Justin Bieber is adored for his charity work, his honeyed voice and his street style. But it’s the teen’s hair that really renders him influential, in an image, culture and style capacity.

The Wall Street Journal, hardly a slouch in the printed publication realm, making this honor rather weighty, chose The Biebs’ sideswept “swish” cut and British actress Emma Watson’s super-short pixie cut as the most influential of 2011. The Biebs has started experimenting and wearing his locks in different styles — spiked and slicked back — while Watson is growing her uber-cropped cut out. So these cuts represent a moment in time and it doesn’t look like the wearers will be carrying these looks into 2012 with them.

“The enthusiasm plays out online, where the fastest-rising searches for celebrity haircuts on Google are for Ms. Watson and Mr. Bieber,” said the paper. “This is more of a change for women — for whom short hair hasn’t been trendy since the ’90s — than for men, who may justifiably feel sheepish about asking for the cut.”

We agree. It’s not exactly cool to sit in the barber’s chair and request The Biebs’ cut, but plenty of guyliner-wearing mallrats have copied The Biebs’ sideswept bangs, so it is certainly a popular coif.

We’d be more impressed if The Biebs’ hair could comb itself, though.

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