We love short hair. It’s bold, it’s brave and it looks incredible. There’s just one drawback. Lop your hair off above your collarbone, and it can make tying short hair back a hassle. Anyone who’s tried to scrape their jawbone-length crop off their face will be familiar with “the nub”. The teeny, tiny stub of hair that just about forms a low ponytail with a little coaxing. Go even shorter, and the different length layers mean a weensy top-knot or steggy buns staggered down the back of your hair (like the back of a dinosaur) are pretty much the only options available.

Until now, that is. We’ve scoured the net for the best short hair up inspo out there for short-haired babes. Turns out there’s plenty of new twists (we mean that literally) on short hairstyles, which is just as well since it seems more of us have had the itch to slice away our strands. According to Google search data “short hairstyles” is one of the most Googled beauty trends around the world. And the UK searches for this term most.

While XXL strands and midi cuts have gained ground over the past year, lots of us are are ready for a drastic chop, and there’s plenty of celebs jumping in and offering up inspo, too.

How to tie short hair up

The styles available to you depend on length a which “short” threshold you’ve crossed.

Tying super short hair up

Really, really short cuts can benefit from headbands, embellished clips, shower-fresh slick-backs and even tiny braids (we’ve seen it done).

Tying lobe-length and lower hair up

Meanwhile, lobe-length chops open up the possibility for simple touches like ear tucks (very chic), undone topknots or mini ponytails or puffs. You can even achieve face framing baby braids. A little longer and you might even get a dinky bun out of your strands.

Our favourite ways to tie short hair up

As for short hair inspo, celebs like Florence Pugh, Sabrina Elba, Taylor Russell, Taylor Hill and Dixie D’Amelio can all show you how it’s done, having worked with some of the industries top hair stylists to achieve some beautiful and unusual styles. Likewise, street-style veterans like Vanessa Hong, Amy Lefévre and Steph Hui know what works. Finally, our hair crush, Taylor Lashae has taken her bob about as short as you can go, grown it out, then chopped it short again, so she has a fair few examples of how to ensure awkward lengths always look chic.