29 Long to Medium Length Hairstyles to Try in 2024

Looking for trendy long to medium length hairstyles and coming up short? We’ve got you covered with the prettiest styles we’ve seen all year. Browse our look book to see how you can transform your locks with longer hair.

Looking for Long to Medium Length Hairstyles?

You’ve been growing your hair for a while and though you love the length, you’ve got to admit that figuring out different daily styles to wrangle your mane is becoming a headache. 

You might’ve found yourself in a dreaded style rut where you either wear your hair down (when it’s a good hair day) or up in a ponytail (when it won’t seem to cooperate). Fear not, ladies. It happens to the best of us! You just need a little *inspiration.*  

If you have hair that reaches your shoulders or beyond, it’s considered medium or long. We’ve been digging to find the prettiest ways to wear medium and long hair and we are so happy with the list we’ve come up with.

You’re going to see so many long to medium length hairstyles that you’ll be anxious to try! Take a look and who knows? You might end up getting excited about styling your hair in the morning instead of dreading it. And if that ain’t magic, we don’t know what is.

29 Long to Medium Length Hairstyles You’ve Gotta Try

Want to see what you’ve been missing out on? Here’s a list of our favorite long to medium length hairstyles for women. From sleek and straight to kinky-curly and everything in between, there are styles below for all hair types and textures. 

We’ve gathered options to wear your hair up, down, or half-up.

And you’re going to love the variety of looks you can create with your gorgeous mane! Check these hairstyles out and get ready to take notes. We explain how to recreate each style below.

Read Next: Long Hairstyles

1. Sleek and Straight

If your natural texture is pin-straight, this is a perfect wash-and-go style that requires no heat styling or effort on your part. If you have a slight wave or bend in your hair, just create a middle part and run a flat iron over it (use heat protectant first). Finish with a mist of shine spray to up the sleek factor. 

2. Chic Low Pony With Curtain Bangs

You don’t always have an hour to style your hair before work, and styles like this make it easy to get out the door faster without sacrificing your looks.

Gather your hair into a low ponytail and secure it with an elastic. Leave your curtain bangs down and let them hang or tuck behind your ear for a workplace-friendly chic look. 

3. Glamorous Curls With Middle Part

If you have a little extra time to style your hair, these glamorous curls are worth the effort! Start by working heat protectant and mousse through your damp hair, then blow dry or allow it to dry.

Wind small sections around a curling iron or wand and hold the curled section for a few seconds to allow it to cool. Once you’re done, run your fingers through the cooled curls to separate them a bit and tousle them for this high-volume glamour look.  

4. High-Volume Straight Locks

Wearing your hair straight doesn’t have to mean sleek with no volume. Work a bodifying or volumizing mousse through your damp hair to inject lots of body.

Blow dry upside down to achieve more lift at the roots. Finish by styling in your preferred part – side is shown here, but a middle part would look great as well! 

5. Quick Twisted High Bun

When you should’ve been out the door 10 minutes ago, you want a quick style that still looks put together. Gather your mane into a quick twisted high bun for a stylish solution! You can pull a few face-framing tendrils down in the front for a slightly more relaxed look. 

6. Trendy Hat With Polished Curls

Perfect to pair with fall outfits, this polished hairstyle is accessorized with a cute hat that will take your outfit to the next level. Use a curling wand or iron on 2 inch sections to create big spiral curls that stay bouncy all day. A middle part will leave symmetrical sections peeking out on each side under your hat. 

7. Natural Curls With Side Part

Big, voluminous ringlets are brought to life with curl cream and a diffuser. Work your favorite moisturizing curl product through your hair from root to tip and dry upside down with a diffuser to help define each curl. Create a side part to get a boost in volume up top and show off the shape of your ringlets! 

8. Straight With Tucked-Under Ends

Straight-haired ladies, choosing great styles for medium-length hair is easy when you can rely on classic styles like this! Part your hair down the middle (or to the side if you prefer) and use a curling iron, wand, or flat iron to slightly tuck the ends under. It gives the style a more finished look than leaving the ends straight. 

9. Easy Hanging Side Braid

You can do this hairstyle in less than a minute – talk about easy! Brush through your hair, create a side part, and gather it to one side. Braid your hair (a simple three-strand braid is shown here, but feel free to get creative) and secure with an elastic for a fast, simple style. 

