We're all going to do the undercut, aren't we?

by Kahla Preston March 6, 2015

Image: Scarlett Johansson’s new look (Getty)

While we were all distracted by the haircut trend du jour, the long bob, another movement started gaining ground: shaving. And we’re not talking about your legs.

In case you hadn’t noticed, razors are running amok in the land of the rich and famous right now.

Scarlett Johansson ‘s currently rocking an undercut, as are Miley Cyrus and Janelle Monae. Ruby Rose has tracks shaved across her head, while Kylie Jenner and Cara Delevingne have both buzzed off s mall sections of their hair in recent months. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer has been rocking a side-shave for a while now, as has Alice Dellal. (post continues after gallery)

Celebrities who've been dabbling with a razor.

Ruby Rose

Kylie Jenner

Scarlett Johansson

Cara Delevingne

Natalie DormerImage via Getty

Mel B

Jada Pinkett Smith

Alice Dellal

Amber Rose

Rihanna

Janelle Monae

Charlize Theron in Mad Max

The buzz is also threatening to infiltrate our office. Our publisher Mia Freedman has been contemplating a bit of razor work, while Beauty Director Nicky Champ posted this on Instagram earlier this week:

Mia's cousin Sylvia Freedman is one woman who's bitten the buzzcut bullet. Syl used to have long "hippie" hair, but had spent about a year considering a dramatic change. Last year, she made a spur of the minute decision to get an undercut — with a little help from peer pressure, Miley Cyrus and tequila.

"I was thinking about it for a while and my mum and girlfriends were all telling me to chop if off like Miley but I didn’t have the balls ... I wound up doing it on my 23rd birthday," Syl says.

"My friends and I had been drinking all day and somehow me chopping my hair off came up in conversation. Next thing you know, we’re blasting Miley on the balcony while everyone’s taking it in turns to shave parts of my head! My Swedish friend Sophie is a hairdresser and she was in charge. I doubt I would’ve booked an appointment at the salon to do it." (post continues after gallery)

The undercut life

Before the shave

Undercut!

Matchy matchy...

The 'Don Draper'

Syl says her undercut was liberating and felt right straight away. She also loves the ease, and lack of styling, time and effort required — it only takes her about two minutes to get it ready.

"It takes two seconds to blow-dry, but normally I just let it dry naturally. I’m an extremely lazy person when it comes to most things so when it comes to styling I take the easy way out and just do whatever’s quick. To slick it back like Don Draper in Mad Men I just wet it, comb it and slick it back with a bit of gel. To puff it up I use expander dust and just sprinkle it all over my head, rub it in and style with my hands. It’s so easy. I always look neat thanks to this haircut whereas with long hair that was a real effort," Syl says.

One thing that did need a little more adjusting, however, was Syl's wardrobe; the grungy clothes and hippie dresses she used to wear don't suit her slick new cut as much as they did her long hair.

"I suit edgier, more clean cut and modern clothes now. I really don’t suit the younger styles of clothing now and I find myself spending much more time in Country Road and much less time in General Pants," Syl says. "In saying that I’m loving the kind of clothes that suit this haircut and I feel much more grown up and clean cut."

You'd assume this rather edgy style is most popular among the teenage-twenties crowd, but award-winning stylist Anthony Nader (from the salon Raw) has been seeing a lot of clients in their thirties and forties who want to dabble with shaving. Anthony says celebrities and models, and their posts on Instagram, Twitter and fashion blogs, have been the main driving influence.

If you're toying with the idea of an undercut or any other buzz, this is Anthony's advice:

1. Collect reference photos

"I always like for the client to have a few references, so then we can both be on the same page, so to speak," Anthony says. "Also, by doing it this way, the hairstylist can suggest what's going to work with your hair texture and your daily routine, which is most important always."

2. Consider your face shape

"The razored undercut buzz that you see on Scarlet Johansson at the moment may not always work on you and your face shape, but looks fab on her because of her bone structure," Anthony says. "We (hairstylists) need to always consider the importance of things like "bone structure" to enhance your facial features to win points from the crowd, so to speak."

3. Baby steps

A full undercut or buzzcut can be quite an extreme change, so if you're feeling a little gun shy it's worth taking baby steps.

"If you don't want to go the full service first time around, opt for a narrow section at the nape area all the way across and about 1-2 inches deep. You can