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Original poster

Help - I have the Rachel!

28 replies

Corbes · 19/08/2022 09:54

Hi all,
I just got my hair cut today and I’m not too keen on it. I asked my hairdresser for something like the photo on the left below, but it looks more like Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel cut from the 90s.

I’ve been going to my hairdresser for years and normally I’m very happy with her work as before this I’ve had longer, unlayered hair which I usually just had trimmed and straightened. I thought I’d go for a bit of a change and to be fair I think it has been cut the way I asked - shorter with layers - but has been styled in a volume-y, bouffant way with the ends flicked out. I wanted something that was flatter and a bit more textured. I showed my hairdresser the first photo but maybe I should have been more specific about what I didn’t want (I have a round face and definitely can’t carry off bouffant hair!)

Hoping when I wash and dry it myself it’ll take the volume out of it, but does anyone have any tips as to how I can style it/products to use so that it’ll resemble the pic on the left a bit more?

Help - I have the Rachel!
Help - I have the Rachel!
OP posts:
vroom321 · 19/08/2022 10:08

Is your hair naturally wavy / curly? Is it thin? If not it won't ever look like the first pic.

SheWoreYellow · 19/08/2022 10:10

The pic you wanted has the parting further to the side - if you do that does it help at all?

Minoloso · 19/08/2022 10:12

Unless we see a pic of your hair it’s impossible to judge!

Original poster
Corbes · 19/08/2022 10:26

vroom321 · 19/08/2022 10:08

Is your hair naturally wavy / curly? Is it thin? If not it won't ever look like the first pic.

It’s naturally wavy and quite thick. I appreciate it won’t look exactly like the first pic as she has a different hair type, but hoping to create something close to it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Corbes · 19/08/2022 10:29

SheWoreYellow · 19/08/2022 10:10

The pic you wanted has the parting further to the side - if you do that does it help at all?

At the minute parting it further over just makes it huge on one side as it’s been blow dried, but hopefully if it I wash it and dry my from a side parting like that it’ll be a bit closer to what I had in mind.
Wondering how to get the textured effect though.

OP posts:
Aeio · 19/08/2022 10:31

The cuts are fairly similar aren't they, just the parting is much further over and hair type and thickness is different.

Give it a wash and style it yourself see how you feel.

ChilliPB · 19/08/2022 10:37

Ha I had this too! My hairdresser weirdly cut some really short layers at ear length into my long bob. Hate it! I’d recently moved so she was a new hairdresser to me and had loads of good reviews but going somewhere else next. In the meantime it works for me to keep it smooth and sleek as the layers are less obvious then. I don’t know about getting it like the first picture but maybe some loose messy waves and then texture spray for a beachy look?

NeedAHoliday2021 · 19/08/2022 10:37

The 90s are currently back so you’re very on trend… does that help? My 14 year old would be impressed.

Original poster
Corbes · 19/08/2022 10:45

ChilliPB · 19/08/2022 10:37

Ha I had this too! My hairdresser weirdly cut some really short layers at ear length into my long bob. Hate it! I’d recently moved so she was a new hairdresser to me and had loads of good reviews but going somewhere else next. In the meantime it works for me to keep it smooth and sleek as the layers are less obvious then. I don’t know about getting it like the first picture but maybe some loose messy waves and then texture spray for a beachy look?

Yes I was wondering if salt spray might get the effect I was looking for - I’ve never used it before but always loved the way my hair went after I’d been at the beach!
I don’t mean to slag off my hairdresser or anything like that as she hasn’t done a bad job, as a PP mentioned the cuts are very similar, just the styling is different. If she had said to me that she couldn’t get my hair looking like the first pic as it was too thick I’d have been fine with it, but I didn’t know that so perhaps my expectations were unrealistic. Bit because I know her so well it made it harder to say “actually, I’m not keen on this, could you do XYZ instead” than if she was a stranger IYSWIM!

OP posts:
Original poster
Corbes · 19/08/2022 10:48

NeedAHoliday2021 · 19/08/2022 10:37

The 90s are currently back so you’re very on trend… does that help? My 14 year old would be impressed.

😅 true! But as I was there the first time round for 90s style I don’t think I can carry it off the way teens can.

OP posts:
xogossipgirlxo · 19/08/2022 10:52

Wash it and dry, I bet it will come down on volume. Maybe some spray to give it some texture, but no volume? Like Bumble&Bumble?

