- Looking for a new haircut to kick off the new year? You’re in the right place.
- The haircuts in 2022 will be all about movement, texture, and versatility.
- We asked the industry’s top hairstylists to break down five of the biggest haircut trends you’ll see everywhere next year.
After a year that felt, at best, stagnant – to put it gently – it only makes sense that people would be looking for movement, grit, drama, and excitement any way they can get it in the new year. This especially applies in the hair department. As Jae Manuel, hairstylist at Sally Hershberger NoMad in NYC, put it: “2022 is all about texture and movement. I love to give hair a refresh by adding in fresh, choppy layers. Hair [will] look sexy and undone.”
That’s not all, of course. There will be short cuts and midlength looks (plus those in between), but each one follows three common denominators: they are fresh, fun, and anything but boring – and isn’t that what everybody wants when they step into a new year?
So in the spirit of all things “onward and upward,” we’ve asked a handful of experts to break down the four haircut trends – plus loads of inspiration photos on how to wear them and those insider techniques to level up your look – that you’ll want to bring to your next salon appointment, so you can start 2022 off right. (Or, at least, take a step in the right direction.)
Getty / Edward Berthelot
2022 Haircut Trend: The "Broom"
When you think of the end of a broomstick, you probably don’t think it’d make for good haircut inspiration – but we’d implore you to think again. The “broom” haircut trend is a perfect new spinoff to the classic bob style, and it’s well worth giving a chance in 2022.
“A ‘broom’ bob or ‘broomstick’ bob is a specific type of one-length bob that rests at least an inch or so beneath the chin,” Devin Toth, a hairstylist at Salon SCK in New York City, previously told POPSUGAR. “It has almost no angles and isn’t styled in a way that ‘swings.'” It also has no layers, so the entire haircut forms a straight line. Unlike your typical one-length bob that allows for lots of movement, the “broom” haircut appears stiffer and more rigid – but in that extra-dramatic, gotta-have-it way.
Getty / Christian Vierig
2022 Haircut Trend: The "Broom"
Getty / Kirstin Sinclair
2022 Haircut Trend: The "Broom"
Getty / Edward Berthelot
2022 Haircut Trend: The Undercut
“Short hair is in,” hairstylist Anabel Santos of Sally Hershberger NoMad told POPSUGAR. “It’s time to get that trim you’ve needed and bring hair back to life. I find that a new year is a great time to change it up and try out a shorter look.”
The biggest short haircut trend you’ll be seeing in the coming months? The undercut style, which is when the lengths are cut shorter on the sides and back. “Leaving it longer on the top but not overly styled is the modern take,” celebrity hairstylist Karl Jackson said. “Not a lot of curl, but a more textured look with short fringe.”
He suggests using a slight undercut to reduce the amount of volume on thick hair.
Getty Images / Christian Vierig
2022 Haircut Trend: The Undercut
Getty Images / Matthew Sperzel
2022 Haircut Trend: The Undercut
Getty / Jeremy Moeller
2022 Haircut Trend: Curtain Bangs
Bangs are one of the more divisive hair trends, but curtain bangs – which are ’70s-inspired bangs that are split right down the middle and swept to each side – will be going strong into the new year, and it doesn’t get more noncommittal than that. (Even Olivia Rodrigo recently got in on the trend after speaking to her hairstylist about it for months.)
“Curtain bangs are the new standard when it comes to bangs,” Santos said. “Keeping them longer – as opposed to short, like with baby bangs – will keep them fresh from seasons past. Think of Elizabeth Olsen as the blueprint; her long curtain bangs in that warm chestnut-brown colour are perfect [for any season].”
Getty / Christian Vierig
2022 Haircut Trend: Curtain Bangs
Getty / James Devaney
2022 Haircut Trend: Curtain Bangs
Getty / Jacopo Raule
2022 Haircut Trend: The Bixie
Just as the name sounds, the bixie haircut is a combination of a bob and pixie length. “It’s shorter than a bob, longer than a pixie, and with the hair off the neck and midface,” said April Peele, hairstylist at Salon SCK, adding that it’s the perfect in-between cut for people who have never gone shorter than chin length before. “The bixie offers that sweet spot for clients who want to cut their hair off but aren’t ready for the maintenance and commitment of really short hair. Or maybe they want really short hair but know they can’t pull a pixie off.”
Marrying the two styles also allows you to customize the look to best fit your face and personal style: “A bixie haircut really speaks about your personality without you saying a word,” Peele said. “It’s fun, versatile, and customisable for your facial features.”
Getty / Alexi Rosenfeld
2022 Haircut Trend: The Bixie
Getty / Matthew Sperzel
2022 Haircut Trend: The Bixie