You don’t have to follow every trend or reinvent your look every season to feel beautiful and current. Great style isn’t about chasing every new look that comes around, but about choosing shapes and cuts that flatter you and make you feel confident. Even if you prefer timeless beauty over trendy choices, there are certain hairstyles that have simply run their course. Some are outdated because they’ve been overdone for decades, while others have fallen out of favor because we now understand they aren’t the most flattering for modern face shapes, textures, or lifestyles.
Refreshing your hair doesn’t mean giving up who you are, but it can help to let go of some styles. A few small updates can instantly make your look more polished and in sync with the moment. Here are 12 old-fashioned hairstyles that experts say will be out of style in 2026.
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1. Feathered ’70s Layers
Feathery, flipped-out ’70s layers can look costume-y and overly styled today. They also require constant heat styling to maintain their shape, and that overworked look isn’t in right now. Current trends lean toward softer, blended layers that move naturally without dramatic flips.
2. Extreme A-Line Bob
An exaggerated A-line bob, where the front is drastically longer than the back, can look sharp and outdated. The dramatic angle draws attention to the jawline in a way that can feel harsh and lacks the effortless look that modern bobs aim for. Subtler, more blended angles are far more flattering.
3. Asymmetric Lobs
Asymmetric lobs, where one side is noticeably longer than the other, leaned heavily into trend territory and now feel dated. The imbalance can distract from facial symmetry and create an overly dramatic profile. Even, softly angled lobs offer a more timeless, face-flattering effect.
4. Baby Bangs
Baby bangs are bold, but they can also highlight fine lines, emphasize forehead height, and draw attention away from the eyes. Because they’re cut so short, they offer little softness or versatility. Most people look more balanced with bangs that fall closer to the brows.
5. Blunt Bangs
Heavy, blunt bangs can look severe and highlight forehead lines or facial asymmetry. Because they sit so straight and thick, they also tend to overpower softer features. Wispy, curtain, or side-swept fringe styles are more flattering because they blend naturally with the rest of the hair.
6. Blunt Bob
A super-blunt bob may look sharp and dramatic, but its rigid shape can feel dated and unforgiving. Without soft edges or movement, it can make fine or thinning hair appear flatter and can emphasize harsh angles on the face. Modern bobs have more texture and fluidity, which creates a softer, more youthful look.
7. Bowl Cut
A bowl cut’s symmetrical, rounded edge creates a helmet-like appearance that flatters very few people. It eliminates natural movement and often emphasizes the widest part of the head. Modern short cuts build in texture, softness, and variation to create something far more wearable.
8. Long and No Layers
Very long hair with no layers often drags the face downward and removes any sense of dimension or lift. On fine or aging hair, it can make strands look stringy and lifeless. A few well-placed layers instantly bring shape and volume back, which is why the no-layer look has fallen out of favor.
9. Mushroom Haircut
The mushroom cut’s rounded, bowl-like shape creates an unnatural silhouette that rarely complements most face shapes. It tends to add width at the temples and makes the overall style look overly constructed. More modern short styles break up that roundness with texture and movement.
10. Overly Layered Hair
When hair is chopped into too many layers, it can look choppy, thin, and uneven—especially on fine hair. Over-layering removes bulk where volume is needed and creates flyaways instead of flow. More controlled, strategically placed layers create body without sacrificing smoothness.
11. Tight Perm
Tight, uniform curls from an old-school perm tend to look artificial and overly styled. They can add bulk in awkward places and make hair harder to manage day-to-day. Today’s curls and waves are all about softness and natural movement, so stiff, spiraled perms feel out of step with current texture trends.
12. Teased Bouffant
The old-school teased bouffant creates height in a way that feels stiff, shellacked, and overly formal. It can make the overall silhouette look top-heavy and artificial. Today’s volume is softer, more lived-in, and achieved with layers rather than intense teasing and hairspray.
