12 Messy Fringe Haircuts The Fashion Set Are Booking In For

published 14 February 2024

In case you missed it, fringes are back in a big way. Well, they never really went away. Fringes—in all their forms, from full fringes to wispy bangs—are a timeless haircut choice. There's a fringe haircut to suit every face shape and hair texture, and many iconic women have made the fringe their signature look—just look at the "Bardot" fringe or "Birkin" bangs. If you want to make a statement with your cut without necessarily chopping off a lot of your hair, then a fringe is the way to go. Right now, messy fringe haircuts are in high demand—both in Google searches and in salons.

"I’m not surprised fringes are so popular at the moment as they can really transform a hairstyle," says Cos Sakkas, British Hairdressing Awards' British Hairdresser of the Year 2023 and global creative director for Toni & Guy. "A fringe will add another dimension to a short haircut or update a longer hairstyle to create a focal point to the face. It can totally change someone’s look in an instant.”

If you're ready to go for the chop, scroll ahead for the best messy fringe haircut ideas we've saved.

Messy Fringe Haircut Ideas

Emily Ratajkowski's face-framing Bardot fringe has lots of choppy layers that give it that cool-girl texture.

Taylor Hill's bixie haircut with a messy fringe is perfection.

@alyssainthecity with messy fringe on short hair

Further proof that the messy fringe looks amazing with short hair.

A wispy fringe works beautifully on curly hair textures too.

I'm obsessed with this side-swept, braided look.

Hair up and a messy fringe are a match made in heaven.

@isabel_hendrix with messy fringe on short pixie haircut

Longer fringes allow you to style them swept back—case in point with this chic pixie cut.

A curly fringe is a great idea when embracing your natural hair texture.

I love how much shape and volume this fringe has.

How to Style a Messy-Fringe Haircut:

Oribe

Dry Texturizing Spray

This cult texturising spray gives hair the perfect amount of grit to create that nonchalant, just-rolled-out-of-bed hair.

Ouai

Matte Pomade

A matte pomade helps to add definition to choppy fringes and helps them to stay in place too.

Living Proof

Perfect Hair Day (PhD) Dry Shampoo

Fringes can be prone to getting greasy faster than the rest of your hair, so keep a dry shampoo on standby to mop up excess oil and help give your fringe extra oomph.

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Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at beauty website Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections with written and styling work.Working as a beauty journalist since 2015 after graduating in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, she has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is to provide readers with honest and helpful beauty content. Through words, video and live broadcast, she has interviewed several celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and top dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson. She has a particular interest in finding solutions for acne and eczema, which she has experienced firsthand. She has also amassed a large collection of fragrances and can never say no to a new candle.When she’s not writing or testing the latest beauty product or treatments, she’s on the seafront in her hometown of Brighton and Hove, where she lives with her partner and her miniature dachshund.