As the temperatures heat up, we’re preparing for a wave of new summer hair trends and inspiration. Whether it’s trying out a new color or chopping our locks into a breezy cut, the styles making the rounds right noware all about effortless upkeep and maximum impact.
Case in point: Bella Hadid’s return to a multi-dimensional honey "bronde" is fueling our urge to lighten things up and debut a brand-new color. On the other hand, Daisy Edgar-Jones makes a strong case for keeping your natural color and embracing subtle layers. This season, we’re anticipating an influx of shorter styles, from micro pixie crops to classic bobs, that will keep the hair off your neck and off your back as temperatures rise. Not to mention, they’re easy to style everyday sans heat, letting you embrace your natural air-dried texture (though adding touch of mousse or cream will only add to the tousled effect). While vastly different, the summer hair trends below all share one thing in common: they look good the more they grow out, even if you're miss your next appointment.
Ahead, we’re detailing the top summer hair trends to try before your next salon appointment.
Feathered Bangs
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There’s something effortlessly cool about feathery bangs, and plenty of celebs agree. They’re the kind of fringe that feels lived-in, low-maintenance, and endlessly versatile. Unlike their blunt counterparts, these grow out seamlessly (and without the grown-out lengths poking your eyes), blending into your layers with a sort of nonchalance and ease.
Bangs bring movement, softness, and dimension to the face, especially when they’re feathered. Think the tousled, sexy allure of Suki Waterhouse’s shag, or the soft, side-swept elegance of Daisy Edgar-Jones’ curtain bangs. If you’re after a more exaggerated, face-lengthening effect—especially helpful for those with smaller foreheads—ask your stylist to start the fringe further back on the crown. For a wispy finish that can flex between straight-across and curtain-esque, your stylist may opt for a razor cut, treating the bangs almost like delicate face-framing layers to give you effortless bangs that feel romantic and low-maintenance.
Lived-in Bobs
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There’s a reason the bob remains perennially tempting. Equal parts chic and liberating, this cut has the power to reset your persona, snipping away dead weight (literally and figuratively) while dialing up the edge. It’s sleek, sculptural, and refreshingly low-commitment. The cut frames the face beautifully, with sharp ends that accentuate the jawline.
This season’s take on the classic bob leans into soft structure and lived-in texture, no matter your hair type. Take Leslie Bibb, whose side-part bob works in her favor to add volume to fine strands, or Ayo Edebiri’s center-parted airy bob as a way to bring bounce to thick hair without erring on bulky. If you want to create the illusion of volume and amplify fullness on fine hair, ask your stylist for a clean, blunt cut, as this will highlight the weight without sacrificing on volume or thinning the strands. If your hair tends to run thick, your hairstylist might suggest long layers to diffuse some density while keeping the style swingy and full of life.
Pixie Cut
Kristy Sparow / Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
With '90s minimalism pervading fashion and culture once again, it was only a matter of time before the aesthetic made its way into the beauty realm. Enter: the pixie cut. The defining haircut of the decade was popularized by Demi Moore, Halle Berry, and Winona Ryder, all who set the standard for the short crop. Today’s pixie is a nod to the looks of the past, but with a more modern and sophisticated flair.
Diverging from the super short and spikey cuts of the past, hairstylists are reimagining the classic cut with softer lines that look effortlessly elevated, often leaving extra length at the front to frame the eyes, cheekbones, and jawline. It’s a subtle shift that makes all the difference in how it styles, wears, and its versatility, lending the cut a refined, face-flattering edge. And with little-to-no heat required, the pixie proves that low-maintenance is this summer’s motto. Lately, we’re seeing it styled two ways: tousled and textured for an easy, undone finish that’s soft and possible to achieve outside of the salon, or slicked with gel into a deep side part for a sharp, sculptural moment.
Honey Bronde
Ricky Vigil M / Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Bella Hadid debuted a multi-dimensional honey bronde hair color at the Cannes Film Festival, embracing her natural blonde roots. Colorist Jacob Schwartz used Schwarzkopf Professional products to create the "supermodel blonde" shade that features golden, honeyed tones with deeper brunette lowlights.
The result is hair with natural dimension that can fool anyone into thinking that you’ve just spent a month in the South of France, even if you haven’t left the city. Whether it’s styled in soft waves, slicked back, or air-dried, the color is formulated to look live-in and not require constant upkeep, making it ideal for anyone who's booked and busy this summer (or just set their OOO).
Dip-Dyed Hair
Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images
If honey bronde offers a subtle summer glow-up, dip-dyed hair is its rebellious and unapologetic counterpart. Once associated with early Tumblr aesthetics, the dip-dye trend is making a bold comeback, fueled by Kristen Stewart’s pink-stained hair at the Cannes Film Festival.
This season’s stain elevates the trend beyond our DIY box-dyed origins, embracing saturated ends in neon pinks, electric blues, or fiery reds, sharply contrasted against natural roots or platinum bases. This indie-sleaze look creates an expressive two-tone statement, and looks equally striking styled down or in an updo with colorful ends poking through. Dip-dyed hair is a low-commitment change, which just might be the reason behind its summer appeal.
