From high and low fades to natural-texture deadlocks and curls, there are a lot of great men's haircuts cycling through the world right now. Which is why you have no excuse but to get yourself one. Maybe you've been rocking the same trendy cut for too long, or you never even went there in the first place. Regardless, a new year is a great excuse to update your look (also: spring is coming). Here, nine recent hair upgrades we've appreciated, and why they work. Read along, then look at yourself in the mirror and figure out where you'll be heading next.

November '16 vs. January '17

Brad Pitt’s Spiky Fade

Breakups and new haircuts go hand in hand, but the transformations can sometimes feel a little forced. Pitt handled the situation with class, however. His haircut went from nondescript and short all over to this: a young, cool fade that had just the right amount of ready-to-have-some-fun messiness to it.

December '16 Vs. February '17

Zayn Malik’s Versatile Man Bangs

Zayn Malik was just another dude with a high fade haircut (albeit a very famous one) until 2017 came around and he started growing his impressively thick, wavy hair out as mother nature intended. The beauty of this longer, mid-length cut is that he looks completely different at every event that he shows up to depending on how it's styled. A fade just doesn't do that.

May '16 Vs. November '16

The Weeknd’s Arty Afro Fade

Arguably one of the biggest hair transformations of 2016 was Abel Tesfaye's de-dreadlocking. What's great about the cut he chose is that's it's modern and on-trend but also completely his own. A lot of famous guys are rocking not-too-groomed fades right now but Tesfaye's '80s-era height in the front makes his cut stand out from all of the others.

May '16 Vs. September '16

Oscar Isaac’s Fade to Gray

37-year-old actor Oscar Isaac is a remarkably handsome dude but we much prefer the shorter cut and natural gray color he began to embrace towards the end of last year. It's proof that letting your hair go gray won't necessarily make you look older—and that it just might make you look cooler too.

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August '16 vs. February '17

Jamie Dornan’s Beard and Buzz-Cut

Jamie Dornan's grooming look went from rich-guy slick to straight-up badass this year when he shaved his head and grew his beard to a DGAF length. While we know the look is technically for a role, we like to think this is who Dornan really is on the inside; a badass Irish dude with serious acting chops, not just American's rom-com heartthrob of the moment.

November '16 vs. January '17

Jonah Hill’s Impeccable Pompadour

Sometimes a grooming upgrade is about cleaning up your act instead of mussing things up. Hill's been perfecting his off-duty skater-kid style recently; it's nice to see him also brush up on his formalwear skills, down to the matte swept-back fade and full beard. Now he's officially a guy who can "do both".

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February '17 (early) vs. February '17 (late)

Kanye West’s Blond Ambition

Ever since he ditched those intricate swirls, Kanye West has kept his haircut almost military perfect. But he's still playing around with his look by changing up the color from week to week. While we weren't on board with the sherbet dye job he sported over the holidays, this blond is a good look. And that's saying a lot; it isn't easy for guys with very dark hair to achieve the right shade of blond. It takes patience—and vision.

November '16 vs. February '17

Robert Pattinson’s Relaxed Flat Top

Robert Pattinson's devil-lock is almost as famous as he is, which is why we don't blame him from distancing himself from the look with a shorter cut. While we know he looks sharp with a buzz-cut, this slightly longer, messy flat-top is a cool bridge between two haircut extremes.

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January '17 bs. February '17

John Cho’s Toned Down Pompadour

Okay, this one isn't a huge transformation as much as it is empirical proof that not waiting too long in between haircuts is crucial. Cho's lighter and shorter pompadour and freshly shaved face take him from handsome dude to movie star, even though his look hasn't drastically changed. Just think of what it can do for you.

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