In the decade-plus that Kate Middleton has been in the public eye, she's never, not once, had a bad hair day that we can find. Somehow, the Duchess of Cambridge looks flawless every time she steps out of her palace. Sure, some of Kate's hairstyles are better than others, but there are really no bad ones. She even made her "mom" bangs look pretty good.
When it comes to her hair, Kate actually opts for simple styles much of the time. She wears her hair down and loosely blown out a lot, or she'll go with a half-up and half-down look. Occasionally she'll sport an elaborate bun or complicated braid, but only for really fancy events. And while she definitely has a stylist helping her achieve her flawless locks, most is that is just genetics. Like her sister Pippa Middleton, Kate just has great hair.
Here's proof.
Perfect Pigtails
The pigtails with plastic barrettes look is such an '80s hairstyle, which makes sense because that's the decade when Kate grew up. It's likely that this style is courtesy of her mother, and it's perfect for a little kid to play around in while still looking put together. Also, is it just us, or does Kate totally look like Prince George here?
Early Kate
Kate's had great hair since she was a child, but she really started to get a sense of how she wanted to style her hair in her 20s. She's long been a fan of the deep side part and a kind of wavy blowout. Nothing super fancy for this duchess, at least not back then. And her hair is shiny and bouncy all on its own, so she never needed to do much to it anyway.
Softly Pinned
We love this photo of Kate from one of William's polo matches. It's pre-wedding, so she was more laid-back than she is now. We can see that in her hair, actually, as it looks like she pinned it back in the morning and it slowly worked itself out to a sort of messy half-updo. These days, the duchess would never have her hair so out of place.
Classic Curly Blowout
This is the Duchess of Cambridge that we know and love. When in doubt, this is Kate's go-to hairstyle. A sleek blowout with really bouncy, curly ends. It somehow never gets old — even though she styles it this way all the time. But it is fun to watch her experiment every once in a while. Even if she usually returns to this.
Signature Half-Up Half-Down
If she's not wearing her hair completely down, chances are Kate is wearing it half-up and half-down. This is another signature style for her. She gets to show off her waves, but also keep her hair out of her face while spicing things up a bit. We really love this 'do on her. It's effortless, yet chic and classy.
Leaving it Down for the 'I Do'
In the past, many brides opted for an elaborate updo for their weddings, but that's changed over the years. Kate decided against anything too fussy when she married Prince William in 2011. Instead, she went with her classic half-up look, keeping her styling minimal and allowing her natural beauty to shine through.
Ombré Effect
By the time the duchess gave birth to Prince George, her hair had been lightened considerably from the dark brown tone she had on her wedding day. She had a more honey-colored hue, with even lighter ends and darker roots where her natural color has begun growing in. This was 2013, so ombré looks were all the rage. It's hardly surprising that Kate was right on trend.
So Thick
When Kate stepped out a few months postpartum, her hair looked absolutely glorious. When women are pregnant, they tend to shed hair less often, so they have full locks. When their hormone levels dip post-pregnancy, that's when they can begin losing hair in chunks. Kate was in the sweet spot here of having all that pregnancy hair still.
Giving Bangs a Try
Bangs are one of those hairstyles that we just have to try at least once in life. The duchess has had bangs off and on over the years, and it's a divisive style choice. Some people hate the look on Kate and some people love it. We're not sure it's necessarily her best look ever, but it is always fun to see her trying new things in the hairstyle department.
Short & Sweet
Just as the Duchess of Cambridge isn't afraid to get bangs every now and then, she's also not afraid to chop her hair short. She's usually known for her long, luxurious locks, but a few years ago she cut her hair to her shoulders — and it looked fabulous. It was a fun summertime style, and it eventually grew out again. No harm done.
Chic Side Bun
Just because Kate loves to wear her hair down doesn't mean she's also not capable of an elegant updo. For fancier formal events, she tends to opt for elaborate buns — like this twisty side bun she wore to Royal Ascot. It's fun because her hair is sort of like a second version of the rose on her hat.
A Low Ponytail
And we thought bangs were divisive! Low ponytails give many people mixed feelings. It's hard for the average person to pull a low pony off, because it often looks bad from the front. But Kate made sure to keep the front of her style full of volume so she didn't look bald when she pulled her hair back.
Perky Pony
Kate also loves a high pony, and she added some extra oomph to this style by wrapping her hair around the elastic. OK, she probably didn't do it herself, but whoever her stylist is made the right decision here. Bangs also work well with ponytails because, again, they keep us from looking bald with our hair pulled back.
Braided Headband
We actually don't think this braid is made of Kate's real hair, since it looks more like a separate headband that was just added on top of her regular locks. But it's super cute either way. We're getting '70s hippie vibes from it a little bit. The duchess should bring this style back. With this look, she gets to keep her hair down while adding some visual interest. A win-win.
