All chopped up

Billie Eilish

After popularising the wolf cut, pop star Billie Eilish changed tracks to a stylish blonde choppy bob, joining the ranks of other supermodels, actors and influencers who have embraced this ‘do. Unlike traditional bobs, the choppy bob is a free-hand cut and can hence be customised to suit a variety of face shapes and hair textures, explains Bony Sasidharan, a hair expert at Schwarzkopf Professional, highlighting the reason for the style's popularity.

Chrissy Teigen have embraced choppy, textured bobs. Pics/Instagram

Bobbing along

"Like the wolf cut or the shag, the choppy bob is all about texture. This hairstyle is essentially a modern bob with many short layers. Adding these choppy layers creates a textured style that has more movement and definition," Sasidharan says. The style is created using standard or razor shears to cut shorter sections of the hair. It can add volume to thin hair and also make thick hair more manageable. To truly make your look stand out, he suggests adding messy bangs. You could also experiment with hair colour trends such as ombre accents or balayage highlights that accentuate the bob.

Bony Sasidharan

Style it right

As a wash-and-wear style, a choppy bob is immensely practical and works best with short to medium-length hair. Before blow-drying your hair, apply a heat protecting spray and a texturising product to your strands. "Apply a small dollop of product to towel-dried hair. Start at the roots and comb the product through your hair using a wide-tooth comb. As you blow-dry your hair, scrunch sections of it using your hands. Continue until your hair is completely dry. You could use the diffuser attachment to add more waves to your mane. Finally, style individual sections using a little hair wax," Sasidharan clarifies. If you are using a curling iron, curl sections in different directions to keep your hair from looking too styled.