23 Iconic ’90s Hairstyles You’ll Want to Recreate ASAP (2024)

When it came to swoop bangs, the more they covered your eyes and blocked your vision, the better. Honestly, you didn't even need to cut your bangs if you could fake Aaliyah's look with some longer strands in the front.

Few hairstyles in the '90s were as iconic as Toni Braxton's pixie cuts and short hairstyles, like the cropped cut and baby bangs she wore for the Tony Braxton album cover, for instance. Straightened, curled, parted to the side, slicked down—Toni showed us there were plenty of ways to style a pixie.

With the amount of tendrils and pieces you left down around your face and the nape of your neck, formal updos in the late '90s were more like half-up, half-down hairstyles. Exhibit A: JLo's messy bun and comb barrettes that were all style and no function.

Braided hairstyles never go out of style, but you can't talk about the '90s without bringing up Janet Jackson's braids in Poetic Justice. As loved as they are versatile, these chunky box braids look just as good worn under a slouchy newsboy cap or tied with a head wrap.

Selena Quintanilla's signature red lipstick and long, voluminous hairstyles solidified the late singer's place as a '90s beauty icon among many other titles. This big, tousled updo from the 1994 Grammy Awards is both quintessential '90s and quintessential Selena.

Name a better a duo than Lisa Bonet and the '90s. I'll wait. From top hats to tiny sunglasses, Lisa Bonet's style was everything back then, but it was her super-long locs that made her an icon in the natural hair community. Although the hairstyle existed long before the '90s and is still a popular choice today, there's no denying the influence of Lisa Bonet's look.

Ugh, Britney Spears looked like a literal angel with her super-blunt lob circa 1999. And what’s more iconic than a ’90s hairstyle paired with frosty eyeshadow and shiny lip gloss? Nothing, that’s what.

It’s pretty much impossible to talk about legendary ’90s hairstyles without mentioning Jennifer Aniston’s “Rachel” haircut (shout-out to hairstylist Chris McMillan for creating it). The cut—that’s still recreated to this day, BTW—featured face-framing layers, cascading volume, and carefully placed honey highlights.

TBH, flipped-up ends is my favorite hair trend from the ’90s. There’s something so soft and elegant about flippy ends and a middle part, as proven by Naomi Campbell’s cute long bob in 1990.

If the fact that Drew Barrymore showed up to multiple red-carpet events wearing huge daisy hair clips doesn’t warm your cold ’90s heart, I don’t know what will. And can we just take a moment to appreciate her baby bangs? Thx.

Honestly, if you told me this picture was taken in 2019, I would probably believe you, considering I see a variation of Halle Berry’s cute, slicked pixie cut and hair pin on my Insta feed every day (and I’m not mad about it). Long live the ’90s.

Gwen Stefani tried out so many hair colors in the ’90s that it’s hard to pick a favorite, but her electric-pink waves with baby-blonde highlights ranks pretty damn high in my book.

Sure, all of Alicia Silverstone’s hairstyles in Clueless were pretty damn iconic, but the wispy updo with loose layers that she wore for a red carpet years later was just so freaking ’90s. And look at those itty-bitty hair clips!

I’d bet some serious $$$ that Hailey Baldwin’s signature high ponytail was loosely inspired by Tyra Banks’ sleek ’90s hairstyle. And who could blame her? Tyra’s shiny texture and cute hair tie are beyond inspo-worthy.

There’s something so inherently cool about Winona Ryder’s choppy pixie cut. I kinda love the idea of going super short and adding plenty of edge with a texture paste, WBU?

Can you even look at this photo of baby Mila Kunis without smiling?! I can’t, especially considering she’s wearing the end-all hair accessory of the ’90s: butterfly hair clips.

Is it just me, or does this Mariah Carey throwback kinda, sorta make you want to buy a crimping iron? I’d like to go on record with my prediction that crimped hair is going to be the next ’90s hairstyle revival.

If you haven’t recreated Baby Spice’s epic pigtails at least once for Halloween, what are you even doing? In all seriousness, though, you gotta hand it to Emma Bunton for pioneering the ’90s hairstyle staple.

Another ’90s hairstyle you’ve definitely saved to your Instagram collection: Brandy’s side-parted braids with face-framing hair clips. It’s too cute not to recreate.

I’ll admit that I’ve definitely worn a variation of Kirsten Dunst’s face-framing updo this month. It’s perfect for putting off wash day, alright?