I went back in time & got Jennifer Aniston’s ‘The Rachel’ cut – I looked young & sexy, my man practically jumped on me
IT was the haircut that defined a generation.
Big and bouncy, with face-framing layers, The Rachel was the most requested hairstyle of the 1990s.
It was sexy, confident and glossy — and so famous it even has its own Wikipedia entry.
Now, 30 years after making its debut — sported by Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green in the first season of classic sitcom Friends — it is back.
At last week’s Golden Globes, Jennifer stepped out rocking The Rachel 2.0 and fans, including me, went wild for the updated version.
Of course, it’s not exactly how it was in her Friends heyday. Less bouffant and boxy than Rachel Green’s signature style, The Rachel 2.0 is flirty, flicky and utterly fabulous.
It is The Rachel for the modern age and, as soon as I clapped eyes on it, I knew I wanted it.
After all, I had The Rachel first time round. Back in the Nineties and Noughties, Friends fans drew inspiration from Jen’s mid-length cut, which cupped her heart-shaped face so perfectly.
Women across the globe hurried to their nearest salon, requesting the same bouncy bob. But, surprisingly, Jennifer wasn’t a fan herself.
The actress had been urged to get her longer, frizzy locks cut by her agent after landing the role on Friends.
Los Angeles hairstylist Chris McMillan, who created her then new style, has since admitted to being “stoned” at the time.
After the look became a worldwide phenomenon, Jen grew bored of talking more about her hair than her acting roles and publicly bashed her barnet.
She famously sniped in 2011: “How do I say this? I think it was the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen.”
But looking at footage of Jen on the red carpet last week triggered a flood of memories, and I was catapulted back to my early thirties, living my best pre-pregnancy life in New York.
I was carefree, young and single, living vicariously through the characters on Sex And The City, another TV favourite of the time.
Sealed the deal
In fact, I had a Rachel when I first met my husband at the Big Apple’s Chelsea Hotel in 2001.
I was wearing a simple black dress and a pair of houndstooth ponyskin, kitten-heel boots, topped off with glossy, Jen-inspired hair.
I had visited the salon earlier that day and my husband says that my freshly done do — and those sexy little boots — sealed the deal.
We’ve now been married for 22 years and he is constantly urging me to chop the almost waist-length hair I’ve sported for the past decade.
It’s funny how you get attached to the idea of long hair, especially as you age. Nowadays, I look to the long, luxurious mane of Demi Moore as my inspiration.
I don’t have her glossy, Hollywood-ready locks. However, 54-year-old Jen has, like me, lots of fine hair that needs taming into a chic style.
So I decide to roll back the years and call the salon.
And as a fiftysomething on the cusp of a brand new decade, I’m hoping that getting a Rachel will put a spring back in my step.
But I can’t deny I am filled with trepidation. Going shorter is always a brave step as it reveals more of your face, neck and decolletage.
That said, long hair is notoriously hard to keep sharp and stylish and I know my ends are looking frazzled.
Staring at myself in the mirror, my hairstyle suddenly feels a tad naff. Like Jen, my natural colour is — or should I say was — dark brown.
Six months of lockdown growth revealed unwelcome patches of grey, and even white, hair. So I tried dyeing it pink, blue and purple. It was freeing and fun, but it’s time for a change.
As I arrive at swanky salon 65 Walton in West London’s South Kensington, I am giddily excited.
My hairdresser Lincoln Alexander, a master colourist, talks me through the three and a half hour process.
First, my blonde hair is covered in a pre-colour treatment to neutralise the heavy metals caused by years of peroxide abuse.
Then it is cut into the definitive Rachel before highlights are applied. Hearing the snip of scissors on my beloved locks gives me butterflies. Can I really pull it off?
But with every inch that falls to the floor, a year drops off my face.
I am stunned watching myself transform into TV’s beloved girl next door. And more magic is to come.
A soft, warm brown tone is added to my roots, before the ends are darkened with a shade of mink.
The end result knocks years off me. The warm browns and caramel highlights are so skin-enhancing, while the shorter length feels fresher and more youthful and really suits my face shape.
The Rachel 2.0 is versatile, too. I can wear it with a middle or side-parting.
I can enhance it with hairspray for a more bouffant, Sixties-style shape. And, as it’s mid-length, I can still pop it in a pony or up-do.
A shorter look means more jewellery options, too — a perfect excuse to buy some wonderfully dangly earrings and statement necklaces. I will also be upgrading my make-up.
I loved Jen’s Golden Globes look — lavender eyeshadow with eye-opening false lashes to enhance her brilliant blue peepers.
And I’ll be investing in a pink, pout- enhancing lipstick, which will work well with my new hair colour, making it ping.
Hey, I’m back in the early Noughties and my husband couldn’t be happier.
He practically jumps on me as I walk through the door, saying I look so sexy — and ten years younger.
I feel like a new woman — happier and sexier than I have in a long time, with superstar confidence.
Thank you, Rachel!
- Additional reporting: Kirsten Jones and Yasmin Harisha