My career as a hair model didn’t exactly start off gently: my hair jumped from my waist to my eyebrows, but what a first haircut it was: a five point bob.  Made famous by Vidal Sassoon himself way back in 1957, this geometric variation on the classic bob works around the angles of the head to create a cute pixie style which is ridiculously low-maintenance.  The interesting thing about the 5 point cut is that, while Sassoon passed down all of his styles and techniques in great detail, with sectioning and cutting charts, the 5 point cut remains the only cut whose exact technique of execution is unknown.  It is still possible for other stylists to recreate the cut, but Sassoon has never divulged his exact pattern for it.

Emma’s version the bob consist of two points at the sides of the fringe, just in front of the ears, and 3 points along the hairline at the nape of the neck.

Emma graduated the back of my hair keeping all the length in the front.  To prevent the fringe from becoming too heavy she cut choppy layers into the front triangle section, working from the crown while keeping enough weight to produce a strong line.

To complement the cut, and considering my skin tone and natural hair colour, Emma used a dark red tint all over my hair.  She then took a thin panel of hair at the front, which she coloured using a combination of red and pink tones to create a stronger red.  This flashed through the darker red layers to create a subtle effect.

This cut perfectly demonstrates just how ahead of his time Sassoon really was.  He strived to cut shapes that stay in the hair, making it quick and simple to recreate every day.  Today, Creative Director Mark Hayes and every member of the company still uphold Sassoon’s philosophy of hair design over hair styling.  The basic principles of the Sassoon style of cutting are lines, graduation and layering and these are integral to any Sassoon cut.