5 Breakout Haircut Trends to Wear This Season (Before Everyone Else)

by KELSEY CASTANON / Wednesday, 31 March 2021

Getty / Jeremy Moeller

The itch to change it up tends to rise when the temperature changes, and you want your hair to match that energy. The only prerequisite to firing up the group chat, then, is to book yourself a haircut.

Here’s what you should ask for, boiled down to two words: a throwback. “History tends to repeat itself, as do hairstyles, and this year, we’re seeing a lot of textured waves and choppy layers,” Brad Mondo, hairstylist and founder of Xmondo Hair, previously told POPSUGAR. “Most of the haircuts we’ll see will be straight out of the ’70s.”

We’re talking shag and mullet haircuts galore, plus a side of curtain bangs for good measure. Like hemlines, cuts will also be getting shorter and shorter, making now prime time to lob it all off. If you’re looking for the exact haircut trend to get you in the spirit – even if the only plan you have on the agenda is sitting on the couch binge-watching The Crown for the foreseeable future – we’re breaking down our five favourites ahead.

Getty / Emma McIntyre

Spring Haircut Trend: the Shag

For the last few years, you couldn’t scroll through Instagram without spotting someone with a shag haircut, but the style is getting a second wind in the new year – with a twist. “The combination of old-style shag haircuts combined with new-age color is going to be what makes it different,” Mondo said. “We’re seeing a lot of colourblocking and fashion colors in combination with these colors.”

Getty / Melodie Jeng

Spring Haircut Trend: the Shag

Getty / Claudio Lavenia

Spring Haircut Trend: the Shag

Getty / Jeremy Moeller

Spring Haircut Trend: Princess Bob

Blame it on Emma Corrin’s recent portrayal of Princess Diana on Netflix’s The Crown, but there’s been a major resurgence of interest in recreating the late royal’s trademark ’80s coiffure. Unlike other trending bob haircuts of year’s past, this take on the style is decidedly softer, with lots of layers to add extra volume and movement.

“I love this look because it has the most effortless cool factor,” said Aaron Grenia, Co-founder of IGK Hair Care.

Getty Images / Christian Vierig

Spring Haircut Trend: Princess Bob

Getty Images / Claudio Lavenia

Spring Haircut Trend: Princess Bob

Getty Images / Jeremy Moeller

Spring Haircut Trend: Princess Bob

Getty / Christian Vierig

Spring 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 – have made a huge comeback in the last year. Even Olivia Rodrigo recently got in on the trend after speaking to her hairstylist about it for months.

“Curtain bangs are by far the most asked about style of the year and I’m absolutely here for it,” celebrity hairstylist and Unite ambassador Graham Nation previously told POPSUGAR said. “They give so much change without totally overhauling your mane. They open up your face for the world to see and even air dried the curtain fringe looks so cool undone.”

Getty / Caroline McCredie

Spring Haircut Trend: Curtain Bangs

Getty / Brian Dowling

Spring Haircut Trend: Curtain Bangs

Getty / Edward Berthelot

Spring Haircut Trend: “The Shift”

Never has a haircut trend been more aptly named than “the shift.” This short hairstyle is categorised by choppy layers of varying lengths on the top of the head. “The ‘shift’ [has] versatile styling options – from something edgy and raw to extremely polished and sophisticated,” Adam Federico, R+Co’s director of content, previously told POPSUGAR. “The haircut can be finished to suit the individual’s personality and meet them for who they are within that day.”

Getty / Edward Berthelot

Spring Haircut Trend: “The Shift”

Getty / Edward Berthelot

Spring Haircut Trend: “The Shift”

Getty / Daniel Zuchnik

Spring Haircut Trend: the Mullet

We’re just going to get straight to it: the mullet is making a comeback. Luckily, the latest rendition of the faithfully divisive “business in the front, party in the back” haircut is much cooler and way more low-key this time around – and works with any texture or hair type. “You can embrace your natural waves and curls, wear it straight, or switch it up by adding extra bends and dimension with hot tools,” LA-based celebrity hairstylist Laurie Heaps said.

Mondo added: “Anyone can pull off a mullet because of how versatile they are; however, I do feel they work best on heart and oval facial shapes.”

Getty / Kirstin Sinclair