You want your hair to look good, but you also don’t want to look like you’ve made a huge effort. While haircut trends ebb and flow between short and long lengths like the blunt bob and languid mermaid lengths, the Feather Cut is proving that we can find a happy medium between the two. In order to find practicality in everyday hairstyles, we’re seeing more and more cuts take on soft, feathered layers to bridge the gap between style and lifestyle.

What Is The Feather Cut?

We’ve seen touches of feathered haircut techniques sprinkled throughout the past few seasons with the rise of the Wolf Cut, the Bixie, the Butterfly Cut and Curtain Bangs. Leaning into the trend even more this season you’ll see the rise of the Feather Cut alongside a variety of feathered techniques to bring your current style up to speed.

Originating from the feathered finishes of the 70s — cue Farrah Fawcett and Princess Diana — these soft looks were not just about the styling; they were built into the cut with specific haircutting techniques. Modernising this trend for 2024, you can apply a feathered effect to any length — the Feathered Cut is all about creating soft, wispy, feathered ends instead of a strict, blunt line.

The reason why this texturising technique is becoming so popular is because of its versatility. It adds natural movement and can even enhance volume, but if you want a sleek style, you can achieve this as well. Plus in addition to any length, it can be implemented on any texture type as well.

How To Style The Feather Cut 

You have a few choices when it comes to styling. Work with your natural texture for a gorgeous air-dry, play up the flickiness with a bouncy blowout, or finish with a soft, sleek look. Below we’re cluing you in to which products to use for each!

Effortless Air-Dry

Depending on your hair type and texture, KILLER.TWIRLS can be the ideal match whenever air-drying your hair. In addition to nourishing your strands, this air-dry crème protects against humidity to reveal a refined finish. Once dry, you can add a touch of YOUNG.AGAIN treatment oil for shine, or DOO.OVER finishing spray for an airy finish with just the right amount of hold.

Bouncy Blow-Dry

All heat styles should be prepped with HEATED.DEFENSE to treat and protect up to 232˚C / 450˚F. From here, spritz EVER.BOUNCE throughout your mid to lengths and blow dry section by section with a round brush, focusing on adding curl and volume. If you need extra holding power for volume, apply BODY.BUILDER at the base before styling. For hold and volume, finish with a touch of DOO.OVER — which will also help extend the life of your style.

Soft & Sleek

The great thing about feathered layers is the ability to bring out their flickiness, and also to make them invisible when you want to. When creating a soft and sleek look, after prepping with HEATED.DEFENSE, follow with EVER.SMOOTH and blow dry straight. If needed, touch up your lengths with a flat iron for optimum smoothness and then finish with a dusting of SESSION.SPRAY to lock in your style and lock out humidity.

FAQ

The Feather Cut is a modern take on the soft, wispy layers made famous in the 70s by stars like Farrah Fawcett. Its appeal lies in its versatility, as it can be applied to various hair lengths and textures. It creates natural movement, enhances volume, and allows for both sleek and voluminous finishes.

To achieve a bouncy blowout, start by applying HEATED.DEFENSE for heat protection. Then, spritz EVER.BOUNCE throughout the hair and use a round brush to blow-dry, focusing on adding curl and volume. For extra hold, apply BODY.BUILDER at the roots and finish with DOO.OVER for long-lasting volume.

For a sleek finish, start with HEATED.DEFENSE and follow with EVER.SMOOTH to blow-dry the hair straight. If needed, touch up with a flat iron. Lock in the style with SESSION.SPRAY, which also helps protect against humidity.