If your client is eager for a style switch up, look no further than Hollywood's latest trend du jour: glass hair. Though the style itself is not entirely new—African American women mastered the silk press many moons ago—we caught up with two celebrity stylists who are partially responsible for making modern-day glass hair as popular as it is.
"I've been living for super lux, sleek strands for ages," says celebrity stylist, Justine Marjan. Known for her work on A-listers like Olivia Culpo and Ashley Graham, Marjan was one of the first to jump on the glass hair trend—before it was ever really a trend. "The shiny bob is an ode to the iconic looks of '90s era supermodels, like Linda Evangelista. I first did this look on the Kardashians and Olivia Culpo last year—cut with dramatic blunt ends and styled with an ultra shiny, glassy finish."
To achieve the look, Marjan suggests prepping hair with a smoothing product—her go-to is the OUAI Smooth Spray created by friend, mentor and celebrity stylist, Jen Atkin. She then blowdrys with a boar bristle brush to avoid frizz. "When hair is dry, take paper-thin sections to flat iron. Hold the iron on the ends for an extra second to achieve a very defined finish," she says. When hair is finished, Marjan likes to use a smoothing serum through the mids and ends to add that extra shine. "It's refreshing to see healthy hair make a comeback after we've had super lived-in, shattered hair as a trend for so long."
Stylist to the stars, David Stanwell agrees that a slick or gel-type product is crucial for creating the glassy finish. Responsible for the perfectly styled locks on Lucy Hale, Meghan Trainor and Olivia Holt, Stanwell says the cut is a huge part of the glass hair movement. "The strong, solid bob just below the ears is huge in Hollywood right now," Stanwell says. "It's taking what can be a "cute" cut and making it very chic and glamorous—sometimes simple is the most effective."
But, like any new cut, the bob presents the challenge of finding easy and unique styling techniques, and that's partially why the glass hair trend has become so popular. "Blow dry hair with a round brush to create a shape before diving in with the flat iron," Stanwell says. Once you have a foundation, you'll be able to modify the shape and shine the glass as you wish.