If you haven’t heard that the bob is the haircut of summer 2024, then where have you even been? Whether you’re an early adopter or have recently taken the plunge and gone for a major chop, you need to arm yourself with a bob styling kit to ensure you’ve got all you need to style your baroque, Italian or cowgirl bob.
George Northwood, AKA the king of bobs and the man behind Alexa Chung’s signature lob, says “in general, bobs have definitely been more voluminous this season. So when I start styling a bob, it’s about getting the volume in the root. My staples are a mid-sized, round brush (about an inch and a half in diameter), and an old-school, powerful hair dryer with a wide nozzle attachment – the widest I can get my hands on.”
It’s all about towel drying your hair, “stretching it” at the roots with your fingers and then going in with the round brush once your hair is 80 per cent dry. “For something like the Italian bob where you need a lot of volume at the roots, I take the brush right underneath the root of the hair, and then I blow dry the hair back. Always prep hair first with a volume product like Bumble and Bumble’s Thickening Spray.”
On how to style Chung’s bob, Northwood says: “It’s a bit of a French, chic bob, so as before, the [secret] to any bob is getting the volume in the roots and then, to avoid the spiky ends that were part of that grungy vibe a few years ago, go in with a dryer to sort of move the ends as you want a slightly rounder edge and then go in and tong pieces of hair in random directions.”
For the sleeker princess bob, go in with a straightening iron to create the smooth look, rounding the edges but still keeping the volume through the roots.
Have a diffuser laying around? Try using it to recreate an air dried look. “Diffusers are great for creating that naturally air dried hair – there’s nothing better. If you want to wear your bob like Gigi [Hadid], put some wave holding spray in and scrunch your hair and diffuse it.” If your hair needs a refresh but you don’t have time to wash it, Northwood recommends spraying water into hair and diffusing it for a bob reboot.
Here’s Vogue’s guide to the best bob styling tools to try now:
George Northwood Curl It Tongs
£65
George Northwood
Parlux Superturbo 3000 Black
£115
Look Fantastic
Northwood’s “old-school” hair dryer
MDLondon WAVE hair styler
£129
Selfridges
A great root, boosting tool
Dyson Corrale Cord-Free Hair Straighteners
£399.99
Sephora
Smoothing and straightening
BaByliss Air Wand Hair Dryer, Styler and Straightener All-in-One
£120
Boots
Multi-attachement tools for multi-styling
GHD Mini Hair Straightener
£159
Harrods
Hershesons The Wand
£120
Hershesons
Best for random curls for texture
Shark Beauty Smoothstyle Hot Brush And Smoothing Comb
£99
Cult Beauty
Good for styling fringes and rounding the ends of hair
Moroccanoil Ceramic Round Brush 45mm
£19.85
Look Fantastic
Create volume at the roots
Aiseely Hair Dryer Diffuser Attachment for Curly and Wavy Hair
£14
Amazon
This universal diffuser mimics air drying
