Rebel Texture Hair Is the Cool Girl Cut of the Season

Hair is such a personal part of us. But, do you ever get the urge to just chop it all off? Or, at least grab the scissors and take chunks out of it? 

The actual act of lopping sections away (or having your stylist do it) and watching pieces fall to the ground can be cathartic… refreshing… transformative. After a long stretch of having decisions stripped from us , losing control of the things around us, and of daily monotony, the world has regained some fragile order, but who else still feels restless? Remember, our hair is one place we can take charge in whatever way we want to. And, rather than smoothing strands into line and straightening the lot into sleek and perfect order, roughing it up with a mussy, unruly cut can feel exquisitely defiant. If you’re getting your kicks just thinking about it, you’re likely seeking some rebel texture.

The best part? There’s a bunch of ways you can get there. Rebel texture is a sliding scale. You can dip your toe in with some shaggy layers or hit peak-reckless with a truly radical chop. 

Here are some of our favourite ways to get some rebel texture…

The jagged fringe

We love how imperfect this fringe is – longer in the middle with jagged chunks cut out of it. Even if you keep the rest of your hair fairly neat it still looks a little radical. And, although the micro-length fringe is a bit of a commitment, the uneven edges can be chopped straight whenever you fancy.

The wolf cut

Somewhere in between a shag and a mullet, is the ‘wolf cut’ which is exactly as wild as it sounds. This is nowhere near neat and orderly, it’s at the exact other end of the spectrum and we absolutely love it. The choppy fringe and radical layers are pure liberation in haircut form.

Shaggy layers

Layers are a tricky one. Anyone who tried The Rachel in the nineties will know they require some finesse and a very good stylist to get right. We don’t want our head to look like a mushroom, or a shelf, after all. But careful layers from the crown and down – aka, The Shag – can look ace. And if you really want to make them shine, add in some messy bends and waves with your straighteners. The finishing touch? A phenomenal fringe.

Choppy and curly

This layered shape celebrates natural texture in all its glory. We love the different curl patterns within this one texture (wider curls, looser waves, frizzy bits). And the airy, curly fringe finishes at just the right length – brow-skimming rather than eyelash skimming.

Pixie mullet

It’s not for the faint-hearted, but nothing says ‘rebel’ like a mullet. You’ll need some fairly big kahonas to pull off this cut, but we are obsessed with this cute spiky pixie texture. It’s daring, but it’s dainty, too.

Pink Farrah

‘70s Farrah Fawcett flicks are huge and require lots of layering. Already it’s an alt-cut but throw in a bright hair dye and it takes the rebel-factor up a load more notches.

Wispy fringe with gentle layers

Shay Mitchell’s wispy fringe gives some choppy texture and face-framing action, plus the light layers scattered through her hair can be isolated and emphasised with styling. We love this semi-wet look finish but you can achieve a similar look with some hair wax (try Ouai’s Matte Pomade, £16).

The mussy Frenchie

The French bob (cut at the cheekbone, complete with fringe) is a classic. Yes, it’s supposed to look insouciant and not too try-hard (hence a teensy bit messy), but loosen the cut a little and go big on the mussy texture and you have yourself some cool girl texture that we want to copy, ASAP.

The curly mullet

We’re into this curl topiary which takes this pretty curly texture to the next level with a rebel mullet shape.

The shaggy bob

A bob is typically one length with very little layering, but just because that’s conventional doesn’t mean you have to stick to the rules. We love have these shaggier layers break up the trad bob shape.

Shaggy curls

Taking some of the weight off of curls can help them really shine and accentuate their texture. Ask your hairstylist to skim away heavy ends and add loads of layers for some shaggy, but fresh texture.

This story originally appeared on Glamour U.K.