Shoulder-length hair gets flack for lacking gumption. It’s often dismissed as a transition stage between, say, a blunt bob and long flowing locks. But, there’s a reason why you see shoulder-grazing strands around every corner, whether at the grocery store or on the Red Carpet—and it has nothing to do with settling. Shoulder-length hairstyles are both functional and stylish, striking the perfect balance between the ease of a short cut and the versatility of a long style. To layer or not to layer, to stack or not to stack, to bang or not to bang? These are all decisions you can make to create the best shoulder-length hair for you, which is not something you can say about a pixie cut or ultra-long (Cher-esque) locks. The dry winter has made our hairstyle feel less than inspiring, and springtime always brings a desire to embrace a new look. We’re thinking a shoulder-length haircut might be the lucky ticket. When heading to your next hair appointment, tuck one of these gorgeous shoulder-length hairstyles up your sleeve and leave feeling fresh and stylish!
Blunt Ends
This cut is all about simplicity, keeping ends blunt and layers minimal. You can opt for a few face-framing layers, but keep the length all the same to promote easy styling and your thickest looking ends. This cut works great for thin hair!
Full Bangs
Keep a shoulder-cut simple, but stylish with full bangs. This hairstyle has only long layers, letting the bangs shine. If you’re looking to switch up your hairstyle for the spring, bangs might be your answer.
Angled
This hairstyle is another that limits the amount of layering, but it stacks the back a little shorter to create an angled look. The angled cut lets you ramp up the volume more than an all-around uniform cut. This style works well with thick hair.
Natural Volume
If you have more compact curls like these, layers are essential to make a short cut more voluminous and shaped. Layers should start mid-way down your hair shaft, which will help you avoid the awkward “triangle” shape that curly-haired girls sometimes struggle with.
Flippy Layers
This straight hairstyle is sassy and layered to perfection for the lady who likes styling her hair and isn’t afraid of some hairspray! The layers start at around midway down the shaft, and this style looks equally as good with or without bangs.
Shag
This classic cut is back in a big way, and we love the layers, bangs, and overall shagginess of the look. It should always graze the shoulders and have layers that start just below eye level.
Stacked Layers
Unlike a blunt angled shoulder cut, this style gets ultra volume in the back from layering. It lets the back layers pump up the body, while angled layering around the face adds definition.
Side-Swept Bangs
This old-school shoulder-length cut gives us major early-2000s vibes, but side-swept bangs always deserve another chance in our opinion. This flippy, blunt cut features bangs that graze below the eyebrow down to the chin.
Airy Layers
You’ll be catching the wind in no time with this layer-heavy shoulder-length cut. Going all in with the layers helps bring movement to your everyday look, while giving some life to naturally flat hair.
Face-Framing
When getting a short cut, face framing is the key to getting definition without adding super short layers that will be finicky to style. Getting face-framing highlights to accompany those layers is about the easiest path to ultra-stylish hair.
Growing Out Bob
Lauren Conrad perfects the short cut look, and this style is longer than a traditional bob but shorter than her beloved lob. The overly swished side part looks easy and laidback, while the transition length is free from too many layers.
Deep Side Part
For the ladies out there with super thick hair, you might think a deep side part isn’t what you need; but we love the mass of body and volume you get from going heavy with the side part, especially when paired with a blunt shoulder-length hairstyle. A deep side part goes well with most hair textures.
Middle Parted Bangs
For the fashion forward woman, a middle part always adds a little chicness. This haircut uses bangs and layers to give extra sass and texture to this style that hits just a tad below the shoulders. Depending on your comfort zone, you can take the bangs up as high as cheekbone level or leave them longer to hit near your chin.
Textured Layers
If you have wavy hair, this layered look can help give that envy-inducing movement and wave we all want come summertime. The layers are slightly shorter in the back, but there’s also a lot of face framing going on. A little texturizing spray goes a long way when styling this cut. This cut works super well with thick hair!
