What app shows how I'd look with a different haircut?
Apps that show you with a different haircut come in two kinds: AI apps that regenerate your own photo with the new cut — HairMatch AI, Glowify, Hair AI, HairTry — and beauty editors that apply a hairstyle to your selfie as a filter or live AR layer, like YouCam Makeup and FaceApp.
If you are making a real decision about a real appointment, use one that regenerates your photo. An overlay shows you a wig; a regenerated photo shows you the cut sitting on your own hairline, jaw, and forehead — which is the part you actually need to judge.
On this page
The two types of app, and why the difference matters
Every app in this category is doing one of two very different things to your photo.
1. AI regeneration — the app redraws your photo
You upload a selfie, pick a style, and a generative model produces a new image of you with that haircut. Because the model redraws the hair around your actual head, it has to deal with your hairline, your forehead height, and how the cut ends near your jaw. That is why the result is informative: those are exactly the variables that decide whether a cut suits you.
The cost is that it is a generated image, not a photograph. Fine detail — individual strands, the exact texture of your curl pattern — is an approximation.
2. Overlay filters — the app pastes hair on top
A hairstyle asset is warped onto your head using face landmarks. It is fast, it works live on camera, and it is genuinely fun. But the asset was drawn for a generic head, so it tells you very little about whether that cut works with your proportions. A pixie overlay looks the same on every face, which is precisely the thing you are trying to find out.
The main options in 2026
These are the apps that come up most often for this question on the US App Store. Ratings and rating counts were pulled from Apple's public iTunes Lookup API on 1 September 2026 and move constantly — treat them as a snapshot, not a scoreboard.
| App | Rating (count) | Approach | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| HairMatch AI | 5.0 (2) | AI regeneration | Face-shape analysis first, then previews of the cuts it recommends |
| Glowify | 4.7 (11,515) | AI regeneration | Hair plus makeup, colour and outfit changes in one app |
| Hair AI | 4.4 (5,487) | AI regeneration | A large library of cuts, colours and beard styles to page through |
| HairTry | 4.2 (673) | AI regeneration | A long-running simulator, on the App Store since 2021 |
| YouCam Makeup | 4.7 (154,912) | Editor / live AR | Hair colour and makeup on a live camera, in a mature editor |
| FaceApp | 4.7 (1,782,356) | Editor / filters | Quick hair colour and style filters as part of a general face editor |
Source: Apple iTunes Lookup API, US storefront, 1 September 2026. Rating counts change daily. A big count means an app is popular and established; it does not by itself mean the haircut preview is more accurate.
Which one to pick
Work backwards from what you are actually trying to settle.
"I know the cut, I want to see it on me"
Any of the AI regeneration apps will do this. Pick on price and on how the free try works, since that is the only way to see output quality before paying.
"I don't know what suits me"
You need analysis before try-on. Look for an app that reads your face shape and proportions and then recommends specific cuts — otherwise you are guessing your way through a catalogue.
"I just want to see myself blonde"
Colour is the one job overlay editors do well. YouCam Makeup or FaceApp will show you a colour change in seconds, live on camera.
"I want to show my stylist"
Choose whichever app lets you save and export the image at full resolution. A generated preview is a much better brief than a celebrity photo with different hair from yours.
Where we fit in
This page is published by the team behind HairMatch AI, which sits in the first group: it analyses your face shape from a selfie, recommends the cuts that suit its proportions, then generates each one on your own photo. Our official iOS app is App Store ID 6761456212 — other similarly named apps are not ours. We have kept the comparison above factual because you can check every number yourself.
View on the App StoreGetting a result you can actually trust
The photo you feed in decides most of the output quality. Four things matter, in this order:
- Face the camera straight on. A three-quarter angle hides one side of your hairline, and the model has to invent it.
- Use even, front-facing light. Overhead light casts shadows in the eye sockets and under the jaw, which distorts the proportions the model reads.
- Pull hair back off your forehead. If your current fringe covers your hairline, every preview inherits a guess about what is underneath.
- Keep a neutral expression and no hat or glasses. Both change the visible shape of your face.
One more habit worth having: generate the same style twice. Generative models are stochastic, so two runs give slightly different results. If both runs read well on you, that is a much stronger signal than one flattering image.
What none of these apps can do
Being straight about the ceiling here saves disappointment:
- They cannot predict your hair's behaviour. A preview shows shape. Whether your hair holds that shape depends on density, texture, and how much of a cowlick you have — things a photo does not reveal.
- They cannot tell you if the length is achievable now. Growing out to a specific cut can take months, and no app measures your current length reliably.
- They cannot replace a stylist's read of your hair in person. The realistic goal is to walk in with a clear reference and a shortlist, not to arrive with a decision the stylist has to talk you out of.
- They are not photographs. Every AI preview is a generated image. Judge the silhouette and how the cut frames your face; do not judge individual strands.
Common questions
Is there a free app that shows how I'd look with a different haircut?
All of the apps listed above are free to download and monetise through in-app purchases, usually with a limited number of free generations. Genuinely free routes exist too — Snapchat and Instagram hairstyle filters, and asking a general-purpose AI assistant to describe what suits you — and are covered in our guide to previewing a haircut before the salon, free methods included.
Do these apps work for men?
Yes. Cuts, fades, and beard styles are handled by the same generation step as long hair, and most of these apps ship separate catalogues by gender. Face shape logic is the same either way — a strong jaw is a strong jaw.
How accurate are the previews?
Accurate enough to judge silhouette, length, and how a cut frames your face; not accurate enough to predict styling behaviour or exact texture. Treat a preview as a well-informed sketch rather than a photo of the future.
Which app is best if I don't know my face shape?
Pick one that analyses the photo before it shows you styles, rather than one that opens straight into a catalogue. Our guide on what haircut suits your face shape also walks through identifying it yourself with a mirror and a tape measure.
Updated: September 2026. App ratings and rating counts in this article were verified against Apple's iTunes Lookup API (US storefront) on 1 September 2026.