PHOTO/POST/GRAPHIC DESIGN: KRISTIN ESS

It’s that time of year again! The holiday messes have been swept up and now hair and makeup glam squads everywhere prepare to work overtime because it’s award season!!!! It wouldn’t be fair if all you beauties at home couldn’t play along so I thought it might be fun to incorporate some red carpet classics this month on TBD! These tutorials will be timeless, not trendy. These will be hairstyles that you can use for many years to come. When I have a client attending a major award show, I try to think about what will still look great when we look back at photos years from now. So let’s dive into the first one: The Classic Chignon Tutorial!

Prep: We wanted a smooth chignon, but just so you know, this could be done with waves or curls as well! To start, we applied a little STYLING CREAM to damp hair and then used a LARGE IBIZA ROUND BRUSH to smooth.

The only hairspray we used throughout this tutorial was THIS ONE. The reason I love this spray for looks like this is because it never ever gets sticky. You can keep piling it on and brushing through. It holds softly but securely and gives shine. I’m not the biggest fan of the smell but it goes away quickly and doesn’t linger.

1. Put all of your hair into a tight/smooth ponytail at the nape of your neck. You can use a regular ponytail holder or a SMALL CLEAR ELASTIC. (ps: these are my favorite elastics. they’re a little more expensive but they’re softer and don’t pull my hair out!)
2. Using a 1 1/4″ HOT TOOLS SPRING IRON, curl the ends under. This is going to help your hair wrap around itself and stay put!
3. Next, split your ponytail into two sections (upper and lower). Tease the lower section lightly to give your hair more volume for a fuller chignon.
4. Take another SMALL CLEAR ELASTIC and do a half loop with your ponytail, leaving the tail out. (Tip: You don’t need to secure this second elastic more than once. It’s small and when you create your half loop it should be pretty tight already.)
5. Take the tail and wrap it around the base of the ponytail. Pin that underneath using large bobby pins. (Tip: If you need to, you can tease the tail lightly before wrapping it around the base. Then smooth lightly after secured!)

Hope you enjoy this classic look and I hope this tutorial comes in handy the next time you have a big event to attend! Any other specific classic red carpet requests? Is there a celebrity who’s hair has been stuck in your mind since they walked a particular carpet?? Tell me in the comments (and try to post a photo of it!) and maybe we can break it down for you!