Summer haircuts are all about effortless, soft, breezy styles. It’s a time for layers, texture, waves, and minimal heat styling so you can enjoy more time in the sun and less time primping and pampering. Accordingly, “Botticelli” hair, “airspace” cuts, and “manta ray” layers are trending, the latter being the newest addition to the beauty space.
The “Manta ray” haircut, as hairstylist and Goldwell ambassador Jacob Habib Khan calls it, is everything you want in the summer. “Manta-ray layers are essentially a classic face-framing layer that starts close to the chin,” Khan tells POPSUGAR. “It pushes back slightly deeper into the haircut at the top and then maintains weight through the back, keeping your interior layers long, with shorter layering focused around the face.”
At first glance, these face-framing layers might be mistaken for long curtain bangs, but the area of your face that it hits — right at the chin — sets it apart. Here’s everything you need to know about the trend.
What Is the Manta-Ray-Layers Haircut?
“When you curl [the layered hair] in toward the face, it wings out, resembling the shape of a manta ray,” Khan says. “With all of the animal-themed haircut names, we couldn’t resist calling it the manta just for fun.” (See: the viral wolf cut and the octopus haircut.)
If you’re looking to change up your look for summer, manta-ray layers are just the thing. “It leaves your hair long enough to go up in a ponytail, but even though the shortest layer can still reach to your ponytail without falling out, it also gives you a great frame when you want to pull those pieces out for a different feeling with your updo style,” he says.
How to Style the Manta-Ray-Layers Haircut
At the salon, it’s best to show your stylist a photo of this haircut to ensure you get exactly what you’re asking for. “My advice is to make sure you’re doing it in a soft way,” Khan says. “You want that perfect seamless blend from the top all the way down to those longer lengths.” With regard to styling, Khan says the cut will look great with a blow dryer and roundup or curling iron. Depending on your hair type, you can even get away with air-drying. (Try tucking the front-most face-framing pieces behind your ears to give them a slight bend.)
Ahead, check out a video of the manta-ray-layers haircut by Khan.
