Medium length layered hair is always a great choice, as it is flattering for any woman. All, in all we all wish to look well-groomed and elegant, no matter how old we are. However, we have quite a busy life. So, besides being beautiful, we want our hairstyles to be practical, as well. And that is why shoulder-length layered haircuts are so popular in 2024 – they are universal.
For that reason, we have selected the hottest picks for women who know the value not only of time but also of stylishness. Whether you have thin hair that often lacks volume or you have trouble taming your coarse locks, our ideas have an approach to everyone! Dive in to see how you can get the most of your hair type with the help of layers.
Whom Do Layered Medium Haircuts Flatter?
by @karlavarleyhairartist
The advantage of opting for this cut is that it allows for the free expression of one's style regardless of hair type and texture. Agreeing with this line, Kiley Fitzgerald, a celebrity hairstylist and Ambassador to Sun Bum, says:
“To me, this cut and length works well on pretty much every hair type and texture…It’s just about finding the right way to style the cut that works best for you.”
Layered Haircuts and Face Shapes
by @karlavarleyhairartist
Layers can enhance and compliment a variety of face shapes by adding texture, volume and movement. However, your face shape can also determine some types of layered haircuts to consider. For instance, women with round faces can consider soft layers that frame the face or long layers below the chin to add length. Celebrity hairstylist to stars like Jen Atkin also affirms the versatility of lobs when she said:
"It looks good on just about any face shape."
Styling Tips for Layered Haircuts
by @lena_piccininni
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To prevent a flipped-out hair, it’s advisable to blow dry and straighten your medium-length hair.
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Layered hairstyles tend to take less time to blow dry.
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Switching from layered hair to equal length hair would require time and patience as your short strands have to grow out.
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Compliment your face shape by asking your stylists to add face framing layers to your style.
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Those with thick hair can consider getting more layers to shed the weight off their hair.
A-line Medium Hairstyles
by @styled_by_carolynn
If you sport haircuts with an edgy or pointed structure, you won’t be mistaken in choice if you opt for layers. Not only will such haircuts accentuate the distinctive look of your cut but they will also enhance the natural movement in your hair. We love layered A-line haircuts for their amazing versatility. On fine hair, they give tons of volume and bounce with the help of waves. And when it comes to thick hair, they work wonders with their sleek body and curvy ends. Well, no wonder such cuts are so popular these days!
Medium Layered Hair Wispy Bangs
by @salsalhair
According to Sal Salcedo, creator of iconic hairstyles:
“I think I figured it out; the answer to Hair that is.. how to be able to give people Hair that supports this moment in time? I think it all comes down to Effortless Hair to me- life is crazy, sometimes hard, and often challenging, no doubt about that. We do not need to make Hair harder/complicated & tedious on top of everything , I want and will give/teach everyone ease into this particular area, may your Hair be the least of your concerns, may this New Hair Vibe give you the confidence, ease & air of coolness you all need to go out there and have awesome lives: filled w all the goodness, abundance of happiness & fulfillment. And so when life gets weird & crazy May your Hair feel effortless, sexy & with purpose.”
Our editors agree with him! Medium layered hair with wispy bangs will allow your hair to feel effortless, sexy & with purpose.
Messy Waves for Natural Blonde
by @salsalhair
Medium Cut with Flipped Up Layers
by @off7thsalon
Copper Layers with Highlights
by @mila_kryshchykhina
Braided Hippie Style
by @michaelgrayhair
Layered Ponytail with Ribbons
by @michaelgrayhair
Soft Pink Waves
by @off7thsalon
Mid-Length Cut With Side Layers
by @off7thsalon
Pretty Wavy Hairstyle With Long Side Bang
by @lee4you
Layered Haircut With Lavender Ombre
by @alyssawiener
Yellow and Red Highlights for Wavy Layered Cut
by @alyssawiener
Medium Layered Hairstyles with Feathery Bang
by @hugosalon
If you can’t help but add bangs to your style, our expert stylists recommend feathery bangs for those with fine hair and who want to add dimension to their style. Fabian Lliguin says, “These bangs are usually longer than regular fringes and have lots of texture.” Moreson, they frame your face beautifully, highlighting your eyes best and also your cheekbones.
