A Trend Forecaster Says These 8 Hair Looks Are Ready to Dominate 2025

As we look towards next year, I'm wondering what hair trends we'll see un 2025. Short haircuts were no doubt the standout hair trend this past year, as well as expensive-looking hair colours such as clean girl brunette and sunflower blonde that we saw popularised by celebrities such as Hailey Bieber and Zendaya. So, what lies in store for the coming year?

Tom Smith, hairstylist and international artist in residence at Billi Currie, shared his exclusive insights with Who What Wear UK about the trends set to dominate the next 12 months. Known for his spot-on predictions, Smith has a proven track record of identifying the next big thing in hair. If he says a certain haircut, hairstyle or hair colour is about to trend, you can bet it’ll be seen on countless celebrities soon after. So, what’s his forecast for 2025?

"A macro theme in beauty that celebrates simplicity, loud minimalism will be interpreted into a focus on super healthy hair, meaning longer, thicker lengths and simple, global, glossy hair colours," says Smith.

We can also expect to see more innovation for textured hair. "Texture-based innovation allows natural hair patterns to be refined and polished and we’ll see more movement and texture in mid length and very long hair in particular," he says. And if you're thinking of getting a fringe, they'll also be in the for spotlight in 2025. "Think softly shapes fringes and bangs that frame the eyes, brow-bone and cheekbones," he says.

The wider TikTok trend of high vs low contrast is also playing a role in hair trends for 2025. "With lots of talk around ‘contrast’ in beauty when it comes to makeup, brows and hair colour, 2025 will include extremes of very low contrast—hair similar in depth and tone to the skin, and also very high contrast—very dark hair on fair skin tones and bright platinums on deeper skin tones," predicts Smith. "We’re also likely to see interesting plays with texture within colours such as a return of sun-kissed balayage and potentially even more block panels and bold contrast within the same head of hair," he adds.

Ready to discover the hair trends for 2025? Scroll ahead for the hairstyles, haircuts and hair colours that are about to be everywhere over the next 12 months.

"Last seen going viral in 2022 and thanks to the virality of last year's bell bottom bob, we’re going to see flicky and textured mid-length shapes lead the way for bob and mid length trends in 2025," says Smith.

If you're thinking of going for a mid-length haircut, Smith has some advice. "Ask your stylist for a textured and layered shape that sits around your collarbone," he says. "Best styled with soft, messy waves or your natural curls if you have them, use a texture spray to modernise and add volume to the result."

"Fringes have become a mini hairstyle in their own right and we’ll see a variety of fusions of previously popular fringe styles," says Smith. "Birkin bangs, bottleneck bangs, curtain bangs, micro fringes and various other brow and cheekbone-skimming lengths with be customised to frame the eyes with softly textured and choppy lengths," he says.

"Great for those who want a low-commitment style, these softer fringe/bang styles grow out gently and at angles meaning they don’t require regular trimming," says Smith.
"Ask your stylist to suggest what would flatter your face best when it comes to customising your fringe area," he says. "Consider the size of your forehead, whether you want to show off your eyebrows or cheekbone and ensure you’re willing to tweak them every morning—you’l need to reset this area of your hair every day so while it can be done quickly, it does require some daily maintenance."

"Sunflower blonde was the number one colour trend of last year and golden tones are likely to sustain throughout 2025, but in more varied forms," says Smith. "While single global shades (see minimalist shades next) are also going to be trending, the modern Goldilocks is bringing blondes back to classic highlights with a new update on tone," he says.

Previously, many blondes have wanted to avoid golden tones, but this time around we're embracing them. "Historically warm tones ought to be banished, but thanks to the appeal of golden sunny reflects, we’ll be seeing these in a variety of softer blonde designs that also grow out softly," says Smith, who says it's easy to update during your usual blonding appointment. "Ask for a golden toner rather than your usual purple shampoo—warm tones will make the hair healthier looking and shinier and make you feel brighter and sunnier all year round," he says.

"With so much detail in technique for both blondes and brunettes available in salons now, we’ll be seeing a movement towards monochromatic simplicity—this is a single global shade coloured from root to tip, whether in fairer or deeper, warmer or cooler shades,' says Smith.
"With a real focus on shine and gloss and super healthy hair, this is a stripped back minimalist approach for even, glossy hair."

Ask your stylist to use the gentlest colour possible to tone your hair all one shade, he recommends. "For deeper hair colours this will be easy and you’l get super high shine—for those with lighter hair you may need multiple steps, but there’s beauty in the simplicity of one shade root to tip. The more different your target shade is than your natural colour the more often you should expect to need your roots touched up," he says.

"Avoid using permanent colour to refresh your ends each time—instead demi- or semi -permanent will help add more shine and if your hair is already close to your target level, they can even last longer than permanent thanks to their more gentle formulations minimising the porosity of your hair," says Smith.