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The poster girl for that layered nineties hairstyle, Jennifer Aniston has recently been reviving the iconic 'Rachel' cut, this time showcasing a freshly highlighted edition of her cult classic look during the Murder Mystery 2 premiere in Paris last night.
Fun Fact: Jennifer Aniston's hair is styled by her longtime hairstylist, Chris McMillan. He styled her hair when she was on Friends and is the one responsible for “The Rachel” haircut. Jennifer Aniston's signature waves and layers look has been modified over the years by McMillan.
Designed by Aniston's hairstylist Chris McMillan to repair her damaged hair and grow out her bangs, "The Rachel" is a voluminous shoulder-length haircut, with several distinct layers that frame and turn outwards from its wearer's face. It has been described as a variation on both the shag and bob haircuts.
Not only did she actually hate “the Rachel” haircut that launched a million copycats (she called it “a pain in the butt” to maintain, because of her naturally thick, wavy texture—relatable!) she actually prefers her hair straight.
Light Layers
If you have thin hair, "The Rachel" would probably not be for you. But Jennifer Aniston's lighter, face-framing layers from more recent years will add just the right amount of texture and movement.
She didn't cut it for a man or to feel younger. No, the real reason Jennifer Aniston cut her hair was a practical one. She told InStyle: “The real reason I cut my hair? My real hair was getting thinned out again from all the extensions.
'princess cut') is a hairstyle consisting of straight, usually cheek-length sidelocks and frontal fringe. The rest of the hair is usually worn long and straightened.
The butterfly cut features shorter face-framing layers that cascade like wings with longer layers through the length of your hair. Since the goal is to remove weight, not length, ask your stylist for face-framing layers with wispy ends that begin at the chin and longer layers throughout the rest of your hair.
Wolf cut hairstyles are a mix of two popular current haircut trends, aka the shag haircut and the mullet. Both these trending hairstyles feature a mix of layers and bangs. While the mullet is a short haircut, the shag haircut can be short, long, or mid length. When put together, it results in unique wolf haircut looks.
What Is The Rachel Haircut? Jennifer Aniston debuted the first iteration of the Rachel haircut towards the end of the first season of Friends. Her shoulder-length, wavy hair was cut shorter, and shaped with countless layers - some jaw-grazing, others mid-length.
While the original Rachel cut was much shorter (shoulder-length) and styled with maximum volume and hairspray, the modern version is slightly longer, softer, and has more movement, says hairstylist Luke Williams. However, it still adopts the face-framing flick from its predecessor.
Aniston's signature beachy golden blonde may look effortless, but there's a lot of meticulous work that has gone into achieving and maintaining it. For nearly 30 years, colourist Michael Canalé has been tending to her tresses, weaving eye-brightening highlights into honey-brown waves for that California girl feel.
“Blow-drying is key,” says Seeley, “as you get the volume and smoothness whilst looking real and not flat or over-straightened. I love how Jen leaves her ends to flick and to do what they want, of course with some control - but it all adds to the effortless look.” As is the case with most hairstyles, prepping is key.
You don't need to be a dedicated Friends fan to know what “The Rachel” haircut is. Made famous by Jennifer Anniston's character, in the 90s it became a top requested cut. It has shaped haircut trends ever since.
In a photo shared to Instagram on February 8, Aniston seems to be rocking a brand-new pair of bangs. We've seen her with bangs before—though not in several years—but this wispy, retro-inspired version feels very apt for 2022.
Referred by many as a modern take on the popular 90s Rachel hairstyle, the octopus haircut incorporates curtain bangs that typically go right below your ears (although they can be shorter, depending on what is most flattering on you) and the final result is a long shag haircut with a flawless grungy touch.
According to O'Connor, “the butterfly haircut is the marriage of a short, layered cut with a long layered cut.” It gets its whimsical name from the shorter, wavy layers that frame the face, which resemble butterfly wings in shape.
The main difference are that the wolf cut uses short layering to frame the face, where as the butterfly uses short layers at the back to create volume.
The jellyfish haircut is made of two very distinct, separated layers: one resembles a classic bob (you can customise it however you want making it blunt, choppy, or – if your volume allows it – even slightly layered) with the lower sections of your hair left to hang long and flowy underneath.
Pixie Cut. Hepburn led the way with the pixie cut in the 50s and this was the style she was sporting in the 1956 movie War and Peace.
Aniston expressed similar sentiments when speaking with Marie Clare in 2013, telling the outlet then that "'The Rachel' was ... horrible and ... high maintenance." Aniston further explained the look "took three brushes" and was "like doing surgery," adding, "I'd curse Chris every time I had to blow-dry."
Kimberly Gueldner shares that as women age, their hair starts to thin out due to hormonal changes. "Cutting the hair short can make it appear fuller while helping to hide signs of hair loss," she says. Plus, textural changes, like frizz, brittleness, dryness, and wiriness, are better camouflaged with a short hairstyle.
Also known as the 'bixie' haircut—the lovechild of a bob and a pixie cut—we can't get enough of this '90s nostalgia and it's definitely making every millennial with a Friends addiction jump with joy.