If you've mastered the perfect shade of auburn hair, you may have already discovered this: The color is so bright and eye-catching that it can take extra effort to match the styling to the hue. In other words, red hair can really benefit from an extra something, whether it be some added waves or a polished updo. Without some styling, sometimes red hair can feel out of place or otherwise overly flat (especially if your hair is all one color). Thank god for celebrities, many of whom are redheads and most of whom have to walk the red carpet. They're out here giving us the perfect hairstyles you can replicate—whether it's at a fancy event you're attending or it's just a regular Tuesday at work.
Note: Celebrities are among the blessed few with a whole team to help them get styled for events, and they're often experimenting with color, extensions, wigs, and other techniques to obtain these gorgeous looks. Should you want to replicate the cut, style, or color, ask a hairstylist what's right for your hair and its texture.
Dua Lipa
Obviously, this is a deep (dyed) auburn, so Dua Lipa and her team wisely keep the styling simple. With a little wave and some long layers, there's some visual interest that doesn't fight with the richness of the color. And it lets her sweep her hair like this to fabulous effect!
Lindsay Lohan
Awww! '00s Lindsay Lohan is a throwback in terms of style (and how wild the celebrity culture was back in the day), but her red hair remains a classic. Fringe in the front, layers throughout, and a wide loose curl through the ends—one of the hairstyles we can keep from that decade.
Rene Russo
One of our iconic redheads, Rene Russo often kept her thick hair long and mostly one length. If you are lucky to have the volume she does, you can keep it straight or add some tight medium-sized curls at the bottom. The whole thing feels very everyday and easy (even when it actually takes time to obtain).
Sophie Turner
These loose ridges feel very "I'm inspired by the 1920s...but we're giving it a cool twist a full century later." Admittedly, this one can take some time to get right (and I imagine there's a lot of hairspray keeping it in place), but it's just such a cool visual that it would be remarkable for a formal event.
Christina Hendricks
Christina Hendricks has a brighter, brassier auburn here (and many blessings to her, because she's absolutely pulling it off). As such, she has to give it more volume, lest it feel too "flat," so she gives it a lot of curls throughout. But, even with the bounce, it looks put-together and polished.
Reba McEntire
Reba!! Anyone hoping to rock a more "mature" (read: adult and totally bad*ss) red hairstyle can look no further than McEntire's signature look. This is not quite as voluminous as her hair often looked in the '90s and '00s, but it still gives us pretty fringe bangs and layers with the ends curled.
Nicole Kidman
Let's be real: Nicole Kidman has given us a wide variety of auburn hairstyles over the course of her long career. Anyone with her curl pattern and thickness can rejoice (and also use Google effectively for hair inspo from her). I happen to love this messy, curly updo that highlights both the curls and the dimension in her color.
Alyson Hannigan
If you look at Hannigan's headshots throughout the years, you'll know that she's actually experimented with manifold reds on the red carpet. This gradient dark-to-light hue is perfection, so all she has to do is add a little wave to her long bob and then leave the house.
Bryce Dallas Howard
I confess that I don't love the half-up hairstyle on many people (and I certainly don't love it on myself) but when you have longer red hair and prominent bangs, as Bryce Dallas Howard does here, it's a lovely alternative to an all-down look. Keeping it less "messy" and flyaway helps it look polished.
Cristiana Capotondi
In case you missed it, Capotondi is an Italian actor who happens to be rocking the most gorgeous strawberry blonde I've ever seen. Because the color picks up the light in a beautiful way, it lends itself to more structured curls like this without feeling too "overdone."
Karen Elson
Famous model redhead Karen Elson can really lean in the most fiery versions of auburn, to great effect. When nothing but the brightest red will do, keep the rest of the look simple. And this pin-straight styling is proof that you don't need a ton of hair volume to rock a bright color.
Florence Welch
Florence Welch has always had a cool, witchy-boho look about her, and her light auburn hair is no exception. With thick blunt bangs and a ton of length, the trick is to make it look free-flowing without making it look messy (accomplished with some soft, gentle curls).
Jessica Chastain
Jessica Chastain often shows off her glorious red by keeping her hair down and flowing down to her shoulders—a classic look, no doubt—so this alternative is actually a fun way for her to spice things up a bit. While the teased bump doesn't look good on everyone, the slicked-down front pieces help it feel more serious.
Amy Adams
One of our iconic redheads, Amy Adams is a pro by now at styling her hair. This thick braid is pretty standard, so the color is what keeps things interesting. The braid's height allows for a better view of its vibrancy and depth—it shows off the color, in other words, while still being out of her face.
Riley Keough
Riley Keough has amazing hair density (I would die for that thickness!!). The dimension in the color actually helps her hair look even thicker, and then the added waves help even more—the result being a long, luxurious curtain of auburn hair. If you don't happen to have this volume, extensions may help.
Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett was doing auburn before...everyone, really! These days, this short and sweet haircut would probably be called a "bixie" (somewhere between a bob and pixie), and the exactness of the cut keeps it from looking too "girly." Although one way to modernize the look is to add layers in the body.
Julianne Moore
This couldn't be simpler—a straight hairstyle with a loose wave starting about halfway down the hair shaft—but because Julianne Moore is super-cool, she imbues it with enviable effortlessness. This style actually works well for people without a ton of hair density.
Julia Roberts
You probably thought I was going to choose a Julia Roberts hairstyle that shows off her gorgeous, Pretty Woman-style curls, right? Well, we're all familiar with that particular style, so I opted for something a bit more modern and pinned-back for the actor. The simple swept bangs and thick bun are a welcome surprise.
Bryce Dallas Howard
Bryce Dallas Howard has given us many a red carpet with her hair down and wavy, but I'm actually way more enamored of this casual-seeming updo. When you have big chunks of red hair framing your face, it helps to keep the makeup simple and complementary, as we see here.
Debra Messing
Around her Will and Grace days, Debra Messing had one of the most enviable heads of hair on the planet: bright red and extremely curly. This wild updo shows off both things extremely well, which means it requires 1) volume, 2) the right curly texture, perm, curling iron, or extensions, and 3) a ton of hair pins.
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine had the cutest red pixie you've ever seen, and she styled it simply and perfectly. Here, the color really is the focus, so the work in styling is just to manage frizz and maybe add a little curl at the ends. Standard caveat for a short cut: Talk to a hairstylist before you go for it.
Marsai Martin
This ombre magnificence on the Black-ish actor is such a standout (and it's a pro move that it matches her outfit, truly). It looks great straight, but the waves help show off the progression of the color. Also, ombre means you don't have to get it dyed quite so often if you're not a natural redhead.
Isla Fisher
The perfect thick, messy braid! As we see here, keep the shortest layers on the longer side so that they're popping out of the top. There are some flyaways in the braid, too, but it's also not a full mess. This might need a thoughtful haircut and/or some strategic hair pains to pull off.
Emma Stone
The bob is a deceptively simple look—especially this one, where there are no layers and it's cut in an incredibly exacting way. For someone with thin, straight hair (and a good stylist who can advise to the proper length), this is one of those classic cuts that you could wear forever.
Molly Ringwald
Back in the '80s, the Molly Ringwald cut—short, curly, with a ton of layers—was incredibly popular (especially since her clothing style also balanced masculine and feminine). In it's modern iteration, maybe skip the shortest bangs and focus instead on symmetry.
Bella Thorne
This luxurious 'do on Bella Thorne is screaming Old Hollywood glamour, but for the modern age. The front fringe starts at chin length so it provides some face-framing pieces, but for the most part the curls are long and uniform. This is probably an event-worthy hairdo, but boy is it worth it.
Ice Spice
I always love how Ice Spice cuts and styles her trademark orange-red hair; Anyone with 4A through 4C curls might feel...a little intimidated by going with a full circular bob as we see here, but the key (if you're tempted to go for it) is to keep the curls cut tighter to the face in the exact right shape.
Sarah Snook
A half-up, half-down hairdo works well for someone with less hair volume and for hair texture that's straight or wavy. (This is the way to avoid the dreaded "triangle hair" that often results when people with curly hair (ahem*me*ahem) attempt the same style.) Here, the pretty red is just a bonus.
Madelaine Petsch
It doesn't get better in auburn color and volume than Madelaine Petsch. You'd think that, because of how buoyant her hair naturally is, she wouldn't necessarily need layers, but by adding in a bunch (that start very short) she's got that '90s beachy look all of us wanted back in the day.
Hari Nef
Hari Nef has really made auburn her trademark look. This short bob might, on its face, feel severe (and it might be, depending on your face shape), but the soft curtain bangs at the front and the fact that there's just the tiiiiniest wave in the body help the cut feel less "rigid."
Zendaya
Zendaya has given us some epic renditions of auburn hair (remember the curly lob wig she wore at the Met Gala when she dressed as Joan of Arc??). But what I particularly love about this seemingly simple updo, beyond the fact that I think she actually dyed her hair, is that it's still got a dramatic swoop at the top but still feels subtle, comparatively.
Phoebe Dynevor
I'm on the record as loving Phoebe Dynevor's auburn color as the best celebrity red hair color...ever. But clearly, I love the hairstyle just as much: This is a cut that doesn't take itself too seriously, with a choppy, piece-y vibe that embraces flyaways and a bit of messiness. Perfection!
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