When it comes to celeb-inspired beauty looks, we’re all in. Whether you want to emulate Hailey Bieber’s glazed-doughnut skin or Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s immaculate makeup looks, you can count on us for all of the beauty notes. But while it’s easy enough to garner insider knowledge on beauty products and expert tips, when it comes to go-to hairstyles, things get a little trickier to copy.
The truth is that big red-carpet blowouts and up-dos take a village. Put simply, we mere mortals don’t have the time, money or resources to execute the same level of celebrity hair mastery at home. But there are a few caveats. Take, for example, one of our favourite hair trends of the season: the wet hair look. It’s something we see all the time on the red carpet, in magazines and on our IG feeds, but it still hasn’t transcended into the category of everyday wear.
And the truth is that we’re not entirely sure why. The trend works across all hair types, it’s relatively low maintenance and most importantly, it’s seriously chic. Whether you want to give off fresh, just-showered vibes, make a bold power move or look like you’ve just stepped off the beach, the wet-hair look is calling out to be adopted. We can only assume that the main reason this trend has never hit the mainstream is because it looks hard to pull off—but that doesn’t mean that it is.
In reality, the chicest wet-look hairstyles might just be the ultimate no-fuss way to disguise grease on the run-up to wash day, or perhaps they even give your hair a deep-conditioning treatment. A wet-hair look doesn’t have to mean liquidy, flowing lengths. “You can even go for a slicked-back, high bun and achieve a sleek, glass-hair look,” says Michael Lendon, Senior Creative Director at Aveda. “The aim is to make sure your hair looks wet as opposed to greasy,” he adds.
However, if you do want to leave your hair down, it’s not quite as tricky to achieve the wet-hair look as you might have previously thought. It just depends on what you want to go for. “My favourite way to style wet-look hair is scraped back with some tousled texture. It gives that ‘just-emerged-from-the-pool’ look,” says Live True London’s expert stylist, Tyler Moore. “You can wear it in the day for a cool-girl casual vibe or dress it up for an event.”
To achieve the beach look (à la Rosie HW), it’s important you don’t reach for crunchy products like mousse. “Instead, go for a matte pomade and some styling oil. You want to keep your hair relatively flexible and comfortable, avoiding the dreaded crunch of mousse. When it comes to matte pomades, don’t overdo it—a small amount will go a long way,” Moore reveals.
Having said that, if you’re still desperate for that red-carpet look, getting expensive-looking, wet-look results at home is doable. It just takes a little longer to achieve. “Start by washing the hair and using a heat protector after towel-drying. Brush hair through with a paddle brush to de-tangle, and follow up with a texturiser. Then, apply a liquid gel that provides hold on damp hair, running it through from the top to the ends in backward motions. To get the sleek finish, apply a gloss-boosting, humidity-proofing product like Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep, and finish up with some hairspray,” says Lendon.
And that’s it. The wet-hair look really is that easy and versatile. For more inspiration on looks to try at home, keep scrolling.
Next up, 21 easy-to-copy hairstyles I’m totally obsessed with.
