I Tried a ’90s Updo With Tips From J Lo’s Hairstylist

It’s no secret that the 90s and 00s are making a comeback, especially when it comes to beauty. Olivia Rodrigo recently wore vintage hair at the MTV Movie and TV Awards, and ’90s-style “supermodel manicures” have been all over my Pinterest and Instagram feeds lately. I’ve been dying to get in on the retro beauty trend, so for the past few weeks I’ve been keeping an eye out for 90s-inspired hairstyles worth checking out. When I stumbled upon a video featuring J. Lo’s hairstylist Chris Appleton combining two of my favorite hairstyles into a stunning 90s wet bun, I knew I wanted to recreate it on myself.

To try this style for myself, I first grabbed a hairband, a comb, a boar bristle brush and Color Wow Pop + Lock ($20) serum. I started by preparing dry hair with Pop + Lock, applying it from the roots to the ends. Then I part my hair down the middle to give myself a middle section. Next, I used a boar brush to brush it all back into a low flat ponytail to make sure my hair was smooth and sleek, but I made sure to keep the middle section about half an inch in front of my head.

I have curtain bangs, so I had to use some extra product to get my hair to stay in the smooth ponytail, but even though my bangs were on the shorter side, I didn’t need to add any bobby pins or hair clips. (If you have bangs, just know that it may take some extra work to get your look in place, but you don’t need any extra work.)

From there, I used a comb to separate two pieces from the front of my middle section and pulled them out of the ponytail. I applied them with a Color Wow Dream filter to make sure they would stay on either side of my face. From there, I twisted the rest of the ponytail up and secured it with claw clips. To make sure I had the full ’90s look, I left a few loose pieces to highlight the hair for a full ’90s effect.

Securing the hair in the ponytail before putting it into the claw clips allowed the clips to stay in place all day and I had no issues with it falling out or needing to redo the hair once. While it was comfortable to wear, I have to admit that I didn’t like rubbing the facial frame tendrils on my face all day while I was trying to work, so I ended up tucking those little strands back in.

Luckily, the style is still cute, but I’ll probably save this look for the next time I’m out with my girlfriend or on a date night with work. After all, the vintage hair trend is better for making a statement than sitting at home in front of a computer screen anyway.