Bird's Nest Haircut / Broccoli Haircut / Zoomer Perm

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About

The Bird's Nest Haircut, Broccoli Haircut and Zoomer Perm refer to a men's hairstyle mostly sported by Zoomers with curly or wavy hair who shave the sides of their head into a fade but leave the hair on the top of their head long and messy. Additionally, the hair on the top of their head is cut shorter in the back and longer in the front, leaving enough in the front to reach over their eyebrows. The front part of the hair is then flared upwards with some sort of hair gel, making it look like a bird's nest. It is usually done with minimal hair gel, however, to leave it bouncy and natural-looking. Although versions of the hairstyle have evolved within mainstream beauty standards starting in 2015, the hairstyle wasn't commonly associated with the name "bird's nest" until at least 2018. People online often describe the haircut as ugly or as a TikTok e-boy hairstyle, reserved primarily for male influencers on TikTok. The hairstyle became a growing trend on the platform going into 2021.

Origin

"Bird's Nest" Precursors

Versions of the bird's nest haircut have been sported and popularized as early as 2015 by celebrities like Justin Bieber, who sported an early version of the haircut at the 2015 American Music Awards^[1] (shown below).

On June 28th, 2016, musician Jacob Sartorious tweeted^[2] a selfie of himself in a bathroom mirror with an early version of a bird's nest haircut. The tweet received roughly 42,100 likes over the course of five years. Instagram meme page @theroastsofjacob on July 2nd, 2018 posted a meme calling Sartorious' haircut a "birds nest." The post^[3] (shown below) received 469 likes and serves as one of the earliest known references to the term regarding the haircut.

Rapper's hairstyles, like that of 6ix9ine for example, were often referred to as a "bird's nest." In an Instagram post^[4] (shown below, left) posted on November 23rd, 2017, 6ix9ine's hair is referred to as a "bird's nest" despite not fitting the later and more consistent style associated with the term. Former President Donald Trump's hair was also often referred to as a "bird's nest," as shown in a meme uploaded to Meme Generator^[5] (shown below, right) in 2017.

"The Bird's Nest" Origin

On May 21st, 2018, the men's hairstyle website Men's Hairstyle Fix posted a listicle^[6] titled, "15 Awesome Hairstyles for Curly & Wavy Hair." In the introduction of the listicle, the author states, "I dare you to try and shape my bird’s nest into a neat pompadour…" More specifically, when the listicle reaches "#5" in its list, the hairstyle titled "Low Fade + Lots of Volume" (shown below) is referred to as "the bird's nest."

Spread

TikToker and Instagram personality Sebastian Bails is arguable as the originator of popularizing the bird's nest haircut on the platform. As early as his fifth TikTok, posted on November 21st, 2015, Bails sports an early version of the hairstyle. The TikTok^[7] (shown below, left) received roughly 180,000 plays and 13,200 likes over the course of six years. However, by 2018, Bails' hairstyle had fully evolved into the modern bird's nest. He posted a TikTok on July 13th, 2018, for example, that thematically revolves around his bird's nest haircut. The TikTok^[8] (shown below, right) received roughly 2.4 million plays and 163,100 likes over the course of three years. The notable difference between his hair in both TikToks is that by 2018, Bails' hair is larger, farther past his eyebrows and bouncier.

Other internet users on Instagram^[9] and Reddit^[10] began referring to their haircuts as bird's nests in both 2018 and 2019. Jacob Sartorius began sporting a longer bird's nest going into 2019, which can be seen in a tweet^[11] of his that he sent on February 18th, 2019.

In 2019 in general, the haircut started to become a stigma of TikTok e-boys. On March 15th, 2019, for example, Instagram meme page @bewakoofofficial posted a meme following a before and after installing TikTok format. The post^[12] (shown below) received roughly 32,900 likes over the course of two years.

In September 2019, TikToker @talib.lyy made a Duet with a TikToker whose hair resembled a broom. In the Duet, which has since been deleted, @talib.lyy mocked the other TikToker's bird's nest haircut. His TikTok started a Duet chain, sparked by TikToker @saint_savage's Duet^[18] that he posted on September 30th, 2019, which received roughly 2.2 million plays and 171,100 likes over the course of two years. Shown below is a YouTube compilation of the Duet chain, posted to YouTube by the channel PCS Girls^[19] on November 23rd, 2019, which received roughly 5,300 views over the course of two years.

By 2020, more TikTok e-boys were sporting the haircut. For example, TikToker @itsnottreylander posted his first TikTok on August 10th, 2020. The TikTok^[13] (shown below, left) received roughly 285,500 plays and 3,100 likes over the course of one year. In 2021, @itsnottreylander went viral on the platform for a TikTok many considered cringeworthy, part of that cringiness coming from his bird's nest haircut and the other part coming from him saying "welp..another night w/o a 5'4" brunette in my bed." The TikTok^[14] (shown below, right) was posted on April 29th, 2021, and received roughly 3.2 million plays and 44,600 likes over the course of five months. Inherently, his bird's nest haircut had become more intense over the course of one year.

By this point in 2021, the bird's nest haircut had reached a level of saturation on TikTok. Some TikTokers began using the hairstyle for comedic effect. The first TikToker to do this most notably was @_andrecurtiss, whose first TikTok with the haircut was posted on December 5th, 2020. The TikTok^[15] (shown below, left) received roughly 242,000 plays and 21,900 likes over the course of 10 months. As his hair got longer going into 2021, his bird's nest haircut became more intense. He then began using it as a visual prop, bobbing his head to make the bird's nest bounce. This started with a TikTok he posted on May 25th, 2021. The TikTok^[16] (shown below, right) received roughly 2.7 million plays and 353,500 likes over the course of five months.

Another notable internet personality who adopted the bird's nest haircut in 2021 was James Charles who had sported similar versions of the haircut prior to 2021, but not the more consistently known version. An image of Charles trended on Twitter in April 2021, where users joked about Goku being able to land in Charles' hair. The tweet^[17] received roughly 4,400 likes over the course of 10 months.

Zoomerification

Zoomerification or Zoomerfy is a meme trend that involves editing images of people and characters by giving them a Zoomer Perm or other stereotypical Gen Z haircut and humorously editing their dialogue so that it includes a large number of Gen Z slang words and expressions, such as "deadass," "fr fr," "bussin" and "no cap." First popularized on 4chan in April 2022, the format achieved virality in early June that year.