution, according to the New York Post .

“I don’t think kids are coming up and asking for a broccoli cut,” Villaseñor said. “They’re saying, ‘Give me a blowout taper or a Pauly D, the guy with the big hair from ‘Jersey Shore.’”

It’s possible another nickname could emerge in the next year — like Clark Kent or Superman. Because in the newest Superman movie that’s set to be released in July 2025, Superman’s undercover self as Clark Kent sports (you guessed it) a Broccoli cut.

And you know that’s going to cause some longtime Superman fans to go berserk.

A Barstool Sports blog viewed the Broccoli cut as the “worst trend.”

Noah Moles, an eighth-grader at a Clovis Unified school who recently got the Broccoli cut to the first time, debunked that thought.

“I think it looks good,” Moles said. “Don’t care what other people say.”

Alpaca

If the Broccoli cut had a cousin, it wouldn’t be the carrot top.

It’s the Alpaca. Or the Llama.

Sharing similarities with the Broccoli, the Alpaca also features a mop of hair on top.

But the hair is more toward the front — like how the hair on an alpaca animal often looks.

There’s a viral video of a man showing a bunch of different alpaca animals and explaining how it’s likely you’ve seen a boy with a haircut that looks like the furry mammal.

The Alpaca cut features a textured, layered look and is considered easy to maintain.

“The difference between an Alpaca and a Broccoli is the there’s more fullness on the sides of an Alpaca,” Harris said. “And there might not be as much hair toward the back.”

Despite the haircut’s funny name, Villaseñor again explained how customers who want that look aren’t going up to a barber and asking for an Alpaca or a Llama but a textured or messy fringe cut.

Criticism justified?

Why has there been such criticism for the latest haircuts?

Many barbers and customers agree that older folks making fun of young people’s hairstyle and general looks overall is simply a right of passage.

Just as Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) once criticized Generation X (1965-1980) when they were teens for hairstyles like the Mohawk, the mullet and split middle part, Gen X folks and maybe even some Millennials (1981-1996) are taking this opportunity to roast Gen Z (1997-2010) and Gen Alpha kids (2010-2024).

Villaseñor added that the strong criticism also stems from the stark contrast between today’s popular looks compared to previous trends that were cleaner looking with symmetry, organization and sometimes a nice shine.

Like the classic gentleman’s cut but with a hard part that was sported in 2017 by famed UFC fighter Conor McGregor .

“Getting the parents and kids aligned with the right haircut,” Harris said, “we run into that with just about every haircut.”

But as long as the kids are happy with their look, right?

Villaseñor said the father who got mad at his son for getting an Edgar cut texted him a few days later to apologize.

Villaseñor said the man later realized his son was happy about his latest look and that he felt his kid was carrying himself with “more confidence.”

“It’s just the latest trends,” Villaseñor said. “We might not like it. But, you know: different times, different generations.”