Have you ever wondered how K-pop idols and K-drama actresses always have the most perfect, trendy hairstyles? From long, wavy hair to a short, layered bob-cut, Korean women, not just celebrities, are always rocking the most stylish hair looks.
Korea's beauty industry is well-developed, with hair salons on almost every street in Seoul. If you're visiting Korea, you can't leave without getting your hair done, especially in popular areas like Gangnam, Hongdae, or Myeongdong!
If you want to get your hair done at a Korean hair salon but you're not sure what hairstyle to go for, here's a full list of different types of haircuts, colors, and perms complete with photos for you to refer to!
Korean perms are a popular way to add volume and texture to your hair. Here are some of the most trendy perm styles:
The build perm is meant to create a more fluffed-up, voluminous look and consists of C-curls that curl outwards or inwards towards the ends. It's usually paired with a slightly layered cut to create a naturally feminine look, as well as a root perm for more volume!
Read also: Lash Serum Guide
A hug perm is usually done on long hair, as it consists of large C-curls on the ends that 'hug' the face. It's a very simple, flattering hairstyle that anyone can pull off! It's best to get this perm with layers so the bottom doesn't get too heavy-looking or overly thick.
The Elizabeth perm and Grace perm are very similar and are a really popular Korean perm for medium to long hair, as the curls give off a very elegant look. The difference is that the Elizabeth perm consists of both S-curls and C-curls, and the Grace perm consists of S-curls only. They both give the hair a full, voluminous shape, but with different vibes!
A jelly perm gives tight S-curls to the hair from roots to ends, giving thick waves to the hair. A hippie perm is similar but has even tighter curls, giving a more dramatic, curly look. It's super cute and is a great way to add lots of volume and texture to your hair!
The sleek perm has been widely popular in Korea recently as a Y2K look. It's considered the "NewJeans hairstyle" since many of the members have this hairstyle!
It's a very clean, simple look that makes one look very chic, put-together, and stylish at the same time. It's usually done on long hair and is paired with a hair treatment for a more sleek look!
Read also: Trendy Korean Short Hair
Korean haircuts are known for their precision and trendsetting styles. Here are some popular options:
A layered cut is always a classic! It gives a more elegant, effortless look to your hair and a lot more volume. You can get a layered cut with any hair length, and also choose how intense you want the layers to be.
The hush cut is currently the most popular haircut in Korea! You might see many Korean women sporting this style in trendy areas like Hongdae, Seongsu, or Gangnam.
It's a type of layered cut that has 2 distinct sections, with the top section having layers starting around the neck area and the bottom section remaining thinner and longer. It was popularized by Red Velvet's Wendy, and went so viral that people started calling it the Wendy Cut!
This Japanese-style haircut has been one of the newest hairstyle trends here in Korea. It gained even more popularity when Suzy sported the look for her K-drama character Lee Doona!
Read also: Guide to Korean Hairstyles
It's a very angular hairstyle that consists of blocks of straight, horizontal cuts without connecting layers. It gives off very chic vibes!
Like its name, the tassel cut is a short hairstyle that is cut straight across the ends, resembling a tassel! It is a very clean, chic look that many Korean actresses and idols go for at one point. Actress Seol In-ah trended in Korea after appearing in the K-drama 'Business Proposal' because people loved her in a tassel cut so much!
K-pop idols are known for trying all kinds of hair colors, especially when they are making a comeback! Korean women usually like to change their hair color according to the season to match the vibes.
The secret two-tone style has been extremely popular in recent years, not just in Korea, but worldwide! The style consists of two different colors on the top and bottom layers, with the bottom layer usually being a lighter tone. It's a really fun and unique look!
Bolder colors are still popular amongst Korean women! Platinum blonde or gray and pastel pink, purple, and blue have been most popular in recent years. In some cases, it may take multiple sessions to achieve the desired color. It's definitely worth trying if you want that K-pop look!
If you like sticking to trends, here are the top 5 Korean hairstyles that are expected to trend in 2024!
