Last week, Racked pointed out something that you, TV viewer, have probably suspected for a while now without even realizing it: All the women on TV have the same hairstyle. On network and cable, across ages and races, women on today's small-screen landscape are rocking straight, voluminous hair that dissolves gracefully into loose waves about halfway down. It's a style that, as Racked correctly points out, does not exist naturally on the actual female head.But not all of the women on television are sporting this uniform style. There are women with natural hair, short hair, curly hair, bangs, even. There are barely styled looks, and hair that has been ornately braided. So don't feel intimidated if you lack the skill or time to replicate the bounty of glossy, Disney princess-esque waves that TV seems to be selling you. Television's leading ladies have a lot more style inspiration to offer. And they all look beautiful.
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)
Grey's Anatomy
Most of the time, Grey has her hair up in a simple ponytail, because she has important doctoring and mothering and wading through emotional trauma to do, and all of that is probably harder with massive amounts of hair in your eyes. And, when it's down, it's minimally styled, which looks super-cute on her.
Abbi Jacobson & Ilana Glazer
Broad City
Abbi and Ilana definitely experiment with their hair — curls, pigtails, etc. — but they're also not afraid to rock a wash-and-go look.
Basically All The Women On Reign
Yes, Reign is a period piece depicting a time (and a very, very privileged class) before Candy Crush, when there was nothing to fill your hours with except diplomacy, espionage, and playing with your hair. Still, watching the multiple hairstyles (per person) of the night is a highlight of the show's viewing experience,
Lena Adams Foster (Sherri Saum)
The Fosters
Lena wears her hair natural in almost every episode, which is refreshing. Of course, her daughters Mariana (Cierra Ramirez) and Callie (Maia Mitchell) are definitely fans of the Disney princess hair look.
Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham)
Girls
Hannah, like Dunham, has always gone against TV trends, dressing how she wants and rocking this pixie amid a sea of long, wavy hair.
Frankie Bergstein (Lily Tomlin) & Grace Hanson (Jane Fonda)
Grace and Frankie
The ubiquity of perfect waves doesn't seem to have reached the senior citizen players, who are harder to find on TV. Grace goes short and sophisticated, and Frankie has curls and waves everywhere. Both styles seem to reflect exactly how much time their characters would want to put into the upkeep.
Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz) & Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti)
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Amy (Melissa Fumero) often has some loose waves going on. But we know how Gina keeps her straight hair smooth — the hairdryer in her purse.
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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