Short hair is all the rage these days with Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Anne Hathaway and even in Asia, Rainie Yang, Jeon Ji Hyun and IU sporting a cool and fashionable short crop!
With so MANY reasons why you should consider chopping off your locks, it is no wonder why short hair is becoming more and more popular these days.
Cutting your hair short does however require you to take a big risk as a bad haircut can ruin your overall look… for months!
To help you get that perfect short haircut for the new year, we have consulted haircut specialist Izumi, Chez Vous Hair Salon as well as several other haircut experts to give you the lowdown on what you HAVE TO KNOW about short haircuts!
Other than using pictures, it can be hard to communicate with your stylist if you don’t really understand what goes on in a haircut. Therefore, our first section here tries to decipher what goes on in the mind of a stylist when he/she designs a haircut for you, specifically a short one.
What characterises a Short Haircut?
According to Izumi, a haircut, especially a short one, is largely characterized by a the following five factors.
1) Bangs or no Bangs
This can often be a question of customer preference. Some customers do not like having fringes tickling their eyes so no bangs for them!
No Bangs Bob by Plan B by Vast Hair
For others open to having bangs, the stylist will have to decide which type of bangs best suit them: Straight / Sidebangs / Double bangs?
From Left: Straight Bangs by AVENTA Japanese Hair Salon vs Side Bangs by 99 Percent Hair Studio vs Double Bangs by Izumi Hair Salon
If you are wondering which type of bangs is more suitable for you, look out for our next article on What Bangs Best Suits Your Face Shape!
2) Overall length of hair
Just to give you an idea of the lengths to think about: there’s Pixie Short, Bob Haircut and Mid Length Bob!
From Left: Pixie Haircut by Pro Trim Korean Salon vs Short bob by CLEO Hair & Make vs Mid length Bob by Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon
The length of hair is largely dependent on what you are comfortable with.
There are some factors that you may however want to think about.
Do you have…
Thinning Hair?
If so, keep your hair short and above the collarbone! Shorter hair exerts less pressure on the scalp, minimizing hair loss!
Short Haircut by Pro Trim Korean Salon
A Face that is slightly bigger than what you desire?
In that case, you may want your hair to end slightly after the chin to help you “hide” some of the flesh!
Mid Length Bob by Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon
With a mid-length bob, your face will look even thinner than if your hair is over your shoulder!
Long Face?
According to UK celebrity stylist John Frieda, place a pencil under your chin horizontally and hold a ruler under your ear, vertically.
If the intersection of the two measures less than 2.25 inches, your face is made for short haircuts like Pixie and Short bob.
If the distance from the bottom of your ear to your chin is more than 2.25 inches, you’re best suited to a longer style.
Credits: John Frieda
Straight Hair?
A pixie haircut goes best with hair that is slightly curled.
If you have excessively straight hair, you will have to spend more time styling your pixie haircut to make it look good!
Pixie Haircut by Clover Hair Boutique
Nice Head Shape?
Short Bob Cut by CLEO Hair & Make
By taking away all the extra hair, a pixie haircut highlights all your facial features – both good and bad.
Other than face shape, head shape is one of them.
An oval head shape with higher forehead tends to look very good with a pixie haircut. Having worked many years in the US, Izumi observed that many Caucasian ladies have oval head shapes that make them very suitable for pixie haircuts!
Asian heads, unfortunately, tend to have shorter foreheads and sometimes, not-so-attractive skull / head shapes. A very skillful haircut specialist is therefore required if you want a pixie haircut as she will know exactly how to cut the hair to hide the weaknesses and bring out your strengths!
3) Angle of Bob Haircut
Depending on where the stylist believes the bulk of the hair volume should be, the haircut can be angled upwards, downwards or straight to achieve a different look.
1. A-Line Downward-Angled Bob
A-line Bob Haircut by Jimmy from Kenaris Hair Salon
A classic A-line bob is a bob cut where the hair is shorter at the back and angles to a longer front. There are usually no layers in the back and frame the face in the front and concave just under the chin.
This is considered a “Golden Hairstyle” as it can fit many different types of hair textures, whether you have straight or wavy hair!
For those who wants to lengthen your neck, the A line cut also has that effect!
2. Classic Straight Bob
Straight Bob by Chez Vous Hair Salon
A typical normal bob with the same length all around the whole head and it frame the face just under the chin. The edges are usually “softened” to create a soft finish and eliminate the “hard lines”. There are usually minimal layers in the hair. One can opt to do a C-curl rebonding to better achieve the “hallyu-like” shape that many Korean celebrities are sporting now; or perm it to give it more texture.
3. Upward Angled Bob Cut
Upward Angled Bob Cut by Rubik Hair Salon
Previously a popular cut especially in Japan, the upward angled bob cut has the bulk of the hair volume at the base, ending with a shorter haircut near the chins. The angle of the hair is therefore upwards!
Izumi shares that this type of hairstyle tend to help a lady look more feminine and is perfect for those with sharp angular faces and big shoulders; the upward angled hair will help soften the face and take the attention away from chubby arms!
4) Blunt vs Layered Cut
Layered Haircut by Kobayashi Hair Design vs Blunt Cut by CLEO Hair & Make
Whether your hair is more suitable for layered or straight cut may depend on your hair texture.
Layering helps to reduce hair thickness, which is great for those with coarse hair and significant hair volume. Layering tends not to be recommended for those with thinner hair as it may make your hair look EVEN thinner.
On the other hand, a blunt cut can possibly help your hair look thicker and best of all, requires less styling and maintenance than a layered cut, which goes off-shape more easily than a blunt cut.
5) Asymmetric Bob Haircuts
Asymmetric Bob by Chez Vous Hair Salon
Popularized by Amber Guo in the movie Tiny Times 4 (小时代4), an asymmetric bob is one where one side of the bob is longer than the other.
This is a versatile haircut as a good stylist can customize the hairstyle by altering the length and angle to suit all face shapes.
Under the hands of a skillful stylist, the asymmetric shape and steep angle at the sides can help to “sharpen” the face and make it look smaller!
Final Thoughts
Understanding what goes into a short haircut can help you articulate your requirements and make it easier to get the haircut you desire.
However, whether the haircut looks good or not still depends on how skillful and consultative your hairstylist is. You may get some general ideas from what we write above but experience, skill and consultation will help a good stylist give you the hairstyle that best suits your hair texture, face shape, head shape and even your objectives (ie. to look more mature / younger at work, more masculine / feminine) to ensure that the final hairstyle is something you are completely satisfied with.
For someone going for a short haircut for the first time, we would therefore recommend that you invest a little and look for a reputable haircut specialist such as Izumi from Izumi Hair Salon, Hensley from Chez Vous Hair Salon and Obara from The Cottage to know exactly what type of hairstyle best fits you!
Do bring along 3 pictures you are fond of so that the hairstylist you have in mind can better recreate the hairstyle you are looking for.
If you need help, we have compiled a list of haircut styles that combines various aspects of the above 5 factors here!