If Kate Middleton isn’t the best real life example of Cinderella, then we don’t know who is. She’s got it all-the svelte body, the flawless skin, the harmonious asymmetrical teeth, a handsome prince for a husband-oh, and did we mention the hair? We talked to leading professionals in the beauty industry to find out how she gets those luscious locks.
First, let’s talk color. We spoke with Lake Mary, FL, celebrity colorist Sherry Ratay to find out how to get Kate’s milk chocolate color. It turns out, it’s really simple to copy her color when someone is naturally a brunette. Ratay would simply add a gloss to enhance the natural tone and add shine. However, blondes have to be cautious not to add too much warmth when going darker. The same goes for dark brunettes that try to go a shade lighter, you want to avoid turning your hair an orange color. The way to do that is to talk to a professional hair colorist to determine the best plan of action.
When trying to create Kate’s effortless wavy hairstyle, you first want to start with wet hair says Joshua Gambrell, celebrity hair stylist at New York City’s Lotus Salon. Run a large, wide-toothed comb through your strands to detangle it, and follow by blotting your hair with a towel. It’s really important that you don’t make a scrubbing motion with your towel as this creates frizz.
Next, add products to your hair for shine and hold. Gambrell recommends creating a “cocktail” of Eufora Sculpture Styling Glaze ($27) and Eufora Illuminate Shine Mist ($24). After running the products throughout your hair, it’s time to blow dry it.
First, rough dry with your fingers until your hair no longer drips water and starts looking dry. While we know it’s tempting, don’t flip your hair upside down as that creates too much body than is required to copy Kate’s look. Next pick up a round brush, Gambrell recommends using a two-inch barrel for thick hair and a one and a half inch barrel for thinner hair. Starting at the bottom, wrap sections of your hair around the brush and work your way up, curling the hair under. “Point the airflow on the dryer down towards the floor, this direction of air flow is what creates the smoothness,” says Gambrell. Finish the blow dry, then spray about four to five pumps of the shine mist all over your hair.
Finish the look by curling the top sections of your hair with a one and a half inch curling iron. To create longevity to the style, hold the curl in your hand until it cools and then let it fall. If your hair falls flat easily, try going down a size in the curling iron and use hair spray before and after you curl it. This helps hold it better and gives it more time to fall, says Nicholas Penna, Jr., owner and lead stylist at SalonCapri in Newton and Dedham, MA. Penna recommends using Shu Uemura Sheer Laquer Hair Spray ($45).
To get overall smooth and shiny hair like Kate, Penna recommends the Kérastase Fusio Dose hair treatment that you get at the salon to heal the hair cuticle.
