15+ Summer Hair Accessories To Make It Look Like You Have Your Sh*t Together
There’s something especially difficult about trying to look put together when it’s hot out — you have to contend with the sweat, humidity, and heat. That means wearing your hair all cute and blown out in the summer is sometimes just not an option. Listen, I know the struggle of summer hairdos — I am a curly-haired girl living in Florida, where the summer temps usually linger in the 90s and the humidity is rarely much lower. We’re talking frizz, sweat, products reactivating and resetting in my hair, wind, rain, all of it. So trust me when I tell you: You need a good arsenal of summer hair accessories to help you out. Because sometimes, adding more hairspray is simply not enough.
This season’s trends really lend themselves to cute summer hair accessories, too. Farmer’s market patterns with sardine, tomato, and citrus prints, cherries galore, and charm necklaces all go surprisingly well with scrunchies, hair ties, and claw clips, as you’ll see. So, if you want to cover some thin spots (thanks, postpartum hair loss), keep your bangs TF up out of your face when you’re sweating, or make a ponytail look more put together, we got you.
I love Jenny Lemons’ cheeky hair clips, which come in so many fun food and beverage designs. I personally own the hot dog claw clip and can attest to how durable and vibrant they are in person (it’s my entire Fourth of July outfit), and this rosé bottle would be so freakin’ cute for a girls’ night hairdo. The crab also screams summer to me.
Listen, if you’re going to spend all day at the pool or the beach and then go out for dinner, you probably don’t have time to wash and style your hair on top of everything else, especially if you’re vacationing with the kids and everyone needs to bathe. These gilded hair ties add the perfect amount of glam to an otherwise effortless hairstyle so it looks like you chose that ponytail on purpose.
Cherry print is everywhere right now, which is so fun for summer — what outfit doesn’t benefit from a pop of hot red? This clip is a super affordable way to try the trend, and it feels like a cute little way to add some joy to your usual claw clip style.
Is a hat technically a hair accessory? I dunno. But I know I wear baseball caps a lot in the summer when I’m going to be outdoors all day, or I don’t want to fuss with my hair but need it contained somehow. This hat is the perfect dopamine green, and the hilarious message is appropriate 24/7 if you ask me. (I also like this “Favorite Daughter” hat from Anthropologie, if you want to stir the pot on family vacay.)
If you’re not a hat person, I urge you to buy a hair scarf and just play around with it. You can cover your whole head like so, or fold it into a headband, tie it around a bun, and so much more. Old Navy has these affordable ones in a few colors and prints this year, and all of them scream summer.
If you don’t know how to do elaborate updos (me neither), I swear slapping a big, beautiful scrunchie on your usual bun or ponytail makes it look so much more intentional and pretty. Boden has some really colorful options right now too, and they’re a little bit smaller with tails for a more ribbon-like look in the hair.
We’ve all seen runners wear the athletic version of these headbands, but I love the ruffles and soft colors of these options. You could throw them on with a loose tee and jean shorts to help cover dirty hair or keep your bangs where you want them as you run errands, or wear them to dinner — they kind of go with everything.
There’s nothing wrong with buying holiday hair accessories, but if I’m going to spend the money, I’d like to be able to wear the item more than once a year. These sweet bows would all be perfect for July Fourth, but they wouldn’t look out of place on other occasions, either.
If you want to look like the cutest farmer’s market regular, you need this soft slip-on head scarf. The elastic band means it’ll hold itself in place, and you don’t have to fuss with getting a bandana folded just right. I love something like this for covering up hair that needs to be washed without being heavy or making you sweat even more, like a hat might.
Bucket hats feel very much like a thing the youth can wear, but when we try, it just never feels right. This crochet one feels super accessible, though, and would look so cute at the beach, on the boat, or by the pool. Warning: Your kids may steal it.
Silky headbands like this always draw me in for summer because they keep your hair in place no matter how breezy it gets, but also won’t get snagged in your hair like thinner bands or ones with big gems. This blue is beautiful, and Anthro has other bold hues too.
Charm necklaces are all the rage right now, so why not bring your own twist to the trend? The light material of this scrunchie is so pretty and will dress up a messy bun for dinner and drinks in like two seconds flat.
If you want something a little more structured (and with more gold), J. Crew has a very similar white headband studded with gold shells, starfish, and more. This would be a great buy if you want your updos to give a little more, but you don’t want to spend extra time styling.
OK, how stunning would these little shell charms be looped into braids or locs? They’re such a small accessory but add so much oomph, making them perfect to travel with, too.
Anthro’s claw clips are pricey compared to most, but they’re super durable, and you do get a set of three for the money. Plus, the detail on the whale shark and the fun designs of these fish aren’t really available anywhere else (I searched, y’all).
May you have a wonderful summer where you look good, feel better, and never again get your bangs stuck in your lip gloss (damn summer breeze).
