Here at Who What Wear UK, we’ve dedicated huge amounts of time to digging out the best cuts, colours, styles and products—from hair-thickening shampoos to volume-boosting powders—to enable thin hair types to get thicker-looking strands fast. However, while I often get lots of questions about quick fixes to fake bigger hair, I’m here for those of you who already have naturally thick locks too. After all, people with plentiful strands have their own set of hair challenges—styling it can take a long time, tangles are par for the course, and finding a genuinely low-maintenance cut can be tricky.
As someone with thicker hair myself, I always have a folder full of hair inspiration ready to go for my next cut at the salon, and I’m sharing all of it with you ahead. Plus, I caught up with Michelle Sultan, a textured-hair specialist and the brand ambassador and creative director for Imbue Curls, to pick her brain on the trending haircuts that look amazing on thicker strands.
Keep scrolling for 10 of the best haircuts for thick hair to inspire your next style switch-up—and the products you need to keep them looking great at home.
“Mullets are a huge trend and can be adapted to your hair type and texture,” explains Sultan. Although this is one haircut that’s definitely a little divisive, it works so well on thick hair thanks to its varying lengths and choppy texture.
Maximalist fringes were a huge trend last year, and their popularity looks set to continue this year. Naturally thick hair looks so good with this full-frontal style—and no one wears it better than Franny.
If you’ve got it, then flaunt it. Long styles look so good on thick hair, but the addition of subtle layers keeps the overall style feeling low-maintenance and lightweight. So chic.
Sultan tells me that this cool cut is designed to look like a lion’s mane, and it “celebrates curly hair unapologetically.” “Curls are layered equally all over the head leaving a shorter fringe—when the curls are styled, they should be pulled out to maximum capacity to look like or resemble a lion’s mane,” Sultan explains. “This style can look really sexy.”
It can be tricky to find short hairstyles for thicker hair, but this feathered, in-between length would look so good on thicker strands with natural texture—and it’s a subtle nod to the mullet trend too.
The shag was one of the breakout haircuts of 2021, and it remains popular in salons. Sultan really rates the shag for thick hair types, as it’s “low-maintenance and requires texture to look its best.”
Maybe I’m always on the fence when it comes to my hair, but mid-length haircuts dominate my Saved folder on Instagram. This shoulder-length style shows off the natural volume of thicker hair while requiring minimal styling.
“The classic bob never dies. It’s instant power hair,” says Sultan. For thick hair types, “think Anna Wintour meets SWV circa ‘Right Here’—movable and light and glossy.”
Technically, this is more of a style than a cut, but let your hairstylist know if you’re planning on wearing your hair in a frequent side part, as it means they’ll be able to shape your thick hair accordingly—much like Selena Gomez’s asymmetric lob.
“There isn’t one particular haircut that is stronger than another for thick hair. It’s more about wearing a haircut to suit you,” explains Sultan. “This is the strongest trend that isn’t going anywhere, and it celebrates your natural hair type and texture.”
Up Next: 9 Hairstyles People Are Actually Asking for in Salons Right Now
