- The “Farrah Fawcett flip” is a viral hairstyle on TikTok.
- One editor married the trend with a ’90s blowout at a recent haircut appointment.
- See photos of the haircut and tips on how to achieve the look.
By now, it’s safe to say that what’s old is officially new again. I’ve been seeing some of my favourite celebrities with ’90s-inspired makeup and manicures, and my entire TikTok For You Page has been flooded with people wearing throwback haircuts that are heavy on the layers and volume. One of the biggest looks taking social media by storm is the “Farrah Fawcett flip,” with a ’90s twist.
According to Biolage curl specialist and celebrity stylist Cynthia Alvarez, the trending haircut is meant to be a mashup of voluminous layers and short curtain bangs. Typically, I’ve never been one for layers, and ultrashort curtain bangs definitely scared me, but in an effort to embrace all things retro, I decided to give the cut a try and see if it would become my new signature ‘do.
I went to Cie Salon in Malibu, CA, to see stylist Sonia Powell. When I showed her a few inspiration photos, she only needed to take one glance at my hair (which was in desperate need of a cut and some TLC) before she got to work. The look I was going for was completely different than anything I’d had the past year. “What we’ve been doing is going for more of a blunt-cut feel – very straight with fewer layers,” Powell says. With this, she would add round layers in the back and lots of face-framing layers, plus curtain bangs in the front.
As for what makes this hairstyle different from the typical Farrah Fawcett style of the ’70s? Powell says it’s all about the layer length. “I like to keep the layers longer in the back because that’s what modernises the look,” she says. “We can get a marriage between Farrah Fawcett and today’s time. It’s an updated version.”
Once it came time to style my hair, I paid extra attention to how she created body and movement. First, she blow-dried it with a round brush to curl the ends under, leaving the round brush in my hair to help “set” the style. (If you’re not as experienced with a round brush, don’t worry – you can always use velcro rollers or pin curl your hair.) “Anything to set the body in there. That’s what brings the layers to life is adding a little extra bend,” Powell says. If your hair doesn’t hold a style well, Powell also suggests adding a small amount of mousse to the crown of your head before blow-drying.
Then came the final touches. “Use a classic hairspray [instead of a texture spray],” she says. “Texture isn’t what we’re going for with this look; it’s more about soft, pretty, and flowy. The hairspray helps hold the look, and it naturally adds texture once you break it up a bit.”
The best part? Powell says this haircut is easy to maintain. “You want to keep your regular trims going; if you’re doing a lot of heat styling, you’ll have to get it trimmed more often. The cut itself will last a very long time.”
I’ve had my new haircut for a little over a week now, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. It has so much movement and body, and it air-dries like a dream. Plus, my hair looks so cute when it’s pulled back and I have just my curtain bangs in the front. If you’re looking to get the ’90s-supermodel-meets-Farrah-Fawcett haircut, ask your stylist for round layers in the back with face-framing layers and curtain bangs – you won’t regret it.
