At one point or another, we’ve all faced the classic salon dilemma where you crave a hairstyle that feels fresh and new, but you are too inundated with ideas and can’t seem to arrive at a concrete decision.
Reader, say hello to your next gossip-worthy refresh, minus the tedious Instagram swipes: the medium-length hairstyle.
It’s short enough to make bangs look seriously cool on you, yet boasts just the right length for layers to slot right in.
And for those who think medium hair is strictly an in-between style, we dare you to look around you for a quick minute. Of course there are more than a handful of ladies rocking this timelessly gorgeous style, no?
Now say it with me: medium-length haircuts are NOT a transitional or “settling” style. They’re a real style, with real perks (read: ample movement and versatility), and real potential to be your any-season go-to.
Now that we’re all on the same page, let’s get you inspired with some of the best medium-length hairstyles we’ve spotted this year.
Best Mid-Length Hairstyles for 2024
First, a quick detour.
So what exactly sets medium-length hairstyles apart?
- Description: hits anywhere below the chin but above the shoulders
- Best for: any hair type (and especially fine hair), any face shape
- Characterized by: layers, bangs, and some more layers
- Goes with: literally any color solution and finish
And now, the rundown begins. Granted, these top 60 mid-length hairstyles will make you fall in love.
1) Wavy Lob
Tie it back into a ponytail or dress it down and it’ll look enviably cute either way.
2) Blunt Lob for Fine Hair
Blunt ends make hair appear thicker and waves add depth and texture. With this mid-length style, no one will think your hair is naturally on the thin side.
3) Feathered Lob for Brunettes
Mid-length haircuts look ten times more fluid with long layers. Look at THAT volume!
4) Mid-Length Hair With Textured Ends
Have medium locks but they aren’t quite as free-flowing as you’d like them to be? The trick is to learn how to blow-dry them to create those stunning face-framing waves.
5) Mid-Length Brunette Layers
This style features layers placed delicately to frame the face, adding softness and dimension. It’s simply too gorgeous not to imitate!
6) Angled Lob In Sandy Blonde
Sandy blonde color will always make a statement, and this sassy lob with a slight angle makes for an interesting shape and gorgeous shade.
7) Layered Hairstyle With a Side Part
An easy way to make a shoulder-length style feel fresh is by adding layers. A side part offers more volume for those with fine or thin hair.
8) Inverted Shaggy Lob
We are yet to come across a more flattering hairstyle for round faces than this stunning inverted cut with bent waves–and trust us, we’ve seen many! The angled shape, sharp ends, and longer length provide a nice contrast to the symmetry of a plump face.
9) Bedhead Medium Hairstyle
Bedhead looks just as good on the red carpet as it does on a fluffy pillow. The secret is to keep your hair at mid-length, pump up some volume around the crown, and sprinkle in some highlights for a dazzling effect.
10) Soft Wolf Cut Hair
Don’t get us wrong, we love the OG wolf cut; you just need to have the audacity to wear it. For those of us who might never muster the courage, we’re better off rocking its ‘less wild’ version, featuring long, soft layers. Combine that with an easy face frame or bottleneck fringe, and you have a silhouette that will turn heads effortlessly.
11) Swoopy Layers on Mid-Length Hair
You don’t need to rock a super pricey hairstyle to impress your next date; just ask your stylist for swoopy layers and you’re set. They’ll make your hair appear shiny, super soft, and classy–an instant compliments magnet. And, oh, you can also experiment by making them asymmetrical, even, or consistent.
12) Medium Hair With Swoopy Curtain Bangs
Curtain bangs are the most desired type of bangs for shoulder-length hair, as they’re both stylish and low-maintenance. Ask for swoopy bangs if you want to add an interesting touch to your straight hair.
13) Medium Shag With Bangs
You guessed it–it’s bangs o’clock and we can’t keep calm! For the baddies that just can’t wait to show off their wild character, this hairstyle is IT. The combination of modern long bangs and messy, shoulder-grazing hair will instantly catapult your look to a whole new level of badass.
14) Long Bangs on Shoulder-Length Hair
Emma Bunton owned this style back in the day, now it’s your turn. Layered waves and elongated bangs are all you need to replicate her signature sassy look. Doesn’t she look stunning?
15) Sleek Shoulder-Length Hair
This straight lob gets bonus points for its ease of styling. Its texture is to die for as well, and because it flatters every face shape, it’s an easy 20/10 for us. Just WOW!
16) Wavy Choppy Hairstyle for Thick Hair
Loose the bulkiness, not the gorgeousness. Featuring choppy waves and piece-y bangs, this style is absolutely chic.
