Bows Are Everywhere — Here’s How To Style The Accessory On All Hair

It’s been a comeback year for hair accessories — but forget your trusty claw clip and shelve the chunky Alice band for a moment. It’s the humble bow that is currently taking over Instagram feeds and flooding TikTok hair tutorials.

Of course, bows and ribbons are nothing new; they’ve adorned our hair for centuries. From the last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, whose hairdresser is said to have spent 20,000 francs on ribbons, to young women in the Victorian era, coquettish hair bows have proven enduringly popular. You know what they say, though: All beauty trends come full circle. Samantha Cusick, hairstylist, podcast host and owner of her eponymous salon chain, puts this 21st century resurgence down to Gossip Girl character Blair Waldorf, not to mention the rise of the ‘quiet luxury’ aesthetic. “Using bows is the easiest way to look like you tried, without actually trying,” she says. It’s effortless.

If you’re keen to try the trend but don’t know where to start, let TikTok’s beauty enthusiasts guide you. Here’s how to style the playful bow on all hair.

If your hair is on the straight side, make like TikToker Kylei Halbakken and give it a little texture and movement with a curling wand or hot tool. Halbakken uses the Dyson Airwrap, £399.99, to create tousles, but if you’d rather spend less, try the Shark FlexStyle 5-in-1 Air Styler & Hair Dryer, £269.99, or BaByliss Air Style 1000 Hot Air Multi Styler, £75. Run a brush or wide-tooth comb through your lengths to loosen the curls into soft waves (we like Hair Gain’s Styling Comb, £11.95) and pull a little hair oil through the mid-lengths and ends to add shine. Halbakken enlists Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil, £35. Also try OGX Renewing+ Argan Oil of Morocco Penetrating Oil, £6.65, or Vo5 Invisibly Light Hair Oil, £4.99.

A half-up, half-down style is the easiest way to wear a bow on long lengths. Starting at your temples, use the tail end of a comb to gather half of your hair into a ponytail and fix in place with a small hair elastic, which will make tying your bow less of a chore. Halbakken ties a long piece of ribbon around the elastic, but you could fasten a bow-adorned barrette through the top section of your hair, just above the hair elastic. 

If this style looks too princessy for you, then hair stylist Chlöe Swift Bow recommends teasing your roots to create a long and voluminous Brigitte Bardot-inspired pony, finishing with a ribbon tied around the base.

Take inspiration from TikToker Sanjana and section off the front of your hair on either side, so that it frames your face. Moving further inwards, Sanjana fashions a delicate plait on both sides, leaving around two inches of hair free at the end. Secure your plait with a hair elastic, like Kitsch No-Snag Elastics, £4. Now for the ribbon, which you can find on Etsy, at your local haberdashery store, or at Søstrene Grene. The key is making sure it’s long enough to tie easily. Cut off a piece that is around seven inches long to begin with — you can always trim the ends to suit your preferences. Simply tie the ribbon around each hair elastic and pull tight so that it doesn’t unravel. A veil of Vo5 Extra Firm Hold Hairspray, £3.50, over the bow will keep it in place for longer. 

TikToker Kyla Lee is proof that a hair bow looks just as good on a bob haircut. If you have a face-framing fringe like Lee, give it some bounce with a roller, like Drybar High Tops Self-Grip Rollers, £10. Lee gathers small sections of their hair from either side, twists them and then ties them together at the back using a hair elastic. Finally, you’ll need a bow clip with a barrette fastening. Lee passes the open barrette clip just underneath the hair elastic and pins it into place. A chunky bow will complement a shorter cut like this.

Using Aunt Jackie’s Don’t Shrink Flaxseed Curling Gel, £9.99, hair and lifestyle TikToker, Mocha, creates two small braids on either side and plaits the remainder of their hair at the back, then secures this into a low bun. Enlist both a hair band and hair grips to keep it tight. You could tie a ribbon around the low bun, but a bow with a barrette clip or scrunchie requires less effort. Fasten yours just above the bun so that the bow tails tumble down over it. 

“It’s all about letting the texture do its thing,” says Cusick. Look to TikToker @curlswithlove for inspiration, who makes a case for letting her natural curls shine in a half-up-half-down style. Use your thumbs to gather approximately half of your hair up, so that it resembles a ponytail. You can tie this up using a hair band or hold this section in place with one hand and pass your barrette clip bow underneath with the other. Pull out some curly tendrils to frame your face and dial up the coquette effect. 

If your hair is long, take cue from TikToker Mikayla Nicole: Part your hair in the middle, section the front into two ponytails, fix with a hairband and grace with a bow on each side. 

Mid-length haircuts are far from boring — but they’ve even better with a bow. After a generous helping of hair cream (try Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream, £27.45, Hershesons Almost Everything Cream, £14, or Lee Stafford Grow Strong & Long Protein Treatment Styling Cream, £5.99), TikToker Adelia whips their hair up into a high ponytail, fashions a chunky plait and ties a short, black ribbon around the base and end for a look that’s sophisticated and playful in equal measure. If you think you might struggle to tie the perfect bow, use a bow-adorned hair band to make this style easier to recreate at home. 

The slicked-back ponytail shows no sign of letting up, but a bow gives the otherwise utilitarian style an endearing edge. “For thick hair, go bold,” says Cusick. “Oversized bows in textured fabrics like linen or velvet add balance and drama without getting lost.” Use a bristle brush like Cantu Up Do Brush with Natural Bristles, £6, and a gentle hair gel like Eco Style Olive Oil Styling Gel, £3.99, to slick your hair back seamlessly, then tie with a hair band. Passing that big, bold barrette bow clip through your hair just above the base of the ponytail is the cherry on top. 

TikToker Alyssa has a hack for styling fine hair. Using a fine tooth comb like Kent Tail Comb Fine Hair, £4.40, take a section of hair from the front and rake it back, then fasten in the middle with a clear hair elastic. Using your fingers, hollow out a section at the base, just above the elastic and loop the ends through the space. Repeat on the other side. This should create the illusion of four sections of hair. All you need now is a long ribbon to pass through the gaps and tie into a bow.

If you find your hair is too fine and slippery to hold a bow, Chlöe suggests adding texture and grip with a dry shampoo or texture spray, like ARKIVE Headcare The Reset Dry Shampoo, £12, or Living Proof Full Dry Volume & Texture Spray, £30.95.