The Ducktail Haircut: 20 Imposing Styling Concepts [DIY & Origin Included]

Ducktail haircut is probably one of the very few stereotypical mob or rebel styles that has resurfaced in the face of contemporary culture with a new interpretation. Deriving its name from the tail of a duck due to the resemblance between the two, this haircut is visually a sleek & greasy style adorned by young fashion enthusiasts across the globe.

Although implicitly, GQ Magazine has gone to lengths to describe the styling process of this haircut under a different banner, which tells you that it’s still rolling strong with the TikTok generation consumers.

So if you had been confused whether you should go for it, then we’d tell you to take a leaf out of the popular influencers’ book who’ve successfully tried them out recently.bIf you’re convinced, then follow us along in our journey through the heart of ducktail haircut as we unravel the origin of this style, explain what it really is and offer you some of the captivating ideas that you can try out on yourself.

Our detailed DIY section will teach you how you’ll be able to apply it at home with your expertise, and by reaching the end you’ll have mastered everything about this particular hairstyle – so what are you waiting for?

What Are Ducktail Haircuts?

Ducktail haircuts go by a few different names depending on the locality and context. Some call it the ‘Duck’s Ass’ or a ‘Duck’s Arse’ as a more explicit take on the tail of a duck. Others use the acronym for it to satisfy all parties by simply calling it the ‘D.A.’

No matter what you call it, the base style remains the same. It borrows the basic concept from French Twist style and inverses the twist outward to make it resemble a duck’s tail. Cosmopolitan Magazine’s featurette has focused on the former but we’ll do the latter because it deserves equally as much appreciation.

The basic principle of this style is to brush your hair from each side so that they meet each other at your nape, turning into a pointy ducktail. The top portion is usually combed back as well and remains both under or over the tail according to preference. It’s usually styled with hair pomade, thus generating a sleek vibe on the overall style.

20 Concepts Of Popular Ducktail Hairstyles

In this section, we are going to discuss some of the most iconic and promising ducktail ideas that’ll not only redefine your looks, but also set you apart if you are considering a career as an influencer in TikTok or Instagram.

Lowkey Ducktail

If subtlety is your go to approach with your hairstyles, then this style should tick off your major styling criteria. Compared to most other hairstyles in the list, this one is the least difficult to style and maintain as it is quite lowkey in nature. Only defining factor of this hairstyle that sets it apart is the tail that you’re going to have on the back.

The styling process requires you to apply some pomade to make it look sleek. Use your comb to brush back all the hair from the front. Once everything is pointing backward, use your comb to subtly direct the hair from each side on the back toward each other ever so slightly, and that should be all!

Seamless Back Brush

Give a hint at your rebel nature through this minimalist ducktail haircut that doesn’t make the style apparent at the very first glance. At hindsight, it might look like just another regular back brush style but if it’s analyzed closely, experts will understand what’s going on up there.

To start it off, you’ll do nicely with short to medium length hair sitting on top. You can use any hair cream of your choice that’ll make your hair greasy and sit in place. Use a comb or brush to lay your hair down the back, and have the back part of your hair meet around the nape very gently.

The Kinky Duck Arse

Don’t be fooled by the name, as this style is devoted to the ones with kinky hair regardless of the kinkiness in their personality. If you’ve been fearing that your curly hair won’t be able to fit into this category, this particular hairstyle will prove you wrong with this graceful style.

Start by tapering the back area that should last a few inches from the neck, the sides are up to your preference but not mandatory for this to work. For the remainder of the back, brush like a butterfly so that the hair meets down the middle. Comb the top hair backward to introduce with the arse at the back, apply some strong balm to keep your kinky hair in check!

Long Ducktail Cut

Long hair can create some of the most exquisite hairstyles, and a ducktail with such length is no different. This style has the potential to take your style further than you had ever anticipated as no one ever probably thought to fuse these two concepts together for hairstyling.

It is basically built upon a minimal mullet cut that doesn’t completely shed off the side hair. Everything should be brushed back all the way down till the end. Once you reach this stage, simply brush the back part toward the middle to complete the tail effect!

Mr. Cool Tails

While most of the ducktails endorse one portion of hair that sticks out the rest, this style will contain two – thus the tail is written plurally. This is a cool and enigmatic haircut that won’t create a radical statement but rather grant you acceptance in any kind of social space.

