Mardi Gras is not a subtle celebration. It is the loudest, most colorful, most joyful festival in the calendar and your hair should reflect that energy completely. The purple, green, and gold palette of Mardi Gras is one of the most distinctive and iconic color combinations in all of festive culture and weaving those colors into your hairstyle through beads, ribbons, accessories, and bold choices is one of the most expressive ways to participate in the celebration.
Mardi Gras hairstyles range from elaborate braided styles dripping with colored beads and gold cuffs to simple headband additions that transform an everyday style into something completely festive in about sixty seconds. Every hair type has a Mardi Gras moment — natural Black hair decorated with traditional beads, long straight hair adorned with festive ribbons, short hair with a bold purple and gold headband, curly hair free and full with colorful accessories scattered throughout.
These are 15 mardi gras hairstyles for every hair type, every age, and every level of festive commitment — from the dedicated parade-goer to the casual Fat Tuesday celebrant.
1. Box Braids with Mardi Gras Beads
Box braids decorated with purple, green, and gold Mardi Gras beads is one of the most authentic and culturally resonant mardi gras hairstyles black women have worn at New Orleans celebrations for generations. The beads click together as you move through the parade crowd, catch the light beautifully in the festive atmosphere, and transform a standard protective braid style into a complete Mardi Gras look.
Thread the beads onto individual braids at varying heights — a mix of purple beads near the roots, green beads at the mid-lengths, and gold beads at the ends creates the full Mardi Gras palette throughout the braids. For more braid style ideas to pair with festive accessories, our braids hairstyles guide covers braid options across every length and occasion.
2. Natural Hair with Colorful Ribbons and Beads
Natural curly hair decorated with purple and gold ribbons tied around curl sections and gold beads threaded onto individual sections is one of the most joyful mardi gras hairstyles for black women because it celebrates the natural texture completely while incorporating the Mardi Gras color palette in the most expressive way. No extensions, no braiding — just natural curls adorned with the colors of the celebration.
Tie small pieces of purple satin ribbon around individual curl sections at different heights, thread gold beads onto the thinner sections near the front, and let the natural volume of the curls frame the whole arrangement beautifully. For more natural hair styling ideas, our natural hairstyles for black women guide has styles worth adapting for festive occasions.
3. Mardi Gras Updo with Gold Pins
A classic updo decorated with gold star pins, jeweled combs in purple and green, and metallic accessories is one of the most elegant mardi gras hairstyles updo options for long hair because it balances the festive energy of the celebration with a polished, sophisticated look. The updo itself is a standard pinned arrangement but the Mardi Gras accessories scattered throughout transform it into something genuinely celebratory and beautiful.
A purple or gold jeweled comb placed prominently at the crown of the updo is the single accessory that does the most work — it immediately communicates the festive occasion while keeping the overall style refined rather than chaotic.
4. Colorful Mardi Gras Headband Style
A bold Mardi Gras headband in purple and gold is the simplest and most accessible mardi gras hairstyles with headband transformation available because it requires absolutely no styling skill — just the right headband. A wide sequined or embellished headband in the Mardi Gras color palette placed across the crown of your regular hairstyle instantly makes any look festive and occasion-appropriate.
Sequined headbands, embellished velvet headbands in purple and gold, and headbands with small crown or jester hat details are all widely available before Mardi Gras season and can transform a regular half-up, a low ponytail, or even just hair worn down into a complete Mardi Gras look in thirty seconds. For more headband styling ideas that work across different hair types, our headband hairstyles guide covers 15 variations worth exploring.
5. Kids Mardi Gras Braids with Beads
Braids with Mardi Gras colored beads for kids is one of the most joyful and culturally appropriate mardi gras hairstyles for kids celebrations because children love the colors, they love the sound of the beads, and the braids keep everything neat and manageable through a long festive day. Thread purple, green, and gold beads onto the ends of neat cornrows or box braids and the festive transformation is complete.
The beads are lightweight and comfortable for children to wear all day, they catch the light beautifully in the festive atmosphere, and they make every kid feel like a genuine part of the Mardi Gras celebration. For more kids braid styles that work as a base for festive accessories, our baby kaylee hairstyle guide covers beaded braid styles for children in detail.
6. Cornrow Design with Gold Cuffs
Intricate cornrow designs decorated with gold cuffs and purple and green beads is one of the most artistically expressive mardi gras hairstyles braids options for Black women because it takes the precision and cultural artistry of cornrow braiding and amplifies it with the celebratory Mardi Gras color palette. The gold cuffs and colored beads positioned throughout the cornrow pattern create a complete festive style that honors both the braiding tradition and the celebration.
The geometric cornrow base combined with the decorative Mardi Gras hardware creates a look that is genuinely stunning in the parade environment where the colors catch the light and the beads move with every step.
7. Long Hair with Mardi Gras Ribbons Down
Long hair worn down with Mardi Gras colored ribbons woven into a few thin sections is one of the most effortlessly festive mardi gras hairstyles for long hair because it keeps the full length and flow of the hair on display while the colored ribbons provide the celebration detail. Take three or four thin sections from the top layers, weave a purple, green, or gold ribbon down the length, and let the rest of the hair fall freely around them.
