Long Haircuts for Women: 30 Styles, From Long Layers to a Hime Cut

Layers cut through the lengths, so the hair moves and the ends look lighter, while the overall length stays where it was. Color Wow’s Joseph Maine likes heavy layering around the perimeter for a “cool effortless vibe.” Jennifer Aniston wears long layers. A round-brush blowout bends the ends; air-drying lets them fall straight.

Layers give each wave room to sit apart. The waves then look defined instead of bunched together. These two are worn with a center part and finished with a curling wand, but a scrunch of mousse and a diffuser give a softer version of the same thing.

Ghost layers are long layers hidden under the top section, so the outline still looks like one length. They take weight out of the middle and give the hair movement without any visible steps. Stylist William Whatley calls them invisible layers and uses them to take bulk out of the ends while the crown stays smooth and full. Sarah Jessica Parker wears them.

Curtain bangs part in the middle and fall to either side, framing the face before they blend into the layers. Celebrity hairstylist Andrew Fitzsimons says they suit every face shape, round and square ones especially. Sabrina Carpenter wears them. Plan for a trim every four to eight weeks and a minute of styling each morning.

Bardot bangs are long and tousled, parted lightly in the middle and swept to the sides. Stylist Emma McJury describes them as “a light center part with a side-swept finish to blend seamlessly into face-framing layers.” They’re named after Brigitte Bardot, whose bangs were “famously tousled and longer than traditional bangs,” says Sarah Potempa. Rough-dry them with your fingers and let them fall where they want.

A full fringe cut straight across, over long hair. “One length and cut straight across, blunt bangs can elevate any style,” says stylist Valery Joseph. Dakota Johnson wears them. They show every week of growth, so expect a fringe trim every few weeks between full cuts.

Wispy bangs are thinner than a full fringe, so you see some forehead through them. They’re a gentler way into bangs, and they move with the rest of the hair rather than sitting like a block. Here they’re worn over loose waves and over straight hair.

Side-swept bangs fall across the forehead from a side part. They’re the bangs most often suggested for a cowlick, and they grow into the layers without much fuss. As they grow, they turn into a face-framing layer. Dry them across the forehead in the direction you want them to fall.

From the back, a V-cut tapers to a point in the middle, with the sides cut shorter. Sarah Potempa says V-cut layers give “volume at the back while keeping the front elongated and sleek.” Gwyneth Paltrow has worn V-cut layers. The point takes hair out of the ends at the center back, so fine hair can look sparse there.

A U-cut curves along the hem instead of pointing, so it keeps more hair at the ends than a V-cut. From the back, the hair falls in a soft, rounded line. It’s an easier shape to keep tidy between cuts.

The hime cut has side panels cut to the cheekbone or jaw, a long straight back and, traditionally, a blunt fringe. Hime means “princess” in Japanese, and the cut goes back to noblewomen of Japan’s Heian period. Lady Gaga has worn it. The blunt edges need a trim every three to five weeks to stay sharp.

A wolf cut mixes a shag’s volume with a mullet’s shape: short and full at the crown, thinner and longer at the hem. The long version keeps more length. It reads as a shaggy cut with attitude rather than a mullet. A trim every six to eight weeks keeps the shape.

Stylist Jennifer Nast says “longer hair and layers two inches below the chin can help to elongate the face.” The shortest layer sits below the jawline, so nothing adds width at the cheeks. Loose waves through the lengths keep the eye moving down.

Layering is how a stylist takes weight out of thick hair. Long layers cut through the lengths stop it hanging like a heavy curtain and let it move. Thick hair can also wait longer between trims than fine hair.

Fine hair breaks more easily, so it needs a trim about every six weeks. The cut that helps it most is a blunt hem with very few layers. “Less is often more when it comes to fine hair,” says stylist Samantha Cusick. Whatley adds that thin long hair still needs some layering, so ask for a little around the face and nothing low in the ends.

Long curly hair cut at one length puffs out into a triangle at the bottom. “Long layers are key” to avoid that shape, says stylist Arsen Gurgov. Emmy Rossum wears long layered curls. Curl specialist Tiffany Anderson cuts curls dry so she can see each one, and she steers clear of razors and thinning shears on curly hair.

Curly bangs sit shorter once they dry and spring up, so they’re cut dry too. Over long curls, they frame the face and give the front some shape. A little curl cream, scrunched in and left to air-dry, keeps them defined.