5 Must-Know Bob Tips
New year, new ‘do! Now’s the PERFECT time for a fresh new style, and super hot on the red carpet right now? Bobs. You gotta keep up! Here are some genius bob tips from Wella Global Education Academy Dean, Stephen Moody.
1. MIRROR, MIRROR. During the consultation, move the hair around like clay. Give the client a small mirror and show her where the length will sit, where you will build and remove weight. Essentially, you’re building and showing the end result before you actually cut.
2. DAMP, NOT DRY. Cut a bob on consistently damp hair. That goes for the sections you’re about to cut. But once you’ve cut a section, keep an eye on it as it dries so you can see what the hair is doing. Is it shrinking, becoming curlier or straighter? If you understand what the hair will be doing, you can adjust accordingly.
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3. SIT UP STRAIGHT. When cutting a pure line bob, make sure the client is sitting straight up in the chair, legs uncrossed, head tilted slightly forward. The shoulders should not collapse. When cutting the nape area, the client’s body should be erect with only her head tipped forward. Bring the head up gradually as you work bottom to top. With each subsequent section, the head should be a little more vertical until it’s almost straight up when you reach the top.
4. GET A PROFILE. The graduation or layers in back will influence the profile shape and the width of the bob. This is an aspect many stylists overlook. When deciding how much graduation or layering to perform, turn the client sideways and study her jaw and her nose and think about balance. If the nose is large, for example, the graduation should be above or below the tip. If she has a receding jaw, you can build weight with the hair in the opposite direction.
5. FRINGE ELEMENTS. A huge factor with fringes is the width. You can turn your client into a mouse with a narrow fringe or you can bring out her cheekbones and eye sockets with a wider fringe. Additionally, there are three fringe shapes—round, square and triangular. Round shapes are like the unhappy emoji—they droop down at the corners. They’re fantastic for supermodels, but tricky for most women to wear. The square fringe provides a bit more lift. The triangular fringe is like the happy emoji—it boosts the corners. That’s my favorite—it’s like the lift you get from the upward strokes of a blush brush.
