How to Style a Bob with Kevin Murphy

There’s something timeless about a shapely bob. From messy to sleek, a bob makes a desirable fashion statement all year round. The perfect length to frame your face while still giving you enough hair to play with, an easy-to-style bob keeps your look moving. Always having an on-trend moment, the humble bob has been making waves and paving fashion paths for years. And now, the slightly longer lob has become just as iconic.

Adore Beauty - Hair - Short Bob 1200 x 800 Adore Beauty - Hair - Short Bob 1200 x 800

What's the Difference Between a Bob and a Lob?

Bobs are simple, modern, and pretty low-maintenance. A traditional bob skims the jaw and shows off the neck for a sexy little peek-a-boo skin moment. Effortless with an air of nonchalance, a textured bob can be tousled, and a sleek cut can be sophisticated. If you have poker-straight, fine hair, you can pull off a blunt bob with ease. But if your hair is kinky or wavy, you might want to keep the cut a little longer. Curly hair especially often suits a bob with a few layers cut in.

A lob is essentially a long bob. Still short enough to frame the face, it often falls a little further towards the collarbone. The perfect cut if you want to elongate a round face, a lob has an easy-going essence that’s hard not to fall for. If you have thicker hair, a lob will keep it weighed down and help keep the hair styled. For a totally fresh appeal, keep the cut longer at the front ... or blunt all the way around.


How Do I Care for Short Hair?

Whether you’ve just made the chop or are still considering a bob or lob hair change, it’s good to think about aftercare. A bob often requires more blow-drying, especially if you’re creating a sleek, middle-part look. And if you’re looking to add texture to your lob, a straightener or a wave enhancer will give your strands that edge.

What are the Best Kevin Murphy Products for Styling a Bob?

With more heat involved in styling a bob, you need to think about keeping your locks looking and feeling as healthy as possible. When working a new hair look, it’s good to get the experts involved. A few carefully considered products from Kevin Murphy’s expert range will hold your style in place and give you the hairstyle you crave.


If you’re looking to add a bit of movement to your freshly cut bob, it could be time to pick up one of the best texturising hair products around: KEVIN.MURPHY Anti.Gravity.Spray. Non-aerosol Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Spray will build the hair up, add body, and hold your style in place for as long as you need it to stay. Want to know how to style a lob and give it that carefree appeal? This texture spray will help the hair stay wavy without making it feel sticky. Manuka Honey locks in moisture and offers flexible hold. And Grapefruit Extract brightens and nourishes the hair, so each strand is cared for every time you spray this mist.

To create the enviable Hailey Bieber-like beachy lob, wrap random pieces of second-day hair around a curling iron. Spritz the weightless spray through the mid-lengths and ends to separate curls and give the hair body. The Lavender Hydrosol in the formula helps the hair stay lifted and adds subtle definition. To give even more texture to your ends, KEVIN.MURPHY Un.Dressed fibre paste will help you achieve that desirable undone look. 

If it’s a sleek bob you’re hoping for, spray Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Spray on wet hair before styling. To give your hair a touch of volume while keeping your flyaways in place, blow-dry with a round brush and a steady hand. Mist an extra spritz over the look to finish. KEVIN.MURPHY Anti.Gravity.Spray comes in non-aerosol packaging, so it’s easy to travel with and won’t damage the environment. The perfect product for fine or thinning hair, this volumising spray keeps your pin-straight, glossy bob looking freshly styled all day long.

The Fibre Paste with a Flexible but Firm Hold
The Fibre Paste with a Flexible but Firm Hold

Both a choppy bob and a longer lob will benefit from a texturising fibre paste. While a sleek style can look dense and elegant, the piece-y appeal of untamed ends will give your look a light and airy feel. KEVIN.MURPHY Un.Dressed paste is engineered to work with every style and hair type. The firm yet elastic paste offers a flexible hold you can play with while keeping each strand in place for as long as you need it to stay. Perfect for fine and thinning hair, this unisex styling paste creates a soft, undone look that has bedhead appeal.

Want to know how to style a messy bob without heat? All it takes is some styling while the hair is still wet. Section your bob out and mist the hair with KEVIN.MURPHY Anti.Gravity.Spray. Braid a few loose plaits through the ends, alternating the tightness of the plaits. Secure the ends with thin hair ties and sleep with the style in place. Take out the plaits in the morning and gently tousle your hair. Take a small amount of KEVIN.MURPHY Un.Dressed paste and use your fingers to add some easy texture and movement to the ends. Your matte look will stay in place all-day but won’t feel sticky.

Kevin Murphy uses an abundance of natural and often vegan ingredients to help you nourish and style your hair. KEVIN.MURPHY Un.Dressed is infused with Black Pepper, Honey, and Ivy Extract to help your look stay matte and non-greasy. Designed with ingredients that help each strand spring back and stretch, this paste leaves the hair defined yet still full of movement. Perfect for creating a loose, undone above-the-shoulder style, the fibre paste has a bonus: a fresh, spicy scent that lasts all day.

Remember the days when mousse made your locks feel crunchy and sticky? Well, those days are long gone. Kevin Murphy Body Builder Mousse has totally changed the game. Perfect at holding your hair in place with a firm but flexible hold, KEVIN.MURPHY Body.Builder will give your bob its biggest boost ever. Even if you’re working with a sleek, straight style, you still want to see some volume at the roots. This featherlight formula won’t weigh your hair down, and the unique resins help you achieve a light-catching shine.

One of the easiest ways to volumise your hair is to show off a shorter style and use a little mousse. Perfect at creating smooth, big shapes, KEVIN.MURPHY Body.Builder 400ml can be layered to build up to a firm hold. If you’re wondering how to style a messy long bob, this weightless, volumising mousse will help. After you’ve shampooed and conditioned your hair, pump a small amount of mousse into your hands and rub between your palms. Spread evenly from root to tip and blow-dry the hair using a nozzle or diffuser. The mousse will give you a flexible, shiny, full-bodied look. To add even more texture, work a small amount of KEVIN.MURPHY Un.Dressed (the best hair wax for volume) through the ends. Finish with a spritz of the KEVIN.MURPHY Anti.Gravity.Spray.

KEVIN.MURPHY Body.Builder 400ml includes Vitamin B5, which binds moisture to the hair, helping it look and feel shiny and healthy. Tangerine Peel also keeps the hair looking super-shiny. Suitable for all ages, hair types, and genders, this mousse is perfect for those with fine or thinning hair. It will help build out the look of each strand, so your bob looks full and moves with bounce. To achieve a sleek bob, use the mousse on damp hair and blow-dry straight with a round brush. From boardroom to bar, this mousse will keep your hair in place for as long as you need it to stay.

Anyone can pull off a bob or a lob, especially when they’ve got the right styling products to hand. The Kevin Murphy range will keep your bob perfectly in place, whether you want a smooth, chic vibe or a textured, beachy feel.




Brand and product inclusions are at the sole discretion of Adore Beauty’s highly trained Customer Service team. We do not seek or accept payment from brands or individuals listed in our guides.




Quick Recap! What are the Best Kevin Murphy Products for Styling a Bob?
  1. 1. Lightweight Texture Spray
  2. 2. Texturising Fibre Paste
  3. 3. Firm & Flexible Volumising Mousse
Add To Bag

    Subscribe for beauty sales, free goodies, advice and SO much more!