8 Modern Haircut Ideas That Work Brilliantly for Asian Hair Types

Burdock may have become a fully articulated idea in the spring of last year, but in some ways, it feels as though this has been in the works all our lives. When we were kids, our understanding of life’s possibilities was so profoundly framed by the reflections of us in society at large — internalized guidelines for what we could grow up to be, how we could move through the world. What society offered us was, frankly, an awfully narrow field of view; but with little perspective on what could be, we made the best of it and life went on.

Fast-forward to this past year, where we saw some beautiful, pivotal moments cut through the noise of our never-ending news cycle. From the momentum of Crazy Rich Asians to seeing the most Asian Americans ever elected to Congress, it was an incredible year of firsts for the Asian-American community. It was consequently also a big year of personal realizations and honest reckonings for us. Intellectually, we’d both thought we understood the significance of what it meant to be seen, but these historic moments unpacked a lifetime’s worth of being unseen. We knew that others shared similar struggles and triumphs, but these boons in popular culture gave us more space to instigate honest conversations with each other.

Inspired by what this would have meant to our teenage selves, we set out to create Burdock — a platform dedicated to celebrating multi-dimensional, Asian-American experiences; a community to see beauty in our shared experiences, and find joy in the fact that we contain multitudes. Each biannual issue will be centered around a theme, and we felt it apt to mark our first issue with the notion of “Celebration.” Along the way, we’ve encountered incredible stories of resilience, creativity, and community. Our spring issue features so many stories worth celebrating, including interviews with John Cho, Min Jin Lee, Phillip Lim, Nails by Mei, and more.

— PETER ASH LEE AND HANNAH CHLOE LEE

The following is a story about summer hairstyles for Asian hair types by founders Peter Ash Lee and Hannah Chloe Lee from Burdock's debut issue centered on celebration:

For generations past, something as seemingly unremarkable as a trip to the hair salon could be a journey laden with emotion — inspiration often followed by frustration (or in our case, copious tears). As we’d quickly come to understand, bringing in carefully torn clippings of Brad Pitt’s latest messy spikes or Christina Aguilera’s Come On Over-era layers tended not to translate effectively to our hair. Albeit, mass media wasn’t exactly giving us a lot of reference material to work with. In a tribute to our teenage selves, we’re turning over a new leaf with eight summer looks that are here to keep you fresh for the sunny seasons ahead.

Flip through for looks from Jake Ungrey of Sposito and Masami Hosono of Vacancy Project for looks to keep you cool all summer long.

1. Long, Straight Hair With Blunt Bangs

Shown here on Joony

Ideal For: Long, straight hair types

The Look: Avoid adding layers to the length and don't make the bangs a rounded shape (i.e. longer on the sides) — simply keep it straight.

The Daily: Wear it down straight and use a little bit of everyday oil or light styling cream. Applying it on dry hair is recommended.

2. Cropped, Textured Pixie

Shown here on Masami

Ideal For: Thick soft curls or tight curls

The Look: Ask for a lot of layers, and have them thinned out (but not too much). If you have straight hair, you could also add a perm.

The Daily: Take a quarter-sized amount of shea butter, melt it in your hands, and apply it to your whole head (with wet hair). Leave it to air dry.

3. Long, Shaggy Layers

Shown here on Eve

Ideal For: Long straight hair, seeking more texture

The Look: Add short layers, but pursue a less-triangular shape for an almost tapered bottom.

The Daily: On dry hair, use sea salt spray from the middle to the ends. Then scrunch up your hair with your hands and either air-dry it or diffuse it.

4. The Easy Lob

Shown here on Joy

Ideal For: Straight and thick hair

The Look: Thin out just the inner layers of the hair.

The Daily: On wet hair, use everyday oil or shea butter (you can use a lot). If you want to make it extra sleek, you can also use baby oil gel and air-dry.

5. Loose, Slicked-Back Layers

Shown here on Cameron:

Ideal For: Slightly wavy hair

The Look: Instead of wearing the hair back, wearing the hair to the left or right side can look more fun and gives it added volume.

The Daily: If you want to attain that beach vibe at the office, use a sea salt/texture spray on slightly damp hair. You can also use a dry shampoo spray or powder in the front to add more lift.

6. A Buzzed and Shaped Crop

Shown here on David

Ideal For: Thick and curly hair

The Look: Keep the top disconnected from the sides, which should be pretty short (consult with your stylist to decide just how short you want it). Wear it down and to the side.

The Daily: Use a light curl cream/styling cream to tackle the humidity and keep your curly locks frizz-free. You can apply it with your hair either dry or slightly damp.

7. Loose, Effortless Lengths

Shown here on Tenzin

Ideal For: Thick and straight, shoulder-length hair

The Look: Ask your stylist to take weight out (either with shears or a razor).

The Daily: Wear it straight down and use a little everyday oil or light styling cream, either wet or dry.

8. Wispy Pixie With Bangs

Shown here on Pace

Ideal For: Straight hair

The Look: Go with a slight contrast from the top and sides, and razor cut the fringe at different lengths for a modernized bowl cut. Nowadays, there are so many interpretations of the bowl cut — find references and show them to your stylists to see which would work best for you.

The Daily: Use a light-to-medium-hold pomade. Work the pomade in from the back to the front and use your fingers as a comb to give it a little bit of texture.

Women's Hair: Masami Hosono
Women's Makeup: Yuui Vision
Men's Hair: Jake Ungrey
Men's Makeup: Hiroto Yamauchi
Casting: Arielle Berman

Go get Burdock's debut issue here.

More Asian beauty:

• J-Pop Star Akira Is Way More Than the New Face of Ralph Lauren

• Crazy Rich Asians Star Gemma Chan's Very British Beauty Routine

• Beautiful Eye Makeup Looks for Monolids

Here's Gemma Chan trying nine things she's never done before:

Originally Appeared on Allure