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Beauty

21st Sep 2019

The simple 3-second trick that will let you see if short hair will suit you

Considering the chop?

Trine Jensen-Burke

haircut in dublin

A new season always brings on that desire for some kind of change, doesn’t it?

Yes, many of us might feel tempted to chop off our longer locks for a shorter, sleeker do.

The thing is, and only those scarred from experience can fully tell you the truth here: Not everyone looks good with short hair.

Really. Trust me on this one.

But luckily, a nifty trick for checking this before you head for the hairdressers exist, and really, you need to try this if you have ever, even briefly, entertained the idea of a bob.

All you need is a ruler, a pencil, and a mirror.

Now, stand in front of the mirror with the side of your face in view. Hold the pencil horizontally so that it’s touching your chin, and then position the ruler vertically beneath your ear so that the pencil and ruler intersect. Next, measure the distance from the bottom of your earlobe to the top of the pencil.

short hair

This is where it gets interesting, ladies:

If it’s less than two and a quarter inches from your ear to the pencil, you are good to go—short hair (like a chin-length bob) will look great on you. However, if it’s more than two and a quarter inches, you may want to consider keeping a bit of length (think: a shoulder-grazing lob or longer).

Intrigued?

The way it works, according to John Frieda stylist Giles Robinson is because when it comes to how short hair will look on you, it is less about the shape of your face and more about the angle of your jawbone.

Note: Every expert will tell you that there are, of course, exceptions to this rule, but as for a method of trying-before-buying, we think this one is a must-do.