26 Best Hairstyles and Haircuts For Thick Hair
Looking for the best haircuts for thick hair to flatter as well as make your locks easier to manage? You've come to the right place...
If you’re blessed with a luscious mane of thick hair, you probably don’t even realise how lucky you are. But don’t get us wrong, we know that finding suitable haircuts for thick hair can be hard. After all, the more hair you have the more difficult (and time-consuming) it can be to style and manage, particularly if you don’t have the right base cut as a starting point.
But that’s where we can help. Scroll down to see our selection of the best haircuts for thick hair, with short, mid-length and long-haired styles to consider.
Side-swept Medium Cut
A side parting gives mid-length thick hair more lift at the roots and prevents “triangle hair” (that is, where there’s too much weight at the bottom of the hair). Adding choppy layers also helps to give the look a shaggier, cool-girl effect.
Face-Framing Layers
Face-framing layers flatter every face shape and instantly give any look more texture and dimension. One of the key benefits to layers is that they’re a great get-up-and-go style and look just as good whether you let your hair air dry or do a DIY blow dry.
Long Waves
Long, luscious locks are practically calling out for waves. They can be tight curls or loose, undone waves and can be achieved using heat and heatless methods, so you can find the perfect style for your hair.
Editor’s tip: If you have naturally wavy hair, this cut will work a treat, but if you don’t, just use a curling wand to create medium, loose curls before gently teasing them out with your fingers for that effortlessly tousled, rock ‘n’ roll-inspired finish. Alternatively, you could also use a specialist hair waver to get the same look in half the time!
Thinking about giving it a go? Just remember to use a heat protectant such as the TRESemmé Heat Defence Spray, whenever you’re using heat to style (even if you’re using a hair dryer!) to help prevent hair damage.
Choppy Bob with Bangs
One haircut that is very much in vogue right now is choppy bangs. Anyone with thick hair, whether long or short (like this chic, French-girl bob) can benefit from bangs as they frame the face so well and tie the whole look together like a dream.
Wavy Lob
The lob love is still strong. A long bob is a great hairstyle for thick and wavy hair types, as a cut with lots of layers looks like it’s full of volume and natural body. To get the look, be sure to ask your stylist for a long bob that sits somewhere between a classic bob and a mid-length cut.
Choppy Bob with Bangs
From Maisie Williams to Ana de Armas, the choppy bob and full fringe is a well-loved combo. Not sure you can pull it off? Check out our choppy bob article to see how to style it on different hair types.
Textured Pixie Cut
Pixie cuts are arguably some of the best haircuts for thick hair and with so many different variations from slick, androgynous styles to more casual, sweeping looks, you’ve just got to work out which one is your absolute favourite.
Editor’s tip: To keep your pixie cut in check, use a small amount of the VO5 Matt Clay to shape your strands into your desired look. The matt finish means it’ll stay looking natural while still giving you that control.
Pixie Cut with Straight Fringe
Looking for something a bit more statement for your next cut? Another, edgier way to wear a short pixie cut is to team it with a straight-across fringe like this one. The bowl and mushroom cut trend is really big this season and this is a great short hair option for those with thicker strands.
Medium Layers
The key to making layers work for you is to work with the texture of your hair, be that poker straight or defined waves. Talk about it with your hairstylist beforehand to make sure they know which facial features you’re trying to bring out, how you usually wear your hair and how short you want the layers to be.
Mid-length Waves with Curtain Bangs
Grown-out, curtain style fringes are without a doubt one of the biggest trends around right now and fortunately for you, the style works wonders on thick hair. They frame the face beautifully and blend in seamlessly with the rest of your hair – especially when curled.
Wavy Bob with Split Bangs
The versatility of curtain bangs is what makes them so popular – they’re equally as complimentary on shorter cuts and in fact, they really add to an otherwise basic bob.
Mohawk Pixie
Add volume and flair to a pixie cut with this quiff-meets-mohawk style, which is made for thicker hair types. Ask your stylist to keep the sides shorter, leaving more length on top so that you can round brush your way to gravity-defying heights!
Editor’s tip: To style a quiff, work a squirt of the VO5 Big Volume Mousse through damp hair before drying with a round brush. This will give your hair long-lasting lift and give your quiff more structure and texture.
Blunt Bob
If you struggle to manage thick hair, a blunt bob is a really manageable cut that’s also never going to go out of style. Add in some E-girl highlights like this street styler for an Instagrammable touch of colour.
Long Layers
Really thick hair can sometimes appear to weigh you down, particularly if it’s all one length, so long layers are an excellent choice.
Boyish Lob
’90s hair trends are absolutely everywhere right now and the boyfriend bob (think: Jared Leto in My So-Called Life) was iconic. It’s not just men who are rocking them now, though, with the dubbed ‘boyfriend bob’ fast-becoming a sought after style for girls.
’90s Bob
A slighter shorter take on the cut above, this time with a side parting, this is another on-trend boyfriend bob option.
Shaggy Layers
The shag is perfect for those who want to add more shape and overall volume.
Ask your stylist for longer, choppier layers throughout, as this will help boost texture, without making your hair look too ridiculously full. Aim for the longest length to fall just below your collarbones, and keep the shortest layer to around mid-cheek.
Grown-Out Fringe
Split fringes have the added benefit of being one of the most low maintenance haircuts for thick hair. You don’t have to be as religious with getting trims as you would with a normal straight-across cut, so you can space out your appointments a bit more.
Graduated Bob
Just because you are genetically blessed with thick hair doesn’t mean you won’t be able to embrace a short hairstyle. By adding choppy layers to a chin-grazing bob, your thick locks will look and feel less bulky, making them easier to manage, too.
To best show off this stylised cut, style it straight or add in very subtle waves to help it give it some movement.
Full Fringe
Full fringes work really well on thick hair, as you don’t have to worry about them separating or going gappy. If you’re concerned about them looking flat, try using rollers or a round brush when drying your hair to gently curl your fringe and give it more shape and bounce.
Boho Long Waves
For those who don’t like to fuss over their hair too much in the morning, beachy boho waves are the way to go. Working in some loose, deconstructed curls can stop longer hair from looking shapeless while giving you year-round summer vibes.
Feathered Layers
A great way to give your hair some sexy, natural-looking movement and texture is to avoid blocky blunt ends (these will only make your hair look even thicker!) and opt instead for delicate, feathered layers.
Long Layers
Long layers are also a great way to inject subtle movement and lightness into long, thick hair, especially when it comes to flattering your facial features. Chin-skimming layers work particularly well as they can help frame the face while adding a bit of drama to ultra long cuts.
Centre-Parting with Smooth Layers
Sophisticated and unfussy, this timeless style will work wonders for those with thick hair that’s naturally straight or slightly wavy.
The layers don’t have to be dramatic (for those who want a more classy, modern look), but do ask your stylist to thin out the ends using shears to remove any excess weight at the bottom of the cut. This will result in a subtle and effortless hairstyle that feels much lighter than it looks.
Side-Parted Lob
A long bob works well on pretty much all hair types and face shapes, not to mention it’s bang on trend.
A side parting is also a great way to elevate a simple cut, and it works a treat with thick hair, as it can help maximise the advantages of fuller-bodied locks to create a luxe, naturally voluminous look.
Modern Bowl Cut
Don’t worry, we haven’t gone mad. The modern take on the bowl cut has undergone such a dramatic style renovation that actually, you might not even recognise it. More of a rounded bob, it’s softer and more lived-in, making it a really great everyday haircut for thick hair.
