DON’T LET THE STRAIGHTENER SEDUCE YOU!

Natural curls are back- and more popular than ever.

Kate Hudson as Andy Anderson in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

They say that when a girl falls in love, she starts embracing her natural hair. Straight hair gives way to waves, and waves turn into curls. There’s something playful in it all. Natural. Romantic. Free? That is at least what Kate Hudson taught us 13 years ago when we all fell in love with How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, just as much as Andie fell in love with Benjamin.

Since then, we have all flirted with the straightener. Tight bobs. Perfectly pressed ends. Forty minutes, 200 degrees of heat, and a mild identity crisis. A whole generation of women was convinced that keeping it straight was “low maintenance,” silently waiting for the day we could finally break free. Looks like 2026 might be that year.

Curly hair is officially in this season. Post-shower curl routines are taking over the internet, and Clean Girls are swapping sleek buns for fuzzy coils and textured waves. Gen Z influencers @kianadbeauty and @rebekck on Instagram are just some of the many faces in this shift, reaching millions of women with one simple message: care for your curls, don’t correct them!  Shampoos, conditioners, oils, saltwater sprays, snail mucin creams, the list goes on. And honestly? We are all for it.

Looking back, it is ironic how natural curls were framed as something that once needed to be fixed. A problem to be solved. Too loud. Too messy. Too much. Thankfully, we have now realized how foolish that mindset was - and perhaps more importantly, that we never really needed a Benjamin to embrace our natural hair in the first place. Today, conversations about independence and confidence grow alongside conversations about curl creams and silk bonnets. Coincidental? The global curly hair market was valued at $10.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $17.8 billion by 2033. Consumers are no longer seeking products to tame or transform their hair, but to meet its needs.

As the celebrity hairstylist, texture guru, and founder of Hair Rules, Anthony Dickey quotes: “Your natural texture is your perfect match - it was meant to be that way!”

Like all trends, this one says more about society than it does about hair. If 2025 showed us one thing, it is that feminism has never been louder. Across music, fashion, and pop culture, women are reclaiming detachment from romantic dependence. Why fall in love with a man when you could just fall in love with yourself?

The London-based artist Olivia Dean has become a growing symbol of this shift toward self-love through her latest album, The Art of Loving. Beyond her music, Dean embraces her natural curls both on stage and off, notably appearing at the 2025 CFDA Awards in a custom yellow Thom Browne dress.

As 2026 unfolds, one thing is clear: natural curls are officially in this season. Beautiful. Intentional. Unapologetic? And if the falling-in-love hair theory is true, this shift reflects a generation of women choosing themselves first rather than chasing outdated ideals… Sorry Andie…

Trend Report

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Glamour UK