Big Hair Is Huge for Spring

Cindy Crawford. Christy Turlington. Naomi Campbell. The bouncy blowouts of the ’90s—and of the era’s most popular supermodels—are the latest nostalgia-based beauty inspiration. Sleek, brushed-back blowouts and super-high topknots with thick, face-framing tendrils were seen on countless runway models this season. Regardless of which style you choose, you need volume, baby.

“Beauty looks are recycled every decade or so,” says Tamika Gibson, owner of The Hair Diagram and head hairstylist at Sergio Hudson’s spring 2023 show, which featured teased hair. Beyond the supers, Gibson had Robin Givens as Jacqueline in Boomerang on her mood board.

What makes this trend firmly planted in 2023 is that you can have body with movement—no hair-sprayed helmets. Celebrity and TRESemmé Global Stylist Justine Marjan, who recently styled similar looks on Ashley Graham and Ella Balinska, suggests adding TRESemmé One Step Blowout Balm to damp hair for “the perfect bouncy blow-dry prep.” Gibson likes to pair two products from Kenra to build big hair: Design Spray 9 on each curl for hair memory, then Volume Spray 25 to lock in the final style. “You also need to make sure hair is 100 percent dry before starting to style,” Marjan adds. “If any moisture is left in the hair, it will fall flat immediately.”

TRESemme One Step Blowout 5 In 1 Blow Dry Balm

Kenra Professional Design Spray 9 Light Hold Hairspray

Kenra Professional Volume Spray 25

To create the height, try this: Curl hair sections with a large-barrel iron, like InfinitiPRO by Conair Cool Air Styler, then wrap them around big rollers, like Dry Bar High Tops Self-Grip Rollers, and secure with duckbill clips. This will give the hair bounce and curl, differentiating it from the sort of beachy waves you normally see on The Bachelor franchise. For a subtler, easier version, there’s the T3 AireBrush Duo, a styling brush that dries and round-brushes your hair simultaneously. For those with curl patterns three or four, try large flexirods, which will help to loosen a tighter curl pattern without losing your natural volume or using heat.

Conair Cool Air Curling Iron

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Drybar High Tops Self-Grip Rollers

Bantoye 24 Packs Duck Bill Clips

T3 AireBrush Duo Interchangeable Hot Air Blow Dry Brush

Big curls inspired by another ’90s runway icon—Linda Evangelista—are also my go-to hair look, with one catch: I have a chin-length bob. Discover my full routine, which uses hair rollers—you are one click away from volume.

“In the ’90s, big, voluminous hair represented luxury and glamour,” Marjan says. No wonder we can’t resist the look.

This article appears in the March 2023 issue of ELLE.