The ribbons move with the hair and create a beautiful festive effect at every step through the parade. This is one of the most accessible Mardi Gras styles for long hair because it requires no special technique — just a ribbon and a few minutes.
8. Short Hair Mardi Gras Look
Short hair for Mardi Gras is an opportunity to let accessories do the entire festive work. Scatter multiple small purple star pins, gold crown clips, and green butterfly clips throughout short hair and the result is a style that reads as completely intentional and festively decorated without requiring any length to work with. The more accessories the better — Mardi Gras is not the occasion for restraint.
This is one of the most accessible mardi gras hairstyles for short hair because no styling technique is required beyond placing the accessories and the transformation from a regular short style to a Mardi Gras look takes about two minutes.
9. Fulani Braids with Mardi Gras Beads
Fulani braids decorated with Mardi Gras beads in purple, green, and gold is one of the most beautiful mardi gras hairstyles with beads combinations because the Fulani braid structure — with its center cornrow, decorative forehead braid, and loose individual braids — provides the perfect framework for threading Mardi Gras colored beads throughout the entire style. The traditional gold cuffs already part of Fulani braids align perfectly with the Mardi Gras gold color and the purple and green beads added throughout complete the full celebration palette.
For the full range of Fulani braid styles and techniques, our fulani braids hairstyles guide covers every variation worth knowing before the celebration.
10. Mardi Gras Half Up with Festive Clip
A simple half up style secured with a large decorative Mardi Gras clip is one of the quickest mardi gras hairstyles easy transformations for medium hair because the clip does all the festive work. Pull the top section back and secure with a Mardi Gras themed clip — jester hat designs, crown shapes, or heavily embellished clips in purple and gold are all readily available before the season and turn a regular half-up into a genuine Mardi Gras look instantly.
It suits every hair texture from straight to curly and takes about thirty seconds which makes it one of the most practical festive styling options for busy parade days.
11. Braided Crown with Colorful Accents
A braided crown with purple and gold fabric flowers or ribbon details tucked throughout is one of the most romantically festive mardi gras hairstyles braids and updo combinations because the crown braid creates an elegant structure that the colorful Mardi Gras accessories decorate beautifully. Small silk flowers in purple and gold tucked into the braid at intervals create a look that is both celebration-appropriate and genuinely lovely.
This style suits medium to long hair and is particularly beautiful for Mardi Gras balls, parades, and evening celebrations where you want your festive look to have elegance alongside the bold color energy of the occasion.
12. Kids Half Up with Mardi Gras Bow
A half up style secured with a large Mardi Gras bow in purple and gold is one of the sweetest mardi gras hairstyles for kids options for young girls because the bow is age-appropriate, the half-up style is comfortable to wear all day through parade activities, and the Mardi Gras colors make the festive purpose completely clear. Large satin or grosgrain bows in purple and gold are widely available before the season and work as the single accessory that transforms a simple kids half-up into a complete Mardi Gras look.
13. Beaded Ponytail
A high ponytail with Mardi Gras colored beads threaded onto thin sections of the hanging ponytail is one of the most festive mardi gras hairstyles with beads options for long hair because the beads are visible and move beautifully as the ponytail swings through a parade or celebration. Thread purple, green, and gold beads onto four or five thin sections of the ponytail at varying heights for a layered festive effect.
The beads should click together as you move which is part of the authentic Mardi Gras bead experience. Secure each beaded section at the end with a small clear elastic to keep the beads from sliding off during the celebration.
14. Twisted Updo with Purple and Gold
A twisted updo with temporary purple or gold color spray applied to sections of the hair before pinning creates one of the most dramatic mardi gras hairstyles updo looks because the color becomes visible throughout the twists and pins of the updo creating a genuinely festive two-toned effect. Temporary hair color spray washes out completely and can be applied to sections of the hair before styling so the color shows through the twists.
This is one of the boldest Mardi Gras hair transformations available without any permanent commitment and the two-toned twisted updo photographs stunningly in the warm light of a Mardi Gras celebration.
15. Natural Afro with Mardi Gras Crown
A full natural afro with a decorative Mardi Gras crown placed across the crown of the afro is one of the most powerful and joyful mardi gras hairstyles black women can wear for the celebration because the natural afro provides the most magnificent and dramatic base for a crown that any hair style can offer. The full round shape of the afro beneath the purple, green, and gold crown creates a look that is genuinely regal and completely celebratory simultaneously.
The crown sits securely anchored by the natural texture of the afro without any pinning required. A few additional Mardi Gras colored pins or small beads scattered through the afro complete the festive styling. For more natural hair celebration looks, our natural hairstyles for black women guide covers styles that adapt beautifully to festive occasions.
Final Thoughts
Mardi Gras hairstyles are about embracing the celebration fully — the colors, the beads, the joy, and the complete willingness to be bold and expressive with your appearance for the most festive day of the year. Whether you choose an elaborate beaded braid style that takes a salon appointment to achieve or a bold headband that transforms your regular hairstyle in thirty seconds, the most important thing is that your hair says yes to the celebration as enthusiastically as everything else about your Mardi Gras look.
Purple, green, and gold belong in your hair. Laissez les bons temps rouler.
For more festive and special occasion hairstyle inspiration across every hair type and length, browse our complete hair ideas collection and find your next favorite look.
