4 Pro Tips For Growing Out A Bob

Haircuts are temporary. This is a good thing to remember, especially when you’ve just left the salon in tears. The other side to this, however, is that haircuts have a finite timeline — so your perfect-looking hairdo won’t look like that forever. Even the best cuts can eventually grow into an awkward in-between phase. So if you started out the summer with a chop, you might be looking for tips on how to grow out a bob with as few styling dilemmas as possible.

Although the short look is a timeless hairstyle, summer seems to always be the beginning of bob season. A big chop is a perfect sendoff to the last few months of hibernation. There is, of course, also the appeal of the bob’s length: The shorter your hair is in the summer, the less sweaty strands you have clinging to the back of your neck.

As the seasons turn, however, there’s often a yearning to embrace length — long hair can double as a sort of neck warmer, after all. So if you want to grow out your bob, keep reading for four stylist-approved tips on surviving the transitional period.

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1. Try Hair Dusting

As you transition to longer hair, mini-trims are your friend, says Jamielynn De Leon, a hairstylist and founder of Rogue House salon. “Taking out weight from your hair will aid in movement as it grows out,” she tells Bustle. For the job, she recommends hair dusting — a process that removes dead ends from your strands without sacrificing length. Aside from keeping things light and fluid, De Leon says dusting will also encourage healthier growth since it keeps split ends from causing breakage.

2. Embrace Hair Accessories

During the grow-out phase, you will come to rely on low ponytails, top knots, and buns, which are all optimal for that in-between length. De Leon says you should also stock up on hair accessories. “Hairpins, especially colorful bobby pins, can hold back those pieces of hair that fall down or the strands that don’t make it into your hairband,” she tells Bustle. Feel free to experiment, too — whether you’re using butterfly clips, a silk scrunchie, or oversized hair clips, accessories can elevate a simple updo.

3. Keep Your Strands Healthy

Keeping your strands nourished is an important step in the bob grow-out saga, according to both De Leon and celebrity hairstylist and extension expert Priscilla Valles. “The key to growing hair out is to keep it healthy so it doesn’t break faster than it grows,” Valles says. To help with this, she recommends air drying hair and using leave-in conditioners along with weekly treatments. De Leon notes that hair masks and bonding treatments (think K18) can be instrumental in expediting healthy growth. You can also take regular hair supplements, says Valles, which contain nutrients like biotin and iron to nourish your strands.

4. Consider Extensions

If you don’t want to wait another day for your hair to grow out, extensions are a sure bet. Valles says that both professional or clip-in extensions will work for this, and you can pick from a wide range of lengths, textures, and colors. So if you’ve always wanted Rapunzel-level lengths — perhaps in a cotton candy pink shade — this is an easy way to experiment.