15 Skunk Stripe Hairstyles That Slay in 2024

Skunks may be smelly, but their look isn’t too bad. This new hairstyle fad is quite unique, and we’re going to find out what it’s all about. Read on to learn about skunk stripe hair, why it’s trending, and see 15 wild ides.

What Is the Skunk Stripe Hair Trend?

Humans have always taken style cues from animals and nature. From leopard print to feathered caps, there’s no shortage of animal-inspired fashion.

Sometimes, this can result in some really interesting trends, and we’re looking at one of those trends today. That’s right—skunk stripe hair is trending right now. The animal is best known for its awful smell, but people all over social media are lifting its look.

Skunk stripe hair is just as it sounds — dark hair with a light stripe running through it. It’s really simple.

Often, this is used with curtain hairstyles, and the stripe is placed at the front. However, the basic formula can be used in all kinds of ways (and with all kinds of colors).

For the most accurate skunk effect, you’ll want black hair with a white stripe. But you’re not limited to that, as you’ll see in this guide.

15 Skunk Striped Hair Ideas We Love

This style has a lot of versatility. You can take the basic idea and run with it to create all kinds of different looks. We’ve picked out 15 of our favorite skunk stripe hairstyles, so if you’re curious about the hype around this look, read on!

1. Basic Skunk

Here’s the basic skunk stripe style that has social media talking. It’s characterized by a dark foundational color, usually black or dark brown, and a contrasting white or grey stripe that frames the face. It’s similar to a curtain hairstyle, but the curtains are dyed to achieve the skunk stripe effect.

Read Next: Curtain Bang Ideas

2. Light Skunk

The style pictured here is a lighter skunk style that uses blonde and dark brown instead of stark black and white. There’s a little less contrast with this color combo, but you get a more casual look. 

3. Skunk Ponytail

This is a creative way to achieve the skunk look that involves dyeing the hair in the back so that you get a skunk striped ponytail. The stripe is then only visible in the ponytail, which really emphasizes the contrast between the black and white dyes.

4. Mohawk Stripe

If you’re going for a super accurate skunk look, this might be the hairstyle for you. This closely emulates an actual skunk by using a black foundation and dyeing the top white. The hair is also extremely long, forming a mohawk that reaches all the way down to the base of the neck. The spikiness of this style adds a final wild touch.

5. Brushed Back Mohawk

Here’s another version of a skunk mohawk that’s a little more stylized. The hair on top is then brushed back to create a sort of mohawk that results in a bold white stripe. If you go with pure black and white, you’ll be firmly in skunk territory.

Read Next: Female Mohawks

6. Long Mohawk

And here’s one more mohawk idea that’s great for extra long hair. The top is dyed black and shaped into a loose mohawk while the bottom is dyed white or platinum blonde and drapes down the back and sides.

This style has plenty of vintage vibes and is less “skunky” than the others, but it still retains that bold color scheme and overall attitude.

7. Subtly Striped Bob

This style takes the basic skunk look and adapts it to a bob hairstyle in a rather subtle way. The bottom of the hair features a horizontal stripe that descends along the edge line of the bob for a satisfying result.

Even though this is a simple hairstyle, it pops because of how contrasting the colors are and how short the hair is. It’s a nice choice if you want a skunk-inspired hairstyle but don’t want to go too flamboyant.

8. Angular Skunk

It’s weird to think of a goth skunk, but that’s basically what’s going on here. It’s a sharp, angular hairstyle that features the stripe right at the front in the form of an asymmetrical fringe.

The black hair on top is shaped into teeth that hang over the shaved sides, resulting in even more contrast. It’s a daring style, but if punk skunk is your thing, this might do it for you.

Read Next: Asymmetrical Bob Haircuts

9. Skunky Ends

Another subtle take on skunk hair, this look is all about the dyed ends. It’s a long bob style with a striking two-toned look. The hair is split horizontally into black and white, and there’s no gradual fade between the colors, so this hairstyle really stands out. 

10. Subtle Skunk

Another way to get a mild skunk stripe is to color some of the ends so that the black and white dyes intermingle. This gives a pleasing cookies and creme effect that evokes a skunk stripe without being too loud.

What’s nice about this style is that you can modify the amount of dye to your liking, so you could get a bolder or subtler stripe, depending on what you want.

11. Half and Half

On the other hand, if you want to go all out, you can create a large skunk stripe effect by splitting the dyes right down the middle. This does a great job of capturing the attitude of the skunk stripe, but it’s also really a style all its own. If you’re thinking less skunk and more Cruella de Vil, this is a look to check out.

12. Split Skunk

If the half and half split is too tidy for you, then how about this asymmetrical split? There’s a bit more white than there is black, but the two colors also fade into each other across the top for a pleasing ombre effect. The mullet also gives you some serious 80s energy and adds to the casual feel of the style.

13. Skunk Shag

This is a shorter form of skunk stripe hair that forms the “stripe” across the front of the head. You get a large section of white at the fringe and across the top, wrapping around the head mohawk-style. The short black sides provide that necessary contrast and round out the skunk look.

14. Inverted Stripe

Most of these skunk hairstyles feature a white stripe set against black hair, but this creative twist flips the script by featuring a black stripe set against white hair.

The stripe is also circular, which gives a different effect while still resembling a skunk stripe. It’s not your average skunk hair look, so if you want something more off the beaten path (and if you like white hair), this could be ideal for you.

15. Natural Skunk

The contrasting colors of skunk stripe hair can be a lot to handle, so here’s a style that takes a more natural-looking approach by using less dramatic colors. The warm colors used still create the two-tone contrast, but the overall look is much more relaxed and laid-back. 

Things to Consider

Skunk hair might seem weird and outlandish at first, but as you can see, not every skunk hairstyle is loud and startling. The basic skunk style can be adapted, so it’s quite versatile.

At its core, skunk stripe hair is about a contrasting stripe of hair, and that foundation can serve as a great launching-off point for all sorts of styles. Of course, there are some things you’ll want to think about if you’re considering skunk stripe hair for yourself:

• Go with a professional colorist. As tempting as it may be to dye your own hair at home with box dyes, go with a pro if you can. They’ll have much higher quality dyes and will be able to help you figure out how to get the exact kind of skunk stripe hair you’re after.
• Think about how loud or subtle you want your hair to be. Skunk stripe hair is naturally quite loud and will stand out because of the high contrast between dark and light. If you don’t want that much contrast, then you might want to choose more subtle colors or go with a smaller or thinner stripe.
• Consider other colors. You can also pair the skunk dyeing pattern with any two colors, but it’s most common to see black or brown as the foundation and white, grey, or platinum blonde as the stripe color.
• Choose your haircut carefully. The actual cut of your hair matters just as much as the style. Messy skunk hair will more closely resemble an actual skunk, while neater skunk hair will only resemble a skunk in its color palette.

Is Skunk Stripe Hair for You?

Love it or hate it, social media is a huge driving force in the world of fashion, and people pick up trends almost overnight. Even if skunk stripe hair isn’t around for much longer, we think it’s worthy of some consideration.

Skunk stripe hair emphasizes one of the fundamental rules of hairstyling—contrast stands out. Even if you don’t go full skunk, there’s a lot you can learn from this look.

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