From the boyfriend bob to the French bob, it’s safe to say bob hairstyles remain a key beauty trend. But when it comes to bob hairstyles for thick hair, how can we make sure we maximise all that gorgeous volume without ending up with a chop that’s heavy, triangular and swamps our features?

“Bobs are one of the most universal, adaptable haircuts ever,” assures Luke Hersheson, hair stylist and CEO of Hershesons. “It’s timeless and works on pretty much every face shape, hair texture and thickness. All will look different depending on your texture and length,” he explains.

As with all cuts, it’s important to take your hair texture into account, then tailor your chop accordingly to create a style that’s literally made for you, so if you’re lucky enough to have full, thick strands, here are some factors to consider (and ask your stylist for) when chopping in a bob.

Add lots of layers

“I think shorter bobs work really well with thick hair,” says Luke. “Chunky haphazard ends that feel like they have been hacked as opposed to cut precisely work better,” he says. And, it’s a good idea to introduce “lots of invisible layers so you can reduce the weight at the ends and the likelihood that it’s going to look triangular,” Luke adds.

Keep the front long or commit to a fringe

While lots of subtle layers are a great move for anyone with thick hair if you’re considering a bob, you may want to avoid cutting layers around the face. “Layers around the face don’t work so well on super thick hair,” warns Luke. “My advice would be to either commit to a fringe or keep the front long.”

Avoid a blunt cut

Layers aside, Luke also advises against a blunt cut, or anything that looks too neat. “Avoid anything cut too perfectly – you want to see imperfections as that’s what makes them cool and less frumpy,” he says. “It needs to feel like it’s part of you, like its always been that way: spontaneous and lived in. Depending on the texture we tend to use a mix of scissors, and razors, it’s not a classic precision technique – instead more of the equivalent of a free hand painter to achieve the look of it not looking like a stylist has laboured over it.”

Keep styling to a minimum

Once you’ve had the cut, it’s down to you to style your bob at home – a task that can seem daunting to those accustomed to longer lengths. Luckily, Luke recommends minimal styling to encourage natural texture and help to define movement. “The haircut needs to do the heavy lifting. If you get the cut right then the styling becomes much easier,” he says. “For those with thick hair, make sure you use a few pumps of Hershesons Almost Everything Cream on wet hair first to weigh it down and stop it going wide. Then, leave to dry on its own,” this will encourage your natural texture to do it’s thing. Curls, kinks and waves are a beautiful way to wear a chunky bob. And Luke recommends tucking your hair behind your ears to encourage a little extra movement and personality.

Here’s 13 bob hairstyles for thick hair…

Curly thick bob

Curls will naturally add extra volume and movement to a bob cut. We love this curly Snow White-inspired bob – bow included.