Buzzing.
Our hair is one of the most visual ways to make a statement and as far as proclamations go, a buzzcut is perhaps the boldest hair move you can make.
Hair is just hair at the end of the day, but we can become very attached (quite literally). Cutting away that security blanket can feel daunting, but it can also be majorly liberating.
Since they're as brave as they're bold, buzz cuts have become a symbol of female strength. They're tough but feminine – and, over the past year, the cut has been reclaimed by more women than ever.
According to Google search data, “short hair styles” is the most Googled beauty trend around the world – and the UK searches for this term the most. Searches for "short back and sides" are up 250%, while "pixie cut" is up by 160%.
The reason? All sorts. Maybe it's a fresh start or emotional refresh. It could be purely practical, or it might simply be because you fancy trying something new.
Our face girl-crush, Tiffany Haddish, couldn't have put it better when she explained the reasons for (and reception to) shaving her head over lockdown.
"Why when a woman decides, 'hey, I'm gonna cut this hair off, because I wanna see my scalp,' people say 'she's got a mental problem'? Nothing is wrong with my brain, you guys, I'm not suffering with no emotional shit. Nothing."
She explained: "I've literally been talking about this for years – how I wanna see my scalp. I've seen every single part of my body, I know where every mole is, except my scalp." But alongside wanting to connect with her body more fully, Haddish explained that after lopping the first lot off "it was the first time I've ever jumped in the shower and was not concerned about getting my hair wet... As a black woman, your hair takes two-to-three hours of your day, it is a lot of work, so I'm taking time off," she said. "I'm gonna be using that same energy that I would have been putting into my hair, into my mind." Her final mic drop? "When I've finished cutting all my hair off, I'm still gonna be fine as f*ck."
So, what do you need to know before you make the cut? It depends. If you're going for a longer-length pixie cut with a bit of buzz-work round the back and sides, you may want to consider the shape and length to suit your features. If you're going all the way, just go for it and enjoy getting familiar with the cute shape of your head. You may need to get a response ready for when people try to pet you, though. We're told strangers are drawn to soft, fuzzy heads like a moth to a flame.
The last thing to consider is colour. “I've seen a lot of people cutting their hair and going for bright colours," says according to Ollie, stylist at Blue Tit Streatham. "When it's done right and the condition is upheld it's the perfect canvas to put vivid colours over." But you don't have to stick to one shade. “People are now looking for more creative colour designs than ever before," explains Julia, stylist at Blue Tit Topshop. "Three years ago people wanted a scalp bleach and pink all over, now it’s creative sectioning, multicolour and gradients.” Whichever you fancy, there's endless ways to make the style your own.
Here's 10 ways to style shaved hair…
Cropped
Close shaved
Bleached
Short back and sides
Grown-out
Lilac
Long up-top
Auburn
Patterned
Shorn
