Rich girl hair is having a moment, and here's how to nail it
Blow dried, glossed to perfection, and as smooth as your third martini—this is 2025’s most powerful beauty statement.
There was a time when rich girl hair meant big blowouts and bigger bills. But in 2025, it’s not about salon theatrics or Gilded Age volume. The new version? Hair that whispers wealth. It glides. It reflects light in all the right places. It tells you someone’s been using bond builders and deep masks like they’re on payroll. The true luxury now is hair that doesn’t need to try.
It’s the kind of shine that only comes from an internal glow-up: a healthy scalp, smart routines, and products that aren’t just pretty on the shelf. And if you think you can fake it with a gloss spray or a last-minute blow-dry, the experts have one word for you—no.
Starts where you can’t see it
The most expensive-looking hair starts at the scalp. “You can’t cheat your way to rich girl hair without doing the real work at the scalp level,” says Saloni Anand, co-founder of haircare brand Traya. “If your scalp isn’t healthy, no styling tool or serum is going to get you that long-term glow.” In other words, good hair is a root-level operation.
And it’s not just about what you put on your head. According to Anand, internal health plays a starring role: “Your hormones, stress levels, and nutrition all impact how your hair looks and feels. Hair is often the first place your body shows imbalance.” The takeaway? That glazed, swishy finish might be less about your shampoo and more about your stress levels—and your lunch.
Scalp rituals don’t need to be elaborate either. A few things that work are weekly massages to stimulate blood flow, gentle cleansing to avoid product build-up, and consistent (not chaotic) routines. “Think of 12 weeks as your baseline for visible change,” says Anand. “Hair transformation isn’t instant—but the results are worth the wait.”
Indian hair is rich in texture—treat it like it is
It’s easy to fall for quick fixes: keratin treatments, heavy smoothing serums, and colour jobs that push limits. But for Indian hair, that approach can backfire fast. “Our hair tends to be thick, porous, and exposed to a cocktail of daily stress—heat, pollution, hard water,” explains Saumya Yadav, co-founder of &Done, a salon-grade haircare brand built around the specific needs of Indian strands. “Chasing shine without repairing the hair’s internal structure is like painting over a cracked wall.”
Instead of battling texture, the goal is to support it. “Indian hair doesn’t need to be corrected—it needs to be understood,” Yadav says. That means ditching the myth of one-size-fits-all formulas and instead investing in what your actual hair type craves: hydration, strength, and heat protection that works in humidity.
And it’s not about excess. “The most luxurious thing you can do for your hair is simplify,” says Yadav. “Gloss comes from balance, not overload.” One styling trick she swears by? Blow-drying in clean sections, then finishing with a cold shot. “It seals the cuticle, adds shine, and gives you that polished salon finish, but quietly.”
The gloss is in the details
Once your hair’s health is handled, polish is all about the final touch. “The difference between ‘nice’ hair and hair that looks truly expensive is in the finish—shine, manageability, and that smooth texture that moves with you,” says Harsh Nepali, technical head of Biotop India. And while most people focus on serums or sprays, he says the secret is in the prep: “A shampoo or conditioner that suits your hair type can change everything.”
What’s criminally underrated? The humble hair mask. “It’s the step people skip, but it delivers the most,” says Nepali. Use it once or twice a week, he advises—especially if you’re prone to frizz or dryness. Look for ingredients like quinoa protein or keratin that bind moisture and rebuild strands from within.
For a near-salon finish at home, consistency is key. “The healthiest hair we see isn’t the result of one miracle product—it’s a regular, thoughtful routine,” says Nepali. If your hair looks shiny but feels stiff, or if it frizzes by noon, it’s not rich, it’s just loud.
Rich girl hair isn’t really about price tags or polish—it’s about hair that holds its own in a room, because it’s been consistently cared for from the root down. The true flex isn’t flash or excess, but the kind of health, shine, and swish that says: this hair didn’t happen overnight, and it doesn’t need to try too hard to be noticed.
Lead image: Getty Images
Also read: Is the side part making a comeback?