Love it or hate it, the 'man bun' is one of the biggest beauty trends to have emerged over the past year, according to Google.
Data forming part of a Google report analyzing the monthly volume of beauty-related search queries from January 2013 - August 2015 has revealed that the hairstyle became one of the most-searched for looks after appearing on the scene in 2014. Thanks to celebrities such as Harry Styles, Jared Leto and Leonardo DiCaprio, the trend spread like wildfire, and men all over the globe turned to the internet to recreate the look at home, turning to the search engine to find out "how to grow a man bun" and "how to tie a man bun."
According to Google, 2015 saw men's hair queries overtake women's hair queries for the first time. Man buns aside, the other big searches were for "Mad Men"-style comb-overs and fade haircuts, a gradient style that sees the hair go from longer at one point to very short at another.
When it comes to women, one of the biggest rising search trends has been for braids, which have been given a new lease of life on the catwalks of late. Squared-off "box braids," which consist of multiple hanging braids weaved into the hair, and cornrow "goddess braids" which lie partially flat against the scap, are the hottest trends, based on the search data, with interest in both starting in 2013 and peaking this year. The braided look, which continued to reign supreme on the Spring / Summer 2016 runways, seems set to stick around for a while yet.
The third major beauty search trend since 2013 has been for daring hair colors. The recent 'Granny hair' trend that took off this spring, inspired by stars like Kelly Osborne and Rihanna, means that searches related to grey and silver tresses are amongst the most popular. Purple has also been having a moment, with Katy Perry's Grammy Awards lavender hairdo this February sparking off a round of searches for the look. Rainbow hair has also made its mark, both in the streets and in online searches.
