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Short Hair: Best Haircuts and Styles
By lauracarsonmiller Posted on August 3, 2008 - 4:34pm
Short hair is chic hair ~ whether you choose a pixie, buzzed or highly razored cut, short hair works on many face shapes and hair textures and is the ‘go-to’ choice for many women who prefer not to fuss with styles that require lots of time spent blow drying and manipulating the way some long styles can. Several factors can help determine which short cut might be best for you, so let’s take a look at the hows and whys of shorter hair.
Your Face Shape
The shape of your face helps dictate which cuts and styles will be most flattering to you.
Styles chin length or above flatter oval or round face shapes, while face-framing choppy layers can accent eyes or cheekbones. These styles can be worn full or slicked back off the face, making them versatile and low maintenance. Long, side swept bangs can lessen the look of a large forehead, too.
A heart shaped face is wide at the temples and narrow at the chin. This face shape looks great in a short shag type cut, which can give some fullness to the jaw line area and help create balance for the face. Straight or side swept wispy bangs are also flattering (think Reese Witherspoon’s bangs but with a much shorter overall hair length.)
For a rectangular or long face shape, you definitely need volume at the sides to help give the face balance. Stay away from height on top and too much length past the chin, as these will only make your face appear longer.
Square faced girls often have a strong jaw line. Wavy or curly hair is a blessing here, as the volume helps soften the jaw line and give a softness to the face. A side part will help give you the illusion of a longer face. A bit of height in the crown area will also draw your face out so it appears longer.
Your Hair Texture
If you have fine hair, you actually have many choices in the short hair department. Bob hair cuts work for both straight and wavy fine hair, and if you have stick-straight tresses, bangs look great. Fine hair can tend to fall flat, so layers, particularly near the ends, can help give the look of thicker hair. If possible, avoid blow-drying your short hairstyle excessively as this can dry out fine, fragile hair and make it more prone to breakage. A look that can air dry successfully is a fine-haired girl's best friend. Pixie cuts work well on fine hair, too.
If your hair has a more coarse texture, your stylist might remove excess bulk with layers that will help your short style behave more easily for you on a daily basis. Especially if you go for a close-cropped cut, texturizing will help create space between each hair strand and will encourage a look that is more separated or piecey.
If your hair is curly or wavy, you’ll notice the shorter you cut it the more of the natural texture will come through. Longer hair that is wavy can quickly become curly hair as the weight is removed. Products play a big part in controlling frizz and unruly sections of hair that don’t want to play well with others.
Talk with your stylist about the texture of your hair and how much or how little time you are willing to spend on each day. Experienced stylists know how to make the most of your hair depending on your lifestyle and the degree of difficulty you are willing to accept to have a certain style.
Short hair in general is associated with trendiness, youthfulness and sometimes with a fashion forward attitude. Really close-cut pixie styles or crop cuts with long pieces in front aren’t for the faint of heart as they can take a really long time to grow out. I’m certainly not saying you need to be young to wear long hair but it helps to be young at heart!
Finding a stylist that understands what you want in a short hairstyle is paramount to leaving the salon with the look you want. If possible, bring photos and talk with the stylist about whether or not your face shape and hair texture is appropriate for the style you’ve chosen. If not, as a trained expert, the stylist should be able to make suggestions and give you a cut you really love.
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I really Love Eva Longoria-Parker's new cut! It suits her so well to me.
I can't imagine myself with anything but short hair! BUT people say women get it so that its less to maintain and they don't have to fuss with it, but thats not the case. The longer my hair gets the easier it is to maintain. Styling short hair was a hassle for me, but if you really care like I do, then its not a big deal.
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