17) Messy Medium Hairstyle With Balayage Highlights
This is a fantastic option if you want to combine messy waves and a touch of color, be it ombre or highlights. The messy waves make for effortless aesthetics that are synonymous with the red carpet, while the light blonde front pieces illuminate facial features and flatter your complexion.
18) Blonde Balayage Waves
If you’re already blessed with dark brown hair with waves, invest in a few pieces of blonde. They’ll lighten things up with little to no maintenance needed.
19) Textured Lob With Messy Finish
You don’t have to have long hair to show off your natural texture. Medium-length haircuts are easily customizable to any texture; for a more voluminous look, give your hair a good tousle before you get out the door.
20) Side-Parted Bangs
Grazing the cheeks oh-so-daintily, these long bangs frame the face prettier than a picture.
21) Beachy Waves
Talk about screenshot potential and inspiration to carry to your next salon visit! These dreamy messy waves get their zazz from air drying without combing–it’s almost as if the sea breeze itself took part in the styling. Simply SUBLIME!
22) Piece-y Shag
A medium-length look with messy layers? A dynamic duo, to say the least. This shaggy lob is begging to be worn by ladies with thin or fine hair, and it’ll reward them with va-va-voom volume and enviable texture.
23) Sunkissed Lob
We love it when a woman decides to go fully sunkissed, whether through beach highlights or a masterfully blended moneypiece. This picture is a prime example of the former.
24) Stunning Bridget Bardot Hair
We’re taking things back to the (headline-hitting) Bridget Bardot hair moments of the 1960s–which means multi-layered choppy locks and meticulously laid bottleneck bangs.
25) Shadow Roots and Messy Layers
Of course they’re a match made in heaven, and of course it’s a super feminine and chic ‘do! And the best part: it’s incredibly low-maintenance.
26) Blunt Bob
Speaking of low-maintenance styles for medium hair, none is as easy to pull as this no-fuss bob–especially if you have naturally wavy hair. Simply add a texturizing spray and scrunch the look for volumizing purposes, and you’re ready to look mesmerizing all day!
27) Midi Hair With Arched Face-Framing Bangs
We absolutely love this face-framing layered hairstyle! The feminine, youthful-looking A-line shaped bangs are calling us by name–and we are definitely saying yes! Since they’re perfectly versatile, wear them as curtain bangs or a full fringe.
28) Layered Neck-Length Hairstyle
The very best medium-length hairstyles dial up the volume throughout your mane while lending it eye-catching movement and texture–and this cute number definitely got the memo.
29) Medium Hairstyle With Curled-Under Ends
Say hello to your Selena Gomez side with a straight center-parted no-fuss hairstyle. It’s as red carpet-ready as it gets.
30) Soft Collarbone-Grazing Hair
A deep side part creates instant volume on top of your head, which also makes it ideal for visually elongating round faces. This medium hair with a deep side part is the ultimate proof. For a sassy look, get a large body wave with a round brush or go in with some volumizing spray.
31) Lob Mid-Length Hair
Did someone say unlimited experimentation? That’s right, messy medium hairstyles allow you to freely experiment with curtain bangs, highlights, and waves, however, whenever–and you’ll look fabulous every single time!
32) Natural Waves
With a wash-and-wear beachy style like this shaggy curly brunette bob, you’ll look summer-ready all year long! To copy the look to a tee, brush your curls out into loose waves using a wide-tooth comb.
33) Straight Blonde Lob
In case you got distracted by the show-stopping glossy blonde color, this style deserves just as much attention. Sleek long bobs refresh absolutely any hair type, all while exuding grace and elegance.
34) Flipped Out Ends
Who said the flipped-out look went out of style? To land a throwback look, tilt the flat iron away from your face once you reach the ends. Set the style with a few spritzes of hairspray.
35) Soft Wavy Lob
A fan favorite for a while now, the Maya Rudolph’s lob features a clean side part, soft waves, and exceptional texture throughout. You’ll need more than a curling iron to land this iconic look–hint: round brush, texture spray, glistening mist, and everything in between.
36) Messy Bun
You can’t go wrong with a classic! This top knot is simple, sweet, and can be transformed into sultry waves or a striking updo in a jiffy. For that reason, it’s THE perfect day-to-night hairdo.
37) Layers and See-Through Bangs
Just because you go midi doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice volume and flair. This shoulder-grazing downdo has the best of both worlds.
38) Layered Bob for Natural Curls
Curly medium hair works well with any style of part, whether a center part or a deep side part as seen here. It adds even more body and pumps up your curls. Perfect for the woman who enjoys the spotlight.
39) Shoulder-Length Cut With Face Framing Highlights
It isn’t a bedazzling style if it doesn’t have a drizzle of highlights in all the right places, and especially along the perimeter. Fun and youthful, this sleek long bob with a blonde moneypiece is the perfect solution for emphasizing your stunning eyes and gorgeous smile.
