Concave layering puts a chic spin on ’90s big hair – here’s why it’s trending

The ’90s was known for thick voluminous manes that were created by the magic of a hairbrush, some teasing, and—you guessed it, layers.

Once again, TikTok has shaken the beauty and haircare world with the revival of the concave layering trend, and we’re here for it. Hairstylists from all over the world took to the app to showcase their rendition of the style on their own clients. The results: phenomenal.

@domdomhair

•concave layers• I’m remember back when I first started educating I had no idea what kind of layers I was cutting I just knew from cutting and trying different techniques what worked and what didn’t. Lots of trial and error. There wasn’t much education like there is now. People in classes would ask what degree I was cutting, I would say it was a diagonal layer hahaha and someone said that’s a concave layer, and I was like yeah that’s what it is haha. I wasn’t educated from school or taking classes with cutting I learned from watching and doing. I assisted for a lil over 4 years. I saw whoever I watched whoever I was working what they were doing and I would go find someone to cut there hair and try what they did. I cut hair all the time so I could learn. I hated using doll heads. Not saying it’s a bad thing to learn on I just wanted real people. Practicing and fucking up peoples hair was how I learned and grew with doing hair. I learned so much from mistakes. I learned what to do and what not todo. I always push my assistants just cut hair and don’t worry! I’ve been in the industry for 14 years and I still make mistakes. And I remain teach able always I love to learn with doing hair. I don’t know where this rant came from but I forgot this was a tutorial 🤣 LOVE Y’all DomDom

♬ Come As You Are – Nirvana

What is “concave layering”?

As its name suggests, the idea of concave layering creates a hair look that swoops in towards the face in a concave manner, to shape and hug the face.

This is achieved by lifting the hair vertically upwards and tapering it off at an angle.

Convex-layered hair remains long at the top and short at the bottom to hit a homogenous length at the end that falls straight down or curls outwards.

Conversely, concave-layered hair layers hair from shortest at the top to longest at the bottom to create an illusion of rich volume and thickness, even if you have really fine hair.

Some examples of concave layering include the famous C-shape haircut and oval-layer haircut.

Benefits of concave layering

But this style isn’t just about looking chic. It surprisingly comes with lots of benefits for the health of your scalp as well, starting with the removal of excess weight, while maintaining length.

When your hair gets too thick, it can begin to tug at your scalp, which, in the long run, can lead to issues like bald spots and damaged nerves on your scalp, causing you headaches.

Concave layering also saves you effort on maintenance and care, as it runs a much lesser risk of getting tangled and will take a significantly lesser time drying.

Finally, with shorter pieces close to the scalp, it pushes the neighbouring longer strands up and out, creating volume and very dynamic movement.

@kayla.hardcore

Before and after on this gorgeous layered cut + blowout 🫶 we cut 2 inches off the length added face framing and did concave layers for that voluminous 90s model hair vibe 💞 #beforeandafter #haircut #transformation #layers #concavelayers #voluminoushair #bayareahair #sanjosehairstylist

♬ Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) – ABBA

How to wear concave-layered hair?

The classic concave-layered hair features a parted fringe that blends into the longer sections beneath it, and is curled every-so-slightly inwards, towards the direction of the face, to enhance volume and shape the face.

For a younger and flirtier vibe, swap out that parted fringe with some airy bangs that can create the appearance of a much smaller face.

Wavy hair, not your thing? This cut is great for rebonded hair too, as it eliminates the problem of a very flat appearance. The subtle volume from the layers creates a sleek and edgy look.

For an ultra-subtle and modern look, try retaining a longer fringe that tapers out very naturally and subtly.

Who said concave-layered hair works only on long hair? Channel your inner Lisa Rinna and give your plain-old bob cut some spright with concave layers.

Last but not least, permed or curly hair gals—y’all are not forgotten. You’d be pleased to learn that this cut works even on curly hair. Giving such hair a layered cut can give individual curls more definition.

Related read: The 8 hottest hair trends that will be thriving in 2023, according to stylists