Can I get a hime cut with a perm?

The side pieces and bangs are meant to stay straight, so a perm would usually go only on the length behind.

Can I get a hime cut on short hair?

The cut relies on the contrast between the side pieces and a long length, so it needs length behind. On short hair, the Korean options are a bob or a blunt bob, often with curtain bangs.

Which Korean cuts are softer than a hime cut?

The hush cut and the Korean layered cut, both built on soft layers. More on Korean hair and perm in Korean Perm in Seoul: Types, Prices and Time.

Hime Cut: What It Is and Who It Suits

In short. A hime cut is a haircut with three parts: blunt bangs, straight side pieces cut at about cheek or jaw level, and the rest of the hair left long. The name is Japanese, "hime" means princess, and the cut is popular in Korea too. It is a graphic, striking shape that frames the face, and it works best on straight, healthy hair with enough length behind.

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What a hime cut is

The hime cut is easy to recognise because each part has a clear line:

Bangs. Blunt and straight, usually at or just above the brows.
Side pieces. Two straight panels on either side of the face, cut to one length, usually around the cheekbones or the jaw.
Length. The rest of the hair stays long and straight behind the side pieces.

The look is neat and graphic: three lines that meet around the face. In Korea it is called 히메컷.

Hime cut vs Korean cuts

Most Korean women's cuts are built on soft layers: the Korean layered cut, the hush cut, the shaggy cut, the mullet. The hime cut goes the other way. Instead of layers that blend into each other, it uses clean blunt lines and a clear step between the side pieces and the length.

Cut	Lines	Feel
Hime cut	Blunt bangs, straight side pieces, long length	Graphic, polished
Hush cut	Fine layers, light ends, bangs blending into face-framing	Airy, moves easily
Korean layered cut	Layers from the face to the back, length kept	Soft and neat

If you like the idea of face-framing pieces but want a softer version, a hush cut with curtain bangs gives a similar frame without the hard lines. I explain it in Hush Cut: the Korean Haircut Explained.

How it is built: zones

In Korean cutting the head is divided into zones: front, sides, crown and back, and each zone into sections. For each zone the stylist sets the length, layering and texture, and then joins the zones. This system, Zone & Section, was first taught in Korea by Hong Jihoon, creative technical director of MASSTIGE HAIR Academy in Seoul, where I trained twice in 2026.

Read through zones, the hime cut is a cut about the front and the sides. The bangs belong to the front zone, the cheek-length panels to the side zones, and the length behind is left as it is. That is why a hime cut can be added to long hair without losing much length.

Who a hime cut suits

A hime cut is a shape with character, and it looks best when:

the hair is straight or close to straight, so the blunt lines stay clean;
there is enough length behind for the contrast with the side pieces;
the hair is healthy and dense enough for a blunt edge to look full.

On wavy or curly hair the lines soften, and the cut needs more styling to keep its shape. On very fine hair the side pieces can look thin. These are general guides: the final shape is chosen for the face and the hair.

How to style it

The hime cut is about straight lines, so styling is mostly about keeping them smooth: dry the bangs and side pieces straight down, and smooth them with a flat iron if needed. The length behind can be worn straight, or with a soft wave for contrast.