Mocha Mousse Waves in L.A., Romantic Updos in Paris: The 6 Hair Trends Fashion People Can't Stop Wearing, Per J.Lo's Stylist

There are a handful of names in the beauty industry that we look to when we want to know what’s hot. Whether it’s the celebrity makeup artist glamming music’s current It girls or the facialists sculpting celeb cheekbones, we editors have a Rolodex of names we trust with different facets of beauty. One of which includes Chris Appleton, the celebrity hairstylist and grand master of viral mane moments—usually on the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, Dua Lipa… need we go on?

It’s no exaggeration to say that Appleton practically lives on an airplane, jetsetting from one glittering city to the next to shape his famous clients’ strands into something eye-catching. We recently caught up with the hairstylist to break down which hair trends the most fashionable people in equally stylish cities are sporting these days, and which you should ditch from here on out. (Spoiler alert: it’s fashion’s biggest shear right now.)

“There’s always a different vibe in different cities,” Appleton tells Who What Wear. “New York feels cool-girl, Paris is always a bit more romantic, L.A. is more ‘hot girl.’ [They’re] different worlds… each tells a story. That’s what you’re doing with hairstyling, you’re storytelling.”

Below, the hottest hair trends spotted in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris—and why Appleton thinks you should "retire the cunty bob.”

NYC Cool Girl

Appleton believes that your hair should be an accessory, a conduit for self-expression, and something that should be changed up often depending on your style evolution. No city has a population more willing to take fashion risks than NYC, which is why Appleton dubs the city that never sleeps the epicenter of “cool girl” hair.

We’ve seen no shortage of bobs taking over the city—with ultra-short, ear-skimming microbobs and jaw-length chops earning their places as Manhattanite rites of passage. However, Appleton is entirely over it. “I think we should retire the cunty bob. I just don’t like it,” he says with a laugh.

“When it’s super, super, super short, you’re kind of stuck with it, and there’s no fast way to grow it out,” Appleton adds. “I think hairstyles should come with a warning.”

Natural Texture

“One of the biggest trends right now is embracing your natural texture,” muses Appleton. The celebrity MUA points out that the wider majority is embracing a “more undone, less-polished” look these days, especially during the summer months (especially in this sweltering hot city). However, Appleton points out that many people don’t know how to manage or embrace their natural waves or curls because they’ve gone against what they were naturally given for so long.

The Color Wow Dream Curl is great for this, he says. “It helps you embrace that natural texture [and] keep the curl or wave without the frizz—it can really help to set the hair,” Appleton explains. To really bring your texture to life, Appleton recommends using a diffuser—specifically the long-pronged Shark FlexStyle diffuser attachment—even if you don’t have “curly” hair. This method encourages more body, movement, and definition than rough drying could.

Creative Chop

NYC Cool Girl Shopping List

Romantic Paris

One place where you can pretty much always find Appleton? Paris, France. Whether he’s creating a pin-straight look with waist-skimming extensions on Kim Kardashian or styling Kris Jenner’s inky tresses into a sweet bob, Appleton seems to have taken up a second residence in the city of love—which means that he’s no stranger to the general populace’s fashionable ways.

“I think [the hairstyle] always has an impression of where we are or what story we’ll tell… I’m always influenced by where I’m at,” says Appleton. “When we were in Paris with Kim, it was classic and glamorous,” he says of the pair’s recent trips to France. Whether sculpted and artfully coiffed for the Balenciaga 2025 couture show or pulled into a voluminous princess bun, Appleton admires a balance of softness and “snatched” in Paris.

Sophisticated Updos

“I loved Kim’s updo in Paris… It felt very couture, in a way,” muses Appleton. “I liked the way it kind of pulled the face—it was very feminine and glamorous, but it was still snatched and cool.” The stylist adds that he favors hairstyles that “contrast between cool and glam,” a balance the French seem to have nailed down to a T.

While it might be challenging to recreate Kardashian’s exact updo at home (though definitely worth showing a picture to your stylist for wedding guest glam), Appleton has a few pro tips for pulled-back looks that make at-home styling easy.

“For getting that snatched look, you’ve got to make sure all of that hair is going in the right direction [of the ponytail], so I spend quite a bit of time prepping the hair so it’s more effortless to put it up,” says Appleton. He recommends drying your hair in the direction of your updo to avoid lumps and bumps—“Those kinds of tips make a big difference for me,” he adds.

Down and Draped

The French tend to embrace their natural hair—not doing much more than letting it air dry, and maybe tying a scarf in their hair to accessorize. But if you want to take it up a notch, try opting for old Hollywood face-framing waves like Kardashian or flipping out the ends of your hair in a subtle curl like Jenner. “She’s had that iconic haircut for such a long time—it was nice to depart from that, still keep it in a world, but it was softer and prettier and a bit more feminine,” Appleton says.

For a pared-down version of Appleton’s intricate French hairstyles, try letting your hair air-dry with the help of a styling mousse or blow it out with a round brush. The stylist reaches for the volumizing brush attachment on the FlexStyle for a more polished look: “It gives you that ‘90s blowout vibe,” he adds. “It’s always kind of timeless.”

Romantic Parisian Shopping List

‘Hot Girl’ L.A.

The land of year-round sun, swaying palms, and nearby(ish) beaches, there’s no shortage of laid-back hairstyles. From beachy waves and natural texture to ahead-of-the-curve, cool-girl dye jobs, the L.A. scene is littered with effortless styles that elevate any look. Just peek at Nicole Kidman’s long, blonde tresses or Hailey Bieber’s honey brown lob—all simple and easy to maintain, in true Californian fashion.

Surfer Waves

“I loved Nicole Kidman’s effortless hair,” Appleton says of the honey-colored, wavy tresses he styled on the actress for the 2025 Critics' Choice Awards. Her hair is lightly textured, with very loose waves along the length of her hair—sans curl at the root and the ends. The key to keeping these styles from looking too perfect? Letting your natural texture shine through, and letting things look artfully messy.

Appleton especially appreciates this style in the summer, when the humidity and heat can get the best of your strands. “People tend to embrace [their natural texture] because they can’t fight against it,” he explains. The celebrity stylist recommends trying different products to learn what works best for your hair—whether that be curl creams, mousses, anti-humidity sprays, you name it.

Mocha Mousse

You might look at this picture of Hailey Bieber and see yet another bob—but actually, Appleton is cool with this one. He appreciates the longer bobs, like his client Khloé Kardashian’s (“I love the versatility of that [style],” he says), but what we’re really zeroing in on here is her hair color.

“The mocha mousse [shade] is really popular,” says Appleton, a hue popularized across the fashion scene after being named Pantone’s Color of the Year in 2025. “I think people are going for that mixture of cool and warm tones, and a combination of light and dark.” The stylist explains how brunettes can go lighter and warmer to achieve this tone, but he also loves this hue as a tint for blondes.

“It’s kind of a nice world for blondes to play in as well,” he adds. “I think colors this season [lean] more towards the natural side, which is really pretty.” The main trend, Appleton says, is hair health—which is the most important of all.

‘Hot Girl’ L.A. Shopping List