If you’re anything like us, you may currently be strolling through your ‘new year, new me’ era and with that, the ‘let me chop my hair off’ era is never far behind. After all, a woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life, right? 

2023 has kicked off with the bob being the hottest haircut to try right now and we have Hailey Bieber to thank for our desire to keep our scissors at the ready.  No stranger to turning beauty trends into viral gold, Mrs Bieber recently ventured into ‘big chop’ territory, sporting a deliciously blunt, jawline-grazing bob. Inspired by Gwyneth Paltrow’s character, Margot Tenenbaum, in the film The Royal Tenenbaums, the cut left fans bob-obsessed and contemplating the big chop. 

The perfect combination of low maintenance styling, effortless cool-girl vibes and summer-humidity friendly practicality (bye-bye neck sweats), the bob, in all its iterations, is the must-try haircut we’ve been dreaming about.   

Dubbed the Margot Tenenbaum, this layer-free bob skims the chin, screams dark academia and is best served super sleek and blunt. A style that works well for finer hair textures, modernise the cut by ditching the side parting and instead hair clip and substitute with wavy, lived-in texture and a precise middle part.

Undoubtedly the most popular bob, the French micro is the quintessential style we dream of when entertaining our bob fantasies. Super short, with a cool girl ‘messy’ texture, let your inner French girl out with this bold cut that hits just under the earlobe. It’s perfect for those with naturally wavy texture and you’re going to want to add fringe with this one. Oui, oui!

Care to try out the bob’s more romantic cousin? Then the 60s inspired ‘swoopy bob’ à la Lizzo is more your speed.  A sweet, hyper-feminine version of the classic bob, this style features a super sleek, side-swept bang and blunt, flicked up ends. 

If the soft mullet and bob had a baby, it would be the short wolf cut–think Jenna Ortega and Joan Jett. It’s great for those who crave some versatility, individuality and rock ’n roll from their bob. A shaggy cut with sweeping, curtain bangs and layered lengths that sit along the nape of the neck–this is one to watch. 

For those in-between hair length camps, the lob, chopped just above the shoulders, is right up your street. Short enough to be in bob territory but still long enough to tie back, this cut is perfectly blunt, chopped and styled bone straight but also begs of volume and bounce. So, go for blowout or use a straightener to curl in the ends for that blowout volume finish.