MANILA, Philippines – These past few months, I had promised to grow my hair longer. But came this assignment—“Go see how to find the perfect bob.”

After investing in hair extensions—which saw the light of day only on a trip to the neighborhood supermarket—I bid goodbye to my Korean-looking extensions and mustered the courage to get a bob, that chin-length, straight, blunt cut throughout the back and sides.

Katie Holmes had a dramatic makeover in 2007 with the signature jaw-length bob with bangs, while Victoria Beckham massively popularized the asymmetric bob—short on the back but long on the front—that even those who didn’t know of her started sporting the exact hairstyle.

It has been a long debate on who actually started the classic bob. But American Hairdresser magazine, in an article on March 1, 2007, “The Way We Were,” credited dancer Irene Castle for the bob, which used to be called “Castle Bob” in 1915.

There was also the tale of an unpopular girl whose life changed after she got her new bob, as told in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair,” published in the Saturday Evening Post in May 1920.

Others credit the bob to Coco Chanel or the American dancer and actress Louise Brooks, with her ebony black, blunt bob with bangs.

Anna Wintour has been sporting the page-boy bob since she was 14.

Why is the ’do still popping up to this day?

Utilitarian

Some say they like the bob since it is very utilitarian: easy to sport, no fuzz. Most of my guy friends prefer women with short bobs. They say if she can wear her hair in a bob, that’s true beauty, as the facial features are more pronounced.

Although there is a hint of youthfulness, my guy friends agree that women with a bob seem more fierce and chic.

With the vision of Katie Holmes-slash-Katy Perry dancing in my head, I headed to Franck Provost at The Fort, coveting the perfect bob.

Hairstylist and salon manager Laurent Hebert warmly greeted me with a French accent. The salon’s perfect backdrop—contemporary, sleek, black-and-white interiors, high ceiling with glass-panel walls, and flat-screen monitors—was in tune with the chic vision of my future haircut.

I explained to Laurent I needed a bob cut. Befuddled, he disagreed and told me that a bob is used to highlight the person’s character and features: collarbone, neckline, especially jaw line. What was I thinking? I have no pronounced jaw line; my face is round!

Of course, I already knew he wouldn’t cut my hair just like I envisioned it to be, since I’ve just read that the bob was best for all face shapes—except for round. Laurent obviously knew his stuff.

He showed me the different types of bobs, pointing to huge portraits of models on the walls. “There are a variety of bobs,” he said. “Layered bobs, angled, with one side shorter than the other. Another variation is a softly rounded structure layered on the ends. One can also have an angled bob style with heavy fringe, or a bob with soft curls.”

Perfect stylist

I asked if there was such a thing as a perfect bob. “Can you find the perfect stylist?” He added: “The question is finding the perfect stylist. But no one is perfect!”

Laurent appreciates less perfect styles with character. “It is good to have fun. Messing it up a bit, layering, putting on volume here and there.” He explained he doesn’t look for perfection: “The imperfect is what makes it more beautiful and interesting.”

Through Laurent, I realized that cutting is an art form, no less a science, too. The bob cut, he explained, is a “zero-degree line, the starting point for any cut. It is the most basic of cuts.”

He made me put on a black robe to demonstrate the cut. He whipped me up from my chair and made me stand. He started to partition my hair from the center. He snipped the back section. It was the first time I actually stood while my hair was being chopped. He snipped half an inch more. He asked me to face him. Snip. He asked me to turn to the left. Snip. And to turn to the right, snip. Then he exclaimed, “Now, we can start!”

“Did you see what I was doing? I was creating a zero-degree line,” he said. It was sort of making my hair one length. Then he began by cutting my hair into sections. I started to panic (like I always do when I get my hair cut) when chunks of my hair dropped to the floor.

But Laurent cut my hair with care and with such precision that my worries began to fade.

He continued to layer at sharp angles, with utmost care, like an orchestra conductor orchestrating the fall of my strands in a symphony. Such care, even down to the last snip.

Then, it was done. He finished off with a fiber web gum.

In my search to find the perfect bob, I must have found the perfect stylist, who knew exactly the hairstyle that would suit me. He doesn’t follow trends but follows what is flattering to one’s face shape and personality.

I walked out of the salon with my head held up high. I flaunted my new ’do for the rest of the world to see.

Franck Provost Studio, Shop H Net Quad Bldg., 30th St. cor. 31st St., Crescent Park, West Taguig City. For appointments, call 401-6870 and 856-9569.