‘Nirvana waves’ are the bedhead style we don’t want to sleep on

Where ultra-polished, glossy blowdries are blowing up on one side of the beauty spectrum, on the other, ‘Nirvana waves’ are embracing mussy, casual, individual texture. Coined by Samantha Cusick, UK ambassador at GHD, the trend references the cool-girl waves that we’ve spotted overtaking more uniform beachy waves this summer.

What are Nirvana waves?

According to Samantha, Nirvana waves are all about “undone textures that mimic the ‘no makeup makeup’ look but for hair.” It’s supposed to look like 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. Its about embracing and enhancing natural textures with cool girl kinks and barely there waves,” Samantha explains.

As for the name, it references the more casual (and natural) waves we’d see on rockers like Curt Cobain, and music fans moshing in the crowd – and it has a little grunginess to it, thanks to its rejection of overly polished shapes.

Why are Nirvana waves trending?

We’ve seen more and more people embrace their natural texture, or move between ‘done’ and ‘undone’ looks – and Nirvana waves lean heavily into un-fussy, natural styles. “The 2024 trends differ from previous years by focusing more on natural, effortless looks with a polished finish,” says Samantha. “While past trends leaned towards more structured and defined styles, this year is all about embracing your hair’s natural texture with a refined touch,” she adds.

How to wear Nirvana waves?

To keep it feeling casual, the style tends to be worn with flatter roots and a mussier, non-uniform wave, which can be achieved by letting natural hair airdry and develop your own individual mix of texture, or by sleeping in braids. To style it that way, include a mix of waves by alternating how you tong or clamp your waves with a mix of S waves, flat waves, forward waves and backward waves. Once you’ve the mix, there’s loads of versatility within the trend. We’ve seen it worn side-flipped, two-tone, wet-look, a little sleek or ultra undone. Here’s some of our favourite ways to wear it below…

Platinum Nirvana waves

Two tone Nirvana waves

Sleek Nirvana waves

Cherry cola Nirvana waves

Layered Nirvana waves

Wet-look Nirvana waves

Tossed Nirvana waves

Golden Nirvana waves

Wet side-flipped Nirvana waves

Old glamour Nirvana waves

Soft-mussed Nirvana waves

Stretched Nirvana waves

Crimped Nirvana waves

For more from GLAMOUR’s Senior Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk

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