It was 1998. You couldn’t walk into a salon without seeing a crumpled magazine clipping of a blonde, tousled, perfectly messy bob sitting on the stylist's station. Meg Ryan city of angels hair didn't just define a movie; it basically defined the tail end of a decade. We were moving away from the stiff, hairsprayed silhouettes of the '80s and into something that felt… well, human.
The look was a vibe.
Honestly, it’s one of the few hairstyles from that era that hasn’t aged into a "what was I thinking?" meme. While everyone else was doing the "Rachel" from Friends, Meg Ryan was out here giving us the "Sally Shag." It was rebellious. It was soft. It looked like she’d just spent a day riding around on a motorcycle with an angel—which, considering the plot of City of Angels, she basically had.
The Accident That Created a Legend
Here is the thing most people forget: the iconic Meg Ryan texture wasn't always a calculated branding move. It was born from a literal disaster.
Sally Hershberger, the mastermind behind Meg’s most famous manes, has told the story of how the "look" actually started during the filming of French Kiss a few years prior. They were testing out a curling iron in a hotel room in Paris. The voltage was wrong. The iron overheated. A giant chunk of Meg's hair literally singed off right in front of them.
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Instead of panicking, Sally grabbed her shears and started "shredding" the rest to match.
That happy accident paved the way for the specific, ethereal version we see in City of Angels. By the time Meg played Dr. Maggie Rice, the cut had evolved into a more sophisticated, slightly longer, and more "lived-in" version of the shag. It wasn't just a haircut; it was a character choice. As a high-stakes heart surgeon, Maggie Rice didn't have time for a blowout. She needed hair that could be shoved under a surgical cap and still look amazing when she stepped out into the California sun.
Why the Cut Still Works in 2026
You’ve probably noticed the "bixie" and the "wolf cut" taking over your social feeds lately. Those are just the grandchildren of the Meg Ryan city of angels hair.
What makes it work so well is the movement. It’s a "shredded" bob. Unlike a blunt bob that hits one heavy line at the jaw, this cut is all about internal layers.
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- The Razor Technique: Hershberger famously uses a razor on dry hair. This creates those wispy, tapered ends that don't look like they were just cut by a machine.
- The Crown Volume: It’s short enough on top to give a bit of lift without looking like a 1980s "mall bang."
- The Versatility: It’s a bixie—part bob, part pixie.
If your hair is pin-straight, this cut is a struggle. Sally Hershberger herself has admitted she’s had to turn people away if their hair texture was too flat or too aggressively curly, because the "Meg" requires a specific kind of "bend." It’s that effortless wave that makes it look like you didn't try, even though you probably used three different products to get there.
How to Get the Look (Without the Singeing)
If you’re heading to your stylist to recreate this, don't just say "give me a shag." You'll end up looking like a member of a 70s rock band.
You need to ask for a textured, chin-length bob with shattered layers. Tell them you want the ends to look "chewed" rather than blunt. It’s all about the tension. A good stylist will use a combination of point-cutting and slicing to remove weight from the middle of the hair shaft. This allows the hair to "pop" and move when you shake your head.
Product is the secret sauce here. In an essay for InStyle, Meg joked that she used so much product back then that if she’d been put in a microwave for 30 seconds, she would have come out a muffin.
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- Start with a volumizing mousse. You need grit at the roots.
- Air dry or use a diffuser. You don't want a round-brush blowout. That kills the "cool factor."
- Finish with a texturizing paste or salt spray. Rub a tiny bit of paste between your palms and "scrunch" the ends. You’re looking for separation, not a helmet of hair.
The beauty of the Meg Ryan city of angels hair is the imperfection. It’s okay if one side flips out and the other tucks in. In fact, that’s the whole point. It’s "bedhead" that you can wear to a board meeting.
The Maintenance Reality
Don't let the "effortless" tag fool you. This is a high-maintenance "low-maintenance" look.
Because the layers are so precise, the shape starts to get "heavy" around the six-week mark. If you let it grow too long, it loses that airy, angelic quality and starts to look like a standard, boring grow-out. You’ve gotta commit to the trim.
Also, color matters. Meg’s look relied heavily on "beach" highlights—that multi-tonal blonde that looked like the sun did the work. If you do this cut in one flat, dark color, you lose the visibility of the layers. You need those highlights to catch the light and show off the "shredded" texture Sally worked so hard to create.
Final Takeaways for Your Next Appointment
- Bring Photos: Words like "shag" or "messy" mean different things to different people. Show the specific 1998 City of Angels stills.
- Check Your Texture: If you have very fine hair, you'll need a lot of texturizing spray to keep it from falling flat.
- Embrace the Razor: If your stylist is comfortable with a razor, let them use it. It’s the only way to get those specific, wispy ends.
- Skip the Shine Spray: This look is matte. You want it to look touchable and slightly dry, like you've been outside all day.
Stop trying to make your hair perfect. The magic of the Meg Ryan era was the realization that "messy" is often way more attractive than "perfect." It's a style that invites people to look at your face, not just your hair.
Move your part around. Let it fall in your eyes. Honestly, just stop overthinking it. That’s the most "Meg" thing you can do.