The 1990s Hit: The Rachel Hairstyle

Stars are people’s idols and fashion trend starters whether they want to be or not – if a popular actress sports a new hairstyle people will flock to it (despite the actress’s own personal feelings about the style). This is what occurred in the early 1990s when Jennifer Aniston, playing the beloved Rachel from the TV show Friends, had her hairstyle become the most popular new trend. Every woman in America wanted the new haircut called “the Rachel” because it was the character Rachel’s new-do on the show, but, despite the popularity of the haircut, there was one woman who was not a fan of it – Jennifer Aniston. She later got a new, “new-do” and let the Rachel retire, but the cut was still widely sought after by women of all ages, ethnicity, and face types.

The reason for why the hairstyle took of as such a massive hit was because it was the perfect look for the everyday woman. Even other actresses were seen wearing the Rachel after it became popular, and it is still surprisingly popular today. The Rachel is a square layered cut that bounces freely just above the shoulders, which the length of the hairstyle may be the reason it was so popular in the 90s because many women went short in those days. Today, the Rachel can be adapted to fit any length of hair, and because of the way the cut frames the face it is a style that is versatile and many women can pull it off. Jennifer Aniston’s stylist Christ McMillan created the cut, and she wore the style for the first two seasons while she played the role of Rachel Green in the TV series Friends.

The Rachel is very similar to a bob haircut, but it is square layered and razor cut (which can be similar to a shag hairstyle). The hair frames the face and the layers are cut so that they curve inward instead of flipping outward like many bob and shag hairstyles. This shoulder-length haircut has a light and bouncy feel to it, and it does not require much maintenance. To cut the Rachel, you have to have two or three (depending on the length of hair) tiers of layers razor cut, which is what gives the hairstyle that soft lift and light feel. The different tiers of layers can remind you of a pyramid where the top one has shorter layers, and the other two get longer. The thing that makes the Rachel distinct is the unevenness of her layers, and the razor cut edges and the only styling you need to do is a simple blow dry, straighten, and go.