Styling Tips From Celebrity Stylist Robert Hallowell

Ready, Set, Remake!

Pick a celebrity style, then make it your own with these "sequel-styling" tips from celebrity stylist Robert Hallowell. Now, you're the star!

Los Angeles—Sequels are big at the box office, and sequel-styling stars you in a remake of your favorite celebrity hairstyle! Complete copy-catting isn’t always right for your hair type, but you can produce a look you like and re-direct it to suit your needs. “Charlie’s Angels 3,” anyone?

According to Robert Hallowell, who for decades has worked with so many TV, film and entertainment celebrities that he’s now remaking his own creations, every time a style becomes popular, it gets adjusted for individuals; 10 years later, it’s remade in yet another new way. This means the looks he’s created for Jennifer Love Hewitt, Bridget Fonda, Sharon Stone, Anne Heche, Claudia Schiffer, Faye Dunaway and more are always fair game for sequel play.

What are Hallowell’s favorite marquee-remakes of the moment? Looks that show off texture, lift and shape. Check out his styling tricks, along with the individual adjustments you can make. While the surprise ending is your own, if you use Hallowell’s high-performance, prawduct hair care, you’ll be able to recreate the same, great sequel every day.

Piece Out With Fitness Guru Denise Austin.

For Denise’s jagged-edge flip, Hallowell combines fabulous lift and separation. To start, divide your hair into four even sections by parting from ear-to-ear across the top of your head, and from the front hairline to the nape. Use a large flat iron to create the lift. Elevate the first section up to the point at which your head shape begins to round, comb through and pull the ends straight out from the round. For extra texture and lift, mist on a volumizing spray like prawduct Super Volumizing Tonic, which has a hair-protecting, alcohol-free formulation that works great with heat. Run the straightening iron from the mid-shaft to ends, wait a few seconds and repeat. Flat iron all the sections in the same way, wait a minute for the hair to cool, then rake your fingers through the sections.

To make it your own: Break-up ends a little or a lot. To add a chunky, jagged feeling, take a small amount of prawduct Dream Cream, rub it between your fingers and fingercomb the ends, flicking them up and out lightly. For stronger separation on thicker hair, bend ends up with the fore and middle finger of one hand while you rake through the protruding ends with the fingers of the opposite hand.

Get a Lift a la Lucy Liu

Backcombing or “ratting” can damage smooth, shiny hair. So how does Lucy Liu add a little wave and lift to her locks, while maintaining their healthy shine? Hallowell, who styled her hair for “Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle,” shares her secret. First, get a small-diameter curling iron (about the size of a pencil). To use it wherever you want wave and lift, take a section of hair about the size of a fat piece of spaghetti, lift it at the base and wind the curling iron down the section, getting as close to the base as possible. If you’re starting at the crown, spiral the hair inward, toward the center. Directly opposite to this section, create a second wave, also directing it toward the center. This way, the two sections move toward one another, creating a subtle lift at the base. Rough up the sections a bit with your fingers, and flip waves back in place. For natural-looking volume that stays, use a volumizing tonic or a dime-sized amount of gel.

To make it your own: Lift just a few sections at the crown or do your whole head for scrumptious, show-off waves. Remember, pairs should always move toward one another.

Whatever your favorite hairstyle, finish it off with this smooth move, which Hallowell used on Geena Davis for “Stuart Little 2.” You get a sexy silhouette with a stylized, ’40s feel. In the ’40s, silver-screen starlets used heavy styling creams; Hallowell’s own Dream Cream, with lightweight grapeseed oil and neroli, gives you the same effect without weighing hair down. For perfect smoothing every time, use a natural, boar-bristle toothbrush. Take a tiny amount styling cream in your palm and rub it around with the toothbrush. This warms up the cream, softens the boar bristles and allows even distribution. Now, use the brush to smooth out those little strays at the hairline, crown or center part. “I use this trick on movie sets all the time, because the silhouette has to be perfect,” says Hallowell.

To make it your own: Smooth out a ponytail or touch-up ends of a fabulous flip.

Direct Your Roots Like Jennifer Love Hewitt

“For Jennifer, I like to use basic sliver clippies or even bobby pins to give her hair root lift or direction,” says Hallowell. “Usually, I’ll use them with hairspray that contains alcohol, because it dries fast, and I’m not using heat.” To create quick lift at the part line, take sections of hair from both sides of the part (about the amount that will fit in the clippie), hold them straight up together, mist on the hairspray and slip in the clippie. The clippie holds the base of both sections straight up. Wait a few minutes, then slip out the clippie and fingerstyle. You get subtle lift, right where you want it. On set, Hallowell, puts in all the clippies where he wants directional lift, sends the celebrity to makeup, which takes about half-an-hour, and then removes the clippies. This trick works particularly well on fine hair that’s too fragile for backcombing.

To make it your own: Use the clippies to add lift at the hairline or to trick a cowlick into submission. For thicker, heavier hair, take smaller sections and use extra hairspray. The whole idea is to direct roots wherever you want them to go.

Here’s a great idea for controlling curl. Use three-inch plastic hair clips, like the colorful ones sold at beauty supply stores. Start with damp hair, take half-inch sections and spiral wrap or twist them as you lift the roots. Then loop them into large pin curls and clamp the sections down with the hair clips. Or, just clamp the root area in place and let the wrapped ends hang free. Once hair is completely dry, you‘ve got root lift and uniform curl or wave. To make it your own: For loose wave, twist larger sections lightly; for serious curl, spiral them tightly until they buckled back on themselves. Then clip in place. Robert Hallowell’s prawduct collection is available at Naimie’s Beauty Center in North Hollywood, CA, 818-655-9933; Cinema Secrets Beauty Supply in Burbank 818-846-0579; Frend’s Beauty Supply in North Hollywood, CA 1-888-7-FRENDS or can be ordered on hairboutique.com.

For More Information: Jayne Morehouse Morehouse Communications, Inc [email protected] 440-846-6022

If you want to talk more about this or other hair care articles on HairBoutique.com or anywhere else, please post a message on HairBoutique.com's Hair Talk Forums.