How to Do *All* the Viral Hairstyles You Keep Seeing on TikTok
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Let me guess: TikTok made you buy all those hair accessories and styling tools (looking at you, Revlon One-Step Volumizer Hair Dryer), and now you need a bunch of hairstyle ideas and hacks to go along with them, am I right?! Welp, lucky for you, I spend 99 percent of my day scrolling through my FYP and have saved all of the best TikTok hairstyles and tips to share with you.
I’m gonna be honest—even though a lot of these hairstyles are suddenly exploding on TikTok, all these looks have been around for decades, so don’t be surprised if you’ve already tried a few out on yourself. Still, a little refresher inspo never hurt anyone, so to get inspired, keep scrolling to find everything from throwback ’70s and ’90s styles to tips for using new viral hair devices. Then grab that ring light that TikTok also made you buy, so you can watch along and try some of these 19 tutorials yourself.
1. TikTok’s no-heat blowout
Really, really long hair that seems to always fall flat is no match for this hair hack. Wearing a crown made out of a T-shirt might be a little uncomfortable to sleep on, but who needs sleep when you have big, bouncy, heat-free curls like these?! Watch the video above to figure out how to give the look a try yourself, then watch this one below to learn how to make your own T-shirt doughnut.
2. Heatless curls hack
Remember the robe sash wet hairstyle that everyone seemed to be trying during quarantine? Well, you can have your bathrobe back, because this is the 2.0 version that uses something totally different. Order one of these long silky, flexible hair curlers, then wrap your hair around it the same way you did with the socks or robe belt to curl your hair. With silk, you’ll have even better, more consistent curls that shine.
3. Dyson Airwrap curl trick
If there’s one styling tool TikTok loves, it’s the Dyson Airwrap that uses less heat than your curling wand to style your hair. The biggest complaint, however, is getting your curls to last. For this hack, you’ll use the indentations of the air vents to guide your bobby pin onto your curl so you can easily pin it while the style sets.
4. Curly ponytail
This TikTok has a massive 46.7 million views (!!!), so if you’re one of the few who hasn’t watched it, click play already! You’ll need a couple of brushes, flexi rods, and styling gel, but I have faith that you can pull off this curly pony too.
5. TikTok’s flipped updo
For this style, just part your hair down the middle, then, starting with your shortest face-framing layers, pull them down under your chin and tie them in a ponytail. Continue sectioning and tying off ponytails exactly like this under your chin until it looks like a beard, then, one by one, take each ponytail and flip it from the front and over your head to the back. Honestly, I’ve seen more fails of this challenge than success stories, but this messy updo looks cute enough to convince me to try it anyway.
6. Velcro roller volume hack
All my flat-hair friends looking for more volume, watch and learn. Start with a large curling iron, and as you release the sections of hair, wrap them in large velcro rollers while the hair cools to set the shape.
7. Half-up hairstyle for short hair
The only type of hair that’s harder to pull up into a ponytail than short hair is layered hair. And if your current hairstyle is all of the above, you need this tutorial. Pull back the top-half section, and secure it in a ponytail. Then, grab any extra face-framing pieces that couldn’t reach, tuck them behind your ears, and clip them in place.
8. Middle-part high ponytail
TikTokers and middle parts, man. When you want to wear your hair pulled up in a high pony but don’t want to slick it all back and also don’t want the bumps that come with forcing a middle part to stay in place, this is the trick. Pull all of your hair into a high ponytail, but leave your front section down. Once the ponytail is secured, split your bangs down the middle, and smooth them back while maintaining the part. Then, join them with the rest of the ponytail and secure without another elastic.
9. Half-up hairstyle with elastics
This long curly hairstyle is such a fun look and pretty simple to pull off. Grab yourself some small elastic bands, and prep your hair with your fave curly hair products. Then, starting with your bangs, pull a small section of hair into a ponytail and secure it. Working your way toward the crown of your head, bring another small section of hair into a ponytail, but add the tail of the first ponytail to connect them before tying it off. Continue a third time, then repeat on the other side.
10. Claw-clip updos
All your fave TikTok influencers got you stocked up on claw clips, now how are you supposed to wear them?! This video will give you three good ideas for long, straight hair: a twisted chignon, a spiky bun, and a half-up hairstyle.
11. Braids with beads hairstyle
If you can braid your own hair, you gotta try this braided hairstyle with beads. And if you can’t, well, this look might be worth finally learning how. And you don't have to do your whole head, either. A few braids are really all you need, especially when your curls look this good.
12. Flat-iron curtain bangs
Curtain bangs are fun until you realize you have to style them yourself once you leave the salon. Heat up your flat iron and follow along so you don’t have to pin your bangs back every day.
13. Curly clipped hairstyle
The trick to this curly updo is allll in this cool clip that expands and contracts. This clamp-like tool (aka bird nest hair clip) opens up like a hair donut to wrap around the base, then holds your hair in place when you squeeze it shut.
14. Double-bun hairstyle
You know what they (ahem, TikTok, apparently) say: A double-bun hairstyle is better than one. I’m a big fan of pairing them with some slicked side bangs, too.
15. Curly hair with side detail
Don’t know how to braid? No probs! Try this twist hairstyle instead. Start with small sections of hair secured tightly with small elastic bands, then twist the ends of each section together to connect them and form one twist. Style your curls, add accessories and cuffs, and you’re done.
16. Bubble ponytail hairstyle
Maybe you’ve heard them called bubble braids. Maybe you call them bubble ponytails. Call them what you want, but I call this the cutest and easiest hairstyle for medium-length hair. Wrap elastics around your tendrils one inch apart, and voilà.
17. Textured TikTok waves
If all these voluminous layers bring a tear to your eye, we’ve got a trick for you so you can copy it. When blow-drying your front section, “confuse the hair” by using your round brush to push your bangs in all directions as they dry to create that messy texture.
18. ’70s hairstyle hack
If you’ve got a shag haircut, stop what you’re doing and try this TikTok hairstyle right now. Of course, big, bouncy, feathered hair like this existed long before TikTok, but they def didn’t have flat irons back in the ’70s, so here’s a more modern way to get the vintage look. Curl your hair with a straightener to flip out the ends away from your face, then flip it over and fluff it out.
19. Jumbo knotless braids
This video shows you the easy way to DIY jumbo knotless braids, so take notes. What you need: a crochet needle, rubberbands, braiding hair, and TikTok so you can watch this video on loop.
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