With salons seeing far more clients in 2021 than they did in 2020, an increasingly vaccinated population means 2022 will likely see even more of us visiting our favorite hairstylists with more frequency. But because things still seem precarious, it’s not unusual to want to seek change in some controllable way — like your haircut. “An external change can be a simple and easy way to signify a transition that is internally more complex and harder to articulate otherwise,” therapist Nikki Nachum explained to Allure. “A new hairstyle becomes almost like an announcement to both yourself and the outer world that something is changing in your life.”
That said, some of the biggest hair trends of the last year are seamlessly flowing into 2022 — perhaps a sign of sticking to the comfort of what we know. “It has been a crazy year trying to recover from the pandemic,” says West Hollywood-based hairstylist Kamara Brown. “It’s no secret that many women are looking for ways to get the longest wear out of their hairstyles.” And whether you’re seeking a dramatically different new style or you just want some minor trendy touchups to your current look, top stylists are eager to share their visions of what the trends in hair salons will look like over the next few seasons — and they don’t always agree.
Chris Appleton, Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez’s go-to stylist, tells Allure that after all the effortless and natural looks of the last two low-key-beauty years, “people are ready to try a little harder and add some extra ‘oomph,'” by switching to sleek, straight styles and tight ponytails and braids. But Brown sees things differently: “There’s going to be a lot of ditching the traditional pulled-back look,” she says, believing there will be plenty of untamed texture in 2022.
