Disney Princess Hair: The Definitive Ranking

 THE RULES: Contestants shall be ranked according to the following factors:

Volume: Is the hair full and energetic? Or flat and meh?

Movement: Is it flowy? Bouncy? Generally moving in a healthy/enviable way? Or are the locks stuck to the scalp?

Style: How does the princess style her hair? Does she rock multiple looks? Would you want to see her hair IRL (on a non-cartoon person)? Does it look healthy and well cared for? Does she accessorize?

Iconic Hair Moments: Are there any moments in the movie where the princess's hair contributes to her character in a significant or memorable way?

Color: Is the color rich and vibrant?

THE CONTESTANTS: As of right now (April 17, 2019, 1:32 pm Central Time) the official princesses as listed on princess.disney.com are Belle, Rapunzel, Ariel, Tiana, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Merida, Pocahontas, Jasmine, and Mulan.

**As much as we dig the unique styles of fan favorites like Elsa, Anna, Moana, and Esmerelda, they're not on the official list so they won't be on ranked. Gotta keep things legit! Also, live action remakes and sequels don't count. We judge by the quality of hair in the first movie and nothing else!**

Are you ready? Let's get started!

11. Cinderella

VOLUME: It's voluminous! But kind of a weird shape due to the length and puffy bangs.

MOVEMENT: Eh. When it's down it's kinda bouncy, which we respect considering Cindy's busy cleaning schedule. But once her hair is up in a bun it's basically stuck to her head.

STYLE: Those bangs are FLUFFY, which would have been cool like 20 years ago, but not so much today. Also does anyone really wear a headband to a ball? We do appreciate how it matches her dress though. The top knot is cute but not amazing. Considering she has someone to do MAGIC to her hair, we expected better.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: Having your braids undone by birds is neat but not super hygienic?? HOWEVER, checking your hair out in a bubble is VERY COOL. Props for that one, Cindy.

COLOR: Is that... mustard?

FINAL OPINION: Cindy is not #hairgoals. The bubble moment is awesome but everything else is meh.

10. Tiana

VOLUME: DISNEY COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH BETTER! Natural curly hair has stunning volume, but Tiana's hair is always pulled back (or she's in frog form). We feel let down 😢 

MOVEMENT: Those baby curls have good movement, but we aren't really given a chance to see a lot otherwise.

STYLE: She's a busy lady and usually wears her hair pulled back. We really dig the baby curls; they frame her face well! The green tiara is spunky and we dig the originality.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: None!!! DISNEY, NATURAL HAIR IS SO ICONIC! WHYYY DID YOU DROP THE BALL ON THIS?

COLOR: Jet black with hints of brown. We're v into it.

FINAL OPINION: We're bummed that Disney didn't do very much at all to celebrate the beauty of Afro-textured hair. So much potential was unrealized!

9. Snow White

VOLUME: Snow White was created before Disney discovered the joy of giving all of their princesses incredibly voluminous hair, so there's not really a whole lot going on here.

MOVEMENT: None. Basically stuck to her head.

STYLE: She maintains the exact same hairstyle for the entire movie and it's actually kind of a power move. Can you imagine wearing a signature red bow every day? Plus, perfectly coiffed curls like hers take time and effort. Girl probably spends a crazy amount of time on them.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: Nope, none.

COLOR: Black, which we suspect she dyes (but with what??? Witchcraft? She lives in 16th century Germany! How does she maintain her roots so well? WHAT ARE HER SECRETS?)

FINAL OPINION: The style is cute and we respect the amount of effort it must take to maintain. But the lack of movement/volume/iconic hair moments just doesn't measure up to the other princesses.

8. Aurora

VOLUME: Phenomenal. Those curls absolutely do not exist in real life. We're even charmed by the curl in her bangs!

MOVEMENT: SO. SWIRLY. We're mesmerized.

STYLE: It's long and down with a headband or tiara for the entire movie. She's got excellent hair and we wish she would experiment more!

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: Literally none, which really hurt her ranking. Sorry girl!

COLOR: Very light blonde. We love how her curls are defined in white!

FINAL OPINION: Aurora has AWESOME SWIRLY PRETTY HAIR. But so do all the other princesses. Without any iconic hair moments, she doesn't measure up. Thank u, next.

7. Belle

MOVEMENT: It flows reaaally nicely along with her movements, especially at the end during the final fight in the rainstorm.

STYLE: Nice, but nothing to write home about. We like the bow and ponytail. But what's going on with the giant overgrown bangs? Why are they there? How are they so... poofy?

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: You know that strand of hair that Belle is always pushing back from her forehead? It was written into the script to convey that she isn't perfect. Hair being used as a metaphor? Yes please!

COLOR: Chestnut. We like.

FINAL OPINION: We LOVE how her hair was written into her character. 10/10 on that one. And we like how her iconic bow shows that you don't need to be very fussy with your hair to make it look great! But those giant bangs (are they bangs? What are they?) are kind of weird. Once you see them you can never really unsee them.

6. Mulan

VOLUME: She's got more of the cool, sleek look instead of anything super voluminous.

MOVEMENT: 10/10. And bonus points for being able to fight an entire army of Huns with her hair down near the end of the movie.

STYLE: Her hair is pretty dope both when neatly pinned up for the army and when let down. She's not a super hair focused character (too busy SAVING CHINA!) but still always looks neat and ready to fight.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: THE SCENE WHERE SHE CUTS HER HAIR WITH A SWORD IS INCREDIBLE AND ONE OF OUR FAVORITE DISNEY MOMENTS EVER.

COLOR: Jet black.

