Bob Haircuts

The airy bob is like your own personal wind machine, in a hair cut

It's the volume for me.

14 August 2022

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Get yourself a good haircut and you can chill it on the styling as the shape will do the heavy lifting. A prime example? The airy bob – so named because the skilful layering and shaping makes for a cut so light, voluminous, and breezy, it defies gravity.

Despite what TikTok would have us believe, there's more to an incredible haircut than grabbing a pair of scissors out the kitchen drawer and going to town on our lengths.

A truly phenomenal haircut requires proportion, balance and structure – like architecture for our strands. It's something hair pros train for years to perfect and each client's facial features, bone structure and hair texture will all go into determining where, precisely, to snip.

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What is an airy bob?

So what sets the airy bob apart? The next level volume and movement. Essentially, "you want a classic bob that you're able to get movement and volume from easily," explains top hair stylist, Hollie Rose Clarke. "If you have thick hair, you'll need some weight removed so it's easier to achieve the styling you desire. If you have fine hair, you're best off with a blunt cut and a great volume/hold spray," says Hollie.

For extra oomph? Nicholas Hardwick, principal stylist at Josh Wood Colour swears by some super subtle layers. "I love adding barely visible layers to give life throughout the cut and encourage root lift and movement," he says. "It's like the hair cut equivalent of a wind machine." Yep, we can definitely get on board with that.

How to style an airy bob?

If the structure of your haircut is already incredible, you can wash and go and it'll look beautiful, but for extra lift-off a speedy blow dry will add swoosh. The trick is to keep any styling subtle so it doesn't look too 'done' (the hair equivalent of no make-up makeup). You want it to look like it has plenty of natural body.

For this, "you'll need a good round brush, about 32mm wide. My personal favourites are Kent Salons round brushes or YS Parks round brushes," says Hollie. "Then apply some volume spray." For weightless lift, Hollie recommends ColorWOW's XTRA LARGE Bombshell Volumiser (£23), Kevin Murphy's Anti.Gravity Spray (£23) and Ouai's Volume Spray (£22).

If you can't wait for it to air dry, "blast your hair for a few minutes to make sure your hair is easier to work with," says Hollie. "Confuse your roots by blasting your hair from side to side – do this with your head upside down, if you can – it's a great hack for volume," she explains. "Section your hair in horizontal sections about an inch thick, place your hair on top of your round brush, then lift and wrap it over the brush, curling it over the barrel. When you get to the parting, blow dry it in the opposite direction to where you want to part it, then when you flip it back, you'll get some serious lift," Hollie adds. And, for lazy girls – the Dyson Air Wrap (£449.99) is a wise investment. "Use the round volumising brush attachment for a professional-looking blow dry without the arm ache," recommends Hollie.