The countdown to salons opening their doors is well and truly on (fingers crossed for 12 April) and our thoughts are turning to the styles we'll be rocking come April 12. According to top stylist Adam Reed, we'll all be asking for a 'shag' haircut. "Soft, tousled and textured haircuts with strong perimeters will be hot on the wish list, with movement and lift," he told us. Characterised by lots of layering, especially around the crown and an outgrown face-framing fringe, the shag is set to be everywhere this summer.
“I’m seeing my clients ask for more layers as well as a huge rise in curly fringes,” says Bradley Deeming, stylist at London hair destination Salon 64 . “This, for me, is the start of the shag revolution.”
And the good news? It’s ideal if you’re fed up of cajoling your hair into styles that don’t work with your natural texture (guilty!) “We’ve had years of flattening hair and changing the natural texture of the hair to achieve looks,” says Craig Clark, associate colour director at London salon Linnaean . “People have simply grown tired of forcing their hair into shapes that don’t really suit their texture and are opting to embrace their natural texture instead. The shag style is having a moment because the cut is customisable and able to be styled on hair of every length and texture.”
The shag hair cut particularly suits curly girls – like Taylor Swift who has been rocking the look since 2017. “A shag cut is great for allowing the client with natural curls the opportunity to wear something different and have a “look” rather than the tendency for a lot of curly haired people to wear their hair just long with some layers,” adds Craig.
“The shag is a great haircut for people with curly or wavy hair because the movement is already there,” agrees stylist Darren Fowler creative director of Fowler 35 . “As long as you have a great hair cut, the shape, movement and texture will all add to a soft feminine, sexy look.”
Having said that, there’s no need to shy away from the shag if you’ve got straight hair; the cut suits most hair types aside from super curly or very fine.
How to style the shag hair cut
The shag is a really easy look to style – ideal if you’re a wash and go kind of girl. “The cut is completely designed around your personal hair texture so no need to battle with heat styling,” says Craig. “A simple diffuse dry will create the perfect shag look.”
Who suits a shag haircut?
“The shag is all about your attitude,' says Gorka Arraras, head of creative at Charles Worthington Salons . “It suits almost any face shape as it’s tailored to suit you.”
Darren agrees, adding: “The shag haircut will suit most face shapes except for someone who has a particularly round face shape as, especially with the fringe, it would cut off half the face and make it look shorter. If you have some hair length or a slightly more angular chin then it definitely works very well.”
Length is key to this look - while Selena and Taylor both wore their shaggy hair cuts around shoulder length, any shorted could be problematic.
“You have to have some length of hair to have a shag haircut and it’s all about the layering,” says Darren. “It’s basically a haircut made up of lots of different layers of different lengths.”
What to ask for
If asking your stylist for a shag makes you feel a bit weird, make sure to go to the salon armed with pictures of the style and ask for a heavily layered cut with choppy sliced ends worn in many different lengths. Add a soft-face framing fringe for the shaggy look – how long you want to wear your fringe depends on your hair type, and if you’re willing to go to battle with it to keep it in submission!