Forget Leia Buns, Daisy Ridley's Side Chignon Is Next-Gen Hero Hair

Daisy Ridley, the British star of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has some big shoes to fill. Not only did she get plucked from relative obscurity to star in what is touted to be one of the biggest films of the year decade, but she's also following in the footsteps of Carrie Fisher's iconic cinematic 'do.

Last night, Ridley hit the red carpet at the film's Tokyo premiere (cue the pandemonium) with a slicked and twisted side chignon that proved she is not going to be living in the shadow of Princess Leia's buns.
Celebrity hairstylist Robert Vetica, who describes the look as "chic, modern, fresh, and ageless," wanted to create a “spin on the 1920s Chanel flapper” to coordinate with Ridley's dress. To begin, he prepped the actress' wet hair with Leonor Greyl's Mousse Au Lotus Volumatrice, so“the hair does not fall flat to her head and lose its unique shape.” Tip: Create your side-part now.

He dried her locks using a medium-sized, round boar-bristle brush (try Ibiza'a G3 Swirled Extended Cork Round Brush) and a good amount of tension, to ensure a smooth finish. Once dry, Vetica used a 3/4-inch curling iron to curl just the ends of her hair (add a thermal spray first if you have one handy). While still warm, he set the curls so they could cool as Ridley had her makeup done.

Tip: Set the curls one by one, while each section is still hot, by pinning each tendril to the nape of the neck. The goal is to give the hair texture that will make the twist look fuller later. Once pinned, give the hair a mist of hairspray.Once the hair was totally cool, Vetica removed the pins, coated his hands with Leonor Greyl Eclat Naturel, and rolled the left side of her hair up and back, adding all the hair as he twisted toward the back of her head. Don't expect to get this right the first time; Vetica reminds us that you have to "mold the hair into the look you see here," so keep twisting and playing until you get the result you like. Once you have the shape, insert bobby pins in the same shade as your hair until the twist feels secure. For extra hold, you can mist the pins with hairspray first.

As the finishing touch, Vetica warmed a few drops of oil in his hands and ran it over Ridley's hair for shine, but it you have fine hair, stick to a shine-boosting hairspray. And the best news? According to Vetica, Ridley is “very open to different beauty ideas,” so we can expect the cool looks to keep on coming. The force is strong with this one. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)


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