FINAL OPINION: Okay, so in comparison to everyone else, Mulan's hair isn't that incredible. It's always well kept and sleek but nothing life changing, which we totally understand since she's busy being a rad warrior woman. But that moment with the sword? Literally amazing. With one stroke, she gives herself a perfectly even haircut. WITH A SWORD!!! How, Mulan, how????

5. Jasmine

VOLUME: She's got volume 4 daaaaayyyys. Girl has so. Much. hair.

MOVEMENT: We adore how her hair flows behind her on the magic carpet ride. It stays perfectly styled yet totally bouncy and we're super jealous.

STYLE: Her headband is very bold. It's a big move to walk around with an enormous jewel on your head and she totally pulls it off. Cindy, take note-- this is how you properly wear a headband. We're also totally envious of her length/lack of breakage! It takes some serious care to grow healthy hair to your hamstrings, so well done Jasmine.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: None, unless you count her hair brushing moment in the gif above?

COLOR: Black, which she accentuates v well with her turquoise outfit and accessories.

FINAL OPINION: She has truly incredible, once in a lifetime hair and an amazing sense of style. HOWEVER, her lack of iconic hair moments keeps her firmly at number 5.

4. Pocahontas

VOLUME: Despite her totally straight hair pattern she still has perfect volume due to the magical winds follow her 24/7. AMAZING.

MOVEMENT: Um. INCREDIBLE. The wind picks up her hair in a soft curl and then gently puts it back down, perfectly in place.

STYLE: She has the smoothest, silkiest hair we've ever seen. It's super long and we're impressed with the lack of breakage.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: Every dang second the wind twirls her hair. We love how it's used to reflect her relationship with ~nature~

COLOR: Perfectly black. Side note - before writing this list we never realized how many Disney princesses have black hair!

FINAL OPINION: Her EXCELLENT relationship with the wind is Pocahontas's main strength and her locks are so stunning we could cry. However, she lacks the oomph and originality of the princesses in the final 3. We still love you Pocahontas!

3. Merida

VOLUME: Must we dignify this question with a response? She's got the most volume out of all the princesses!

MOVEMENT: Pixar engineered an entirely new software program just for Merida's hair. The studio created her locks with "1,500 individually sculpted curves, distinct points in a three-dimensional space, that are programmed to bounce and interact in relation to one another via a new software system." Need we say anything further?

STYLE: Completely wild and free. Merida shows us that you don't need a ton of styling products when you've already got a healthy base! We love how none of her curls are really perfect or completely matchy-matchy. Natural is beautiful! We do still think she could benefit from a bit of a trim to fight off any pesky split ends.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: The entire movie is kind of an iconic hair moment just because her hair is always huge & bold & incredible & you can't really ignore it ever. But there are no moments that are specifically about her hair or her relationship to it. It more of less just exists, reflecting her carefree, untamed, and energetic personality. We dig it as a metaphor, but we're curious about what she feels about her hair.

COLOR: Naturally flaming red. We looooooooooove it!

FINAL OPINION: A heck of a lot of tech went into Merida's hair, and you can totally tell! We dig how it reflects her personality, but wish she'd give it the teeniest bit of upkeep. Just a trim, please Merida? We're worried about your ends!

2. Ariel

VOLUME: She goes from water to land without a change in hair volume at all. How is her hair so full of body when completely soaked???

MOVEMENT: Um yes have you seen her hair twirl underwater? Or how amazing it looks when she flips it? Or how gracefully she combs it with a fork?

STYLE: It's super poofy and totally late 80's/early 90's but we don't care at ALL because she can flip it and twirl it around so dang well.

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: She MADE the iconic mermaid hair flip a thing. And admit it, you totally tried to brush your hair with a fork as a kid after you watched this movie. Ariel's hair also reflects her nervous excitement about being on land - whenever she doesn't know how to deal with an emotion, she messes with her hair. Ariel is constantly interacting with her hair, it's a huge part of her identity as a mermaid.

COLOR: Clearly only mermaids can grow hair this red.

FINAL OPINION: When you think of The Little Mermaid, you think of amazing, twirly, red hair and that wonderful flip. If this list was written 10 years ago she would have won by FAR. But alas, this is 2019, not 2009.

1. Rapunzel

VOLUME: She has AMAZING volume, especially considering how much dang hair she has. You'd think it would weigh her down but NOPE! Always flowy and full of body.

MOVEMENT: Totally the best out of all the princesses. She uses it to escape from towers and swing on trees for heaven's sake! Just look at all the GIFs!

STYLE: Super shiny, super long, zero breakage, never dirty even though she drags it on the ground all day. Even if it didn't glow, we would still assume that it's magical. We're also in loooove with her flowery braid and (spoilers) her short brown hair at the end is absolutely darling!

ICONIC HAIR MOMENTS: Find us a moment in this movie that ISN'T an iconic hair moment. She her hair as a blanket, a swing, a lasso, a hiding spot, a trap, a light source, and as a magical source of healing! And (spoilers again) when her hair is cut at the end? HEARTBREAKING AND BEAUTIFUL AND ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Rapunzel = master of iconic hair moments.

COLOR: SHE HAS MAGIC GLOWING HAIR. You can't beat it. You just can't.

FINAL OPINION: Out of all the princesses, Rapunzel has the best/most iconic hair moments, the best color (because, yes, "glowing" totally counts as a color), and the best hair movement. She wins 3 out of the 5 categories not to mention her whole THING is hair so yes she totally is ranked number one. Rapunzel is a hair QUEEN and we are obsessed with her, now and forever.

Care to agree/disagree? Wanna make a case for your fave? Hit us up via the live chat on our hair quiz and let us know!

Love,

The Formulate Team