You’ll need to have short-medium length hair to be used for styling. Starting from the sides, you should significantly chop them down to create a contrast. For the top part, flick your front hair upward so that it looks like a spiky cut, then brush the rest back to be made into a duck’s tail at the end.

The Vintage D.A.

This style is more like the vintage and a half duck’s ass haircut, as this rendition of ducktail hairstyles pays homage to the original styles that developed back in the 50s. It pushes those styles forward with extensive & overflowing hair in each section to make it look highly exquisite!

Your long hair should be eligible to try out this look effortlessly. Once your hair ends are cut precisely to the necessary size, apply hair serum to make it look glossy and hold the end result from distortion. Mostly use your hands for the styling process to have the front part hanging down the front before getting flicked up and the rest of it meeting at the back down the middle.

Color-Layered Ducktail

The modern trends often mix older styles with hair colors to make it stand out and redefine the look in a new way. This particular style does the same to the ducktail, as it applies some degree of bleach on the tail layers that meet at the back to give it a beautifully contrasting look.

For the rest of the hair body, you’ll need to brush everything toward the back and evenly draw a fine line over your neck. Once you lay your color layer over this neatly lined back brushed section, you’ll be amazed at the result it generates and the significant effect it makes on people!

Inverse Pompadour Infused

If you are highly familiar with pompadour styles, this particular style may disorient your perception of such hairstyles. This reinvents pompadour in a completely opposite way since it dips down the middle portion that generally stands upright proudly with the initial hairstyle.

This styling process is then paired up with the duck tailing process by brushing the top and sides portions seamlessly at the back. This fusion shouldn’t work on all occasions as it’s highly radical and may unnerve a lot of people. But if this is your intention nonetheless, then you probably won’t find anything better to induce this feeling while simultaneously being in style.

Flat Top With Tail

A sleek and cozy haircut is always welcome if you’re into low-maintenance & high performance hairstyles. This rendition of ducktail hairstyles promises you all the girls’ numbers with the lowest amount of effort since it’s going to give you a significant boost to your looks despite belonging to the radical genre of styles.

Apply a significant amount of hair gel or cream to your short hair and mid fade the sides all the way around the back. Use your comb to lay all the top hair flat and flowing toward the back. Have the back hair meet in the middle and all the aspects will make it into a highly appealing style!

Blonde Messy Duck

This style in particular is one of the messy haircuts that doesn’t speak the word ‘radical’ off the line at first glance. You can easily pull it off in any social space without any worry as no one will consider you a rebel against the common trends, all you’ll need is some sizable length of hair.

Even if you don’t have blonde hair, you can bleach the top layer of your hair to make it look more contrasty and alluring. With everything in place, apply a regular taper around your hair. Use a comb to brush everything back, then use your hands to mess it up a little and make the back part meet in the middle like a duck’s tail.

The Casual Style

Get as casual as you can get with your duck’s arse because the loosened up styles have their own charm too. It’s going to present you as a laid back individual who still manages to be in trend with a carefully crafted carefree hairstyle!

You can try this with your shorter hair by using pomade to seal the messy texture in place. Make the ducktail behind your back and use your fingers to casually comb through the front portion while randomly orienting all the layers of hair.

Cool & Sleek Cut

This is the most classic version of ducktail haircut that dates back to in 50s when it landed in the fashion industry. You’ll be looking super sleek and cool with this haircut as it’s super tidy & neat at all times.

For the sleek look, you’ll need to apply some hair cream and use a fine comb to create the sleek texture. Simply comb everything backward in layers of your preference and have everything meet on your nape.

The Smart Ashen Duck

Your hair turning gray doesn’t make you old because age is just a state of mind. And this particular version of ducktail hairstyles reflects on this notion with this super smart style in 2023.

This too is a vintage haircut where you’ll brush all of your hair seamlessly toward the back meeting down the middle and fade the sides if you feel like it. Throw a sharp beard into the mix and show everyone that you’re totally young and fashionable at heart!

Parted Ducktail

Unlike the regular ducktails, this specific style mixes it up with the side parted style to create sections of hair with different stylistic features. It’s going to drop like a bomb when you choose to carry it around outside.

Simply, part your hair on each side and create the ducktail with the middle parted portion. The distinction will highlight your work brightly and make you look more charming than ever!

Duck’s High Pompadour Arse

Take your pompadour up to such a stage where it’ll strike out as adventurous and rebellious beyond question. This radical haircut is going to make your edgy nature apparent to the onlookers while keeping you in trend at the same time.

