Coco Chanel once said, "A woman who cuts her hair is about to change her life." Now, we know what you're thinking: Save the Chanel quotes for Pinterest. But there is a vast amount of truth to this age-old adage. Take, for example, Hollywood. We all know the typical examples of career-making haircuts — Twiggy attributes her big break to one fateful pixie, and it was "The Rachel" that took Jennifer Aniston from TV actress to bona fide A-lister — but this theory runs deeper than that.
In fact, there is an entire psychology behind big haircuts that hair pros completely understand. Jen Atkin — just months before she gave Khloé Kardashian a chop that perfectly accompanied her new career endeavors — announced the liberating feeling she had experienced when chopping her own long hair. Coincidence? We think not. Pros get that something as small as a haircut can be the spark that ignites creativity and courage. It can also be used to punctuate a life change through the purging of the old, the closing of a life chapter, and the beginning of a fresh new page. Is it all woo-woo or real psychology? You can decide, but first consider the mounting evidence.
Ahead, you'll find before and after images of 14 celebrities who broke away from the pack right after a major chop. Call it what you will — reinvention, liberation — but there's no denying the power of a good haircut. So what are you waiting for?
Before:
We know, we know, you barely recognize Solange with stick-straight hair back in 2009. And while it goes without saying that every woman in this slideshow looks beautiful both before and after she found her signature cut, it's hard to imagine many of them without these life-changing 'dos. Especially since Solange is, undoubtedly, one of the women who is encouraging an entire generation to love their natural texture.
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
Which is why we're thrilled that just one year later, Solange had chopped her locks and was sporting this rad crop, just one look in a line of big, bouncy curls, full Afros, and long braids she'd wear in the coming years.
Photo: Jim Spellman/Getty Images.
Before:
In January of 2003, Zooey Deschanel was a blonde with side-swept fringe and a bob haircut. You may remember her from Almost Famous with a similar 'do, but she hadn't quite broken through.
Photo: James Devaney/WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
Then, boom! Just two months later, she welcomed a new hue and the full, thick bangs that would soon become her signature. A wise haircut, indeed.
Photo: J. Vespa/WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
Michelle Williams wore her blond locks in a variety of lengths on Dawson's Creek, and for a few years after the show wrapped, like here in 2006. However, it can be argued that she didn't get a career second wind until a few months after this photo was taken — when she went for a big chop.
Photo: Evan Agostini/ Getty Images.
After:
Of course we're referring to her pixie cut, which basically meant: See ya teen star, hello mature A-list actress.
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/ FilmMagic/ Getty Images.
Before:
Back in January 2012, Miley Cyrus was wearing her hair long and lightly highlighted. We'll let that sink in for a moment.
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
After:
Naturally, you're aware that over the next two years she began a serious image overhaul, which included this badass pixie. How do you know? Because she became a huge star in the process.
Photo: Maury Phillips/WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
Cameron Diaz was once a model-turned-actress just trying to get noticed in Hollywood, here in 1994.
Photo: Jim Smeal/ WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
But within a few years, she had secured her role as leading comedic actress — and a fresh new cut, to boot.
Photo: Jim Smeal/WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
Sometimes a haircut can do even more than make you stand out; it can make you look closer to your age. Emma Roberts had a budding career back in 2013, and a mid-length cut that made her look a bit younger than her 22 years.
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
After:
But just a few months later, she adopted a modern cut and color that opened the young actress to an entire new range of more mature characters.
Photo: Angela Weiss/Getty Images.
Before:
We'll spare you a Desperate Housewives joke, but needless to say it would have been very easy for Eva Longoria to fade into well-manicured oblivion after the show's final episode.
Photo: Valerie Macon/Getty Images.
After:
Luckily, reinvention came a-knocking, and along with it a modern lob.
Photo: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
Fans of Ginnifer Goodwin may always remember her with long, girl-next-door locks, similar to the ones she wore in her breakout role on Big Love — where she played the girl next door.
Photo: Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
We can't help but play favorites: We love the short chop she got in 2009.
Photo: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images.
Before:
Halle Berry's hair back in 1995: cute, girly, retro.
Photo: Jim Smeal/WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
Halle Berry's hair in 2002: badass, inspiring, cool. (See the difference a few inches can make?)
Photo: Jeff Kravitz/ FilmMagic/ Getty Images.
Before:
There was a time when most models had the same haircut: long. (That's it.) Of course, this was so their locks could be styled in a variety of ways for different shoots and shows. Translation: Most looked exactly the same when off duty. Karlie Kloss was no exception.
Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images.
After:
When Kloss cut her hair into a bob in 2012, people took notice. Now, she's a supermodel. Coincidence? We think not.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/ WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
When Khloé Kardashian said goodbye to her long Kardashian-signature strands, it was epic: a symbol of cutting the dead weight in anticipation for her new chapter.
Photo: JB Lacroix/ WireImage/ Getty Images.
After:
And boy, did the world take notice.
Photo: Chris Weeks/ Getty Images.
Before:
During the first few years of her career, Nicki Minaj's signature was not having a signature. Her hair — albeit, often a wig — was rarely the same length, cut, or color. Then, she did something crazy...
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.
After:
...and abandoned the switch-ups (at least for now) for a series of shiny and sleek styles, which gave her an entirely more relatable look.
Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images.
Before:
Sienna Miller had a Southern California vibe back in the spring of 2003, which, sorry to say, didn't exactly make her stand out among the starlet set.
Photo: Vince Bucci/Getty Images.
After:
Then she got a chop, a few new roles, and all of a sudden she was Hollywood's latest It Girl.
Photo: SGranitz/WireImage/ Getty Images.
Before:
Who could forget the long curls that the world fell in love with back when Taylor Swift was a country star who often matched her eyeshadow to her gown?
Photo: Denise Truscello/ Getty Images.
After:
But reinvention was on the horizon — along with red lipstick and some new fringe, she got a bob befitting her role as girl-gang leader.
Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage/ Getty Images.
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