That long, straggly hair is so seventh grade. Now, even models are getting chopped—so break out the scissors and lighten up.Hairstyles are like hemlines: Everything that goes down must come up. “People get tired of long, long hair,” declares hairstylist Serge Normant of the Serge Normant at John Frieda salon in New York City, who created the looks on these pages. “The trend is toward shorter hair.” Here’s where we’d normally say that the trend is not just any short haircut, it’s this short haircut. But we’ll refrain this time. “Depending on where you started, short hair can now mean anything from shoulder length to two inches long,” says Normant, who rejects the idea that face shape or body type should factor into the decision. “Anyone can wear short hair—it’s a question of your personality, not the height of your cheekbones.”
If a major crop intimidates you, start at shoulder length and take it in stages. And if you are flirting with going to extremes, there are easy ways to figure out whether you’re really ready to lose a full six inches. Hairstylist Sam McKnight offers this advice: “If you wear your hair up in a ponytail or a bun more often than you wear it down, you’re definitely ready.”
THE CUTOFF
When model Siri Tollerod (pictured) wanted to chop off her hair, she turned to Serge Normant. He snipped it to collarbone level, made it shorter in the back, and layered it all around on the bottom inch. “The cut appears to be one length but doesn’t look heavy,” he says. Colorist Gina Gilbert added blonde highlights to play up the layers. “Now my hair has shape and swing, and it looks thicker,” Tollerod says.
GOING SHOULDER-LENGTH
Shape Up. Though most hairstylists, including Normant, are generally allergic to rules about facial structure and haircuts, they do believe that if you have an angular face, you should ask your stylist for soft, face-framing layers, and if you have a round face, you should try blunt ends. If you’re in between, get allover layers. “And avoid bangs if you have a tiny forehead—they make it look smaller,” says Normant.
Get Dirty. To avoid soccer-mom comparisons, try messing up your hair, suggests Chris McMillan of Chris McMillan, The Salon in Beverly Hills. “Don’t wash it every day. It looks best when it has a little roughness to it.”
Lower the Heat. The big mistake people make with a shoulder-length cut is overstyling—particularly with a round brush and a blow-dryer. “You have to be careful not to let this cut look matronly,” says Normant. “Unless you want a sleek, stylized look”—like the one on the opposite page—“don’t curl the ends under; instead, blow-dry them straight.”
Explore Your Options. Take advantage of the versatility of shoulder-length hair by trying new styles: “Tease volume at the crown, slick it back, change your part, do a low ponytail—you can really play
around with this length,” says Normant.
GOING CHIN-LENGTH
Study the Classics. If you can’t decide which particular cut you want, “try a bob without bangs,” says McKnight. “It flatters almost everyone.” To update it, ask for a cut with angled layers: “It’s softer than a regular bob and just long enough to tuck behind the ears—giving the look some variety.” If you have very curly hair, “leave a few extra inches to account for the curls,” says Normant.
Man Up. For an edgier look, keep the front sections chin-length, but trim the back so it’s no longer than your hairline. “Keeping the hair around the neck boyish and short is sexy,” says McMillan. “And you’ll still have long sections to style.” This shape makes fine hair fuller.
Go Big. The pros warn against loading products on short hair, but if there’s no weight or texture, it can get too puffy. “The best product for this length is a volumizer,” says Normant. “Spray a little at the crown when hair is damp, then blow it out or let it air-dry, depending on how polished you want the hair to look.”
GOING SUPER-SHORT
Bring Visual Aids. Tearing out a picture of the cut that inspired you is important with boy-short hair. “If you say ‘pixie,’ you might be thinking four inches while I’m thinking one inch, and that’s a big difference,” says McMillan. “But if you show me a photo of Jean Seberg or Agyness Deyn, I know what you’re expecting.”
Go Top-heavy. For a sculptural short cut, ask your stylist to trim the sides and back of your hair to no more than two inches long and leave the top section at six or seven inches. “It’s an update on the cut Linda Evangelista used to have—you can vary it even more by adding layers on top,” says McMillan. These long layers can be swept to one side or styled into the hair, so “if it doesn’t look good one way, try another.”
Flatter Yourself. To emphasize the cheekbones, “add layers that angle toward them,” says hairstylist Oscar Blandi of the Oscar Blandi Salon in New York City. “And highlights can thicken the hair so it’s easier to style.”
Know When to Grow. “If you have cowlicks, keep the hair at least three inches long, or it will get too spiky,” says Blandi. And if your hair is very curly, “make sure the longest pieces are at least two inches long. Any shorter and you risk looking like you have a head of broccoli.”
[source]
