Kendall Jenner Took The Plunge & Got 2021’s Favorite Hair Makeover

Kendall Jenner’s known for pushing the envelop with her creative ensembles and ever-changing makeup styles, but one across-the-board holdout has been her hair. Consistently a shiny medium brunette (with variating highlights, layers, or the occasional playful wig), Jenner knows what works for her and likes to keep from rocking the boat — until now, anyway. For a new shoot with Elle, Kendall Jenner debuted curtain bangs, choppy and artfully mussed to match the rest of her fresh cut. Paired with a minimalist lip and complexion makeup and smoked-out eyes, it’s a surprisingly different take on the haircut that’s had a vice grip on the beauty world since the earliest days of quarantine.

Only a few weeks earlier, Jenner was sporting her signature mid-length locks with summer-appropriate faded highlights and a center part, face-framing pieces just grazing her collarbone. Now, her hair’s layers are more defined, ruffled, and deeper in color. But nothing catches immediate attention quite like the bangs. Messily styled for a Parisian, just-left-my-lover’s-house bedhead effect that’s so enviably effortless, it instantly elevates Jenner’s look from cool to downright edgy. According to credits shared on Instagram, top stylist Panos Papandrianos, working with Oribe, is responsible for Jenner’s transformative new look.

The curtain bangs makeover follows the well-heeled steps of many of Jenner’s young Hollywood ilk, like Selena Gomez, Priyanka Chopra, and Elizabeth Olsen. Loved for their relatively low-maintenance care requirements (especially compared to other bangs) and how complementary they are to so many face shapes (extra-especially compared to other bangs), it’s pretty clear how the vintage-inspired style managed to take off so quickly last year.

But regardless if you have your own pair of curtain bangs or not, Jenner’s piece-y-relaxed style can work on most layered haircuts. To nail it, first throw out any ideas about going-out hair needing to look neat, combed, or even necessarily clean — this is all about a devil-may-care freedom. Cutting a texture aid like a dry shampoo paste, mousse, or pomade with a palmful of water and rub through layers. Pinch off tiny pieces at the ends and twist them with just a touch more product for that textured, pulled-apart look that’s practically synonymous with rockstar. With this hair, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jenner dropped an album herself.