The Anti-Mom Bob: How To Style It 3 Ways

When I was a little, I had long hair for a lonnnnnng time…I had nightmares of someone accidentally cutting it. As I grew older I got board and adventurous so I started to cut it shorter. Now in my 30’s I’ve had several types of hair styles but I keep going back to this one. I’ve been so happy with my hair cut lately that I might just keep it short forever. I’m slightly embarrassed to admit my biggest fear in cutting my hair above my shoulders was that I would look like a “mom.” As Amy Poehler says in “Mean Girls”… “I’m not a real mom, I’m a cool mom”. Yes, I want to be a good mom that has rules and boundaries (not raising any brats here) while looking cool ha ha!

I gathered my girls together Misty and Paloma of Paloma Lisa Photography to show just what this hair style can do. Here are 3 ways to style a bob with a detailed tutorial by Misty from Blended Beautifully.

Beach Waves

• Prep: Dirty hair goes a long way, dry shampoo can help maintain your look.
  However if your hair is full of product, sweat and or tears…please wash the night before and start fresh. For all you naturally curly haired beauties this look was made on straight fine textured hair… but don’t be sad, we have the curls without the work so pat yourself on the back and be thankful for being blessed.
• Apply a heat safe setting spray throughout hair (Bumble and Bumble Styling Lotion works great).
  If you have a little natural wave already in place you could apply a product like Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Spray scrunch and forgo the hot iron step..lucky you.
  After applying Bumble and Bumble’s Styling Lotion throughout the hair I went ahead and gave it a quick blow dry using my hands only to give it some fluff.
• Starting from bottom I grabbed about a 1/2-1″ section of hair and using my NUME 25″ hair wand I began to give it some waves shape. I started from bottom, working along sides, curling hair sections in same direction towards me (away from her face). Lastly working on the top section of the hair. I used a flexible hold hairspray like Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS #1 Elastic Finish just to give a light control to each curl that was set. After my curls were set I went ahead and put both hands into hair and messed it all up…we were looking for beachy..not perfection. After being tossled the curls honestly laid beautifully all on their own and with a little finger placement WAAALAAH…perfection
  *If your hair seems a lil dull and you’d like to add a pop of shine try using a product like Eufora’s Illuminate Shine Mist (it smells like orange 50/50 bars)… just a light mist will gloss up your tresses.

Sleek and Chic

• We started with the hair having a base of Bumble and Bumble’s Styling Lotion as well as Schwarzkopf Professional OSIS #1 Elastic light hold hairspray (dirty hair helps too)
• Starting from bottom again working around to the sides and lastly the top of head, taking 1/2″ sections I used my flat iron to pull out the beach waves previously set, beveling the iron under (towards the head) as I reached the bottom ends of each section to help give a more rounded unified perimeter. There are A LOT of layers in Chrissy’s cut, which of course is a plus for the more tossed looks; but these layers have to be addressed to give a seamless look for a chíc bob.
• We used Chrissy’s natural part as I came to her face framing sections. After I was finished I used again the light hold hairspray from Schwarzkopf Professional Elastic #1 to help give the look some hold and calm down fly always without overbearing the look. Side note: hair is to be an accessory. A compliment to you. You wear the hair. The hair shouldn’t be wearing you.
• Lastly I added a nice shine to the look with a finisher like Eufora’s Illuminate Shine Mist and she was ready to go.

Old Hollywood Glam
This one will seem the trickiest… Chrissy’s hair had now been styled previously 2 completely different ways. Because we had used incredible products that could be built upon and didn’t weigh down her hair, there was no need to wash and start all over. This is a HIGH FIVE to efficiency and when our arms are full of work and babies… this is a must.

• Start this look by deciding on your part for your face to be framed. Using your natural part tends to be easier but sometimes going against the grain adds a lil extra body on top as well as a whole new perspective when it comes to framing your face.
• I then sectioned Chrissy’s hair from the sides and top from the bottom.
  For Chrissy, her part started from her left side parted over to her right. The hair was already prepped with Bumble and Bumble’s Styling Lotion as well as Schwarzkopf Professional’s light hold #1 Elastic hairspray.
• I started with my NUME 25″ hair wand (this size was preferable due to her length of hair). Also. These get H O T. Please be careful. I have been in this industry for over 16 years and I keep adding scars from my wands.
• Grabbing 1″ hair sections starting from the left front side of hair, I wrapped the hair on wand away from the face. I continued this pattern working in the same direction to the back section. As I started from back section towards the right side towards front the hair was being wrapped in the same for direction resulting in moving towards her face and not away. Once finished I did the same pattern from left to right with the top section of hair.
• I finished with a smoothing bore bristle brush, like Denman’s Boar Bristle Grooming Brush, to lightly brush out the curls.
• I formed the style I wanted and tucked under the back layers while setting it with styling hair pins and Schwarzkopf Professional’s OSIS strong hold #2 Freeze hairspray. I formed the wave around her face and used the lighter hold hair spray from OSIS #1 Elastic to create a soft look.

Lastly, I added some shine to this glamorous look with Eufora’s Illuminate Shine Mist and with a little red lip. 

*All images by Paloma Lisa Photography. To learn more about hair stylist and makeup artist, Misty Limburg, click here.