Shaggy Layers with Bottleneck Bangs
@salsalhair
If you want to playfully frame your face and give your hair a touch of retro charm, shaggy layers paired with bottleneck bangs are one of the fun ways to go about it. The shaggy layers effortlessly cascade around your face and give you a lived-in carefree look with a hint of vintage flair.
Medium Layered Hair with Curtain Bangs
by @ashleenormanhair
Achieve an effortlessly chic and laid-back vibe with medium-layered hair adorned with curtain bangs. The gentle layers enhance movement and body, creating a relaxed and breezy feel. The curtain bangs, parted down the middle, elegantly frame the face without overwhelming it.
Middle-Parted Medium Hairstyles
by @salsalhair
Medium length layered hair looks ravishing when it’s middle-parted. Not only do such hairstyles get the most out of your texture but they also give a pleasant framing touch. In case you want to focus on its face-framing features, make sure to spread your hair evenly. The point is to create a nice and clean center part so that the hair falls evenly to the front. The front pieces, in their turn, will do the framing magic. Give them a pass of a flat iron so that they lye exactly when you need some framing. To finish the style with volume, apply some spray to the roots.
Side Parted Medium Hairstyles
by @styledbylizsustaita
Parting your hair to the side is another nice way to add some volume to the crown. And since your layers are here to provide all of your hair with lift, you can get a cool outweighed silhouette where both sides are full and chic. Waves would be a fantastic finish, by the way. When waving your locks, make sure to change the direction of your curling wand. In this way, wavy layers will create an effortless flow. If you're afraid of damage, there's no need to wave all your locks. Instead, you can wave only the top layer of your hair. Trust us, this would be enough to amp up your hair with movement and volume.
Brunette Wavy Medium Hair with Bronde Highlights
by @colorbyashley
For a more natural approach to your hairstyle, picking the right tones is as important as choosing the right style. Infuse warmth and dimension into your medium-length waves with a rich brunette base adorned with bronde highlights. This harmonious blend of brown and blonde hues creates a sun-kissed effect, giving your waves a beachy, natural appearance.
Straight Medium Length Layered Hair
by @sheffpavelstylist
Perfectly straight hair always looks neat and tidy, especially when it voluminous and balanced enough. Once you add a touch of layers, it will get a little bit twisty at the edges which will make it even more attractive. A rounder silhouette is indeed the best choice for straight styles. The best thing is, that a round brush is all you need for styling. For the best results, we recommend you getting choppy ends. It will lighten up the weight of your tips, thus making your hair more manageable. At the same time, choppy ends are what allow for everyone's favorite beach waves. Simply spritz your locks with some sea salt spray to get the look!
What is considered medium-length hair?
Medium-length hair is the middle ground between long and short hair, and it’s basically 12 inches long. In case you don’t have a measurement tape at hand, you can define your length visually. Mid-length is also called shoulder-length hair, so if the ends of locks are longer than the chin line and cover the neck fully, they’re medium length.
Layered Caramel Blonde Balayage
by @colorbyashley
Caramel blonde is another beautiful tone you don’t get to see so often in hairstyles but the stunning contrast in the two tones is what highlights the style best. So if you’re ready to embrace a style that blends color and texture and also radiates a modern and stylish charm, this balayage style is one of the few ways to achieve it.
Wavy Medium Platinum Hair
@theniksters
While minimalist tones do trend once in a while, there’s something more fun about being bold and opting for unconventional hair colors. This platinum hue, for instance, adds a touch of audacity to the medium-length waves, creating a look that's simultaneously daring and elegant. What’s more, Jafra Bryant, an editorial colorist, rightly stated that all skin tones can look great with the right platinum shade.
