7 Stylish Fake Short Hairstyles That Don't Involve Cutting an Inch ...

1. Pin It to Win It

A lot of fake short hairstyles are easily achieved by pinning, as you will see. Not all pins are created equally, however, and this method involves simply pinning your hair any way you see fit. You may decide to take the very ends and pin them so it looks like they're curling under, or perhaps you'd like to pin your hair all over to create the illusion of an incredibly short crop. It's all up to you!

2. Understanding Underpinning

Underpinning is a different method entirely, and will work best if your hair has a few layers. Basically all you do is pin the longest layers underneath your hair. You can then achieve any short look you'd like, from a funky punk shag to a Boho kind of bob.

3. Fun with Finger Waves

Lots of curls can help you create a short-like look, as you'll also see. Finger waves and pin curls, however, tend to lend themselves well to dramatically shorter looks. Better still, you'll wind up with a wonderfully vintage look, reminiscent of the 1920s. Since this technique is hard to perfect on your own, you may need to get it done professionally, or at least enlist the help of a hair-savvy friend.

4. The Chic Bob Fake out

The bob is one of the most popular hairstyles to fake, and you can do it using practically any of the methods here. You can curl a bob, pin a bob, do some wonderful ponytail tricks. The thing is that bobs are so versatile that, regardless of the length of your actual hair, you can fake practically any bob, from the traditional sleek cap to the edgy asymmetrical version. Just remember, practice makes perfect! The method you use will mainly depend on the length and texture of your hair, your patience, and your skill.

5. Ponytails + Caps

This is a total fake out, and it works with ball caps, fedoras, bowlers, bucket hats, sun hats, and any number of other hair accessories, such as headbands, scarves, and turbans. If your hair is very long, however, all you need to do is put it up in a high ponytail, preferably up on your crown. You can tuck it entirely to create the look of a full crop, or let enough of the ends hang down that, with the hat or hair accessory in place, it looks like you just got a serious chop job.

6. Go Crazy with Curls

Your curling iron can give you the illusion of a short cut as well. You'll need tighter curls, but you don't necessarily need a small curling iron. A big barrel can do the job as well, your curls will simply have more body and a larger, fatter look. As long as your hair holds the curl, you'll shave inches off your real length. I mean, not really, of course. No shaving involved!

7. A Little Layering Lie

I briefly mentioned the importance of layers, but for the most part, this is the only fake out that requires them. What you do is take your longer, bottom layers, and make a bun out of them. Your shorter, top most layers will fall over and cover the bun, which will also give you the illusion of some serious volume. Whatever the style of your layers, that's the “cut” you'll end up with, so it might be blunt and clean edged or choppy and edgy.

You can find tons of tutorials all over the Internet for these fake short hairstyles; some of them are easy to follow videos on YouTube while others have clear picture tutorials. Of course, many of them are also self explanatory, and you'd be surprised at what you can come up with if you just play around when you have the time. Would you ever fake a short look to avoid cutting off any inches?