Razor cuts are becoming more and more popular. It's often thought of as an old-fashioned technique - mullets spring to mind - but it's less '70s and more chic this time round.
It’s certainly an older styling technique, but I think this look is making a comeback as the trends turn to softer, more rock’n’roll styles, inspired by the likes of Arizona Muse or Jenna Dewan, where there are no blunt edges in the hair, just soft tapering and dreamy lines. There are definite retro vibes with this look (remember that Jennifer Aniston infamously created ‘The Rachel’ by taking a razor to her hair – the epitome of nineties style!) but to make the look contemporary, it’s about taking inspiration from those styles and modernising them, to make sure that the finished look is soft, bohemian and a little bit edgy, rather than fully vintage or stuck in the past.
I think it’s a look that’s becoming more popular as trends turn to that Glossier kind of natural beauty, all effortlessly relaxed, hyper-natural and very nineties, rather than the uber-glamorous, Kardashian-inspired beauty trends of the past few years. Beauty is being dialled down a notch, bringing back alternative styling techniques like razor-cutting.
Razor-cutting is all about creating a lighter texture in the hair that looks free and easy, rather than blunt or chunky. It’s great for short hair, thick hair and straight hair, to give it a flirtatious freedom rather than anything too heavy or stiff. Girls with curly hair can also work a razor-cut style, as it thins out the hair and makes it much easier to manage.
I would definitely recommend it for girls with long or thick, heavy hair, to lighten it up and give it a looseness and a great sense of movement. Razor-cutting removes bulk and provides a softness to thick hair that’s almost impossible to achieve otherwise. Just use the technique sparingly, to ensure that the hair still looks polished rather than straggly.
Razor-cutting is also a great technique for shorter-hair girls rocking a pixie cut, as razoring the hair gives a lovely tousled, choppy finished look rather than something too sharp or precise.
I think girls with thinner hair are best sticking to traditional scissor-cut layers, as you need to be more careful with the distribution of weight in thinner hair types. Razor-cutting fine hair can make it look droopy and flat, so you’re better to opt for long layers to give weight and movement to the hair in this instance.
Depending on your hair type and the kind of look you want to achieve, razor-cutting can be a great alternative to layering with scissors. If you’re hoping for a loose, textured style with plenty of movement, like Dakota Johnson, then razor-cutting will help you achieve that. However, if you want something more polished and precise, long layers like Kate Middleton for example, then scissor-cutting is still the best technique to choose, it gives the hair more of a groomed look.
Razor-cutting is also great to use on fringes, rather than scissors, if you want a softer fringe rather than a Zooey Deschanel-style blunt set of bangs. Razoring creates a sexy, sixties-style ‘peekaboo’ fringe that’s very chic!
I always recommend going to your hairdresser, whatever the circumstances – razor-cutting might seem like an easy technique in theory, but there’s lots of things that could go wrong. At the end of the day, you’re taking a blunt blade to the hair, and if you’re attempting to do this yourself, you could very easily hit the wrong angle or cut too high, and as we all know, you can’t stick hair back on! Put yourself in the hands of an expert for any kind of restyle, for peace of mind that the finished look will be something you’ll love.
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