The Festival Hair Trends We Predict Will Be Everywhere

We love a festival transformation as much as anyone, but when your hair vision requires you to learn a whole new set of skills or enlist two extra arms, we’re here to remind you that taking the simpler route isn’t the same as the boring route.

The looks we're most excited about this season are really just... good hair. A blowout with more flippy oomph, curls that look cooler the morning after, imperfect little braids that peek out and frame your face. The vibe we’re going for is a step up from our everyday hair, worn in a more fun location.

Below, we’re breaking down how to style four of our favorite festival hair trends with the help of Matrix products and sharing what our editors are loving about each.

Retro Blowout

The retro blowout is all about ends that flip out instead of curling under and a playful wink at the housewife aesthetic. That exaggerated outward swing gives the style its personality and keeps it feeling light, bouncy, and a little bit cheeky. It also happens to be great for festivals, since movement and texture tend to hold up better when heat and humidity try to flatten everything out.

Start with clean, damp hair. Shake the Mega Sleek 96H Anti-Frizz Topcoat well, then dispense 2–5 pumps into your palm and work it through mid-lengths to ends. The smoothing serum has a heat-activated barrier that seals in moisture and resists frizz for 96 hours and in up to 97% humidity*, so your hair will still be going strong on the trip back home.

1. Grab your blowdryer and rough-dry until your hair is about 80% dry, then work through sections with a round brush to finish. As you dry, focus on directing the brush outward at the ends to create that signature flip. A nozzle attachment will help keep things smooth and target the airflow right where you want it.
2. Set your hair in rollers if you have the time and want even more bounce and flippiness through the ends.
3. Use your fingers to gently loosen everything and create airy movement.

Finish by running a few drops of Food For Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil through the ends for extra glossy shine. The avocado oil infused formula keeps your hair hydrated and smooth without adding any weight.

Slept-In Curls

The goal here is the kind of texture that makes people ask "wait, is that your natural hair?" — not the kind that looks like you spent an hour laboring over it that morning. The key to the perfect slept-in curls is, you guessed it, doing them the night before and actually going to sleep (preferably on a silk pillowcase). Wake up, shake ‘em out, go jump around the pit.

1. After washing your hair, apply A Curl Can Dream Moisturizing Leave-In Cream from root to tip when it’s still soaking wet, sectioning as you go and adjusting the amount based on your hair's thickness. Scrunch it in with your fingers for definition and moisture without any crunchiness or flaking down the line.
2. Now you have a couple options: You can air-dry or blow-dry with a diffuser, then go in with a curling iron for touch-ups if needed, wrapping sections away from your face for the most natural result. Or you can wrap your slightly damp hair in heatless curlers and keep them in while you sleep.
3. When you wake up, resist the urge to touch a brush. Just run your fingers down the length of the waves to break them up, then smooth a few drops of Food For Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil through the ends for added shine.

Barely-There Braids

Two little braids at the front, one on each side, while the rest of your hair does whatever it was already going to do. (They’re the accessories, not the piece de resistance, so you can still go all out with face gems or layered bikinis.) Worn down, they add just the right amount of whimsy and Y2K nostalgia. Worn up, they frame the face in an effortlessly feminine way.

1. Spray Miracle Creator Multi-Tasking Hair Treatment all over towel-dried hair and comb through. It's a leave-in conditioner with 20 beautifying benefits — we'd list them all but we know you have places to be — including frizz and flyaway control, heat protection, and shine enhancement. Safe to say, your hair is prepared for anything to come.
2. Style the rest of your hair as usual. Blowout, air dry, your call.
3. Take a small section from each side at the front, braid all the way down (not superloose, not supertight), and secure with a mini elastic. That's literally it.

High-Shine Pony

The high-shine pony is stepping in as the new statement look, standing out from what we typically see at festivals, like texture, volume, and braids. Sleek, polished, and intentionally pulled together, it feels both elevated and a little unexpected for a dusty, sun-soaked setting — but with the right products, it stays smooth, glossy, and perfectly in place all day.

1. After shampooing, apply Glow Mania Super Gloss Protecting Mask from mid-lengths to ends, leave it on for 3-5 minutes, then rinse. The glycolic acid laminates the hair's surface for better light reflection and the rosehip oil boosts shine from within, so you're building gloss before you even get to the styling part.
2. Shake the Instacure Build-A-Bond Billion Bond Oil well, then apply 1-2 pumps from mid-lengths to ends of damp hair. It protects against heat damage while adding a grease-free reflective shine.
3. Blow dry smooth with a paddle or boar bristle brush, then go in with a flat iron in small sections. Once sleek, pull hair back into a high ponytail, using a brush to smooth any bumps and secure tightly with an elastic. Finish by wrapping a small section of hair around the base to conceal the tie.

*vs non-conditioning shampoo