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“A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life” — or so said Coco Chanel. Having worked in multiple salons over the course of my lifetime, I can safely say that for most women, at least in Chicago, “getting a haircut” means little more than a trim. Just the removal of a few split ends to keep things healthy and properly maintained. In fact, though I’d never have said it aloud, the majority of the clients who walked through the doors looked almost exactly the same leaving as they did coming in. *Yawn*
Me, on the other hand? I want my trip to the salon to be a god*mn transformative experience. I want to walk out of that place a whole new woman. By the time my stylist is through, I want to do a double take, because it’s that hard to recognize myself in the mirror — in a good way.
Needless to say, I’ve had to learn to curb my expectations over the years. Try as they might, even the best stylists can’t quite seem to get my thin, frizzy strands to magically fall the way they seemed to on celebrities in the pictures I would bring them. Those long layers with angled bangs that looked so sultry on Cameron Diaz in The Sweetest Thing, for instance, could barely be discerned from the rest of my hair, laying flat as flat could be. Or what about that chic, swingy bob that looked so effortless on the likes of Nicole Richie and Sarah Michelle Gellar? Let’s just say not quite so chic or effortless, no matter how much styling went into it.
After 34 years on this planet, a few dozen haircut disasters, and a whole lot of tears, I began this year no closer to finding my perfect statement-making cut. In fact, all I’d learned thus far was what didn’t work — namely, anything above the collarbone or with an actual style. That left my options somewhat … limited. After all, what kind of hair awakening was I supposed to undergo with little to no wiggle room in the length department?
Just when I had all but given up, I decided to give the whole “new year, new cut” thing a go one. Last. Time. I threw in all my chips on a risky, yet intriguing style: the modern shag haircut .
What does a modern day shag look like?
What’s a modern shag haircut, you ask? The modern day shag is a new take on the ‘70s staple that was once worn by everyone from Stevie Nicks and Joan Jett to Rod Stewart and Florence Henderson. Rather than the top-heavy, mushroom style cuts you may recall from days of yore, this new version still has plenty of body, thanks to the copious layers found throughout, but with a softer feel. “The more modern shag is more feminine than it’s ever been,” celebrity stylist Mara Roszak explained to Refinery 29 in 2016. “The layers are more blended and not quite as short, and the length is really up to you.”
Though this chop had been on my radar for a good long while, it seemed to have a lot of potential to go awry — particularly for someone like me, whose tresses tend to look akin to that of a little Dutch boy (you know the cut) if they fall into the wrong pair of scissors. What if the layers were a disaster?
But, after a particularly flat hair season in which my locks seemed to be plastered to my scalp at all times and a newly sparked obsession with Goldie Hawn’s signature style — most notably in this picture with Kurt — I was desperate enough for even a little volume to make the call to roll the dice.
The results? The type of sex kitten volume I’ve only ever dreamed of. The transformation was real: I FINALLY had the type of rock ‘n’ roll tresses I’d only been drooling over in magazines for all these years.
Now, to be fair, the photo on the left was taken on a straight hair day, while I spent some time with the Beachwaver ($199, Amazon) and Oribe’s Matte Waves ($42, Amazon) on the right. Still, the added layers gave me enough of a lift to notice a significant difference in my hair’s body, even without styling. I feel like a whole new woman!
Maybe it was the stylist (shoutout to Mike at Robert Jeffery in Andersonville!), or maybe it’s simply the magic of the shag, but either way, I’ve got just the right cut to tackle the new year in. Hallelujah!
A word of caution if you’re looking to recreate the look: While this cut works on just about everyone, as it can be customized to your length and shape, hairstylist to the stars, Anh Co Tran, told Stylecaster that those with extremely fine locks may want to pump the breaks. “Challenges could arise for those with thin hair, as the style would thin out the hair even more,” she said.
Duly noted!
What’s your perfect hair cut?
Xo, Nicole
