To change a character’s hair in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 you open the Expedition menu, select the character, choose Wardrobe on the right of their page, and switch to the Haircuts list. New styles come from Mimes, Gestral merchants, minigames and relationship levels, and the first-anniversary update in April 2026 added a free anniversary haircut for all six party members. This guide covers the menu, every source of haircuts, where the anniversary cuts are sold, and the cutscene setting that decides whether anyone sees your work.
How to change hairstyles
Open the Expedition menu (Tab on keyboard, Menu or Options on a controller by default) and pick a character. Wardrobe is in the right-hand column of their page, just above Luminas. It holds two lists, Outfits and Haircuts, and the model on screen updates as you move through them, so you can preview each cut before you confirm. The shoulder buttons jump to the next character without backing out.
Haircuts are cosmetic only. Nothing about a style changes stats, and the same goes for outfits, so there is no wrong choice. One thing to check if your new cut seems to vanish: cutscenes use your custom look only when Character Customisation in Cutscenes is turned on under the Gameplay tab in Settings. It is on by default, so if your haircut is missing from a cinematic, someone turned it off.
Where new haircuts come from
Most sources pay out a haircut and an outfit together, which is why the two guides overlap:
- Mimes. Each region hides an optional Mime, and beating it drops a matched outfit and haircut for one character. The Baguette set’s beret is the famous example.
- Gestral merchants. Several vendors on the Continent sell haircuts for Chroma. Community lists put early merchant cuts at a few hundred Chroma and later ones at a few thousand, so they are cheap next to outfits and worth buying whenever you pass a shop.
- Minigames. The hopscotch puzzles, the diving board and the other Gestral challenges reward haircuts, and the area added in patch 1.5.0 leans on them heavily.
- Relationship levels. Talking to companions at camp raises their relationship level, and the higher tiers unlock cosmetics, sometimes a haircut. See our camp guide for how those scenes work.
- Bosses and story. A handful of cuts come from optional bosses or unlock automatically as Act III opens.
The anniversary haircuts
Patch 1.5.5, released on April 24, 2026 for the game’s first anniversary, added a new anniversary haircut for every playable character. Per the official patch notes, Gustave’s is sold by the Gestral Merchant near Stone Wave Cliffs, and the cuts for Verso, Maelle, Lune, Sciel and Monoco are sold by the Gestral Merchant near Grosse Tête on the World Map. Both merchants are on the world map rather than inside a level, so you can reach them from the Continent at any point after those areas open.
Two practical notes. There are several Gestral merchants dotted around the Stone Wave Cliffs area, so if the first one you find has no anniversary cut for Gustave, check the others nearby. And the Grosse Tête merchant sits beside the Coastal Cave entrance, per early player reports, which is the landmark to aim for. The patch notes do not list a price, so budget some Chroma before the trip.
Haircuts added in Verso’s Drafts
The Thank You Update, patch 1.5.0 on December 12, 2025, added Verso’s Drafts, a new area on the world map next to Lumière that opens in Act III once Esquie can dive, and with it new cosmetics for the whole party. The patch notes describe new costumes broadly rather than listing cuts, but player guides describe an Esquie haircut for every character sold by a merchant near the Reverie Path flag at the bottom of the region, a Chic haircut for Maelle and Verso from hopscotch puzzles, and a Double Bun cut for several characters from the puzzles and the diving board. Those locations are community reports, so expect some hunting.
Tips for collecting styles
Clear each region’s Mime before you move on, because a few are tucked behind optional paths and never come back if you skip the region. Buy merchant haircuts as you find them rather than saving Chroma; they are cheap and shops do not restock differently later. Keep talking to your party at camp, since relationship rewards are the only cosmetics that require you to keep up over the whole game. For everything else on the game, from parrying to the story, browse the Expedition 33 hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I change hairstyles in Expedition 33? Open the Expedition menu, select the character, choose Wardrobe on the right of their page, and pick from the Haircuts list.
Do haircuts do anything in combat? No. Every haircut is cosmetic.
Where are the anniversary haircuts? Gustave’s is sold by the Gestral Merchant near Stone Wave Cliffs. The other five are sold by the Gestral Merchant near Grosse Tête on the World Map, per the patch 1.5.5 notes.
Why is my haircut missing in cutscenes? Character Customisation in Cutscenes is switched off under Gameplay in Settings. Turn it on.
Can I get every haircut in one playthrough? Most of them, but a few are tied to relationship levels and optional Mimes, so keep up with camp conversations and explore each region fully.