To change up your look, you could make good on those new year’s resolutions to eat cleaner, train harder and pack away fewer pints. Snooze. Or you could throw out everything in your wardrobe and start again. Expensive. You could even go under the knife. Err, no thanks.

Fortunately, not all changes to reinvent yourself are as drastic (or painful). As some of the UK’s best barbers were all too keen to tell us, a new men’s hairstyle can make a big difference to your overall appearance.

From swapping out a bog-standard snip for a fresh fade to cramming in a colour with your next cut, here are six low-risk, high-reward restyles to try this year.

The Long And Short Of It

Scared your search for a new hairstyle will end up a complete follicular #fail? The good news is that it doesn’t just come from what’s on top. The length on the back and sides also can enhance both your face shape and existing ‘do.

“Going shorter on the back and sides is a great way to refresh your look without making any drastic changes,” explains London barber Kyle Holloway. “You’re simply sharpening up what’s already there and can therefore still wear your preferred style on top.”

To make this a low-risk decision, consider features such as the size of your ears and the length of your face to avoid making either look comically out of proportion. “Go through a proper consultation with your barber,” adds Holloway, “they’ll be able to work something out to go with your own face shape as a style in a picture often needs adjusting.”

The Result: A smarter look that can change the shape of your face for the better, making it appear slimmer and more defined.

Fringe First

Despite being a staple snip since the nineties (we blame mum’s and their bowls), the fringe fell out of favour at the start of the decade, with new hairstyles like the pompadour and quiff taking over. However, the look has made a comeback with plenty of variations that are effective for framing a range of face shapes.