The Hottest 2026 Hair Trends That Need To Be On Your Radar

Around this time last year, we were discussing haircuts we'd see everywhere in 2025, including bobs and lots of layered, shaggy looks. Fast forward to 2026, and those looks are still trending but with an updated twist. For example, if you went for a choppy shag or even a wolf cut or mullet, the fresh hair trends are taking that into consideration and evolving it for the new year.

Some of these looks require more work than the low-effort hairstyles copied from the French that we've been loving for their ease. But maybe a bit more polish isn't necessarily a bad thing. We're certainly not suggesting you ditch your natural looks by any means; we're merely offering up the hottest hair trends for 2026 that should be on your radar. They include the blunt bob, eye-grazing bangs, and grown-out shags, among other versatile styles. So get ready to arm yourself with your arsenal of hair tools.

We know. Saying the bob is an on-trend hairstyle is like saying jeans are fashionable. They're both a staple, but that doesn't mean there aren't trends to be aware of with both bobs and denim. For the bob haircut, you can expect to see them range from French-girl earlobe lengths to chin-grazing styles. But the big thing to note for '26 is the bluntness of the style. Sure, no one is going to fine you for having a layered or shaggy bob, but the crispness of the blunt cut will feel freshest.

The great thing about the blunt bob is that it works on a variety of textures, from curly, to wavy, to straight. While many street stylers have been wearing them with a center part, we predict more and more side-parted blunt cuts appearing as the year progresses. Media outlets have been murmuring that side parts are back and 2026 is when you'll see if these murmurs evolve into more.

If you've been considering a fringe, the long, eye-grazing style might be the one for you in 2026. This peek-a-boo bang adds an aura of mystery and sex appeal, but also has practicality on its side; for instance, if you have a longer forehead, this shape works beautifully to add balance by breaking up the head's dimensions and adding the illusion of width.

While the look is bold in itself, it's also soft. Ask your hairstylist not to cut too heavy of a fringe, keeping the feeling of light airiness to the look. They're also easy to grow out, as they are longer and can simply be pinned to the side until they can swoop behind the ear. If you're unsure, did you know you can fake bangs to test them out before committing? We highly recommend taking this route to know if the on-trend eye-skimmers are for you.

So many of us got choppy with our hair in 2025, with wolf cuts, mullets, and straight-up shaggy layers. And as many of us also know, shaggy cuts can take a while to grow out. Praise the hair gods, because they have taken that into account. For 2026, one of the major hair trends is the grown-out shag, which means it's softer, with the layers melding gently through the hair, rather than being quite so pronounced. If you have a blunt cut, you can also sample this by asking your stylist to put soft layers through the hair.

Grown-out shags are particularly flattering on curly hairstyles, working with the natural movement of the hair. The great thing about this hair trend is that it translates to any length. If you have a choppy pixie, it can grow out to a softly shagged bixie (bob-pixie hybrid). Or let your bob grow to a softly layered, textured lob. On longer locks, try for a lot of long layers, especially on straight hair, which will give it movement.

What's new in the land of the pixies for 2026? A more androgynous shape, which means there's a bit of length left on the top, offering you plenty of styling options. Here are ideas for how to style a pixie cut for every occasion, in case you need inspo or want to see how versatile the look can be. The pixie is also known for its simplicity, of course, meaning that no matter the texture of your hair, it's a simple wash-and-go style.

If you aren't ready to go full pixie, or you've done the pixie and want to grow it out, bixies will also be having a moment in 2026. We can thank the likes of actors such as Zoë Kravitz and Emma Stone for paving the way in 2025 with their bixie iterations, showing how it's a style that fuses together cuteness with subtle sophistication.

Many of us have stashed away our hair tools for years. Irons shmirons. Round brush? What's that for? And who can be bothered with curlers? Well, it might be time to dust off your arsenal of hair tools because soft bombshell blowouts are trending for 2026 in a big way. But not that big. While the bombshell blowout became big in the 1990s, with models like Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer expertly showing off the look on magazine covers and fashion runways, the current iteration is softer, subtler, and less boisterous, if you will.

Yes, you will still want your hair tools, or an appointment at the blow-out bar, but you won't want to have quite such a round brush or use as much volumizing spray. Nowadays, the blowout lays flatter but still gives that gorgeous, swingy, piecey feel to long layers that made it a hit in the first place.