2021 was a year of surprise and adventure. Vintage clothing, layered hairstyles and natural makeup seemed to be what everyone was showing off. But just like our time in school, trends come and go. Now that the new year has started, it’s time to take a look at the “ins” and “outs” of 2022.

Fashion

The first things that seem to be out in 2022 are masks. Even though the number of COVID cases have been higher than ever, we’ve been seeing increasingly more people leaving their homes with naked faces. However, a new form PPE has luckily been presented to us with the recent arrival of balaclavas.

Aside from helping us stay warm during winter, these head coverings can take form as an ineffective but better-than-nothing protective barrier. Since we’re already used to only seeing the top half of people’s faces, it won’t make much of a difference in our everyday outfits. Plus, it provides a great way to stay stylish while going on bank robbery sprees!

Hair

While hiding at home during quarantine, many people experimented with new hairstyles and emerged with bangs, shags and bright colors. Still, bleach and box dye have also produced fried and damaged hair on those who got bored or had a mental breakdown a few too many times. They’ll soon be reaching for razors and creating an era of “bald is the new beautiful.”

Some people will embrace their new round top, but other unfortunate individuals might be exposing lumpy, misshapen heads. Luckily for them, a solution seems to be right around the corner. Since old hairstyles have come back in style over the past year (see “Mullets leave us scratching our heads”), it’s likely that the throwback trend of 2022 will be 17th-century powdered wigs. 

Makeup

Over the past few years, many traits that were once considered undesirable have now turned into features everybody wants. Naturally full lips used to be made fun of, but ever since Kylie Jenner got fillers, people started to overline their lips. Similarly, upturned eyes were mocked until others began to apply fox eye makeup to achieve the “snatched” look that Bella Hadid popularized. Freckles, thicker brows and dark circles have also been flipped from an insecurity to something to be embraced. So what will we see next? 

Based on my predictions, eyebrow pencils will soon be used to fill in fluffy unibrows. People will start fighting to get their hands on at-home kits for faux acne. Makeup gurus will invent contour techniques to achieve the perfect forehead wrinkles and smile lines. With the number of things people are unhappy about, the possibilities are endless.

Body

As unfortunate as it may be, body types are also treated as a trend (especially for women) with the “perfect body” changing from slim to plump to athletic to curvy all throughout history. In recent years, the new beauty standard is the “slim-thick” figure popularized by the Kardashians and Instagram. This look is notoriously known to be obtained only through surgery, since it’s impossible to have large breasts and butt while also keeping a flat stomach and thigh gap.

However, this year may be different. Recently, fans have speculated that the Kardashins are removing their implants, and more people have been speaking up about the dangers of getting a BBL. The new 2022 “in” will hopefully be healthy, natural bodies. But instead of being just a soon-to-die fad, let’s make this a trend that will last forever.