While daring pixies and waist-length waves may not be for everyone, there's a medium-length cut to fit every age and style. Favorites ahead!
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Sleek Shag
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Kaitlin Olson's contemporary shag can be worn with the ends flipped outward, inward, or smooth, sleek and falling as they may, just like she's wearing it here.
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Tapered Curls
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Rosie Perez's incredible curls are layered too look fuller above the chin and less voluminous near the shoulders, creating a chic and flattering shape. Use a styling product like Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Curl Enhancing Smoothie ($9.50, amazon.com) to bring out the most definition in your curls.
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3
Stick-Straight Layers
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Wearing hair perfectly straight like Emmy Rossum brings extra attention to the interest layers create. Try a damage-reducing flat iron like Beauty Breakthrough Award winning Remington T Studio PROtect Flat Iron ($80, target.com).
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Middle-Parted Waves
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Mandy Moore's middle part keeps from reading as flat — it's all thanks to the pieces throughout her hair that are strategically curled for just a few seconds with a curling wand. She ends up with a wavy, not-too-curly finish.
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Wavy Asymmetrical Lob
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Niecy Nash's wavy lob is the best of both shorter and longer hair thanks to a shape that gradually gets longer toward the front. Her piece-y waves, easily achieved with a curling iron and finger separation, make the look even edgier without feeling too edgy.
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Flipped-Out Ends
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Straight hair can have lots of volume and shape, as proven by Chrissy Metz's just-past-the-shoulder flips. After using a round brush to blow dry your ends outward, hold the shape with a movement-friendly hairspray like Verb Ghost Hairspray ($14, sephora.com).
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Sleek and Simple
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"What I love about Fey's style here is that it's casually chic — no muss, no fuss," says Jet Rhys, celebrity hairstylist and co-owner of the Jet Rhys salons in California. Start by applying a protective spray like Phyto Phytovolume Actif Volumizing Spray ($29, amazon.com) all over the hair. When blow-drying, smooth out the hair with a paddle brush to add shine and give a lift at the roots.
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Layered Waves
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The volume in Marcia Cross's layered waves compliment her long, oval face. "The key for this modern style is little volume on top and mega volume on the sides," says Michael Max Gierl, stylist at Mizu salon in New York City. After blow drying your hair with a large round brush, use a big barrel curling iron to curl the ends away from your face.
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Lob with Blunt Bangs
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Octavia Spencer's subtle waves are sophisticated-meets-edgy. "The bold bangs and blunt ends help to bring structure to a rounder face shape," says Gierl. "After blowing dry, turn a few random pieces around a curling iron to give it a playful feeling."
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Sleek Loose Waves
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Smooth and sleek doesn't have to mean perfectly straight. Christina Hendricks sports super-loose full waves created with a round brush, and finished with a shine enhancing serum that won't weigh down the volume, like Kiehl's Silk Groom Serum ($18, sephora.com)
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Side-Swept Bangs
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Judy Greer's long, side-swiped bangs highlight her eyes and cheekbones, says Gierl. Achieving this style is a lot easier than it looks. "Blow dry with a medium-size round brush, and leave the ends a bit flippy and flirty," he says.
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Bouncy Curls
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Sherri Shepherd's curls are elegant yet playful. "Use a medium size iron, and alternate each curl in a different direction. This will cause volume in the ends and the curls won't clump together," says Gierl.
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Shapely and Shoulder-Grazing
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After years of wearing her hair super-long, Penelope Cruz has been wearing her hair shoulder-length lately and proving it's just as sexy. This look also proves you don't have to flip your hair all in one direction — her side-swept bangs swoop outward while her ends flip inward.
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Modern Farrah Fawcett
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Update a retro look into a renewed style like Claire Danes's hair. "It's fun, flirty and dressed up," says Rhys. Prep hair with a gel for shine and control like Bumble and Bumble Gel ($26, sephora.com), then blow dry with a small round brush to achieve bounce. "Take a 3-inch section on each side of the face and use a 1.5-inch curling iron to curl hair back off the face."
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Voluminous Curls
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Oprah's amazing curls are the perfect frame for her face. To take your natural curls to a new level, try blow-drying with a diffuser and adding definition by using a curling iron in a similar width to your curls to create bounce and separation.
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Flipped-Out Shag
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With Reba McEntire's youthful hairstyle, "the swingy, piece-y layers tell us that this is a woman who has fun with her hair," says Rhys. Prep your roots with a texturizing product and your ends with a styling cream. "Section out the top, and blow dry all of the underneath sections out with a round brush for a flippy effect. Then, blow dry top section smooth," she says.
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Stick-Straight with Blunt Bangs
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"Ask your hairstylist for a sleek blunt cut and an arcing fringe," says Gierl. After straightening, style hair with a smoothing product like Oribe Smooth Style Serum ($54, nordstrom.com). Plus, Tyra Banks's "shadowed roots" create an illusion of dimension to her sleek style.
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Straight with Volume
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Turn flat, straight hair into lovely hair like Julie Bowen's playful style, which looks fresh and simple thanks to the zigzag part, says Rhys. To duplicate, apply a shine serum and the use a paddle brush from roots to ends while blowing dry. "Flat iron the last three inches of hair to make the ends looks blunt and healthy," she says.
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WATCH: What Your Favorite Celebrities Look Like with '80s Hair
Mid-length hairstyles looked a little different a few decades ago...
Marci Robin is a freelance writer and editor specializing in beauty and lifestyle content. With over 20 years of experience, Marci has served as a contributing editor for Allure, senior beauty editor at GoodHousekeeping.com, executive editor of xoVain and senior online editor at NewBeauty. Her writing has also appeared in her writing has also appeared in InStyle, MarthaStewart.com and Refinery29.