What are surf curtains? The latest TikTok Gen Z style

Teenagers are almost always the group that gets the most attention for the latest trends. As young people who are still forming their own identity, they are not afraid to experiment with their own personal style. They are often the most creative when it comes to clothing and hairstyles.

It can be hard for parents to keep up with all the trends that teens seem to embrace effortlessly before trying something new, especially now that more and more teens are getting all their fashion advice from rapidly growing social media platforms, especially TikTok. The latest trend to grab their attention is a hairstyle called the “surf curtain.”

Why does Gen Z love the surfer curtain hairstyle?

Millennial parents may already be familiar with this style—a callback to the millennial trend popularized by pop stars and celebrities like Nick Carter and Brad Pitt. But more recently, it has been popularized by movie stars Timothée Chalamet and Charles Melton.

“It’s a surfer haircut with ’90s curtain bangs,” explains stylist and American Crew styling product ambassador Andrew Zumbo. “This is the hair we’re seeing on Hollywood heartthrobs now.”

With ’90s and ’20s fashions like bell bottoms, crop tops, and pleated skirts as popular as they are now, Zumbo isn’t surprised to see hairstyles that match those looks coming back into the spotlight. At the time, hairstyles were characterized by longer lengths, which were once again a popular trend among Gen Z kids—he also saw an increasing demand for shaggy hairstyles and mullets. Don’t forget about the renaissance of curly hair.

Zumbo says teens are looking for “relaxed” and “structure-free” styles, such as surf curtains, that make them look like they’re “swimming in the ocean and then letting them be free.” [their hair] Let air dry. He adds that teenage boys are especially likely to be attracted to this style because it doesn’t require a lot of maintenance.

“It’s really minimal. They just need to wake up in the morning and spray a little [sea salt spray] Over their head, wave it and they’re good to go,” he said.

How Gen Z uses TikTok to find fashion inspiration

While the style is easy to pull off, surfer curtain videos on TikTok mostly feature teenagers, offering hair tutorials on how to achieve the look, with some videos racking up as many as 3 million views.

In Zumbo’s experience, Gen Z is more focused on self-care and styling than past generations (millennials in particular may remember putting some hairspray on their hair that quickly became stiff and stiff), so surfing It’s no surprise that Curtain Hair Tutorials has received rave reviews.

Once upon a time, young people would tear pages from their parents’ magazines and bring them into the salon, but now they bring their cell phones. Teenagers these days are so strict about how they want to look, Zumbo recalls clients coming in with a TikTok video playing and their thumbs resting on the exact frame depicting their ideal hairstyle. He’s even seen clients come in with folders of videos and images saved on TikTok and Instagram to show their stylists inspiration for new looks.

This is just a normal way for today’s youth to imbibe fashion trends.

“Glossy magazines are overshadowed by influencers who claim to be ‘just like us,'” explains Brooke Erin Duffy, Ph.D., a social media researcher at Cornell University’s Department of Communication.

This makes popular fashion seem more accessible to teenagers who still idolize celebrities, but see influencer fame as more attainable than Justin Bieber-level pop stardom. That’s at least part of the reason they keep up with fashion trends that are gaining momentum on TikTok, where the vast majority of users are the kids of Generation Z, who look like them and have similar interests.

“[Social media] Platforms assure us that fame is more accessible than ever before – after all, this narrative ensures a steady flow of content on their platforms,” Duffy added.

Diane Pacom, a professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa, said that when teenagers adopt influential hairstyles they see online, they feel like “the aura of celebrity has rubbed off on them.” They are all studying youth culture.

Paccom added that social media “tap on these kids’ desire to be famous.” She said having the same hairstyle as someone with millions of likes and views on TikTok videos can help them “become famous in their own little circle. Celebrities” — which might explain why hairstylists like Zumbo see so many teenagers asking for haircuts, they find out about TikTok, and why these videos get so many views in the first place.

Are TikTok microtrends damaging children’s mental health?

Research shows that teens are vulnerable to body shaming and lowered self-esteem when using TikTok, which is one of the risks of letting teens develop a personal style based on what they see on social media.

Gen Z may be particularly susceptible: A 2023 study found that Gen Z spends the most time on social media compared to other generations, with respondents saying social media distorts their body image and criticizing Their self-confidence was negatively affected.

These downsides to social media might be a reason to have an honest conversation with your kids about how concerned they are about TikTok trends. Not every hairstyle they see online will suit their specific hair type or length, so it can be important to make sure your child doesn’t feel disappointed when they can’t follow the latest trends.

Parents can talk to their kids about developing their own personal style based on their tastes, rather than simply imitating what they see online to fit in. Kind of. Platforms like TikTok make it harder for children to gain a clear understanding of their own unique selves.

Parents should also remind their children that no matter how they choose to dress or style their hair, whether it conforms to current TikTok trends or not, they will be accepted by people who truly love and respect them.