Curtain bangs, wolf cuts, shag cuts and the return of rollers: TikTok has had a major influence on hair trends.
It's not just styles, either, as countless users used the weeks spent at home during the pandemic getting to grips with their haircare, finding ways to enhance their curl patterns, mend breakage and restore scalp health through trying out the major trends on the platform.
We're all more protective of our hair since those months of lockdown, but we're also less fussy about our styles, according to the trends. We caught up with Janine Harper of Harper's Salon in Glasthule, Dublin at the launch of Bumble and Bumble's #HairTok House event, to hear what people are asking for when they come to a salon.
The two years of lockdown shows in how manageable many hair trends are, Harper notes. "There's still a lot of blunt, heavy lines and haircuts, so people are more able to manage their hair better or when it's not so long", she says.
"Obviously with curly hair, they go for more of a shag look so they can style home and leave the air dry more naturally."
Collarbone-lengths are trending now, she adds, as they're much easier to manage, with a classic bob once again a must-have style for those of us scrolling through TikTok and Instagram.
"The bobs don't seem to go, they're so chic. You can curl it and make it look shaggy or you can wear it straight and have it look really structured."
Leaving the bob shape as it is and avoiding "texturising the hair", as Harper notes, means it's a much more manageable style than long layered lengths. However, long hair does have its uses, and she adds that you can always add some extensions for extra length and body.
The key difference Harper sees is that "people have much better product knowledge now when it comes to styling, a sure knock-on effect from the role social media plays in inspiring looks and spreading product recommendations.
Does that bother stylists like Harper, seeing clients getting more of their tips from online? Harper says no: "They still want the personal touch and they still want the recommendations from their stylist that knows their hair."
"I think a lot of people are able to manage their with all the hot tools that they can use and they learn a lot online with younger people. Obviously the older people still come in every week for the blow dry. Like having that blowdry, to look more polished."
Blowdries were slow to pick up again after the lockdown, Harper says, as people focused more on styling their own locks and experimenting. She adds that it wasn't until after the third lockdown, once weddings and events kicked off again, that clients started coming back for their blowdries.
The at-home blowdry has become more popular, with clients "stretching out their blowdries". "They have had the chance to finally sit down and spend time doing their own hair, which people wouldn't have had before. But I think it will go back to people coming to the salon more because there's nothing like having a salon blowdry."
As for what people are asking for ahead of wedding season, Harper says it's all about long styles instead of up-dos. "I've done a few weddings recently and it's down. The bride wears a half up and in the evening they put it down. They want to look like themselves. They don't want that hair sprayed, pinned back. It's all very soft, natural, soft, even wet."
The key trend she's seeing is more natural, relaxed styles that don't require a lot of fuss, she says. "Everybody wants half-air dry, a couple of twists and a nice fringe. As with fashion, some people are wearing more relaxed clothing out of the lockdown, so they want their hair bit more relaxed."
Many of us passed the days during lockdown by figuring out whether or not we had curly hair, and curly girl routines are all over TikTok. If you're looking to develop your natural curls, Harper suggests visiting a professional stylist who works with curly hair first to avoid damaging your hair with the wrong products.
Co-washing is a technique she recommends, swapping out shampoo for a gentler conditioning wash that doesn't strip out the oils from the hair. "The memory in the product will hold the curl", she says. "So if you wash your hair too much, you're stripping back the oils and your curl, you lose the curl. So it might get straighter because the weight gets into it and the curl drops."
"Less washing, just rinsing with the cowash shampoo or conditioner and then let the hair naturally air dry", she adds, saying that washing hair twice a week should be plenty depending on your hair type.
