With the rise of social media, and more specifically TikTok, certain beauty trends come and go before I’ve worked out how to do the dance that went viral two months ago (classic millennial). I have a bit of an obsession with hair transformations in particular, and thanks to the trusty algorithm, I’m constantly served a helping of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Think copper dye, straightening hair when it’s wet, and cutting in a fringe with the kitchen scissors sans mirror. Yes, you read that correctly.
It’s good news then that there are a handful of haircuts and hairstyles that look classy and timeless, regardless of what social media is deeming to be the flavor of the month—wait, make that second. I caught up with celebrity hairstylist Larry King, who, with 25+ years of experience and two London-based salons under his belt, knows a thing or two about what makes a haircut iconic.
“The bob has never really gone out,” explains King. “From Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction to Blondie and her transitions of textured bobs, it’s always been around and has always been such a focal point. All the way back to when Vidal Sassoon first cut it, it’s just made many alternations and variations along the way but has been present in every era even prior to this.”
I nod enthusiastically in agreement, feeling smug with my freshly trimmed bob. “Also Julia Roberts’s ’90s curls in Pretty Woman, right up to the current day where you’re seeing these textured, ’70s layered cuts,” King continues. “It can really encourage the curl into the hair and give it texture. With coily hair, it can define the coils and and give a beautiful shape and volume.”
Armed with King’s expertise and my own extensive research, I bring you 20 of the classiest and most timeless haircuts to take on your next trip to the salon. Screenshot at the ready…
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