In my years as a beauty editor, I’ve had the privilege of getting my hair done by some of the most chic and famous celebrity stylists. As you might expect, some of them have been amazing; others have been surprisingly disappointing!
But the *best* haircut I’ve ever had was last summer in Seoul. I found this stylist randomly on Naver (also known as the Google of Korea). She didn’t have any Instagram followers, accolades, or press releases to her name, but she did have availability in her schedule, so I booked an appointment and lucked out because I got my favorite haircut to date. That’s how I know it was a good haircut: it fell into place beautifully, with very little styling or manipulation on my part.
After that beautiful experience, I went down an Instagram rabbit hole of different Korean hairstylists and kept noticing one thing that all of their hairstyles had in common: layers. More specifically, well-placed, very intentional layers. Let me show you what I mean.
The stylist behind this look calls it a “layered contouring cut” in his caption — and honestly, I can’t think of a better name. See how the layers frame her face in a way that complements the angles of her cheekbones?
Here you see a similar version of the haircut, but with full, airy bangs and longer side pieces that connect with the rest of the hair.
If you want to freshen up your look without losing too much length, you can also opt for subtle bangs and layered curls that start just below your chin. This is a good option for those with straight hair, as it adds a bit of visual texture to your hair.
Curly layers can also work well with short hair. Cut just above the collarbone, these shorter pieces create a beautiful frame for your face while adding a touch of bouncy volume at the ends.
If you have wavy hair (or a perm), you can add some longer layers that blend throughout to visually break things up and bring out your wavy texture. Add a few face-hugging pieces in the front for that aforementioned contouring effect.
The power of well-placed layers and bangs on curly hair.
Last but not least, I love the way these curtain-style bangs taper down the sides of this woman’s face and blend in with the rest of her hair. The beauty of this type of front layering is that it looks just as pretty when you put your hair up in a ponytail or bun.
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