10. Air-Dried Undone Waves

If you’re not air-drying your hair at least a few times per week, you’re subjecting your hair to too much heat damage. Try winding your damp locks into two low twisted buns and allowing them to dry completely. Then take them down, run your fingers through, and enjoy your relaxed waves sans heat damage! 

11. High Puff Ponytail

Show off your voluminous coils in a high puff ponytail that puts them front and center. Use a firm hold gel to tame flyaways and strays as you gather your hair into a high pony. Dip your fingers into your favorite curl product and work it through your curls for more definition and bounce in your puff pony!  

12. Sleek With Curled Ends

High-volume styles not for you? We like this low-key sleek style with big curls nestled at the ends. When you concentrate the curls at the ends only, it draws the eye to wherever your hair ends.

So if your hair is shoulder-length, it’ll show off your shoulders and collarbone. If it’s longer, you may draw the eye to your decolletage or even your waist! 

13. Artsy High Bun With Face-Framing Tendrils

There’s something so effortlessly feminine about a good, artsy bun. Pull your hair up into a high ponytail and loosely wind it around itself to create a twisted bun. Secure it with bobby pins and pull out a few face-framing pieces as small or chunky as you’d like to finish the style. 

14. Quick Clipped Half-Up Style

It’s unavoidable – you wake up and your hair looks great, but the front won’t cooperate. No worries! Grab a hair clip, take 2 small sections from the front, and secure them with a clip at the back. If you have bangs, leave them down to frame your face in front. 

15. Middle Part With Flipped Ends

Low-key styles that look lived-in and casual are some of our favorite everyday looks. Part your hair down the middle, use a curling iron to give the ends a little flip, and go! Tucking your hair behind your ears will give you the slight bend in the face-framing pieces like you see here. 

16. Effortless Tousled Waves

These waves are imperfect and irregular on purpose to give you that effortless, I-woke-up-like-this look. With shoulder-skimming locks and a middle part, the look is fresh and trendy without trying too hard. Get perfectly undone waves by using a flat iron to clamp and wrap sections while curving it away from your face.  

17. Easy Low Bun

Hair not cooperating today? Pull it into a low bun at the nape of your neck for a quick style that looks polished. Gather your hair into a low ponytail first and secure it with an elastic. Then wind the ponytail into a coil and twist it around itself before securing with bobby pins. 

18. Ombre Messy Waves

Pops of color make any style more fun and feminine, and we love how the ombre color lightens at the ends and catches the eye. A braid in damp hair will create these messy, pretty waves that aren’t too perfect. 

19. Pretty and Polished Sock Bun

Back in the day, we literally used socks with the toes cut out to create these mega buns. Today, there are accessory kits with spongy donut-shaped pieces that do the job of the sock. Pull your hair into a high ponytail and secure it with an elastic.

Pop the foam donut over your ponytail and pull it down toward the ends. Fan out the ponytail so it covers the donut and tuck the ends under as you “roll” the donut down until you reach the elastic. Secure with bobby pins. 

20. Double French Braids

A fun childhood throwback has morphed into an everyday style that keeps your hair perfectly contained and out of your face. Divide your hair down the middle and French braid each side, securing each with an elastic.

Read Next: How to French Braid Your Own Hair

21. Mid Wrapped Ponytail

A mid ponytail is secured just below the crown – in between where a high and low pony would sit. To level it up, take a small section of hair from the ponytail and wrap it around the elastic to conceal it. Secure the wrapped section with 2 bobby pins and you’re ready to go! 

22. Deep Waves With Money Piece Highlights

Money piece highlights are done around the face and are brighter in color than the rest of the hair. It draws the eye to your face and brightens up your look. Deep waves like this are the best way to show off your color’s depth and dimension! 

23. High-Volume Messy Pony

Take your ponytail to the next level by injecting just the right amount of “messy” into it. Start with a little dry shampoo or volumizing powder at the roots. Backcomb a section of the front to create a boost in volume on top and secure your hair into a high ponytail. 

