I became a bob girl in a moment of wild optimism and mild delusion. To be fair, I was a hormonal teen who hadn’t had a bob since my Lord Farquaad-era haircut at six years old, so this felt less like a reinvention and more like a full-circle crisis. But I digress.
Sitting under the salon cape like I was about to be knighted, I declared my confidence in the chic chin-length cut, and ten minutes later, I watched a small mammal’s worth of my hair slide to the floor. That’s when I realized: I had gone too chic. In other words, the length was now so short that its ends and my shoulders had different zip codes.
Here’s the thing no one tells you before a dramatic bob transformation: the biggest mistake is going too short too soon. We love living in the moment, but when it comes to the permanence of a haircut—and the painfully slow process of growing it back—a major chop should be treated like a considered commitment, not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
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But don’t just take my word for it. As Keeks Reid, Cosmo UK beauty director and trained hairstylist, explains, “The biggest mistake people can make when cutting a bob after having super long hair is going too short initially.” With over 10 years of experience in the industry, she’s seen it happen time and time again—people leaving the salon convinced they hate their new look, when actually, “it’s because it’s too short and a big drastic change.”
Her advice? “I would always recommend going a fraction longer than you think, and then cutting more off if you want.” She also points to what she calls “styling mileage”—that little bit of extra length you don’t realize you’ll want for waves, curls, or texture once the hair is actually styled.
The takeaway here is to start longer! Think of a lob (long bob) as your training wheels. Now, that’s not to say you can’t eventually go for a chin-length bob, dabble in a fringe, or experiment with texture—but with ease.
Remember: you can always take more off; you can’t glue it back on.
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