While having long hair can come with its challenges (more time spent styling, detangling, etc.), it’s definitely worth if if you’re a fan of versatility when it comes to your tresses, and the ability to pull off a plethora of trends and styles.
We checked in with professional hair stylists and aficionados— Ghanima Abdullah, hair expert and cosmetologist at The Right Hairstyles, Gina Rivera, celebrity hairstylist and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, Jean Will, hair expert and co-founder of NiaWigs Inc, and Lauren Udoh, professional hairstylist and the Hair Creative Director of WigReports— for tips, suggestions and insight for long hair lovers.
If you’re thinking of hitting the salon soon and don’t want to sacrifice your locks’ length, read on for 20 timelessly chic and modern looks that will frame your face, highlight your best features and help you start off your new year, in style.
READ MORE: 25 Hairstyles For Thin, Fine Hair: These Are The Best Ones
20 Haircut Ideas for Long Hair
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1. Sleek & Straight With Wispy Bangs
If you want to kick off 2023 with a bang (pun intended) and you love a long, sleek look, replicating Selena Gomez’s hair could be a great idea! Adding wispy, eyebrow-length bangs to already long locks can add a “flirtatious vibe,” instantly, as Abdullah explains. Rocking a “few wispy long bangs in the front” is an easy, low-maintenence way to “change up your style,” she notes.
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2. Middle-Parted Waves With Chin-Length, Face-Framing Pieces
Hilary Duff’s long, middle-parted waves are even more stunning with a few delicately cut, face-framing, chin-length pieces, Abdullah explains. These strands, she says, help emphasize Duff’s high cheekbones and jawline. If you add a few pieces like these to long waves, Abdullah suggests that this can make your face ultimately “appear smaller and slimmer,” if that is your goal.
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3. Layered 90s-Inspired Blowout
For instant volume, you can try a long, side-parted, 90s-esque blowout like Kim Kardashian. Her locks look especially bouncy and amplified thanks to strategically cut layers, which Rivera recommends getting if you want to avoid dull, flat hair. “For long-haired beauties, long layers are essential for creating movement, dimension, and a more voluminous look,” Rivera says, adding, “Long layers tend to remove a bit of the weight from the hair, making it lighter and ultimately, creating the illusion of being fuller.”
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4. Piecey Bangs With Choppy Layers
As layers can help make your hair look more lively and eye-catching all on their own, adding piecey bangs like Lily Collins can create even more movement. Her Parisian-inspired fringe, long, tousled layers and jagged ends are equally rock and roll as they are French-girl glam. This choppy layers and bangs combo can “add texture,” to otherwise pin-straight hair, Udoh points out, and notes that this can also “add some lift and body” to your look, no matter what hair type.
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5. Slicked-Back And Side-Parted
Kylie Jenner channeled Old Hollywood style with a modern twist as she recently rocked a deep side part and slicked her tresses back to prevent flyaways. A deep side part, Abdullah notes, “really brings on the glamor, especially if you’ve had recent coloring added.” Jenner’s jet-black hair looks “very youthful and fresh” when worn this way, and the simple styling of her hair makes us focus even more on its shine.
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6. Brushed Out, Beachy Waves
One quick and easy way to make your waves look even thicker and voluminous is to run a brush through them, like Vanessa Hudgens. The result is a beachy, summery and full look, no matter what season! Whether you have naturally wavy locks or used a hot tool to get them to look less straight, brushing through waves can help give your tresses an added oomph.
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7. Center-Parted Layers With Curtain Bangs
To instantly make your face look more symmetrical, you can try 60s-esque curtain bangs like Jenna Ortega, which Abdullah says can also “make your hair appear thicker.” Adding bangs like these to an already long-layered cut will “create a soft, natural looking wave at the top of the head,” and “frame the face while giving it a youthful appearance,” she adds.
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8. Y2K Crimped Tresses
There’s currently a clear resurgence of countless Y2K/ early aughts trends in modern fashion, and what better way to celebrate this than with crimped curls? As seen here on Joan Smalls, this style looks incredible on long-haired gals, with so much movement and volume! Trying waves that are made to look like a sawtooth or zig-zag pattern can instantly create interest in otherwise straight locks, or give naturally curly hair a unique new look.
