Hairstyles for headshots: how to wear your hair for a professional photo

The best hairstyle for a headshot is the one you wear on a normal good day, done a little more carefully. A headshot has one job: to look like the person who turns up to the interview or the meeting. A dramatic new cut or color can look great on the day and stop matching you a month later.

The short answer

• Keep your usual style. A headshot is not the moment to try a new cut or color.
• Cut it one to two weeks before, so the cut has settled. For short cuts and fades, a few days to a week before keeps the edges sharp.
• Deal with flyaways and frizz. A plain background shows every stray hair.
• Keep your eyes and eyebrows visible. Hair across the face hides the features people read first.
• For an AI headshot, wear the same hairstyle in every selfie. The model learns your hair from your photos.

Timing a cut or color

• Haircut. Book it one to two weeks before the photo for most cuts, so the ends settle and any blunt line softens. Short cuts, fades and line-ups grow out fast, so a few days to a week before looks sharpest.
• Color. Refresh roots a week or so before. Avoid changing the color itself: the photo should match the hair you will have for the next year, not the next week.
• Treatments. Leave relaxers, perms, keratin treatments and new products for after the photo. Hair can behave unpredictably for a few days after a chemical treatment.
• Facial hair. Trim a beard two or three days before, so it looks groomed rather than freshly cut, and clean up the neckline and cheek line. If you shave, do it the morning of the photo, or the evening before if your skin reacts.

Frizz, flyaways and shine

Stray hairs that you never notice in a mirror stand out against a plain backdrop, especially around the crown and the sides of the head.

• Flyaways. Smooth them with a small amount of serum, cream or hairspray applied with a comb or a clean toothbrush.
• Frizz. Humidity is the usual cause. Style your hair the way you normally do, and bring a comb and a travel-size product to the shoot.
• Static. Sweaters and blazers pulled over the head lift fine hair. Get dressed before you do the final touch-ups.
• Shine and volume. Wash your hair the evening before or the morning of, whichever leaves it looking its best. Most hair photographs better on the day it usually looks good than on the day it was just washed.

Before the photo, check the back and sides with a second mirror or your phone's front camera against a plain wall.

By length and texture

Short hair. Clean edges and a tidy neckline matter more than the style itself. Products with a matte or low-shine finish photograph better under lights than high-gloss gel.

Medium and long hair. Decide where it goes and keep it there: behind the shoulders reads neat, and in front frames the face but covers the collar. A side part adds volume. Make sure no strand falls across your eyes.

Curly and coily hair. Define your curls the way you normally do, with your usual cream, gel or diffuser, and do it the day before or the morning of the photo. Avoid brushing curls out right before the shoot, which turns definition into frizz; refresh with water or a leave-in conditioner instead.

Braids, locs and twists. Have any install or maintenance done a few days before, so it has settled. Wear them loose, half-up or in a low bun, the way you normally do, and keep the front clear of your face.

Updos and ponytails. A low bun or a low ponytail looks polished. With a high or very tight style, little hair shows from the front, so the photo can read as short hair; leave some softness around the face if that is not how you want to look.

Head coverings. Wear a religious head covering as you normally do, so the photo matches how people see you.

Hair and AI headshots

If your headshot is made with AI, your hair is not styled on the day. It is learned from the selfies you upload, so a few things change.

The selfie above and the AI headshot below it are the same person. The outfit and the background come from the style she picked; the braids, their copper highlights and the way they fall come from her photos.

• Wear one hairstyle across all your selfies. If half show your hair up and half show it down, the model cannot tell which one is you. BetterPic's redo guidance asks the same for beards and glasses: keep them consistent in every photo.
• Take the selfies with your hair done the way you want it in the headshot. If you have recently cut or colored it, leave out the older photos.
• Show your hairline and the shape of your hair. Hats, hoods and heavy shadows hide exactly what the model needs to see.

If your hair still comes out wrong, the redo form on a BetterPic order has a "Hairstyle / Head" option for exactly that case. You can see what the outfits and backgrounds look like in business casual headshots, or start with the free AI headshot generator.

For a full checklist beyond hair, see how to prepare for professional headshots and how to take a professional headshot.