Attention long haired ladies: do you ever find yourself eying that girl with the chic pixie cut and thinking “I wish I was that cool.” Over the years I’ve realized that truly nothing brings a cool factor to an outfit more than daring hair. For those of us who are attached to our length this can pose a bit of a problem. But, as senior stylist Erica Rae of ROAR Salon shows us, long hair doesn’t have to mean basic. “One of my favorite trends right now is that ‘effortless, I just woke up like this’ look,” she explains. “From beach waves to sun kissed color… this messy bun is exactly that but with a little more glam. It can dress up any casual outfit or be the look you wear for your best friend’s wedding.” A big part of pulling off daring hair is making it look like you’re not trying too hard, and Erica has the perfect technique to give this top knot bun a devil-may-care texture. Follow Erica’s steps below to transform your long hair from everyday to edgy.
SUPPLIES:
- Texturing spray
- A 1″ or 1.5″ curling iron
- Bobby pins
- Elastic hair tie
DIRECTIONS:
- Prep the hair by lightly spritzing with a texturizing product.
- Curl the hair using a 1″ or 1.5″ curling iron.
- Gently pull hair into a high ponytail and secure with elastic — make sure that the pony tail is loose and that the hair isn’t flattened out from being pulled too tightly.
- Split the ponytail into two sections.
- Take one of the two sections and lightly twist the entire section.
- To create fullness and texture, grab the end of a fine strand of hair from the twisted section. While holding onto the strand, gently push the rest of the twisted section down toward the base of the ponytail.
- Pull the twisted section back up to create a “messy” look. I call this my push/pull routine.
- Take this first section, wrap it around the base of the ponytail and secure with bobby pins.
- Repeat the twisting and push/pull routine on the second section of the ponytail. Wrap and secure that piece with bobby pins as well.
- Once you’ve created your messy top knot you can then use your curling iron to smooth out any unwanted fly-aways. This last step is optional.
Erica’s Pro Tip: “This look is very easy and very versatile. If you’re worried about it falling, just carry a few extra bobby pins in your handbag. And if you get tired of having your hair up, you can easily take it all down, add a bit more texture spray or smoothing agent, and sport a messy “down” look. Remember — you already prepped the hair and added curls so no need to fuss with it any more. Less ‘effort’ is more!”
