How to go viral in the hairstyle niche on Instagram
What 1,224 viral hairstyle reels have in common: what they show, how they start, what they sound like, and who posts them. Real numbers from Aubrium's library.
One of the most-viewed hairstyle reels in Aubrium's library is a tutorial with "Final stage of maturing" on screen and a caption about "The hair gel that holds it all". It reached 39.9 million views from an account of 29,569 followers.
Tutorials like that one make up 83% of viral hairstyle reels. We found 1,224 in all, and 387 passed a million views. The middle reel came from an account with 18,395 followers. This page belongs to the guide to what kind of reels go viral, and what goes viral in each niche covers the rest.
Viral hairstyle reels are tutorials, 83% of them. 71% show a face, though faceless reels went further. 77% carry text, nearly always a line or two. 62% use a song, against the library's 37%. Accounts under 10,000 followers posted 31%, and their reels travelled furthest.
Aubrium's library, 22 October 2026.
What kind of hairstyle reels go viral?
Tutorials, almost all of them: 83% of viral hairstyle reels teach a style.
Transformations are next at 10%, and the middle one went 28 times its account's followers, a little further than a tutorial at 25. Slideshows reached 66 times and stories 35, but there are only 8 of each. In this niche the question is which style to teach, not which format.
Do you need to show your face?
No, though most do: 71% of viral hairstyle reels show a face. The 29% that don't went further, 32 times the account's followers for the middle reel against 22. Only 5% show no one at all, since the hair has to be on someone.
Should hairstyle reels have text on screen?
Most do, and briefly. 75% carry a line or two and just 1% a lot. The 23% with no text went furthest, 35 times the account's followers, against 23 for a line or two.
Trending song or your own sound?
A song, by a distance: 62% of viral hairstyle reels use one, against 37% across the library. With a song, the middle reel reached 28 times the account's followers, and with their own sound, 21. The 5% that borrowed another creator's sound reached 32.
What hooks work for hairstyle reels?
Teases of the finished style lead, at 23% of these reels, and 30% have no hook of any type. Warnings went furthest, 31 times the account's followers, but there are only 31 of them. The middle hook is 8 words. Six real ones:
- RelatableText on screen
Final stage of maturing
- RelatableText and spoken
Tried for 10 minutes then cried
- Transformation teaseText on screen
2 ponytails + 1 bun
- WarningText on screen
you're not using your claw clip wrong... but 👀
- Curiosity gapText and spoken
Straightener tips you might not know.
- AspirationalText on screen
posting a different hairstyle everyday until I reach 10k day 3
Polished, or filmed on your phone?
Polished, at 85%. But the 15% filmed plainly on a phone went further, 33 times the account's followers against 24. Fast edits beat medium ones too, 30 times against 22, and 35% of reels move fast.
Can a small hairstyle account go viral?
Yes, and small accounts went much further. The middle reel from an account under 2,000 followers reached 166 times its audience, and from 2,000 to 5,000, 80. At 50,000 to 100,000 followers it was 15. Accounts below 10,000 followers posted 31% of viral hairstyle reels.
Your next hairstyle reel, by the numbers
83% are tutorials
One style, taught clearly.
71% show a face
The 29% without one went further.
77% put text on screen
Rarely more than a line.
62% use a song
Next to 37% across the library.
8 words, the middle hook
Short ones went furthest.
64% ask for nothing
The style is the whole pitch.
Keep reading
The hooks get their own page: the best hooks for hairstyle reels. For neighbours, see how hair salon reels go viral and the hooks used for curly hair and haircare.
Questions people ask
What hairstyle videos go viral on Instagram?
Tutorials, overwhelmingly: 83% of viral hairstyle reels in Aubrium's library teach a style. Their middle reel reached 25 times the account's followers.
Do I need to show my face in hair tutorials?
No. 71% of viral hairstyle reels show a face, but the 29% that don't went further, 32 times the account's followers against 22.
What music should I use for hairstyle reels?
A song is the norm: 62% of viral hairstyle reels use one, against 37% across the library. Song reels reached 28 times the account's followers, own sound 21.
Can a small hair account go viral?
Yes. For accounts under 2,000 followers, the middle viral hairstyle reel reached 166 times its followers. Accounts below 10,000 followers posted 31% of them.
Should hairstyle reels be fast?
Fast went further. 35% of viral hairstyle reels have a fast pace, and the middle one reached 30 times the account's followers, against 22 for medium.
How we did this
We looked at every hairstyle reel in Aubrium's library on 22 October 2026: 1,224 reels from 935 creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached at least twice its creator's follower count and at least 10,000 views. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's hairstyle niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Format, faces, text, sound and hooks are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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