Considering a Bob? Measure Up
Jessica Alba at the 2015 Met Gala (Photo: BFA NYC)
Size does matter – especially if you’re considering chopping off your hair. While blunt, choppy bobs have been spotted on celebrities from Lily Collins to Alexa Chung, whip out a ruler before making a date with your hairdresser to lop off your locks.
According to an article in The Daily Mail, the haircare experts at Color Wow have come up with a fool-proof formula to see if your face can carry off short hair, and they dubbed it the 2.25 inch rule. All it involves is a ruler and a pencil, and it takes the guess work out of photo-shopping new hairstyles on your picture, or whipping out a pile of bobby pins to pull back your hair while trying to snap a selfie.
International Training Director of Color Wow and Senior Stylist at John Frieda Salons UK, Giles Robinson, tells the Daily Mail, “It’s all about the angles. The Rule was created by John Frieda, and it is a fool-proof guide for hair stylists to use so they can tailor the cut to make the length as flattering as possible to the face shape.”
Robinson explained that whether or not someone can pull of short hair all comes down to the angle of the jawbone. “John studied faces and saw that the angle of the jaw bone determined whether or not someone would look best with short hair or long hair,“ says Robinson.
Here’s how it works: start by hold the pencil horizontally under your chin. Place the ruler vertically under your ear. Measure the intersection of the pencil and ruler. If it’s less than 2.25 inches, your face can pull of a short hairstyle (think Halle Berry, Jennifer Lawrence with a pixie cut or go full-on Charlize Theron in Mad Max). If your measurement is more than 2.25 inches, then go for a longer length. While a pixie or bob may not be for you, take a style cue from Jessica Alba or Kim Kardashian, who are sporting shoulder grazing bobs.
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Bold, Beautiful, Short Hair Inspiration
