While ultra-polished, glossy blow-dries are blowing up on one side of the beauty spectrum, on the other Nirvana waves are embracing messy, casual, individual texture. Coined by Samantha Cusick , UK ambassador at GHD, the term references the cool-girl waves that we’ve spotted overtaking more uniform beachy waves this summer. Photo: Instagram.
com What are Nirvana waves? According to Cusick, Nirvana waves are all about “undone textures that mimic the ‘no-makeup makeup’ look but for hair.” It’s supposed to look as though it came about naturally—like a slept-on texture with a mix of tight and loose waves, curls, and coils. “The style is nothing but relaxed, super cool, and slightly dishevelled.
It’s about embracing and enhancing natural textures with cool-girl kinks and barely there waves,” Cusick says. As for the name, it references the more casual (and natural) waves we’d see on rockers like Curt Cobain, and on music fans moshing in the crowd—and it has a little grunginess to it, thanks to its rejection of overly polished shapes. Why are they trending? We’ve seen more and more people embrace their natural texture, or move between “done” and “undone” looks; Nirvana waves lean heavily into unfussy, natural styles.
“The 2024 trends differ from previous years’ by focusing more on natural, effortless looks with a polished finish,” says Cusick. “While past trends leaned toward more-structured and defined styles, this year is all about embracin.