Perhaps you’ve heard of the celebrity hair theory — the idea that for a celeb (singers especially) to reach superstar status, they have to have memorable hair. When you think about Ice Spice’s signature copper tones, Sabrina Carpenter’s fluffy curtain bangs, or Doechii’s Fulani braids, to name a few examples, it’s hard to argue with.
Certain TV characters have the same legacy. In the ’90s, everyone wanted “the Rachel” thanks to Jennifer Aniston on Friends or microbraids inspired by Brandy on Moesha. But if you grew up in that decade, you know that one of the most enviable heads of hair was that of Topanga (played by Danielle Fishel) on Boy Meets World.
This summer, the iconic character’s bouncy waves are on everyone’s hair mood board. Get ready to screenshot old Disney Channel scenes to show to your hairstylist.
“Topanga Hair”
In middle school, tinsel hair and the occasional Kool-Aid dye stripes were the height of coolness. However, regardless of how many of your fave Disney stars’ strands you wanted to imitate, there was a limit to what your parents would let you do — and they likely weren’t giving you a full blowout at 7 a.m. every morning.
Now, the girlies who yearned for Topanga hair as tweens are healing their inner child by getting the look as adults.
On TikTok, users like @kayhinchee are mastering the Boy Meets World star’s volume with blowouts using thermal hair brushes. Others, such as @hairby_chrissy, are opting for that signature cut with its perfect face-framing layers.
The Topanga is big and it’s fluffy. It’s like Matilda Djerf hair meets the Rachel. With the popularity of the blowout in recent years (shoutout to the Dyson), this look feels both nostalgic and new.
How To Get The Look
On an episode of the Pod Meets World podcast in 2022, Fishel discussed how the Topanga hair look came together each morning on set. Spoiler alert: It didn’t come easy.
According to her, it involved elaborate steam-powered curlers and even salt to set her strands into the effortless cloud of curls everyone knows and loves. “It was so hot,” she recalled, explaining the three-hour process.
Thanks to modern technology and TikTok, you can recreate this look at home with a lot less effort — and a lot less heat.
Layers and bronde balayage are optional.
All that’s left? Finding an endgame relationship like the one Topanga had with Cory.
