Choco Lob by Salon Space: Josep Toledano's Step-by-Step Bob Technique

Josep Toledano's "Choco Lob" for Salon Space is an eight-step cut built on one discipline: a precise horizontal line, a clean contour around the face, and a final dry-cut texturising pass. No tricks, no over-direction — the entire long bob hangs on a single visible guideline carried from the nape upward.

That economy matters on the salon floor. A cut that follows one horizontal reference from start to finish is teachable to juniors, repeatable across a team, and fast to consult. It also gives the client a shape that survives both the sleek blow-dry and a wand-set wavy finish — Toledano's styling section confirms the cut "works perfectly with either a sleek or a wavy finish."

How does the cut actually run?

Salon Space's published step-by-step keeps the method strictly classic:

1. Make a horizontal parting to separate the nape and occipital areas.
2. With the head upright and the hair falling naturally and lying close to the head, create a horizontal cutting line, using the comb as a guide.
3. Release the hair layer by layer and cut following the same line, using the previous layer as a visible guide.
4. Repeat the process on each side, releasing each layer and moving it towards the nape.
5. Repeat the same process on the opposite side.
6. Define the contour around the face.
7. Dry the hair.
8. Once dry, create movement by lifting the layers and texturising the ends.

Note the geometry: nothing is lifted above the natural fall before step 8. Elevation — and therefore softness — comes only at the end, on dry hair, by lifting the layers and texturising the ends. Wet cutting establishes the line; dry cutting establishes the movement.

Why does the head position matter?

Step 2 specifies the head upright, hair lying close to the head. That is the difference between a bob that sits and a bob that jumps once the client stands up. Cutting in natural fall with a comb-guided horizontal line means what you see at the chair is what the client sees in the mirror tomorrow — no allowance calculations, no graduation surprises.

The layer-by-layer release in steps 3 to 5, each section referred back to the previous one as a visible guide, is standard one-length bob construction. It keeps weight at the perimeter and makes grow-outs predictable — a practical point for rebooking intervals on a lob of this length.

What does the finish offer?

The Choco Lob is shown in two finishes: sleek and wavy. Same cut, two retail conversations. The sleek version sells smoothing product and a brush-led blow-dry; the wavy version sells a styling wand, heat protection and a texturising or finishing spray. One haircut, two add-on services — the kind of versatility that turns a single technique into a menu item rather than a signature look only one stylist can deliver.

The "Choco" reference sits in the rich brunette colour the model wears, which gives the precise line and contour their visual weight — dark hair shows every graduation error, which is another reason the guideline stays visible throughout.

Credits

Cut and styling: Josep Toledano for Salon Space. Make-up: Salon Space. Wardrobe: Zara. Model: Army.

Salon Space has published the full step-by-step with before, process and final imagery; stylists wanting the technique in their own chairs can follow Toledano's work on Instagram for his next release.