Medium Ash Blonde with Highlights
@drelefevre
It’s okay to desire a look that’s quite timeless and also on-trend. If you already have your desired medium length and can’t bring yourself to visit the salon, well bring the salon to your home and create this awesome tone yourself! LH expert stylists suggest bleaching your hair first if it isn't already light blonde tone.
Do layers make your hair look thicker?
Layers can make your hair look fuller rather than thicker by providing movement and volume to the texture. In general, for thicker-looking hair, you should use products designed for thickening the hair texture or go for salon treatments. Layers, however, may be a better alternative, as they can get the most of your locks naturally.
Messy Layered Hairstyles
@salsalhair
Ladies who want their waves to be deep and dynamic at the same time just need to layer up their haircuts. When styling, a bit of slight texturing and a hint of tousled finish are enough to take your texture to the next level. Also, don't forget that you can play around with different types of layers. Your layers can be short and smooth, as well as long and edgy. Obviously, it's all up to your taste! Most layers are wash-and-go, so they will never take a lot of time for styling. For messy styling, a texturizer and tousling are all you need. Simple yet stylish, who could ask for more?
Medium Layers with Blunt Bangs
@salsalhair
Rather than wispy or feathery bangs, how about blunt straight bangs that fall across your forehead? Have your bangs stop a little above your eyebrows and you’ll have all the attention on your eyes. What’s more, is that this style gives the illusion of thick and textured hair and compliments any outfit you decide to opt for!
Choppy Medium Length Layered Hair
by @veronica_haircreator
If you have long hair and do not want to chop it, you can make it a little bit shorter with a middle-length haircut instead. Basically, layers don't get rid of length. On the contrary, they cut off the extra weight from your tresses. Therefore, tell your stylist to start layering from the middle and slowly go down to the ends of your hair. For your everyday look, add a few curls with the help of a blow dryer in order to flip those ends! Or, apply some texturizing mousse to your wet hair. Yes, layers also look cool when air-dried.
Is layered hair better than one length?
When it comes to choosing between layered and one-length hair, the choice pretty much depends on your hair type. For fine and thin hair, for example, one-length won’t look its best, as this hair type requires more movement and volume of layered texture. As for thick hair, it goes well with both layers and one-length, so it depends on the look you want to achieve.
Medium Hair with Elongated Back
@hairbyfranco
Thinking outside the box means going beyond the ordinary and that can be said of this style. Add a touch of drama to your medium hair with an elongated back that creates a striking silhouette. You still enjoy your midi length but you just have your back hair cut longer than the hair on your sides and the top. There’s not only movement in your hair but you also have a fashion-forward style.
Shoulder Hair with Short Layers and Fringe
by @beaubollinger
When you want a haircut that is easy to maintain while being tasteful and sophisticated, you can never go wrong with shoulder length hair with layers and a fringe. This is one of those “roll out of the bed and go” hairstyles that will save you those precious minutes in the morning on styling.
Wavy Wolf Shag Haircut with Thick Bangs
by @beaubollinger
Shaggy hairstyles have taken over not only social media but everyday life as well. The easiest way to get the look is by styling your medium length locks wavy. In case you have straight hair, you may need to enlist the help of a styling tool. Girls with wavy locks may get away by applying a texturizing product of their choice. To pull the look together, consider getting thick bangs.
Medium Length Layered Curled Hair
by @salsalhair
For curly hair, layering is a real savior. If you were blessed with this pronounced hair texture, no one but you knows how exhausting it may be to style and maintain. But with a layered mid length haircut, this is a whole other story. As it chops off part of your hair, it takes away weight from it. So, it feels lighter and more manageable as a result.
A Barely Bang with Medium Shaggy Style
by @salsalhair
Do you want your haircut to give off a carefree and relaxed vibe? In that case, a medium length shag is your way to go. To add interest to it, get a subtle bang cut so that it barely falls on your forehead. This hairstyle is guaranteed to look flawless in any ambiance.
