Four years ago, ITG wrote a story on the rise of French girl hair—that layered, choppy, not too pristine look—and four years later, its star is still rising. Just look at Emily Ratajkowski, Jen Atkin, and countless other stylish ladies with that casual, tousled look. I'm a huge fan, don't get me wrong, but I'm ready to move on. Instead, let's bring back young Cher, Carine Roitfeld, and nearly every Versace show since the Gianni days. Let's bring back the Blunt Cut. Please?
Let's say you're a former French socialite looking for a new 'do—how does one Get The Look, so to speak? The man to ask was Joey Silvestera, owner of Blackstones salon. (Emily Ferber, forever in pursuit of the perfect blunt cut, goes to Joey and says he's the only one who's ever come close to getting it perfect.) He's a blunt cut apostle and predicts a comeback in the next few years: "We've seen beach hair for the last half decade, so I think more graphic, geometric shapes are on the horizon." This is a great place for an ahead of the curve joke, but I'm just going to leave it.
Despite the name, the transition to blunt from whatever you've got going on might not be so tough. The technique is simple, according to Joey. "For me, definition of a blunt haircut is when the scissors are cutting straight across, which leaves a very clean and precise edge to the shape when done properly," he says. "Generally, I encourage blunt hair cutting for people with fine to medium hair texture and densities. It makes hair look and feel fuller and is less likely to break down overtime, where over-texturizing fine to medium hair speeds up the breakage process." If you're fine-medium and looking for an easy trick for fuller hair, take note.
But what about thicker hair? Says Joey, you just need to know what to ask for. "The issue with blunt cuts and thick hair is that the cut builds up too much weight, when the hair is mid-length. Over the years, to reduce weight and still create a clean line, you can take a section from the occipital bone"—lower back part of the skull—"to the top of the ears and reduce weight by undercutting. This underneath length can be anywhere from shaved to finger length."
There you have it: blunt cuts, for all!
And hey, it's winter now (oficially today! December 21st), so in the event you hate it, you've got about three months of hat season to grow things out. Just joking—you're going to love it. 'Tis the season to change up your hair. Blunt cuts 2017!
—Tom Newton
Photographed by the author.
More hair stories: Your guides for achieving weightless volume, silky smoothness, or pin-straightness.
