Sexy Waves BTS Beauty Hair Tutorial Starring Joan Smalls

The Sexy Tousled Natural Waves Hairstyle Guide

I began by infusing vitamins and protecting Joan Smalls’ natural hair and scalp with my custom formulation of organic beauty oil that I have been testing for years onset with my celebrity clients. Stay tuned for when this dreamy beauty product drops!

I wanted to have the tousled sexy waves feel like bedroom hair. To achieve this look I misted my go-to texture product EVO Mister Fantastic Blow Out Spray lightly on dry hair from roots to ends. This product can be air dried or I suggest using the T3 Featherweight StyleMax Professional Ionic Hair Dryer to dry in the product while lightly scrunching the hair. I have been using this product for years as my sea salt spray alternative. Most sea salt sprays leave the hair feeling and looking dirty and sometimes deposit unwanted residue.

If you let EVO Mister Fantastic Blow Out Spray air dry, it has a beachy, piecey, slightly damp look, which is super cool for photoshoots. But for everyday wear, I suggest giving the hair a good brush after it dries to soften the texture to look more dry, clean, and fluffy while still textured with amazing hold. After brushing, the hair will become a bit more piecey again in a few minutes.

I detangled the hair and fluffed up the texture with the legendary Mason Pearson brush. Pssst … a little industry secret. This is the brush that every single hair stylist backstage at fashion week has in their kit! It really is that good! Both a classic and modern staple for all hair types.

Time to begin the wave, but make sure the hair is completely dry before you start to avoid breakage. Use YS Park “Shark” Sectioning Clips to create a horizontal section approximately 3” at the nape. Detangle the sections as you work using the YS Park 332 Comb. Grab a 3” diameter section and wave!

I used the Hot Tools Professional NanoCeramic Marcel Grip 1 1/4” Curling Iron on Joan’s hair. This is a marcel professional iron, so I do not recommend using this one on yourself. For DIY hair looks, see the pro quick tip below to learn more about wands for easier use and better results. Prevent burning your hands and work a lot faster with a handy heat resistant glove.

Start with wrapping the strand around the barrel one time at the root. Next, twist your wrist like you are turning a key to the left or right and then wrap around once again. Twist then wrap, twist then wrap, repeating a twist before every wrap around the curling iron barrel. Adding the twist to your technique will create more of an elongated “S” shape wave pattern, which looks much more natural and relaxed than not twisting the strand.

Once you get to the ends, leave about 1” of the ends out of the curling iron to help make the look not feel too “done.” Hold for five seconds and set the entire head. 

Pump up the volume of the roots on the top of the head to get a fluffy, disheveled look using BabylissPRO Nano Titanium Professional Hot Rollers. I like to secure each roller by using Diane U-Pins (which I learned backstage at Paris Fashion Week), but it’s also easy to just use the roller clips that come with the roller set.

Take rectangle shaped sections that are a similar size of the roller size. Use the same twist-and-wrap technique as mentioned earlier that we did with the curling iron. Wind the 1-1.5” diameter rollers backwards away from the face.

If the rollers are slippery to put in, use the KMS California Hairstay Dry Extreme Hairspray on each section for grip and extra hold. Use a tissue on top of the ears to prevent the ears from heating up. Once the roller set cools down, remove the rollers and shake out.

Once all the waves are set and complete, evenly spray one light, even coat roots to ends of one of my favorite’s, KMS California HAIRSTAY Working Spray.

The product is so amazing that even my good friend and celebrity makeup artist Georgi Sandev, loves to set eyebrows to be perfectly groomed on his supermodel clients, by spraying it on an eyebrow brush and brushing the brows into place.

What makes this hairspray so amazing is that it is workable yet has a strong hold, and is brush-able but leaves no residue behind.

Have you ever seen girls with natural hair down to their waist and super thick like a photoshopped Pantene ad? I always dreamed of hair so luxurious! Doesn’t it seem like a crime when these unicorn girls cut their hair short or always wear it in a ponytail?

Though my natural hair has never been super thick, I always know that popping in some hair extensions is a fun way to get my dream hair even though it’s temporary.

I wanted to play with long hippie lengths for the ‘Joan Smalls as Wildflower’ exclusive story, since the decade of the 1970’s was a major source of inspiration for the hair looks.

On set behind the scenes we used an amazing trick on Joan’s hair that makes any wig look incredibly natural. You can see the process on the BTS Beauty video above.

The key to making the hair extension piece look natural is by leaving the natural hairline and parting on the top of the head out. We sectioned off 2” of her natural hairline around her face. We also sectioned off a “U” shape on the top of her head to leave out her natural parting. I suggest using YS Park “Shark” Sectioning Clips to pull those sections out of the way.

Gather the rest of the hair tightly at the base of the neck and make a braid. Use bobby pins to pin the ends of the braid at the nape of the neck to hide away the natural hair.

It’s best to utilize a U Part Wig with clips installed so that it doesn’t require a customized cutting out of a u part.

My team of assistants and I prepped a long Perfect Locks Full Lace Human Hair Wig, several days before the shoot by following all the steps above. We cut out a u parting on the top of the wig, which allowed Joan’s natural hair parting to be exposed to achieve a super natural look. We also added into the wig Perfect Locks Hair Extensions to create the dreamy length and add a boost of thickness.

Time to transform! We placed the u part wig behind the hairline section and below the u part section. We used a lot of bobby pins by the ears, nape, and along the top part of the u shape of the wig to secure the wig on the head.

The last step is to take down the sectioned off hair and drop it over the top of the wig to cover the wig seams and voila… the wig looks so real!

If the natural hair color is different than the color of the wig, use a Perfect Locks Full Lace Human Hair Wig, without a u part.

Have an easy to use T3 Interchangeable Ceramic Three Barrel Curling Iron or a BaByliss Nano Titanium Straightening Iron to fix and edit any pieces that need a touch of refinement. Use the KMS California Hairstay Dry Extreme Hairspray all over to set the look.

TAKE A SELFIE to complete and tag us @documentarybeauty so we can see! We LOVE seeing these looks come to life out in the world.  

Stay tuned for more exciting hair and makeup tutorials coming soon. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when they drop! What’s your signature style? Are you known for a particular style in your hair, makeup or wardrobe? What people in your lifetime mesmerized you with their signature style? Leave a comment below. We would love to hear from you!

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