Wild Textured Layered Medium Haircut
by @salsalhair
Not sure how to style choppy medium layered hair? If you want to show off a savage side of your personality, then it is hard to think of a better option than a wild medium haircut with textured layers. There is no need to make it impeccable. Instead, the messier it looks, the better.
New Style for ‘’Rachel’’ Cut
by @salsalhair
The Rachel haircut, one of the most highly requested hair looks of the late 90s – early 2000, has made a huge comeback lately. Of course, it is not the exact same haircut as its iconic predecessor. Yet, it still incorporates face framing layered choppy shoulder length hair with plenty of volume. So, if you missed this hair trend back in the day, this is your golden hour.
Medium Octopus Haircut
by @salsalhair
An octopus haircut, which is in its essence shoulder length layered hair with a bang, is gaining a lot of popularity these days and no wonder. Along with being low maintenance and stylish, it works fine for almost any hair type and face shape. The style is rounded on the top with free falling mid length strands all across the head. Its silhouette reminds of the octopus, hence the name.
Super Volume at The Crown for Medium Layered Curls
by @salsalhair
Girls with curly and coily hair should not shy away from voluminous hairstyles. On the contrary, they are a surefire way to draw attention to your enviable hair texture. Yet, it is better to have only one focal point and the top of your head fits this role perfectly.
Airy Medium Layers
by @salsalhair
One of the main features of layered low maintenance medium length hairstyles is an airy feel they have. What is worth to mention is that no matter whether you have straight tresses or curly, thick or thin, this hairstyle will look amazing on you. And to upgrade it, you can simply change the location of your parting from center to side and vice versa.
Razor Wolf Cut
by @ashleenormanhair
A wolf haircut is a modern take on a classic mullet. Although the business in the front, party in the back hairstyle is sometimes considered a little outdated or unattractive, its counterpart has not much in common with it in this sense. Thanks to defined texture and a more unified look, the wolf-styled cut looks chic and lovely.
Classic Blowout
by @nadigerber
Achieve bouncy, voluminous waves that add a touch of glamour to your medium-length hair. Nadi Gerber, an Academician of hairdressing, has shown how ecstatic classic blowouts look on medium length hair and why you should consider this style for a dinner date, wedding or corporate party.
Textured Shoulder-Length Bob
by @salsalhair
Embrace the playful texture of this hairstyle, featuring subtle waves and layers for a relaxed yet fashionable appearance. What’s more, is that your bob can be styled to suit both casual and formal settings and still give you the best result with a fashionable appearance.
Face-Framing Layers
by @sheffpavelstylist
Face-framing layers draw attention to your facial features, accentuating your natural beauty. These layers enhance the structure of your face, providing a flattering and personalized touch to your medium-length hair. Enjoy the chic look of face-framing layers with minimal styling effort, making it a practical choice for everyday glamour.
Butterfly Medium Haircut
by @veronica_haircreator
The butterfly medium haircut is whimsical and playful, featuring layers that create a fluttery and dynamic effect. Embrace the youthful energy of this hairstyle, perfect for those who love a carefree and lively appearance. Regular visits to the salon might be needed to maintain the length and beauty of the style.
Asymmetrical Half-Bob
by @headrushdesigns
Talking about layered hairstyles, an asymmetrical bob isn’t only fun to create but also gives your face a distinct look. Introduce loose waves and highlights to elevate the overall appearance of your style and you’re ready to give yourself a new look!
Natural Layered Curls with Baby Bangs
by @salsalhair
Even with curly hair texture, getting a layered haircut of medium length isn’t impossible! You can allow your natural curls to shine through this style and in addition, add baby bangs for a youthful and cute charm. Be ready to embrace volume and texture with this style in a way like no other.
Side-Swept Bang With Waves
by @sergeyshapochka
Instead of your usual bangs that fall completely over your forehead, side-swept bangs change things completely. Take your style to new heights by adding waves that exude a soft and romantic vibe to accompany you for a late-night date. You also don’t have to worry much about it fitting your face shape as it works well for various facial features.
