It was turning into a helmet”: Cristina Cordula fixes her Playmobil haircut at her hairdresser’s
Five weeks without a salon visit, and Cristina Cordula’s short cut had lost all its structure. The style expert shared the observation bluntly on Instagram, comparing her hair to a Playmobil haircut: a rounded, shapeless volume with no clean lines, looking more like a helmet than a considered style. So when she returned from her holidays, she had one absolute priority: getting back to Philippe Mensah, her hairdresser of eight years.
Why the Playmobil haircut is always lurking for short hair
A short cut is unforgiving when it comes to time. Unlike longer lengths, where a few centimetres of regrowth go largely unnoticed, short hair loses its shape very quickly. Philippe Mensah is clear on this point: as little as half a centimetre or a centimetre of extra growth is enough to completely alter the way a cut falls. It is precisely this gradual drift that turns a structured style into what Cristina Cordula calls a Playmobil haircut.
To avoid this, her hairdresser recommends a refresh every four weeks. The presenter confirms that this rhythm suits her perfectly, since beyond five weeks she simply cannot hold it together. This timeframe is not a matter of superficial vanity, it is a technical constraint inherent to the very nature of short cuts.
The dry-cutting technique: the key to a precise cut
What sets Philippe Mensah apart in his approach is the method he uses on Cristina Cordula: he works on dry hair. Before a single snip of the scissors, he studies the hairline, the volumes and the natural directions of the hair. This direct reading of the hair in its real-life state is simply impossible once the strands are wet.
Water fundamentally changes how hair behaves. Waves relax, volume flattens and the fibre no longer responds in the same way. Working dry therefore allows him to sculpt the exact shape his client will find when she gets home, without having to artificially recreate in the salon a result that would not last. For a cut as short as Cristina Cordula’s, this level of precision is all the more decisive.
- Work on dry hair to observe its natural movement
- Assess the hairline, volumes and directions before cutting
- Take into account face shape and hair texture
- Refresh the cut every four weeks to maintain its structure
- Think of the style as a whole, cut and colour included
Colour and cut: a duo designed together
The appointment with Philippe Mensah did not stop at the scissors. Cristina Cordula also had her colour redone during this back-to-school session. For her, a successful hairstyle is conceived as a whole: the cut, the colour, the face shape, the natural hair texture and the desired style all form one coherent picture.
The final result is subtle but effective. The lines regain their sharpness, the silhouette of the cut becomes structured once more, and the colour is revived. Cristina Cordula sums up the effect of a great short cut in a direct phrase: it gives you edge and character. Enough to head into September with a hairstyle that delivers on its promises, bearing no resemblance whatsoever to a Playmobil haircut.
What this ritual reveals about maintaining a short cut
Cristina Cordula’s experience illustrates a concrete reality for anyone wearing a short cut: regular appointments are not a luxury, they are a technical necessity. The Playmobil haircut is not a question of negligence; it is simply the natural consequence of regrowth on a style that leaves absolutely no margin for error.
Choosing a trusted hairdresser also plays a central role. Cristina Cordula has been going to Philippe Mensah for eight years, a professional well versed in studios, magazines, advertising shoots and runway shows. That loyalty is built on a precise knowledge of his client: her hair texture, her face shape, her style. Because avoiding the Playmobil haircut is, above all, a matter of precision, method and consistency.
