Third Time’s the Charm—An A-Line Bob Correction

A-Line Bob Gone Wrong: Graduated Bob Mistakes To Avoid

Despite the graduated bob being a staple among clients, its among one of the hardest cuts to master. It takes a certain level of expertise, precision and patience to truly pull off this look behind the chair.

When Susan Taylor-Bruce of Glitz & Glam Hair Salon in Shreveport, LA, was getting ready to wrap up shop for the night, she received a phone call. “Is there someone there that can fix my haircut?” asked the woman at the end of the line. Susan told the woman, who was a new client, to come in for a quick consultation and that they’d get her an appointment first thing tomorrow. As Susan was finishing her second-to-last client, she heard the door open. She looked up and her jaw dropped. “I knew there was no way I could let her walk out of here like that,” Susan shared.

Here is the story of a basic A-line bob that went through not one, but two cut corrections in order to find the perfect shape.

1. The First Cut:

This client’s longtime stylist had highlighted her hair and then proceeded to begin the A-line bob by cutting it wet. “The main thing I thought they did wrong was that they cut and finished it wet,” says Susan. This client has a little bit of curl to her hair, so cutting the entire look while wet was not the best option. “I would always start the cut wet and finish dry” explains Susan. “Also, this client has very thick hair and it might have been overwhelming and confusing for the stylist.”

The stylist cut the bob and then finished it off by round brushing and flat ironing only the top sections. When the client went home, she analyzed the cut beneath its top layers. She immediately called the salon back to see if her stylist could fix it. Another stylist insisted she would do the correction for her, so the client went in for her first bob correction. 

2. The First “Correction”:

The client came back to the salon and the new stylist sat them in her chair to fix the bob. However, she cut her hair wet like the first stylist had done! What happened next still baffles Susan: “The stylist said she fixed it and then she let the client leave with her hair wet. The fact that she let her leave with it wet is just crazy to me,” says Susan. When the client got home, she dried and flat ironed her hair only to notice more unevenness in her bob. That’s when she called Susan to the rescue. 

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3. The True Correction: A Client Leaves Happy!

As the client walked in for her second correction, Susan was finishing up a color and had another appointment scheduled after. When her next appointment noticed the bob, however, she gladly let Susan take this client over her. “Normally, a woman’s haircut takes me 45 minutes to an hour. This cut took me an hour and a half to fix,” explains Susan.

When Susan tackled this cut, she started the same way the other stylists did—by cutting it wet. However, noticing the thickness and curl, Susan made sure to dry the hair, flat iron it and then texturize it afterwards with her shears. “You have to go back and detail it when it’s strong and dry. I point-cut to establish the shape and then made sure to refine the shape,” says Susan.

“There are a lot of little things you can’t see at first and have to check after you cut. I made sure to take considerably smaller sections due to her hair thickness,” she added.

After three days of being in different chairs, this client loved the final correction—and Susan gained a new client out of this experience. However, Susan wants stylists to know the benefits of having a thorough consultation, understanding your clients’ hair and knowing your strengths and weaknesses as a hairdresser!