Tapered Lob
by @headrushdesigns
While we’ve seen sleek bob haircuts, you can still be quite innovative with your hairstyles, so we have the tapered lob. The gradual length from back to front creates a flattering and elongating effect, enhancing the overall silhouette of this style. If you’re interested in a length between medium and short, this style strikes the balance of sitting in between.
Layers with Dark Roots
by @salsalhair
There’s something spectacular about adding depth and dimension to your hair and this can be easily done through using the right tones. So for a low-maintenance suggestion from our expert stylists, dark roots is one of the easiest ways to go. The style gives you an edge, adds contrast to your hair and also complements your skin tone.
Low-Maintenance Medium Layers
by @veronica_haircreator
It’s no surprise that not everyone has the time to sit in front of a mirror to style their hair or even squeeze out time for an appointment with a stylist. This is where this low maintenance medium layer comes in. You get to enjoy a fashionable hairstyle and still save time from regular upkeep.
Classic Ombre
by @chrisjones_hair
Thanks to this length, you can show off your love for different hair tones by opting for the ombre technique. Consider the combination of dark brown and light blonde shades for a satisfying result. With the help of a curling iron, you can create loose waves to add a carefree vibe to your style, especially during the summer vacations!
Flipped Ends
by @veronica_haircreator
Rather than your usual bob or medium length cuts, flipped ends are a fun and creative way to step outside the box. For those who love to embrace movement in their hairstyles, our editors have specially picked this out for you! Achieve this look with a round brush and a slight outward flick at the ends, creating movement and bounce.
Curly Shag
by @salsalhair
Who says those with natural curls can’t rock a shag haircut and look exquisite? The shag adds layers to your curls while still maintaining your desired hair length. You can also emphasize the natural curl pattern by using a diffuser and applying a lightweight curl-enhancing product.
Medium Length Hair with Barely Bangs
by @salsalhair
Opt for barely-there bangs to frame your face delicately, adding a subtle and soft touch to your medium-length layers. This minimalist approach to bangs complements various face shapes and especially draws attention to your eyes and cheekbones. So if you desire to flaunt them, then don’t sleep on this Sal Salcedo iconic style.
Polished Waves Medium Hair
by @lenabogucharskaya
Achieve a sophisticated and polished appearance with midi-length layers styled into loose, glamorous waves. This simple yet charming hair works well for whatever setting you desire to use it for; from official events to hangouts and a lot of others. Use a large barrel curling iron to create soft waves, and finish with a shine-enhancing product for a glossy finish.
Two-Toned Color
by @thehearstylist
Infuse drama and dimension into your layers with a two-toned color scheme. Amanda, the hairstylist knew the right tones to opt for to start your summer look with this hairstyle. So if you’re not scared of exploring, play with contrasting shades like ginger and chocolate brown to highlight the layering.
Besides breathing a new life in your hair type, layers will also provide you with an easy styling routine. When your hair is layered, sometimes a texturizing product is all you need for a perfect hairstyle. And last but not least, nothing can compare to the beauty of layers when you want to have a chic yet low-maintenance routine. Now that you've seen the latest medium layered cuts, not recreating one would be a crime! Remember: you can't go wrong with layers!
FAQ: Medium Length Layered Hair
Should thick hair be layered?
Above the shoulders, thick hair looks best with movable layers. Your hairdresser can make a graduated or stacked style with layers on the sides to make hair less weighted. On thick hair, one-length bob hairstyles look great. How layers look also depends on texture, as well as on hair thickness.
Are layers bad for thick hair?
Layers fit well to thick hair if they are done with hair and length type in mind. Experts advise long layers with light ends. They won’t give you the “hat” effect that you don’t like.
Is layered hair easy to manage?
In fact, layered hair is a simple approach to get rid of weight and bulk, while also making extraordinarily thick hair more obedient. This is how you can make fine hair appear thicker and create more volume without affecting length. The hair that is layered is perkier and has more flexibility.
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