Long, bouncy and very much on purpose: the Princess’s hair has never looked this long. Anyone who has tried to grow out their hair knows the routine. You skip the salon for months, convinced every trim sets you back. Then one day you notice the ends look thin and dry, and the length you fought for no longer looks healthy. The Princess of Wales seems to have found a better way.
On October 15, Kate Middleton, 44, spent the afternoon at Nansledan in Cornwall with Prince William, and new portraits by photographer Josh Shinner were released by Kensington Palace the next day. They mark a nature-based research project by the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood. In the photos, taken in the woods, Kate wears a patterned ME+EM sweater, a Barbour jacket and a floral shirt. But what caught everyone’s eye was her hair: long, glossy curls falling well past her shoulders, possibly her longest yet.
About 20 Inches of Hair
Multi-award-winning hairstylist Michael Gray estimates her hair at around 20 inches. And his explanation for how it stays so healthy is simple: regular cuts. “When growing hair, I think a lot of people still forget you still need to have a haircut in the process for it to still be lovely, long and healthy,” he said. His rule of thumb? “Mini trims every eight weeks.”
The idea is to “take off the very ends to maintain your hair’s health,” Gray explained. The logic is simple: removing a little at a time gets rid of dry, split ends before they spread, so you keep almost all your length while losing the damaged part.
How Kate Gets Her Signature Volume
Long hair can easily fall flat, but Kate’s always seems to have lift at the roots and soft bounce at the ends. Her look appears to come from a round-brush blow-dry, the classic technique for smooth, voluminous curls. Her longtime hairstylist, Amanda Cook, once shared a kit that included eight round blow-dry brushes, five paddle brushes and seven combs, which says a lot about how central the blow-dry is to the Princess’s style.
The blowout has become a constant of her style. And it pairs well with the practical, outdoorsy side of her wardrobe, the same side that showed when she proved a simple baseball cap is the chicest outdoor hat.
How to Grow Your Hair Like the Princess
Book a trim every eight weeks, and ask for just the very ends, a “dusting,” rather than a real cut. Be clear with your stylist that you are growing your length. Between appointments, be gentle with your ends: use a wide-tooth comb on wet hair, and apply a heat protectant before blow-drying. For Kate-style volume, blow-dry in sections with a large round brush, lifting at the roots and rolling the ends under. Let each section cool on the brush for a few seconds before you release it, so the bounce holds. Finish with your fingers, not a comb, to keep the curls soft.
Patience matters too. Long hair takes time, and the Princess’s portraits are a reminder that the best results rarely come from shortcuts. It has been a season of change for Kate in other ways as well, as she shared when she spoke about missing Prince George after he left for Eton. The lesson worth borrowing is that growing your hair still means cutting it, just a little, and often.
The Bottom Line
Kate Middleton, 44, has grown her hair to about 20 inches, according to hairstylist Michael Gray, and her new Cornwall portraits show it at its longest. The rule he says keeps long hair healthy is mini trims every eight weeks.
