With Spring here and Summer around the corner,  contemplating “the big chop” is common. Short hair has been particularly popular amongst celebrities this season (with Michelle Williams, Elisha Cuthbert and Audrey Tautou amongst my personal favourites). Short hairstyles are certainly not for everyone, but the right cropped cut can take your face from “drowning in your layers and locks” to “all eyes, neck and cheekbones”. 

Whether short hair will suit you is beyond my expertise (I am not a hair stylist). But I sport a short style myself and have some thoughts to share about taking the plunge:

• Find a competent hair stylist. An excellent cut is crucial with short styles.
• Pay close attention to the colour of your hair. You’ll cut out a lot of your best hair colour (either dyed or naturally sun-kissed) when you chop it off. Short hair has to be the right colour in order for it to look it’s best because only then will different areas of the cut be emphasized, creating volume, interest and texture. 
• Dress your best on the day of the cut. This will give the stylist a better sense of the type of look that you’re after.
• Tweak your style and make-up if necessary. You might prefer to wear dresses, skirts, frills and darker lipstick after your haircut because you like the contrast of your boyish cut with a more flirty style. That bright green bag you thought you could never pull off suddenly works with your new sassy cut.

This is not an easy decision. If you are in the mood for an edgy cropped look, I’m torn between encouraging you to go short and advising you stay longer and more versatile. At worst, your hair will grow out. At best, you’ll have gone from drab to fab!

Michelle Williams, Elisha Cuthbert, Audrey Tautou and Selma Blair sport short cuts this season.