Photo: ImaxTree
Yes, New Year’s Eve is considered the party night of the year, but no, that doesn’t mean have to spend all day gearing up for the ball drop. Whether you have work or end-of-the-season family festivities, there’s no reason for you to feel rushed to get to the vanity and start curling your hair. Stacey Guerra, senior stylist at New York-based Butterfly Studio Salon, offers some simple tricks to help you upgrade your worn day hair into a look that’s a little more nightlife-appropriate.
Day Pony
Morning: As the texture will be added for nightwear, simply throw the hair up into your go-to ponytail. Done.
Night: “Upgrade a worn ponytail from day to night by taking out that pony and shaking it as hard as you can just to create some body,” says Guerra. Mist the purse-size Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray from root to tip. “It’s key for reworking fullness into limp hair,” Guerra advises, not to mention super easy to carry with you. Use your hands to break up the product and lift the hair at the root. Pull the hair back into a ponytail section by section, which creates a more textured look than simply smoothing it backward, then secure with an elastic at the curve of the head or just above. “The positioning makes it more playful,” Guerra adds. She recommends finishing with a pony cuff or wrapping a small section of hair around the base of the ponytail for a more polished effect.
Messy Morning Topknot
Morning: “You’ll need a little grit or dirt in your hair [for the evening look], so you’ll need to apply as much dry shampoo as you can. Hold your breath and spray through hair in the A.M. before you create your top knot, then pull the hair up as you normally would,” Guerra says.
Night: Release the topknot and flip your head over. “The product will have prepped the hair for the step and controlled the day’s oils,” says Guerra. Next, take a dime-sized amount of Oribe Rough Luxury Molding Wax between your palms and rub it through your hair before misting a bit of hairspray for grip. Finally, recreate your knot, placing it more forward towards the front of the head. “On the crown is more for a day look,” Guerra says.
Lived-In Waves
Morning: “Starting with curly hair is easy because you already have texture,” Guerra says, so plan to give yourself 15 minutes in the morning to curl your hair with rollers or a curling iron. Don’t worry about perfection—you can even pull it up in a bun. The key is to have that texture already built into the hair so it’s primed for your style later on.
Night: “The best thing to do is to work with the curls and enhance them more by applying a curl definition product, such as Shu Uemura Cotton Uzu Defining Flexible Cream. This will separate curls and give hair a little more of that polished shine for nighttime,” the stylist says. Apply over the top layer of hair, pulling up like you’re securing a ponytail, then release. Take two sections of hair, one from each side over the ear, and pull them back to open the face up with a little interest. Secure with a bobby pin, and mist a little bit of hairspray over the head for hold.
Read more: 7 Tricks for Adding Serious Volume to Any Hair Type
