Jennifer Aniston stole our hearts on and off screen, staring as Rachel Green in the hit sitcom, Friends. Rachel quickly became a fashion icon in the 90s style, but it wasn’t just her style that garnered attention. ‘The Rachel’ haircut is perhaps one of the most famous haircuts in pop-culture history, renowned for it’s flicky, feathered, voluminous shape. Here JOICO Senior Creative Colour Artist, Paul Watts talks us through the current revival of ‘The Rachel’.
Rachel revived
Recently, Aniston revived ‘The Rachel’ at the 2024 Golden Globes, with the demand of the hairstyle going up by 300% across all platforms. Aniston debuted a more beach inspired version of the look and it’s hard not to love it – you get the shaggy volume without having to cut all the hair off.
The haircut, which is very similar to the kitty cut, was notoriously difficult to cut due to its flicky layers, but don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. The look is made up of long bangs which frame the face, subtle long layers throughout and a side parting. To achieve that lighter look, the layers are soft on the edges, heavier around the face to frame it, with the lengths of the hair floating just above the collarbone.
How to recreate
To recreate, section the hair into two ponytails to achieve the different lengths of layers, with one section to the front of the head and the other sectioned at the crown.
With the first section, we want to swoop the hair over the ears and up, almost framing the face like a turban. We need to maintain density in the layers, being careful not to take too much off. You should work the hair at 90 degrees from the head, working in a nice straight line along the ends then cutting a deep point to even the bluntness.
With the second section, you want to pull this to the front of the head when cutting, so when it falls, it maintains the length required to create a stronger silhouette. Be sure not to cut too much off!
With the result, the bangs should fall on the jawline to create definition, with the longer layers throughout adding volume, resulting in a beachy, modern day ‘Rachel’ look. Be sure to blow-dry the hair away from the face, with focus on the ends, to achieve that effortless style.
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