Grow Out an Angled Bob

Short angled bob with bangs for blonde hair
Photo: Dean Bertoncelj/Shutterstock
Q: I recently got my hair cut into an angled bob. Nobody was doing it short enough, so I had it cut three different times. Finally, I got it to a good length and now it is starting to grow. Once it grows, it is unmanageable and the cut just looks horrible. Is this a typical problem with the short angled bobs?
 
I love the cut when it’s first done, but I have to keep spending hours trying to make the growing look good. I don't want it, so my second question is: what would be the best thing to do to if I just decide to grow it out? Should I try a new cut or deal with the ugliness of the growing angled bob? Thank you.
 
A: While I sympathize with your situation, it illustrates the importance of careful consideration and discussion with your stylist before choosing a new style. Getting the newest style for you doesn’t just mean one that works for your face shape or sense of style, it also means a style that you can work with.
 
The angled bob is a terrific and very classy look but in its shorter incarnations it can become more of a high maintenance style. As with most short hair styles, the shorter lengths of hair seem to grow out faster. When the hair grows at a half-inch per month and is only a quarter of an inch long in some places, those places will double in length inside of a couple of weeks.
 
And depending on your hair’s texture and wave pattern the new growth of the hair can mean the hair becomes unruly and more difficult to conform to the desired style. I can’t say your situation is “typical of short angled bobs”, but it isn’t an uncommon problem.
 
The solution is to either schedule regular maintenance visits to the salon to have your hair trimmed and kept at the optimal length (every two to three weeks) or decide on a different look that can be better tolerated between regular haircut intervals. If you decide to give up on the bob, I always advise planning a “transition program” (click here for a sample) where you select your new desired style and plan (with the help of your stylist) a means of getting to that point. Depending on the differences in length and shape, you may want to select a few interim styles to work toward so that your changes come in stages.
 
This can be a big help to both you and your stylist in that it gives you smaller goals to work on and keeps you from being overwhelmed by the thought of the amount of time involved if you choose to go from a shorter style to one significantly longer.
 
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See also:
 
Photos of angled bobs
 
How can I avoid the hassle when growing my hair out?
 
How fast does hair grow?
 
Growing hair back out