24. Sophisticated Fishtail Braid

Fishtail braids look super complex and intricate, but those in the know realize they’re actually quite easy to do. You use 4 sections instead of 3. A quick YouTube video will make you a certifiable fishtail braid expert within minutes!

25. Low Braided Chignon

Create a mock chignon that looks elegant and sophisticated by gathering your hair at the nape of your neck and dividing it into 3 sections. Braid the two sections from the sides and bring them to the back.

Braid the middle section and wind it into a low bun. Pull the 2 braided sections in and wrap them around the braided bun before securing with bobby pins. Instant chic! 

26. Grown-Up Space Buns

You’re not a little girl anymore, but you can keep that youthful spark alive by reworking old favorite hairstyles into modern, “grown-up” versions you can wear today. The addition of piece-y bangs elevates these space buns into an acceptable adult version of the style you loved as a kid!

Read Next: How to Do Space Buns

27. Under-Braided Ponytail

We’re big fans of little touches that make a hairstyle look more complex than it really is. Throw your head upside down and French braid up toward the crown where your ponytail will sit. Hold the braid and smooth the front with a brush before securing with an elastic. 

28. Topsy-Turvy Half Updo

This hairstyle would work for any formal event on your calendar. Divide the top half into 3 sections, making the middle section the thickest.

Tie the middle into a ponytail and invert it by making a hole with your fingers above the elastic and pushing the ponytail through. Then twist and secure the two outside sections underneath the inverted ponytail. Curl the ends and you’re done!  

29. Messy Bun With Scarf

Dress up a basic messy bun with a fun hair accessory like a folded scarf. A boost in volume at the front adds to the style and you can backcomb a small section of the front to achieve it. This look is not about perfection – it’s about creating an effortless and fun look.

Read Next: How to Make a Messy Bun

Things to Consider

With this list of gorgeous, trendy hairstyles to try, all you have to do is decide which you want to experiment with first. But if you really want your hair to look its best, there are a few things you need to take into consideration first.

Here’s what you need to know about your hair before you start picking styles. 

• Your hair texture and density. Is your hair fine, medium, or coarse? Take a look at an individual strand to find out. If it’s thinner than a thread, it’s fine. If it’s about the same thickness as a thread, it’s medium. And if it’s thicker than a thread, it’s coarse. Then think about the density of your hair – how full and thick it is. Coarse or dense (thick) hair is best for robust, high-volume styles. Fine or thin hair works best with sleek looks. Medium hair with average density can rock almost any type of style. 
• Your hair type. Is your hair straight, wavy, curly, or coily/kinky? Your hair type plays a major role in which styles will come “naturally” to your strands. If a style requires lots of volume, pin-straight hair will be tough to manage. But coarse hair is made for styles like that! If you have curly hair, find out your specific curl type here: All 6 Types of Curls. 
• Your heat styling preferences. Do you try to avoid heat styling at all costs to prevent damage? Or is heat styling a way of life (hopefully with heat protectant in tow)? There are tons of no-heat style options on our list if you’re avoiding hot tools for now, but you’ll want to steer clear of any that require use of a hair dryer, curling iron, or flat iron. Air-dried natural texture is key if you’re avoiding heat. Otherwise, spray on your protectant and keep the temp setting low to keep the damage to a minimum. 
• Your patience and time. Lots of trendy styles are going to look amazing on your hair, but consider how much time you’ll have to do it and how patient you are (not how patient you want to be). Are you really going to spend 30 minutes creating a style in the morning? Or are you more likely to try the quick styles you can create in less than 5 minutes? Be honest with yourself to avoid feeling like you’ve failed at an intricate or time-consuming style. 

Long to medium length hairstyles have so much variety. From wearing it down and loose with different textures (straight, wavy, curly, or kinky) to half-updos and pretty pulled-up styles, there’s no limit to how you can style medium to long hair.

What’s Your Fave Long to Medium Length Hairstyle?

So there you have it — our favorite long to medium length hairstyles.

Bookmark this list to keep it handy next time you’re struggling to come up with a cute hairstyle. You’ll be able to relax knowing you have a list of trendy styles that can take you mere minutes to achieve.

And if it’s the mother of all bad hair days and nothing on the list seems to be a good option, there’s no shame in donning a baseball cap and calling it a day. 

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