How to cut thick hair

Thick hair has the advantage of looking beautifully abundant, but it typically requires a lot of work when it comes to washing, drying, blow drying and styling. The right haircut can help cut down on some of this work and make it look great.

There is not simply one right haircut for thick hair; it is also dependent on the thickness of your hair’s individual strands and your hair texture. You can have fine, medium or coarse individual strands and you can have straight or curly texture.

The following is a brief overview on haircuts to suit each type:

Fine and straight thick hair

When you have an abundant amount of fine hair it tends to be very flyaway. You don’t want to go thinning it with a razoring technique because this is likely to make it look straggly. In general this hair type is suited to shorter styles ending at chin level or above. A blunt cut bob can look very effective, or try just a little layering at the top and side of the hair to create a nice degree of movement. You might also like to consider a root only perm to help lift your hair at the roots because fine hair is frequently limp in this region.

Fine and curly thick hair

In the case of fine, curly hair it is often much better to ask for a controlled cut with the scissors, rather then a razor cut, texturizing cut, or cut with thinning scissors. The stylist can cut some small V’s into your hair to help your curls form, without reducing all the volume. You will probably also look better with hair that’s slightly longer, generally from just below the chin to your shoulder length.  You might also like to consider a root perm to create volume at the roots.

Medium and straight thick hair

If your hair possesses medium strands and is straight, it is beneficial to use layering to take the weight off it. This can help it look shapely, rather then boofy. You can typically choose between choppy layers that create a more textured look, or a few longer layers in the back, then classic face framing layering. Avoid blunt cuts that go straight across the hair, because this will not help distribute any of your hair’s weight.

Medium and curly thick hair

If you have curls to add into the equation consider asking for some slicing. Slicing is effectively cutting the hair on an angle to help it form a nice curl. It takes off a small amount of weight and makes looking after thick, curly hair a much easier job.

Coarse and straight thick hair

If your hair texture is coarse, straight and thick your hair might look a little like straw. It can also look wiry and frizzy. You should definitely have some layers cut into your hair to make it more manageable.

Coarse and curly thick hair

In the case of curls, you’ll want to stick to a longer hairstyle because otherwise you might look a little like a sheep with a mop of hair sticking out to the sides. Long layers, will help take the weight out of your curls and help them to bounce up nicely.

You should also consider your face shape and body type, because these are also important factors in choosing a hairstyle.