You’ll probably need some strong hair gel to make the high pompadour up front stay in order. For the nape, just make a regular duck’s arse to seal the deal.

Combover Ducktail

This style is exactly opposite to a radical style and such a calming style made possible with a ducktail is certainly an astounding factor. It can become your daily companion for your workplace and render you fashionably alluring to anyone effortlessly!

The ducktail meet-up around the back goes according to the general plan. For the top however, you’ll apply a combover hairstyle from one side to cover the entirety of your head.

High Fade Hybrid

Hybridizing with fades have always been a prominent practice of the contemporary iconic hairstyles, and this haircut does the same with your duck tail by fusing up with a significant high fade.

On the sides and the back you’ll apply a fade going almost as high as your hairline. The remainder of the top portion should comb backward while the nape part is set to create the duck’s tail.

Short Tail & Long Beard

Short hair can be made into a ducktail haircut too if you are willing to go for it. Using some strict hair cream should set your assignment and keeping a long beard with such short hair generates a contrastively complementary result.

Applying a mid fade around the back & the sides is going to significantly boost the top part’s effects. Comb everything toward your back so that they meet into a ducktail around your nape part.

Long & Wavy Retro Style

It’s a retro hairstyle that is recently being brought back under the limelight through the prominent TV shows and movies that promote the styles from the 70s and 80s. Thus you can be assured that no one will consider you out of style once you apply this on a regular basis.

With your long hair carefully crafted into a subtle mullet, have the back part be made into a sizable ducktail. The front portion can be styled in many different ways starting from messy curls to straightly combed.

One Side Up Duckarse

Since most of the ducktail haircuts utilize flatly combed or completely upstanding hairdo, this one takes a unique path to leave only one side of it standing up to be made into a duckarse.

You’ll still need some hair balm to keep one part of the hair standing up. For the other half, comb it all the way back to meet where the nape part is colliding together to be embossed into a ducktail hairstyle.

How To Get A Duck Haircut At Home?

In this section, our experts will tell you in four brief steps on how to get your very own and basic ducktail haircut at your home’s comfort zone.

Step 1: Wash & Dry

Wash your hair with shampoo and apply conditioner as it’ll soften your hair which is often necessary for the styling process. Gently mop up your hair and let it air dry completely to proceed toward the second step.

Step 2: Apply Hair Cream

Apply any hair cream, pomade or balm of your choice. Make sure the product doesn’t harm your hair and generates a greasy texture to make the final outcome look sleek as well as hold your hair firmly in place.

Step 3: Section

You’re going to create two basic sections for the sake of understanding how to proceed. If you consider your nape area as one section, the rest of your hair will be the other. Once you’ve sorted this out, you’re ready for the final step.

Step 4: Comb

Now use your thin comb to brush the section other than nape driving toward the back. Once everything is headed that way, dive into the nape area. Comb the nape hair from each side so that they meet down the middle, forming something like a short & subtle mohawk but only for that particular region.

Once you’ve gone through all of these steps, you will become the proud possessor of an exquisite ducktail haircut that is ready to be unveiled in public. If you’re still unclear about the procedure, follow this video for visual cues on how you can do this style at home.

FAQ

To give you closure on information that has been lacking from your knowledge and been asked around quite some much on the internet, go through our FAQ section to have it all quenched and sorted for your convenience.

Q: Who invented the ducktail haircut?

A: Back in the 1940s, the Philadelphia barber Joe Cirello invented the ducktail haircut which gained the major portion of its popularity during the 50s.

Q: Is ducktail haircut out of fashion?

A: No, ducktail is not out of fashion since the recent TikTok and social media trends have welcomed it back to life in the most innovative ways!

Q: How do I ask my barber to give me a ducktail haircut?

A: You can ask your barber for a combover haircut toward the back, but it actually varies on the particular style you’re hoping for. So we reckon it would be wiser if you’d just show your barber what you precisely want for a better outcome.

Final Thoughts

We’ve now reached the end point of this detailed article on ducktail haircut which offered you elaborate knowledge for this style. We’ve covered everything about it from the origin to the procedures that you can follow to get it for yourself at home while displaying some of the ideas to add an upgrade to your looks.

We hope you’ve been able to select a style from this list. As these are currently trending on popular media outlets, we can confirm that you won’t feel out of style by choosing any of the ducktail hairstyles from the list. In the end, we hope to see you produce something new from this genre of haircuts and see you trending on all the social media platforms!

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