The best and worst medium length hairstyles for women

Through the decades, we’ve witnessed various iterations of the shag hairstyle. This ever-evolving look remains a great one for women with medium-length haircuts because it’s both simple and easily styled. “The modern shag — almost everyone can wear it, and it’s versatile,” Kourtney Scott, a stylist at Maxine Salon in Chicago, Illinois, confirmed to The List.

Shags are all about fluidity. “A modern shag should have really short hair in the front that seamlessly blends into longer hair in the back,” Devin Toth, a stylist at Salon SCK in New York City, told The List. “There should only be a few mid-length pieces between the front and back. Modern shags look best with a wavy or curly style. When you style a shag too straight, it becomes a little dated.”

The shag actually works very well with curly hair, in particular. Lauren Moser, curl specialist and owner of Hair Lab Detroit, told Glamour exactly how to achieve the curly shag: “For wavy curls and dense, tight S-curl types, be sure to request internal [channel cut] layers to be added in after the shape is cut to encourage weightlessness and texture throughout for ease of styling.” The expert continued, saying, “For coily and kinky hair, this step is unnecessary.”