40) Heavily Layered Shoulder Length Hair
Thick hair can sometimes prove tricky to tame, so embrace a medium cut to shed off the extra weight. For those with extra long hair, a style this intricately layered helps bring your tresses down to a manageable length–and that translates to more flexibility when styling. BIG WIN!
41) Slightly Stacked Long Bob for Older Women
Bells and whistles aren’t needed here–just some stacked layers towards the back. The result? A statement-making ‘do that oozes femininity and boldness—exactly what your 25-year-old self would rock.
42) Medium-Length Curly Hair
You’ll agree with us, there’s a lot to be said about curly hair styled at medium length. Full and voluminous, jet-black curls cascade all the way down to the ends, landing a unique Latin America vibe that’s bound to turn heads effortlessly. Hot, fiery, and everything spicy!
43) Balayaged Medium Hair
Every hair length works with balayage–medium included. Besides looking alluringly fresh and chic, this coloring technique works great for thin and thick hair alike—for the former, it makes locks appear fuller while for the latter, tresses end up seeming less heavy. It’s magic, alright, one that’s only reserved for the creme del a creme of the styling world.
44) Feathered Layers
Women in their 30s and 40s will certainly appreciate this blonde feathered layered medium cut. Not only will it add more glamor to your overall look, but it also makes you look light years younger. Long bangs and a side part are universally flattering, so consider them as a styling option for this stunner.
45) Warm Brown Mid-Length Hair
When hair goes flat, we go warm brown! Instantly transform any medium cut into something cozy and attention-grabbing by opting for golden or reddish undertones throughout your mane. Ain’t no way you’ll fail to exude positive vibrance and cheerfulness with this hair color.
46) Bronde Colormelt
Blend highlights and lowlights for a hairstyle with incredible and endless depth. The colormelt is perfect for lovers of shoulder-length style who just can’t commit to a single hue.
47) Light Brown Lob
Don’t shy away from the ever-popular coppery brown lob just because “everyone has worn it at some point”. If worn slightly wavy with a side part, you’ll be left with such a striking ‘do.
48) Midi Shag With Bangs
Who wouldn’t want to conceal a big forehead? I know I would. This edgy style is up for the task, ladies. For more depth, add a lighter shade than your base color at the ends.
49) Wispy Long Bob
A full serving of wispy layers and textured ends is just what you need to add oomph and movement to fine or thin hair.
50) Straight Choppy Bob
Boasting just a few inches longer than a short haircut, this medium bob is ready to bring your entire town to a standstill. Sassiness overload!
51) Graduated Bangs on Medium-Length Hair
When paired with shoulder-length hair, long wispy bangs look understatedly cute and flattering. The two really are a match made in heaven!
52) Medium Hairstyle With Butterfly Layers
Not only does this cut provide some much-needed volume and body to the medium hair, but it also places the layers strategically to balance the bone structure. It’s every square faced girl’s dream.
53) Choppy Layers and Curtain Bangs
By now, you can attest to the fact that the best medium length hairstyles for women feature some form of bangs. This is yet another top example, and it boasts the ability to make you look half your age! Seriously.
54) Textured Layers
Layers are one of the easiest ways to make hair look more voluminous. Sprinkle in some waves for instant rejuvenation–your flat tresses will thank you!
55) Flippy Shoulder-Length Style
It’s been said time and again, but there’s something so incredibly flattering and sexy about adding flicked ends to your medium hair. They work particularly well if you like the quick rough blow-drying style.
56) Smokey Medium-Length Hairstyle
This picture shows that a medium hairstyle doesn’t always mean current or recently invented. This look is as vintage as it gets, courtesy of the feathered layers and flicked-out ends reminiscent of the 1970s icons. We are in love!
57) Minimal Layers
An easy thick wave. That’s all it takes to land a day-to-night ‘do this cute.
58) Mid-Length Golden Chestnut Hair
It’s soft, it’s feminine, and it’s certainly every brunette dream hue. We’re talking about gold chestnut shade, the one that’s so tender you’d think it’s diluted in milk. It works especially well with wavy shoulder-length hair. Jenniffer Lopez is a great fan of this hair color, and she’s always looked alluring with it, why not you?
59) Thick Swoopy Bangs
Before you yawn at one more mention of lobs, know that the extra length adds tasteful movement to the ever-elegant bob. Want to look even more classy? Ask for a swoopy fringe.
60) Peachy Bob With Bangs and Layers
If there’s something that can accentuate the airy feel of wispy locks severalfold, it’s a coppery hue. The soft bangs add to the ethereal allure of the look. Double-check!
