We all have an ever-changing relationship with our hair. Perhaps you don’t have any, maybe you wear a wig, or it’s been dyed beyond all recognition and now has the texture of hay (speaking from personal experience here). Hair is culture, hair is identity. It is one of the first things that we notice about another person. We use it to express ourselves and let others know what we’re into. And we seem to relentlessly want what we can’t have. Crafting my identity, as soon as I was conscious of doing so, meant changing my hair and taking some ownership over my appearance. First thing: I had to grow out that wonky little fringe that I’d been rocking my entire childhood (CHEERS MUM & DAD).
My hair is naturally stick-straight, flyaway, flat to my head and I’m not a fan. Think Avril Lavigne circa 2003 (who, apparently, has curly hair and straightens hers!?). I’ve always wanted bushy, unruly curls (Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman). Far too much of my morning routine is spent with the brush and the hairspray trying to muster up some elusive volume. Every autumn, without fail, I surreptitiously slip the phrase “Fringe?” to the group chat, who then dutifully spend the next week talking me out of it. New hair feels like a reset, right? What can I say, something about the nights drawing in makes me want to cover my eyebrows.
Popular culture has always had a big impact on hair trends. Notably, ‘The Rachel’, which has been a mainstay from the 90s until the present day, became a global trend after its debut in the first season of Friends. David Beckham’s hair has routinely been headline news, cementing him as a boundary-pusher in the realm of men’s style (sarong, anyone?). Nineties boybands with curtains and frosted tips. The Beehive, the Buzzcut, the Shag. Before we had our ‘Hair Inspo’ Pinterest boards, the celebrity haircut was our influence - ripping pages from magazines and taking them to the salon. Iconic haircuts render the celebrities in question unforgettable in our minds - when I think of the Beehive, I can only think of the greatest to ever do it: Amy Winehouse.
Subcultures have also had a huge influence on our hairstyles. We do the most to define our style, our musical tastes, and our cultural preferences, by doubling down on a hairdo with out-of-this-world maintenance just to ensure we make a statement. Towering mohawks in fluorescent colours, quiffs, mullets, grungy shoulder-length locks - you could spot ‘your people’ a mile away. Regardless of whether you’re a goth, a hippie, a raver or just a classic 2014 Tumblr girl, hair has always been paramount to the look. Now, our styles are an amalgamation of everything that came before us. In 2024, with access to all the images and inspiration of the past, combined with our love of nostalgia and recycling of trends, have subcultures as we know them been diluted? We consume micro-trends pumped out from TikTok and can have hair products delivered to our door the very same day. We can change our style in a matter of hours. Are we living in a post-trend world?
Inspiration for this post: The story behind this photo of Jennifer Aniston, Avril Lavigne at Glastonbury, the hair trends of the 90s/00s: crimping your hair, getting a hair braid on holiday, scrunchies, butterfly clips, glitter hair gel, Lindsay Lohan’s highlights in Freaky Friday. Come to think of it, Chad Michael Murray’s hair in Freaky Friday. Also, if I see enough videos of Sabrina Carpenter, I’ll be getting a fringe, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules - I have been influenced.