THE BEST HAIR IN AMERICA
We surveyed the top 100 salons across the country to bring you ELLE’s annual report of the most requested cuts and colors. Here, how to make the winning looks you own.
By Ali Finney
America The Beautiful
We assembled a list of ELLE-approved salons in every state. Find yours here!
THE MID-WAVE
WINNER: Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
RUNNERS-UP: Alexa Chung, Zoë Kravitz, Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Mara
Queen B’s Beyhive made her asymmetrical bob our number-one most-requested cut this year. Her hairstylist, Kim Kimble, gets an A-plus in advanced geometry for the precise angles: A wedge in the back gives hair a “little bit of volume,” while the 45-degree angle to the front helps elongate the face. For extra credit, Kimble parts hair close to the middle, aiming just above the inner eyebrow. San Diego salon owner Jet Rhys calls the look “the little black dress of haircuts,” but says that the way it’s styled is key. “The West Coast likes to keep things casual and a bit free,” she says, “but we also want to be polished.”
PRO PICKS:
BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Sumo Wax helps “separate ends without weighing them down,” Rhys says; GÖT2B Oil-licous shampoo prevents bobs from going flat; SUAVE Natural Infusion Seaweed All Day Body Leave-In Foam builds texture for an undone look; use a HARRY JOSH blow-dryer but skip the brush, “scrunching hair until it’s about 90 percent dry,” Rhys says.