The ‘Pouf’ Hair: The Early Noughties Trend Is Making A Comeback & Our Strands Are Shaking

August 19, 2022 Abraham Smith

Goodbye to your midsection.

Aug 19, 2022 4:00 am

It’s the early 2000s, you’ve just finished plucking the life out of your eyebrows and pulling your favorite low-rise jeans from your closet. Now you are ready to do your hair. You grab a small army of bobby pins and decide to turn your hairline into the big mound of your dreams – the pouf.

Jump forward almost 20 years, grown out brows and center parts are all the rage. But the pouf – or the “bump it”, bouffant or beehive – is slowly creeping back into our field of vision, whether we like it or not.

From Mary-Kate and Hilary Duff to Beyoncé and Jersey Shore‘s Snooki, the teased crown and big hair in general are making a resurgence with modern it girls like Matilda Djerf, Bella Hadid and Florence Pugh all sporting the hair trend just this year.

Of course, the looks were shaped by big hair trends inspired by the 1960s: Amy Winehouse was characterized by her sky-high beehive and Zooey Deschanels wore the retro hairstyle as part of her personality. Now the release of Baz Luhrmann elvis Biopic has seen Priscilla Presley’s own curls inspire many to try a modern take on the pouf trend.

Here’s everything you need to know about the resurgence of the early ’00s pouf hair trend — and how to get the look.

What is the early 00s stool?

Look at any red carpet from the early 2000s and you’ll like three things: Hilary Duff, skirts over jeans, and the pouf. From bouncy curls to freaky layers, the decade was perfect for sporting the most voluminous manes possible.

But as the years went by, so did the excess hair. Beachy waves and slick buns became all the rage, with lived-in, “undone” hair the hairstyle you jour. But of course, the beauty sphere is cyclical and trends we bid farewell to long ago are likely to return, and so the pouf revival came about.

The hairstyle itself takes place at the center front of the hairline and only requires a section of hair to be pulled back, pushed forward to create a “pouf” or large, symmetrical bump, and pinned.

Gen Z influencers, models and it girls are now turning to the trend, sporting the look all over their Instagram grids to acquaint us with the pouf’s rebirth in 2022. Celebrities like Bella Hadid and Devon Lee Carlson have both sported the look in various Instagram posts, one showing Hadid pinning back her auburn locks at a Kin Euphorics-Bumble collaboration event in July and the other showing Carlson doing it wears hers while he takes selfies with Hadid at a dinner party in New York City.

For Matilda Djerf, the influencer, slash fashion entrepreneur has become a go-to source for hair inspiration, with her ‘octopus cut’ attracting thousands of admirers worldwide. When the 26-year-old posted a selfie of her carrying the stool, TikTok naturally became infatuated and followed suit.

Over on TikTok, Gen Z has spotted the trend making waves online, with one user (@cryinginablazer) pointing to Djerf to explain the reason for the upsurge. Sharing a photo of Djerf with the pouf, she reckons those, like the influencer, wanting to take their curtain bang off their face will embrace the trend in the meantime.

“OMG guys, it’s time! Get the bump out! We’re going back,” the TikToker said in a video, pointing to Djerf’s hair. And since many have followed in the influencer and fashion designer’s footsteps, they’re probably growing their curtain bangs, too.

So, with their approval, the pouf is back and better than ever. So if your muscle memory is as good as it was 10 years ago then thank goodness, but if not allow us to refresh your memory.

How to make the pouf from the early 00s?

Luckily, the technique is easier to achieve than you think — no hairstyling experience is required. Typically, the look is worn with either straight hair or tight curls. Once your hairstyle is set, take a section about a two inch wide from the middle of your hairline and pick up a small triangular section of hair.

Then flip the hair back so the direction of the hair curls away from the face and towards the back of the head. Next, the trick to mastering the pouf, twist the hair tight and gently push the strand back toward the face to create a raised “bump” in the hair, secure the strand to the rest of your hair with a small one Army of hairpins (or barrettes) and voilaa stool that would rival that of Hilary Duff.

If you want to take it a step further, pay close attention to how much hair you use to ensure the mound shape is even, otherwise the asymmetry could throw off the rest of your look. And if your hair is on the dirtier side, you might notice that the pouf could separate, and the last thing our ’00s themselves wanted was a see-through pouf, because fullness was key. Finally, make sure your pouf doesn’t go anywhere with a healthy spritz of your favorite hairspray.

In the words of mean girls‘ Damian, that’s why our hair is so big, because it is “full of secrets”.

Shop below for all the little things you need to master the pouf hair trend at home.