The 2.25 Inch Rule for Short Hair

Q: I was wondering if the 2.25 inch rule was relevant for wanting short hair. I measured, and I'm at 2.75 inches. Does this mean that I shouldn't get short hair? I really want short hair, but I also don't want to look awful.

A: First of all for those that don’t know; the 2.25 rule (5.5 cm rule) is a simple formula invented by John Frieda, to assist people in determining whether they’d look good with short hair or not.

Basically, you take a pencil and put it horizontally beneath your chin. Then take a ruler, and place it vertically under your ear, so that the ruler and pencil “T-bone” each other. If the measurement of where the pencil meets the ruler is less than 2.25 inches, your face will look good with short hair. If it is more than 2.25, you look best with longer hair.

According to John Frieda, this is all based on angles, and after studying hundreds of photos of celebrities, he realized that this hard and fast rule made things a lot easier for those who wanted to cut their hair, but weren’t sure if it would look good. Now this is all good and well if it works for you, but it doesn’t mean that you should kiss your short hair dream goodbye based on only this.

The problem with these kinds of “same-size” formulas is that it doesn’t take nearly enough differentials into account such as the client’s height, weight or build, facial characteristics, face shape, bone structure, appearance of cheekbones, facial silhouette, etc.

Cute short pixie haircut for women — Photo: Litvinov/Shutterstock

If you want to cut your hair short, go for it! Consult your stylist or an image consultant if you want a professional opinion, but don’t be fooled or pigeonholed by over-simplified formulas or overzealous hairdressers with set-in-stone opinions.

It’s quite possible that the formula could state that you won’t look good with short hair, and then at the end of the day, you could look absolutely stunning with shorter hair. Break free and make your own rules. In the end it is so worth it.

©Hairfinder.com

See also:

Sacred geometry haircut

Golden spiral haircutting

Feng Shui haircut