The Braided Bun
Here's an example of a braided look that does seem to be using Kate's real hair. For a St. Patrick's Day event, Kate paired a sleek bun with an elaborate braid. From the front, she just looks chic and formal, but from the back, there's a total wow moment. We love Meghan Markle's low key messy buns, but Kate's super styled ones are fun, too.
When Humidity Takes Over
When Kate visited Honiara in the Solomon Islands, we got to see what her hair looks like in a more natural state. She probably started the day with a perfect blowout, but the humidity soon revealed her natural waves. She is just as pretty here as when perfectly done up, though. This is just a more casual look.
High Volume
On a trip to Canada, Kate attended a formal function wearing a bun with some serious volume at the crown of her head. It almost looks like she's wearing that famous infomercial device from years ago — the Bump It. Her stylist wasn't messing around with this 'do, that's for sure. It's about as high volume as it gets.
Caramel Color
Perhaps it's just because her hair stands in contrast to her all-green outfit, but Kate almost had a reddish hue to her locks. She wears all the ranges of brown really well — from dark brown to this lighter caramel color. Just for fun some day she should go wild and dye her hair blond or something. We feel like she could pull it off.
Ringlets
Kate loves switching up her hairstyles at the annual Remembrance Day event. For this particular year, she kept her hair long and coiled it into perfect ringlets. It's different than her usual bouncy blowout, but still soft and elegant. Although she's seen in public all the time, she still manages to keep things fresh with regards to her hair choices.
Fake Out
Here's another interesting Remembrance Day hairstyle. When she walked out like this, Kate briefly tricked us into thinking she'd chopped her hair to above her shoulders. But upon closer inspection, her stylist had just tucked all her hair under to give the appearance of a bob haircut. Such a prankster, that duchess.
All Tucked In
For Remembrance Day in 2020, the Duchess of Cambridge sported a complex French pleat style. All her locks were tucked back and in with one perfect spiral at the top of the bun. We're glad to turned her back to the cameras just long enough for this style to be captured on film. A look this stylish needs to be preserved.
Part-Time Pony
We know the Duchess of Cambridge loves a ponytail and a half-updo, so it was really only a matter of time before she combined the two. Her usual pulled back hairstyle had a bit of extra bounce and volume thanks to that high semi-pony, and we're big fans. She looks sleek from the front and a little bit sassy when she turns around.
Hair Bow
Looking for a way to take a ponytail and make it glam? The hairstyle that's usually reserved for working out got a big upgrade when Kate curled her ends and used a velvet hair bow to put it up. She looks so chic, and all it took was adding a hair accessory and styling the ponytail part a bit.
Blinged Out
The best hair accessory is unfortunately one that many of us will never wear — the tiara. Princess Diana used to have a great hair hack when wearing the jeweled crowns. She would wrap blond-colored fabric along the bottom to blend the band of the tiara into her hair. It looks like Kate does the same, but with brown-colored fabric.
Simple Twist
We kind of love that one day, the duchess has a totally unachievable hairstyle with a crown and another day she's just wearing a simple twist ponytail that any of us could replicate. This is an easy style because you just take a low pony, split it into two sections above the elastic and tuck the end through the hole. Voila!
Cute Flip
Ooh, looks like the '50s are calling because the Duchess of Cambridge has nailed the hairstyle where the ends flip out and up. It's similar to her classic blowout, but instead of tamed curls, she got wild with some flips. She doesn't style her hair this way often, but we like the change from her typical look.
View From Behind
Now this is a half-updo with a twist — literally. For this outing, the Duchess of Cambridge wore a twisty fishtail braid at the crown of her head. It must be fun to see her in person and know that when she turns around, her pinned back hairstyle could reveal something elaborate like this. Such creativity.
Pushed Back
Another way to keep her hair out of her face without braiding it is just with a simple headband. The hair accessory has been a favorite of Kate's of late, and she always looks so stylish in them. She wore this simple black velvet headband on a trip to Ireland in 2020, and it worked well with her shorter locks.
Going Lighter
As the royals slowly started to come out of lockdown in 2020 and began doing socially distanced events, the public saw Kate emerge with a new, lighter hair color. It was a honey brown with even some blond shades of highlights. Being stuck inside for so long prompted many of us to make style changes. This was hers.
Long & Straight
In many of Kate's Instagram posts in 2021, she's been wearing her hair long, sleek, and straight. Perhaps she just got tired of the same old curly, voluminous blowout and she wanted a more streamlined look for a little bit. Both styles are equally fabulous on her, but the new change is fun to see.
