Sara Haines is a moderate at The View, but her hairstyles are anything but down the middle. The co-host has brought some of the most eyebrow-raising styles to the Hot Topics table this year, from super-sleek high ponytails to dramatic sweeping side bangs.
Even if the chatter around the panel is dull, Haines has been there to spark plenty of conversation on social media — and in our own Slack chats — about whatever adventurous choice she’s made that morning in the stylist’s chair.
It all started Jan. 4, when Haines appeared on The View in an eye-popping yellow outfit, red nails and purple eyeshadow … plus one of the most puzzling hairstyles I’ve ever seen on the the show (and that’s saying something; I was watching during the Meghan McCain days).
Haines’ stylist had managed to twist her hair into a nest of braids or Justin Timberlake-style ramen noodles that sat on the top of her head while the sides were sleek against her scalp. This mohawk-braid hybrid got me thinking: since McCain (and her hair extensions and topknots) left The View, a new kooky hairdo queen has resumed her throne, and that woman is Haines herself.
And of course, the loyal fans of The View were right there to back me up. After that fateful Jan. 4 hairstyle, a flurry of tweets came in reacting to Haines’ brave look. One user wrote, “It’s a lot! Maybe it’s giving in person -but on-screen, the look is SEVERE.”
Another kept it plain and simple: “Not a fan of Sara’s hair today!!”
You get the drift. Haines, though, did not — or maybe she did, and she continued to wear some of the most distracting hairstyles on The View just to mess with the haters. If so, I salute you, Sara. Carry on!
On Jan. 10, Haines did it again, pulling out an impressively deep side part complete with some wavy curls. It was no McCain-level space bun, but Haines was looking like she belonged in an ’80s film while sitting at the Hot Topics table.
On the Feb. 7 show, Haines tried out some new bangs that were hard to miss. The dramatic blonde sweep cut across the co-host’s forehead while the rest of her hair was pinned back in a tiny bun.
The style was short-lived, since Haines didn’t keep the bangs long and we haven’t seen them make many reappearances since. In fact, the next time The View star caught our attention, the swooping style was swapped out for something a little more severe.
In the spring, Haines was ditching the bangs and instead scooping her hair into a ponytail that challenged the laws of physics on March 7 episode.
As she and her co-hosts debated politics and current events of the day, all I could think about was how painful it must be for Haines to have every strand of her hair shellacked to the sides of her head and collected on her crown.
But, being the pro she is — Haines has been in the business since 2002, after all — the co-host didn’t show a single sign of discomfort.
Of course, no discussion of hair on The View is complete without mention of McCain, who made our quarantine episodes a little more interesting with her bonkers styles, which frankly make Haines look boring in comparison.
When The Cut famously spoke with McCain’s hairstylist Carmen Currie in 2021, she insisted to the outlet that she and the conservative commentator collaborated on her looks.
“I’m not slapping something on her and being like, ‘Take THAT!,'” Currie said at the time. “I’m not telling her what to do all the time, it’s not like that at all. I want her to feel comfortable, I want her to feel confident with what I’m doing, and I want her to like it overall, and she does. I think it shows, and that’s part of what people are picking up on.”
She also acknowledged that The View has a loose guidelines for hair and makeup, which explained McCain’s glitter part and hair jewelry, and definitely offers some hints about Haines’ more expressive styles.
“Working with Meghan and The View, I get to be more creative and more artistic with the looks,” Currie told The Cut.
All we can say is, keep it up, Sara. Someone’s gotta bring a little joyful hair flair to The View, and it’s all on you to carry out that McCain style legacy — we’ll be on the lookout for some hair hoops next episode.
The View airs weekdays at 11/10c on ABC.