Bob hairstyles are a chic choice for any person, regardless of their age or face shape. When deciding on your next cut, the only important factors to consider are your hair texture (fine, thick, or in between), hair type (straight, wavy, or curly), and the amount of work you want to put into styling your hair each day.
“A bob is one of those styles that can make some people look younger—if done right. But when it's done incorrectly or done on the wrong face, it can make you look older.”
Opt for a Bob
Bobs are styles that sit just below your chin. This hairstyle can immediately make you feel and look younger by removing length and weight from your appearance! The shorter cut can lead to healthy hair as you remove any split ends. This cut will frame your jawline and bring a youthful look to your face.
No Two Bobs Are Alike
Rather than getting a straight cut, he advises getting a trim that will enhance your facial features. “If you have a thin, long face, you should go for a shorter clean lined bob with straight angles,” Belkacemi explains. “If you have a rounder face, a longer bob will be more flattering.”
Bobs remain big news and will continue to dominate through 2022. “The bob is a classic,” explains top hairstylist James Earnshaw, and there's lots of different ways to wear it.
It's anything shoulder length or shorter. There's the bob, the long bob (lob), the pixie, the Kate Gosselin, and several other styles. But the general consensus is, a mom haircut is a short, low maintenance style which moms adopt after they get sick of a perpetual messy bun.
"Oval face shapes are the most universal for bobs," notes Buckett. "You can do anything from blunt to short or long, and it can be done on any hair type." Bangs, layers, curls, angles—you name it.
Anyone can pull it off with the right styling
“Anyone can pull off a bob. However, there are definitely styling tricks that suit different face shapes and textures, so it's important to take all of that into consideration before getting started,” says Larry.
“If the bob is cut short in the back and longer in the front, it will make your face look thinner,” says Tricomi. By parting down the middle, the way the hair falls along the face will also help to elongate it.
Bobs are still very much in vogue, and Syd Hayes predicts that the “box” style will be one of the most popular for 2023. “It's an extremely classic Vidal Sassoon bob,” says Hayes. “A sharp shape, that's striking—less about the layers and more about straight lines and angles.” It's the epitome of a power haircut.
On how to avoid the dreaded mom bob...
For blondes, either go platinum blonde or don't highlight too close to the roots leaving streaks and darker base on the roots. For brunette and dark hair, lighten up the ends so it doesn't look too heavy or just go solid dark but keep the shape super clean lined.
With age, that fat loses volume, clumps up, and shifts downward, so features that were formerly round may sink, and skin that was smooth and tight gets loose and sags. Meanwhile other parts of the face gain fat, particularly the lower half, so we tend to get baggy around the chin and jowly in the neck.
Forget what you thought about long hair past the age of 40—thick hair actually looks more youthful and polished when it falls shoulder-length or longer. Shorter hair has a tendency to expand at the ends, leaving you with an unflattering triangle effect.
Bob cut. Bob haircut defines a very focused; no-nonsense woman, who exudes power as well elegance with her hairstyle and personal style. It is a very simple hairstyle and requires virtually no styling. It can be a little difficult to carry off and is more suited to rounder faces.
Regular bobs also are high maintenance because you'll need a trim every five to six weeks and the style can become annoyingly unmanageable, flicking out as it grows.
It's all about the styling brush.
Using the wrong brush when blow-drying can affect the final shape of your mane, making the flips more visible. “Having a great brush to assist with the blowout doesn't hurt either, but shape does matter,” the New Jersey-based hairstylist says.
The inverted bob is a bob with layers stacked at the back that gradually get longer in the front. The layers curve along the shape of your head. It is also called the gradual bob and stacked bob. Celebrity stylist Khamis Maiouf says, “In this style, a smooth transition from long to short is important.
Trend Breakdown: What Is A “Bottleneck” Bob? It's exactly what it sounds like. Picture a retro-esque Coca Cola bottle—the shape of the bob starts with a pinched fringe that transitions into blunt layers through the ends.
“The shag— or super layered hair cut— is the trend,” says Saviano. “It works on almost every hair texture and length, and you can even style this look with or without bangs. It gives off a cool, low maintenance vibe, and truly brings out the best of natural hair texture, as the layered cut gives the hair movement.”
What is the butterfly haircut? Coined by Brook, the butterfly cut is a very layered, feathery haircut that's longest layers fall just below the shoulder. Shorter layers are cut around the crown of your head to create the illusion of having shorter strands.
"As we move into 2023, we'll be seeing a bit more of a '70s resurgence," Fekkai says. If you're ready to get groovy with this cut ask your stylist for rounded bangs with rounded corners. "It's similar to a bob cut with the addition of subtle layers added to allow for movement to your hair," Fekkai notes.