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Glossy with an edge. Perfectly imperfect. The allure of undone hair
Grunge 2.0 is coming… but don’t let that scare you, says Annabel Jones, messy hair is surprisingly flattering on all ages – just ask Demi Moore
If the party season has imbued in you a sense of polish, then prepare to shake things up because grunge is due for a comeback. The signs are all around – Demi Moore dishevelled her signature wet-paint locks for the third annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles earlier this month, as did Salma Hayek who posed next to a messy-haired Jared Leto on the red carpet.
At the Fashion Awards in London, slept-in hair was on full show. Actress Jodie Comer juxtaposed glittery eye makeup with ends that had escaped a brush through, whereas poster girl for the formative grunge movement, Kate Moss, stuck to her roots with a tousled do that gave hedge-backwards vibes. Skip over to Elle’s Women in Hollywood event and Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara, 69, arrived with scrunched-and-left hair, while Nyad actress Jodie Foster, 61, paired an elegant black trouser suit with a textured quiff deliberately designed to appear cool and unkempt.
Look to the catwalks and designers left clues that Grunge 2.0 is on the cards. From Prabul Gurung’s wispy flyways to Arturo Holmes’s stringy, sea-soaked waves and Jason Wu’s murky wet-look tresses, the shift from Barbie-core perfection to muted imperfection is set to infiltrate a salon near you by spring 2024.
Adopted by the fashion industry in 1993 at Marc Jacobs’s last show for Perry Ellis, the term “grunge” was first used in the late Eighties to describe the alternative wave of limp-haired rock bands born out of gloomy Seattle, that were a stark contrast to their glam, backcombed predecessors.
“It was a backlash to an era of big hair and big money. Grunge was the opposite of all that; it was deliberately raw, ugly even,” says hairstylist and salon owner, Luke Hersheson, who despite its rumoured return, suggests we shouldn’t take the look literally, but see it as an invitation to be easy on our hair. “Grunge was by and large a positive thing. It had an everlasting effect on how we style our hair – that sense of nonchalance is now inherent in how a lot of women approach their hair and makeup,” he adds, noting that grunge is in large part the reason the British are so enamoured with French style.
Up until the 90s, when messy hair first took hold, hair trends were binary, says Hersheson (Remember the “Rachel”?). Now, there’s a myriad of subcultures to draw from, a gift given to us by the grunge movement, says Hersheson. “There used to be this formality to hairdressing. Formal occasions required formal clothes and a strict up-do, now there’s this permission to be more candid in how we dress our hair which gives women more freedom,” he insists.
The current round of messy hairstyles rings less of Nirvana and heroin chic and more like a photograph of a well known woman in between takes. “Whichever era in history you look at, the most interesting images are the ones in which the subject is caught off guard. Whether it’s Marilyn Monroe with mussed up bedroom hair, or Princess Diana laughing unawares with her hair blowing, the art of looking like you’ve not tried is that intangible thing most of our clients want to emulate,” says Hersheson.
If messy hair is the goal, then how does one execute it without appearing unkempt? Celebrity coiffeur Christian Wood says the secret lies in adding in the gloss first, before dishevelling it. “You need a certain level of polish to carry off messy hair well, particularly in midlife,” says Wood, who suggests beginning by blow drying the hair smooth, paying particular attention to unmanageable frizz (particularly underneath) to remove the wrong kind of mess. “You want hair that’s fresh and clean but with that day-old sexiness,” he says.
Once you’ve removed stubborn kinks, your hair will sit and move more evenly, then you can set about replacing texture discerningly with a heated hair appliance. Depending on your skill level, Wood suggests using straightening irons to create an s-bend (all in the wrist action) randomly throughout the hair. Or, if you’re a novice, Wood says to invest in a threebarrel waver.
For short and bobbed hair, the secret lies in the cut itself, says Hersheson. “There’s a lot of nuance that goes into haircuts that dictates an effortless texture. A bob with choppy ends will suddenly look less matronly, for instance. Whereas a long, grown-out fringe that’s been chopped into can relax things drastically,” says Hersheon, adding: “Keep it simple, choose one element and make that the focus.”
Hersheson points to French style icons like French Vogue’s Emmanuelle Alt and the magazine’s stylist Geraldine Saglio as having mastered the art of perfectly undone hair, noting that French women, though they look like they haven’t tried, most definitely have. Just not in the way you’d expect.
“Parisians tend to invest in a great haircut with some subtle face framing layers and a smattering of balayage to bring out the separation in their hair without looking like they’ve had a head full of highlights.” Balayage, the French invention of hand painting colour throughout the hair in strategic places, bringing out certain strands and disguising others, is a natural looking way to not only lighten and brighten one’s complexion but to create the illusion of texture.
Once your hair is cut to order, start every styling session with a well nourished base. “It really pays to invest in good haircare that’s specifically suited for your hair type, especially if your hair is coloured or brittle and dry,” insists Hersheson, who recommends professional brands such as Kerastase to cleanse and condition with. “Cheap shampoo gives cheap results,” he says emphatically.
As for styling products, Hersheson and Wood prefer to keep things low key, using products that give subtle shine and separation without weighing hair down. Wood cites Color Wow’s Mist-ical Shine Spray (£20.80, lookfantastic.com) as a light-as-air finisher and for fine hair, Living Proof ’s Full Dry Volume Texture Spray (£31, livingproof.co.uk) that will roughen up silky smooth locks just enough to look presentable. For anything in between, Wood favours Oribe’s Apres Beach Spray (£41, cultbeauty.co.uk). “It’s a cross between a surf spray and serum,” he says. “For those with mature skin, it’s best to retain a certain amount of polish.”
Whereas Hersheson recommends using a styling cream, such as his own Almost Everything Cream (£14, hershesons.com), that works as well in long wavy hair as it does in short straight hair. Warm a pea-sized amount between two palms and run through wet hair before blow drying, saving enough to smooth over ends when dry. To finish, Hersheson says there’s nothing better than L’Oreal Paris’s iconic Elnett Hairspray (£6, boots. com).
If you like to wear your hair up, Wood says a few stringy tendrils pulled out of a formal chignon or bun can be exquisite but, he warns, beware of entering bridesmaid territory. “Take your reference from the 90s. You really want to avoid the whimsical period drama look; out of context it’s awfully old fashioned.”
Casually throw your hair up into a French twist and secure it with two or three velvet hair pins (designed for ballerinas) (Frenchies, £11.16, frenchieshairpins.com), says Wood, which will keep the hair in place all day. Then pull two long pieces forward either side of the face leaving them to hang out casually. If you have a fringe, then dismantling a couple of smaller pieces in the sideburn vicinity is equally nice. If you’re in doubt, try putting your hair up without a mirror which somehow never fails.
‘That nonchalance is now inherent in how a lot of women approach their hair’