The whole world is smitten with Korean pop culture and tries to emulate the new-found idols. And haircuts are at the forefront of these stylish adaptations. Korean hairstyles for men masterfully fuse bold creativity with easy wearability. Thanks to globalization, modern hairstyles combine trends from all over the world.
These dye jobs make skin look more luminous, just like the country's beloved skin-care products do. Playful innovation is at the crux of K-beauty. It’s what’s made Korean skin-care products - with their innovative ingredients and satisfying textures - so beloved stateside for almost a decade. This approach to product development directly impacts Korean hair color trends as well.
With the latest semi-permanent hair dyes, Korean colorists can recreate the color of bricks, milk tea, and cargo pants on basically any hair type. “As technology improves, more people [in Korea] seem to prefer the hairstyles of their dreams, recognizing that styles that could only be seen in books or pictures in the past are realistically possible,” says Soonsiki, the head stylist and owner of his namesake salon, Soonsiki, in Seoul, South Korea. With that in mind, consider looking to K-beauty trends for your next new hair color. Whether you’re seeking out shades of brown, blonde, or even purple, the pros behind the highly sought-after dye jobs of your favorite K-pop stars have a look for you.
Hairstylist Mujin Choi says that khaki brown (which is also often referred to as olive brown) is one of the most popular hair colors at his salon. It’s also one of his favorite natural hair color recommendations for his clients, who include members of BTS, Aespa, and TXT. The reason being that khaki brown has a glass skin-enhancing effect. Color theory backs this complexion-illuminating magic. Red undertones in classic brown dye jobs typically make Korean and East Asian complexions appear sallow and yellow, Mujin explains. By adding a barely noticeable amount of green to dark brown dye to create a khaki hue, the redness is neutralized. “The khaki brown makes your face look [brighter],” he adds.
Like khaki, the ashy tones in this dye job help illuminate skin, says Naejoo Park, who not only did Jay B’s hair for his Allure cover shoot but also Jungkook’s for his recent Calvin Klein campaign. Ashy tones and glowing skin may seem contradictory, but The Glory's Lim Ji Yeon proves they work harmoniously. Silver or beige tones are added to brown to better flatter Korean skin tones by eliminating unwanted brassy orange and red tones, Park says. Plus, subtle amounts of ashy tones make the overall rich brown hair vibe more reflective, making your complexion look as bright as possible in the process, he adds.
When people in Seoul want to go blonde these days, they go beige blonde, Soonsiki says. At other salons, the trend may be called milk beige or maple beige, but the aesthetic is the same: A sandy blonde hue with hints of the gray and green found in beige. It’s often achieved with the help of AirTouch balayage, Soonshiki notes. This highlighting technique uses a blow dryer - instead of backcombing or weaving - to separate hair into sections for the most subtle, natural-looking highlights.
Soonsiki’s clients are all about “pure pink,” as the salon’s owner calls it. The Barbie-like hue is often preferred “without purple tones,” he adds. In fact, pure pink is the top post-bleach session option for people vying for a delightful bright - albeit unnatural - hair color. Typically, Soonsiki starts with a nearly transparent platinum-blonde base before adding bubblegum-toned dye.
Beyond pure pink, the top colorful hair color trend in Korea this year is called ash violet or ash purple, as seen on NewJeans’ Hanni. Naturally, black hair often has a yellow tint after bleaching, so adding an ash-toned purple on top of it ensures that the dye job doesn’t fade back to yellow, as it is a complementary color, Park explains. Plus, ash violet helps post-bleached hair “maintain a beige tone to keep hair prettier longer,” Choi says.
Rosé of Blackpink can’t get enough of this hair color trend. She’s kept up her coral beige dye job for both weekends of Coachella, a Sulwhasoo event at the Met, and the Cannes Film Festival. This look is not quite honey blonde, not quite bright coral. It’s somewhere in between for this sherbert-y, peach-pink hue.
Scroll through any of the stylists’ Instagrams and you’ll see lots of grungy, brick-like orange hair with hints of brown.
tags: #korean #hairstyle #color #trends
