The big blow-dry is back: volume, the 2026 trend

Volume is back, and not just a little. At the autumn-winter 2026-2027 shows, several designers sent out hair that was full and airy, worked with a round brush.

This is not a return to the stiff blow-dry of the 1980s: it is volume that moves, that you can touch. Here is what the trend really says, and how to wear it every day.

What the catwalks show

The trend did not come from nowhere. It built up over the year, season after season.

In January, in its 2026 trend report, Who What Wear gave the floor to McMillan, the hairdresser behind the famous "Rachel" cut. His observation came down to one sentence: real blow-dries are back.

Since then, the magazines have been talking about "big '80s blowouts", those big volume blow-dries built with rollers and a round brush, with a swept side parting.

In February, Elle US ran a headline on high-volume hair, a little undone, spotted at New York Fashion Week autumn-winter 2026 at Gabe Gordon, Anna Sui and Collina Strada.

Then, in August and September, The Zoe Report and Grazia USA announced the "'90s Supermodel Cut" for autumn: dense lengths and long layers, designed for a big round-brush blow-dry.

And the movement does not stop there. According to Bustle, the first spring-summer 2027 shows in New York, in September 2026, featured a "Party-Girl Hair" with very 1970s and 1980s volume, at DVF and Rachel Comey.

And in French-speaking Switzerland?

Google search data points the same way, with caution: these are relative signals, not volumes. In France, the word "brushing" has been rising steadily since 2021. In Switzerland, it goes from an almost zero level to a measurable signal in 2026.

For the full picture of the season, read our article on hair trends 2026-2027.

Volume 2026 or 1980s helmet: the nuance

The word "volume" sometimes frightens people. We think of lacquered hair that no longer moves. The volume seen in 2026 is the exact opposite.

• Your hand must be able to run through your hair. Volume comes from the work at the root, not from a layer of hairspray.
• The parting moves. Who What Wear UK notes, for autumn-winter 2026, the end of the middle parting in favour of a marked side parting, seen at Victoria Beckham and Dior. A side parting naturally lifts the top.
• The ends stay free. They flow with movement instead of forming a rigid line.

The volume of 2026 does not set: it breathes.

The gesture that creates volume

A big volume blow-dry is nothing magical. It rests on three things: the direction of the section, the heat at the root and the cooling.

The root first

For a volume blow-dry, the sections are lifted vertically, almost perpendicular to the head. The round brush sits under the root and the hot air is directed towards it. That is where the height is created. A section dried flat falls flat, whatever you do afterwards.

Cooling, the forgotten step

Hair takes its shape with heat, but it keeps it as it cools. Backstage, hairdressers often finish with rollers for this very reason.

The principle is the same with a brush: the section cools while rolled before being released, then the cold air sets the whole. Skip this step and you will watch the volume drop within the hour.

A light hold

The finishing touch is a light veil, not a shell. The volume must hold without the hair going stiff.

For which hair?

The trend is flattering, but it does not wear the same way on everyone.

• Fine or flat hair: this is where it gains the most. The lifted root gives a presence it does not have naturally. We devoted a whole article to the volume blow-dry on fine hair.
• Thick hair: be careful not to widen the silhouette. Volume concentrated on top, with more disciplined lengths, keeps the spirit of the trend without doubling the mass.
• Short hair: the volume plays out mainly at the root and at the nape. The effect is sharper, more graphic.
• Long and extra-long hair: this is the most spectacular version, the catwalk one, with lengths that ripple down the back.

And the cut?

The "'90s Supermodel Cut" is first of all a cut, with its long layers. The cut is not on the M BRUSH menu. The good news: a volume blow-dry works on the cut you already have, and it often brings out its best.

Making it last

A big blow-dry lives for several days if you look after it. A few simple gestures:

• At night, gather the lengths into a loose bun on top of the head and sleep on a silk or satin pillowcase, which rubs less.
• On the second or third day, a little dry shampoo at the root brings back body and absorbs the sebum that weighs hair down.
• In the face of humidity, volume is the first to suffer. An umbrella is better than a hood that flattens the top.

To know what to expect, our guide how long a blow-dry lasts details every factor.

Wearing the trend

At M BRUSH, Manel, a qualified hairdresser, welcomes you to her private salon in Lausanne, by appointment. Booking is done online: you choose your length, the Volume finish, then a free slot. The address is Avenue d'Yverdon 4, 1004 Lausanne, and the email confirmation gives you the directions.

Come with clean hair, without oil, serum or styling product: shampoo + conditioner optional on site; otherwise, the whole appointment goes into the blow-dry. The only effort of the day: sitting down.

Want to go even further into glamour? The iron curl blow-dry starts from a volume blow-dry, then works defined curls with an iron. Otherwise, for the pure version of the trend, book your volume blow-dry.