A broccoli haircut (also known as a Zoomer perm) is a type of haircut with tapered sides and layered curls on top, usually achieved with a perm. It became popular among teenage and tween boys in the 2020s, particularly due to its spread on TikTok, and became an Internet meme around the same time.
The broccoli haircut is a hairstyle with tapered sides and short, uneven layered curls on top, which are often permed. It is referred to as such due to its resemblance to a floret of broccoli. It has also been referred to as the "Zoomer perm" for its popularity among members of Generation Z, as well as "bird's nest hair".[1] It has been described as a variation on a bowl cut.[2] [3]
The broccoli haircut was preceded by similar hairstyles worn by members of K-pop boy bands such as BTS and Exo. It has also been attributed to being inspired by hairstyles popular during the New Romantic movement of the 1980s, such as mullets and shags. In 2020, Dillon Latham, a then-15-year-old TikToker, posted a clip of himself getting a perm in the style of the broccoli haircut, which prompted its early spread among teenage and tween boys. It soon became more a trend in 2021 after being worn by TikTokers such as Noah Beck, Bryce Hall, Harry Jowsey, and Jack Doherty.[4] That same year, it became an Internet meme and a subject of scorn online, beginning with a 4chan thread that coined the phrase "Zoomer perm" to describe it.[5] The haircut also became unfavorably associated with "fuck boys" and "gym bros".[6]
The broccoli haircut was especially popular by 2022 and gained further attention online in 2024 when a photo of American actor David Corenswet on the set of James Gunn's 2025 film Superman showed him with what many online described as a broccoli haircut, which was mocked by social media users. GQs Alex Nino Gheciu argued that the broccoli haircut had reached its peak by 2024. Also in 2024, Marie Claires Samantha Holender called the haircut "the TikTok tween boy hallmark".