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9. Sideswept Bangs And Flipped-In Layers
Flipped-in layers cut into long hair draw the eye inwards, and can instantly slim your face. To add even more movement and channel your inner French it-girl, you can also try sideswept bangs like Linda Cardellini, which Will says help “showcase your eyes.” Abdullah adds that when paired with layers, these long bangs “help lift the features” effortlessly.
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10. Asymmetrical, Side-Parted And Layered
Lana Condor’s voluminous cut adds immediate interest as it looks asymmetrical, and her long, choppy layers help emphasize her cheekbones and jawline. Asymmetrical styles like these, Rivera notes, “remove a bit of length from the hair, add to movement and create a youthful appeal.”
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11. Retro Waves And Deep Side Part
Zendaya’s long tresses give retro, Golden Age, iconic glam and her deep side part also helps make her hair look even fuller and sleeker. While this cut may not be as layered as the others on this list, it certainly does not lack in volume or movement! You can try replicating her long waves, as they look thick and slicked-back without looking weighed down.
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12. Long, Voluminous Butterfly Cut
This look, as seen here on Hailee Steinfeld, was seemingly everywhere on TikTok last year. Abdullah says that this haircut can “double or triple your volume” because short layers are used on the top of the long cut to “make the hair really stand out.” Then, slightly longer layers are “used from the mid-lengths to the bottom, to encourage the hair to fall just right.” This style works great, especially for “long hair, and it’s great for adding volume if your hair is thinning,” Abdullah suggests.
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13. Side-Parted Layers With Flipped-Out Ends
Krysten Ritter’s side-parted black locks already look voluminous as it is, and to add to this, she got gorg, long layers with flipped-out ends. These layers draw the eye outward, making her tresses look even more windswept and thicker overall. This type of cut looks especially glamorous when you use a curling iron to create loose waves, as seen here!
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14. Shaggy, Long Layers With Full Bangs
At first glance, Khloé Kardashian’s new ‘do might look like a classic 70s shag, but her layers are longer. With full, thick and long bangs, Kardashian also has the option to part them in the center like a curtain or brush them off to the side for more movement. The possibilities with these bangs are truly endless, and adding long, bedhead layers to your cut always adds an instant level of cool.
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15. Waist-Length Soft Waves With Curtain Bangs
As we’ve already established the enduring power that the pairing of center-parted curtain bangs and long layers can have, Kacey Musgraves’ ultra-long tresses take this to the next level! While resembling 70s Italian film bombshells, Musgraves proves that having long hair and middle-parted, romantic fringe is never boring— and clearly timeless for a reason.
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16. Tousled Waves With Baby Bangs
When you think baby bangs, Audrey Hepburn’s 50s looks might come to mind, but this style can be made to look edgy and modern, as seen here on Tove Lo! Her wispier, more jagged fringe instantly gives any tousled, long wavy look a more grungy, punky feel. If you don’t want to commit to short hair in general, trimming your bangs a few inches is always a fun, fresh and trendy option.
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17. Middle-Parted Mermaid Waves
Jennifer Lopez’s long, middle-parted and early 2000s-reminiscent waves have a beautiful, mermaid-esque feel to them! With more volume at the bottom, they help highlight her facial features, and that ultra-long length never goes out of style.
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18. Layered Wolf Cut
Another hair trend that swept our social media feeds last year was the piecey, blunt and bold wolf cut, with a variation seen here on Sarah Hyland. This look mixes elements of a shag and mullet, and while many opt for a shorter version of this, Hyland’s longer look with sideswept bangs is undoubtedly epic, and worth a try if you want something new!
19. Early 2000s Zig-Zag Parting
Style icons like Christina Aguilera and the Spice Girls helped make a zig-zag part with long hair popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. As seen on TikTok, this look is back! For more volume with longer hair, Abdullah recommends experimenting with your part. "Any difference that you create when your hair is used to lying flat and completely to the sides will create volume and make a big difference," she says.
20. Middle-Parted Layers With Flipped-In Ends
To top off our list, we're going to highlight the eternal long-haired queen Jennifer Aniston, who often sports a layered, center-parted look. One element that Aniston seems to love is layers with flipped-in ends, which create symmetry and movement, instantly!
