2022 hair styling is all about looking back at styles pioneered in decades past. We’ve seen the wolf cut rear its head, similarly the octopus cut and now we have the heartthrob bob style returning a little over 20 years since it first burst onto the scene. A masterclass in layering that is synonymous with the 1990s, the cut transcended gender and was seen across red carpets and magazines to boot. Now that its back in 2022, we’ve broken down the heartthrob bob and how you can wear it.
What is the heartthrob bob?
The heartthrob bob is a blend of a mushroom cut and your standard bob. It is a choppy, layered but with close-cropping layers at the neck’s nape, coupled with longer layers skimming the cheekbone at the front. It won’t allow for you to wear it up in a traditional sense but since leaning into the 90s trend, a selection of hair clips and accoutrements won’t look out of place when fastening your hair.
The heartthrob hair cut it dubbed so due to its prevalence atop the heads of attractive, young men in the 90s. However, it wasn’t only men who embraced the trend an in 2022, its women who have brought back the no fuss style.
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Where have we seen it before?
Please indulge yourselves in some nostalgia as we enter the next phase of this breakdown. Are you in a retrospective mood yet? Fantastic.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo in Baz Lurhmann’s cinematic masterpiece, Romeo + Juliet.
Courtney Cox in that season of Friends when Phoebe cuts her hair.
Gwyneth Paltrow in Sliding Doors.
Keira Knightley in Bend It Like Beckham (yes, a 2000s film but it fits the bill)
Johnny Depp, Jared Leto, Keanu Reeves, the list goes on. The heartthrob bob was a revelation in the 90s, akin to the mop top in the 60s and wild, unruly locks in the 70s. Perhaps a rebellion against the permed, closer-to-god hair of the 80s, it was a paired-back style seen across television, cinema and red carpets across the decade.
How does the heartthrob bob look in 2022?
It’s important to acknowledge that when looking retrospectively at trends past, their current day incarnations are a revitalised offering of the original. For 2022, the heartthrob bob has looked to the 90s for its roots (pun intended), yet presents a contemporary spin on the original. There is a softness to the layering, rather than the hard, chiselled edges evident in the original crop. Additionally, those with curly hair are also embracing the trend in 2022, with cropped locks also embodying remnants of the heartthrob shape.
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How do I style the heartthrob bob?
The beauty of the heartthrob bob is it is relatively low maintenance, a cut to try when you’re looking to wake in the morning with little styling required. With a selection of essential styling tools – like Sam McKnight's texture mist or the Bumble and Bumble invisible oil – you can finesse the low-fuss look ready for the day ahead.
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