NighghtmareNeighbour · 19/08/2022 10:55

Some sort of silky wax maybe. I’ve got thick hair op, and there’s no way I’d ever achieve your desired look with my hair. It would always be more of a Rachel. Choppier layers can help give it a bit more texture and less of a “helmet” hair appearance.

Kione · 19/08/2022 10:57

My hair always looks way better a week or 3 washes after getting out of the hairdresser. So maybe wait and see :)

dontgobaconmyheart · 19/08/2022 10:59

I wonder if it will look better as your hair gets 'dirtier' so to speak and is less fresh.

Is that hailey bieber in the first picture? Either way it just seems like the same cut but she has fine bleached hair that has an awful lot of product in it, and Jennifer Aniston has thick smoothed hair and a bouncy blow dry.

I'd get some texturising spray or mousse and have a play with it after it's been washed or in a couple of days if you don't wash regularly but it's hard to say really without seeing the real cut and texture of your hair.

notacooldad · 19/08/2022 11:00

But as I was there the first time round for 90s style I don’t think I can carry it off the way teens can
I disagree. Ok I'm not saying your wrong. However dont dismiss it outright. I've seen loads of women in their 50's returning to the Rachel and look great. I'm thinking about it for myself as well.

AlpacaBag · 19/08/2022 11:04

A bit of wax through the ends I would say - it'll be fine, go and get it washed! x

howmanyseas · 19/08/2022 11:04

I've got quite thick hair which is slightly wavy. I find that if I put a small amount of Pantene argan oil and a similarly small.amount of another Pantene curl affair, then scrunch and leave to air dry, it looks nice and beachy.

I too have got home with a Rachel and thought it looked better after a wash and my own way of drying it!

Badger1970 · 19/08/2022 11:09

I had mine cut 3 weeks ago into what I hoped was a choppy bob, and like a PP said, it's only just starting to sit in the way it should. I've looked like Lord Farquaad until now...... and spent a fortune on salt spray, textured hairspray, wax........ none of which helped but made my hair feel horrible.

I'd let it settle.

fuckblippi · 19/08/2022 11:42

You want Kevin Murphy Doo Over

Kione · 19/08/2022 11:52

Lord Farquaard Grin

TiaraBoo · 19/08/2022 11:59

@Corbes Wash and dry your hair and then come to the thread, pretty sure the bouffantness will go so we can make better suggestions on hair products.

redlou123 · 19/08/2022 12:02

The way my hair sits, it always ends up looking like the Rachel (particularly the flicky out bits at the bottom) if I have a cut that is similar, no matter how I try to style it. It was great in the 90s when that was the look I was after but not so great since! I would just say have a play around with it yourself and see if you can make it do what you want it to do, but some hair types are just not meant for some cuts. I've accepted now that if I get a cut with layers just above my shoulders, I'm getting the flicky out bits whether I want them or not! 😂

Leafy3 · 19/08/2022 12:03

I can understand why she's cut your hair into the Rachel tbh. The picture you gave shows styling and not the cut. It's a blunter cut without the Rachel layers but needs close examination to spot this.

I would wash your hair, let it dry partially naturally with a touch of anti humidity gel. Gentle scrunching should be all you need. Texturing moose if you need a bit more.

Take a slight side parting and then take a little more of the front over to the side.

You'll need to let layers grow out a bit, in the meantime search other pics with a rocky/grungy look to identify the cut you're after rather than the styling and next time you go have a chat about what you don't want as much as what you want - this'll help your hairdresser understand.

BooseysMom · 19/08/2022 12:16

redlou123 · Today 12:02

The way my hair sits, it always ends up looking like the Rachel (particularly the flicky out bits at the bottom) if I have a cut that is similar, no matter how I try to style it. It was great in the 90s when that was the look I was after but not so great since! I would just say have a play around with it yourself and see if you can make it do what you want it to do, but some hair types are just not meant for some cuts. I've accepted now that if I get a cut with layers just above my shoulders, I'm getting the flicky out bits whether I want them or not! 😂

This is exactly my problem! I will never ever be rid of the flicky out bits! I went and had a bob cut by mistake and the flicky out bits were even worse so I grew it all out and now I try to tackle them by straightening them as much as I can using leave-in anti heat treatment.

Suzy14837 · 19/08/2022 12:20

I always get a wash and cut with just a rough dry as I hate feeling too "hairdressed" and bouffanted! I would rather style it myself. I'm sure it will feel better when you wash it.