There’s real truth to the “short hair, don’t care” attitude – just ask your friends who’ve already taken the plunge. In fact, going short could be the best thing you do all year!

Going short for the summer instantly solves major styling problems – and gives you a major confidence boost, too.

Waiting forever for your hair to dry? Not any more. Not sure how to style your long locks? That problem disappears, too.

Before you take a big leap and make the big chop, here’s everything you need to know about rocking your new look.

Low-Maintenance Mane

If you’re ready to feel light as air for the summer, a light and breezy cut could be the best thing you do for your hair all year.

Short cuts give you the chance to waltz out the door without spending agonizing minutes with a blowdryer and round brush – which makes your morning routine a snap.

But you should expect an uptick in salon visits, says beauty and style reporter Jennifer Levine.

“If you cut your hair short like a pixie, it’s going to be easier and less maintenance day-to-day, but you will definitely need to cut it more often, probably every eight weeks or so,” Levine told Reader’s Digest. “Similar to the reason why men cut their hair so often, as it grows out you see the loss of shape and style when it is that short.”

You might be saving money and time every day, but expect to put at least some of those funds back into professional styling and shaping.

The upside? You’ll always look polished.

Va-va-volume

Do you struggle to create the kind of volume you see on models and in magazines without applying extensions?

A short cut could actually help your hair create the illusion of volume, says celebrity stylist Joseph DiMaggio.

“When it’s longer, gravity comes into play,” DiMaggio told the beauty subscription service Birchbox. “And if you have really curly hair, be aware of shrinkage.”

But for DiMaggio and the other stylists who spoke with Birchbox, it’s all about matching your cut to your face shape, especially when it comes to bangs.

“A straight fringe on a circle face will make your face look super small,” DiMaggio said. In contrast, blunt-cut bangs work well on women who have long or oval-shaped faces.

Whatever you do, make sure you have the confidence to match your new hair!

Say Goodbye to Split Ends

Short hair may require scheduling regular trims with your stylist to maintain your shape – but those trims will help your hair stay healthy.

“When you don’t trim regularly, hairs can split right up the shafts and break off, even though the follicles are still in the growth phase,” explains Hannah Morrill at RealSimple.

Since short hair means more regular trims, new growth should be relatively healthier. This is a great perk for women who’ve struggled to grow healthy hair in the past – or who regularly style or color their hair, weakening the shaft.

Have you had trouble detangling your hair? Going short could be the answer there, too, says stylist Fernando Salas.

“Knots and tangles are a thing of the past once your long locks are history,” Salas told StyleCaster. “This also means less breakage and fewer split ends.”

We’re sure most of you can’t wait to kiss that detangling brush – and the hours spent in front of your mirrors – goodbye. For some women, though, regular trips to the salon can be an imposition, says stylist Rachael Anne Banar.

“People think they know what they want sometimes from looking at a few pictures,” Banar told Racked. “As they talk about it more, they realize that it’s going to be a high-maintenance cut.”

Make sure you have a conversation with your stylist about upkeep before going short, just so you have a better idea of what to expect – and whether you’re up for the commitment.

Save Money

When you have long hair, you wind up spending a fortune on styling products. Think serums, curl creams, and leave-in conditioners.

When you have less hair, you’re using fewer products – and less of the ones you do use. But you might have to change the way you think about products altogether, cautions Robyn Hagan Cain at Racked.

Of course, fewer products means you won’t have as much product build-up, either, which will help you cut down on the need for dry shampoo, keeping your scalp cleaner and healthier from week to week.

“Most dry shampoos contain some amounts of alcohol and have a powder base,” Savannah Fincher, the style director at Blo Blow Dry Bar, explained to Teen Vogue.

“If you use these products repeatedly without cleansing the scalp in between, the product will build up and contribute to dry out the hair. It can also train the hair to stop producing natural oils the scalp requires to stay healthy,” Fincher added.

Short hair might not necessarily mean you can “wash and go” – but showers do get faster, and styling gets much, much easier overall.

On Trend

As scary as it might be to go short, bobs and lobs look good on everyone – as long as you’re playing to the strengths of your face shape and hair texture.

“A lob makes any hair more pliable and gives you tons of options; it’s versatile,” stylist Jon Reyman told Refinery29. “Just make sure that whoever cuts it is able to manage your length and your density.”

Women who have thinner hair benefit from the added volume from any bob or lob, while women rocking lots of waves can add even more drama to their texture with a short, choppy bob.

But the real advantage to shorter hair is that it can give you plenty of mileage in the style department.

For plenty of ideas on how to go short without chopping your hair into a pixie, check out Refinery29’s slideshow of epic bobs and lobs.

Screenshot from Refinery29

Gearing Up for the Big Chop

Want to transition from relaxed to natural hair? The “big chop” could be your easiest solution, helping you avoid the painfully awkward transition phase between hair textures.

“If you transition, you’ll get to keep your length, but you’ll have to deal with styling multi-textured tresses,” explains Tia Williams at Essence. “If you do the big chop, you’ll get rid of your relaxer in one fell swoop, but you might be left with only an inch of hair.”  

Before you head to the salon to ask your stylist to take you back to your natural texture, make sure you’ve really embraced how short your hair will be.

When Taylor Bryant went in for her big chop, she wasn’t quite prepared for her new length – even though she’d worked out a killer new style and shape with her stylist.

“He snipped and shaped until it seemed like there was more hair on the ground than on my head,” Bryant wrote at Refinery29 of her experience in the stylist’s chair.

“This was the point when the expletives started to creep in, and the adrenaline I came in with started to wane – a minor panic attack taking its place.”

Still, by the time Bryant was finished, she felt good.

“My texture has new life in the form of curls and coils that spring back toward my scalp, rather than laying straight on my shoulders,” she added.

“I’m now one of the women who other ladies on the subway look to in admiration and for inspiration to do chops of their own.”

Whether you’re trying to ditch your relaxed hair and embrace your natural texture, or you simply want to go short for the summer, short hair could be the best thing you do all year.

Not only will a short hairstyle keep your hair healthy and full of volume, but classic bobs and lobs never go out of style.

Feeling more daring? Your short hair can take you there, too – as soon as you embrace the power behind the cut.