No Regrets: The 20 Best (and Worst) Hair Trends From the Last 20 Years

Ready to hear something that'll make you feel old? It's been 20 years since ghd launched its first ever hair straightener.

We all have a ghd straightener memory. Yours might be the time you traded up from straightening your hair with an iron. Or the sad, sad day your decades-old ghd finally died. Condolences.

Mine comes from my mum - I remember her getting one of the original ghd stylers with the yellow plates when I was 11 or 12. I was so obsessed with it, I'd clamp it down on my front fringe until it was basically horizontal. Ah, the memories. 

At the time, this launch from the global haircare brand was ground-breaking because it marked the start of people like you and I being able to use professional-grade hair styling tools at home.

Nowadays, ghd sells two million hair straighteners per year (!!!).

The brand has also won over 300 awards for its technology and innovation, most notably how ghd stylers always maintain a constant temperature of 185 degrees Celsius, the optimum temperature for heat styling without causing damage to the actual hair. 

So, to celebrate how far the ghd brand has come - not to mention our collective at-home hairstyling skills - here’s a look back at 20 of the most memorable hair trends from the last 20 years.

Some are good. Some are bad. And some are so bad, they’re really good. 

Lindsay Lohan's auburn hair with chunky strawberry blonde streaks was a mood. The fact they didn’t blend whatsoever made them feel as if they were done at home with some supermarket bleach. Word has it, Adore's Senior Editor Amy Clark begged her hairdresser to give her red hair the Freaky Friday makeover back in the day. Thankfully, they refused. 

If there was one hairstyle that defined my youth, it was the side fringe. And the closer your side part started to your ear, the better. Ashley Tisdale, Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie and Lauren Conrad were at the forefront of this trend.

Quite possibly one of the most iconic hairstyles of all time, the “Rachel” was characterised by short, face-framing layers, serious volume and its concave shape. Outdated? Yes, but legendary? Absolutely. 

The super-short pixie style was widespread through Hollywood in the early ‘00s, but our favourite iteration is definitely the one belonging to Halle Berry. If her energy in James Bond didn't make you want to get a pixie cut, you were behind the curve.

Another questionable but defining millennial hair trend was the pouf/quiff/puffed-up fringe. Most notably held in place with 101 bobby pins and a lot of hairspray. 

Otherwise affectionately referred to as 'slut strands', tiny face-framing pieces of hair were a calling card of the early ‘00s. They've made their way back into pop culture. Case in point: Dua Lipa. Only now, they're not greasy or sticking to your lip gloss.

Full credit to Posh Spice, who single-handedly made us all obsessed with her long-at-the-front, short-at-the-back bob.

It would be a crime to run this listicle without choppy layers, so let’s take a moment to appreciate them. Super short and razored at the ends, this is something we all asked for between the ages of 15-21. And it looked great... until you had to style it yourself at home.

Raise your hand if you've worn space buns to a festival or fancy dress party... same. Actually, you might be old enough to remember when Scary Spice was rocking these long before Miley Cyrus. But jokes aside, we love this hair trend. 

Another chic hair trend that’s come full circle is the humble headband. Whether silk, cotton, embellished or an Alice band, one person who always got it right was Blair Waldorf circa Gossip Girl. Xoxo. 

Balayage was and still is undoubtedly one of the biggest hair trends of the last 20 years. It involves freehand painting subtle highlights and lowlights throughout the bottom two thirds of the hair, resulting in beachy, sun-kissed, lived-in colour.

From Christina to Queen Bey, crimps were huge in the early ‘00s. Use your ghd flat iron to create a modern version by moving it down the hair in a zigzag motion, leaving the ends straight. 

What was with our obsession with thick, piecey highlights? Or blonde and black striped streaks? This hair trend can probably stay in the early 2000s...

14. SO MUCH VOLUME.

Whether it was half-up half-down, in Farrah Fawcett waves or scraped up into a high ponytail, you weren't doing hair in the 80s right unless it added at least 7cm to your height.

Neon hair has always been a rock/pop beauty signature... anyone remember wanting hair like Avril Lavigne's? Now, it's Billie Eilish rocking the neon green hair.

Of course, the biggest hair colour trend of recent years has always been platinum blonde. Paris, Nicole, Christina, Mariah, and even Lindsay at one point were big fans of the scalp bleach. Even if it did make their hair break off...

Anyone else straighten their entire head only to add in five or six random curls at the end? Yeah, we’re not sure why either… 

This super nostalgic style started up in the ‘90s (we see you, Mary-Kate and Ashley), but has hung on for dear life ever since. What do we think of Bella Hadid’s fresh take on it, as seen below?

If you didn’t shove a sock/stocking/foam insert into your ponytail to make a freakishly perfect bun when you were a tween, we can’t be friends. 

To wrap up, we’re looking at probably the most copied modern hair style: Kaia Gerber’s bob. More people than ever are losing their length, and Kaia’s choppy style is the ultimate reference. 

What about the waterfall fringe? Or butterfly clips?? Or side fringe braids??? Or those Conair wrap machines that used to tear out chunks of your hair????

Unfortunately, that's all the time we have for today's instalment of retro hair trends we definitely all tried. Until next time!