Winter comes with a number of unpredictable variables — like whipping windchill or the ever-present scarf static — that make getting a haircut [1] seem nonsensical at best (and, at worst, a waste of precious Christmas money). Still, if you're itching for a hair change [2] as the end of the year nears, there are plenty of trends to consider [3], should you be willing to make a statement.
"I predict the haircuts this Winter [4] will be healthy, thick, geometric normcore," said Devin Toth, hairstylist at Salon SCK [5] in New York City. "They will make statements — whether you do that with accessories or incredible colour [6] — but they won't be flat-out funky and in-your-face. Winter tends to be a time for covering up and contracting; it's not a season that people typically flaunt their hair full throttle. Lately, my clients have been really happy to just get rid of every last remnant of their wispy, unwanted, Summer-damaged split ends."
Ahead, Toth and celebrity hairstylist Lacy Redway [7] are breaking down five specific haircuts people will be copping during the colder months, from the up-and-coming bowl cut to a new take on the shag [8]. Maybe Winter's not so predictable after all . . .
Winter Haircut Trend: Modern Bowl Cut
Whether Charlize Theron's bowl cut [9] shocked or awed you, there's a reason you'll be seeing the style much more heading into the colder months. "The bowl cut is the purest extension of a bang," Toth said. "It's easy, it's fun, it's bold, and it's also celebrity driven. I think a lot of people will do it just because it looks so good on Charlize."
One way to make it feel especially cool right now? Add some texture. "Make it less extreme and more wispy and choppy, like Rhianna's red colour bowl cut from 2010," he said. "Even if you cut some texture into a bowl cut, it's still super thick-looking, which is cool and really in right now."
Winter Haircut Trend: Modern Bowl Cut
Winter Haircut Trend: Modern Bowl Cut
Winter Haircut Trend: Curtain Fringe
We know, we know — a fringe for Winter, so revolutionary. But Toth said, "It's an easy way to show a statement with your hair even while wearing a hat. There's also a really practical reason. In the Summer, people don't get a fringe because they don't like their hair resting on a potentially 'dewy' forehead because it would make their hair damp and frizzy. But in the Winter, there's no risk of a dewy forehead so it's only natural to go for the bang. This season's style is less severe, like a relaxed curtain bang [10]."
Winter Haircut Trend: Curtain Fringe
Winter Haircut Trend: Curtain Fringe
Winter Haircut Trend: Layered Shag
"Shags [11] are a great way to customise your haircut and give it more personality," Redway said. Toth agreed that this will be a huge Winter trend, adding that the more modern version to the traditional cut is all about layers — especially for curly types.
"Women who have curly hair need to get an extra amount of layers in the wintertime because their hair will fall extremely flat when there's zero humidity in the cool, dry air," he said. "Some of the most geometric and beautiful cuts in the world are on very curly hair that have been layered in a way that releases a glorious texture. This look is more about your natural texture and less about the curling iron, often with a part that's pushed to one side."
Winter Haircut Trend: Layered Shag
Winter Haircut Trend: Layered Shag
Winter Haircut Trend: One-Length Cuts
"Whether you have long hair, midlength hair, a bob, or a lob, people want a cut that's blunt [12] or jagged and imperfect with no layers," Toth said. (Redway agreed on this point, saying she especially likes the dramatic look of it on superlong hair. "Blunt haircuts of all lengths are having a moment right now, and I think it's here to stay," she said.)
"When you're wearing hats and scarves, all that shows are the ends of your hair that are peeking out beneath your Winter accessories, so you want those ends to look thick, clean, full, geometric, and like the healthiest hair you've ever had," Toth said. "Layers take away from all of the that and will make hair thinner and wispier, which isn't really a Winter look. That overly layered, opening up the face, Farrah Fawcett-type look is done . . . for now. Side note — this bottom of this haircut won't be as it was last year. The bottom ends will show a little more variation and imperfection to not appear as contrived. It will be healthy, thick, geometric, but 10 percent less dramatic and obsessively precise."
Winter Haircut Trend: One-Length Cuts
Winter Haircut Trend: One-Length Cuts
Winter Haircut Trend: Supershort Pixie
One way to eliminate sweater static once and for all? A short haircut. "Pixie cuts are hot even in the Winter," Redway said. "It's a great cut that makes it easy to experiment with different hair and lip colours."
Winter Haircut Trend: Supershort Pixie
Winter Haircut Trend: Supershort Pixie
