How to get Julia Roberts’ defined curls.
If there were ever a prize for most enviable hair in Hollywood, Julia Roberts would surely take the title.
Her tumbling red-auburn locks have been her signature – along with that famous smile – since she captured our hearts in her early films like Pretty Woman.
It’s been a quiet year for the star as she prepares for the release of her next big film, Panic Carefully. The thriller, written and directed by Sam Esmail is due out in January.
In the mean time, we’ve been studying up on exactly how Roberts’ keeps her looks looking so lush and beautiful.
In recent times she’s stepped out on the red carpet and press conferences in simple looks that let her hair and makeup take the focus. We’ve loved seeing that though her hairstyle has been tweaked for modern trends, voluminous bounce and shine is still a staple of her look.
It’s no surprise that her longtime collaborator and friend, hairstylist Serge Normant is the mastermind of these looks. The celebrity stylist has been doing Roberts’ hair for over 30 years, first working with her on a photoshoot in 1993.
Joie de vivre
According to the stylist, it’s not only the way she wears her hair, but Roberts’ joie de vivre that really catches people’s attention.
“The magic of Julia’s hair is that people catch a feeling from it,” he explained. “They look at a picture of her — whether it’s bright blonde and sleek or messy and held up with a claw clip — and there’s something that people identify with. It’s her glow, and it’s infectious.”
He claims fans love every iteration of her hair styles. “You might love her blonde and think that the color is amazing, but then the next day she could be back to red and you forget about the blonde. She’s magical that way.”
Known for his big, glamorous hair Normant also regularly works with other celebs also known for their gorgeous ‘dos, such as Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Sofia Vergara. It’s easy to see a pattern in the looks he creates – length, movement and volume are the common denominators.
With this in mind, we’re all keen to pick up some tips on how he achieves those hallmarks. It’s fair to say we’d attend a Ted Talk on how he does it, but we’ve gleaned some absolute gems of advice on how he works with Julia’s hair:
Use great foundation hair care
Normant told refinery29 he encourages his clients to use nourishing hair treatments like masks and oils to manage their hair’s health alongside a great shampoo and conditioner.
“For Julia’s hair, and on almost all of my clients, I’ll use my hair repair treatment, he says, of his own product line. “I think of hair treatments like moisturiser for the skin: They help your hair regain any lost elasticity and rehab any dryness.”
He says the difference is how ‘luxe’ hair looks when these type of treatments are added to your routine.
Get regular trims
The stylist is a fan of trims that don’t look like a big cut.
“A tiny little trim, which I call a dusting, where you really don’t change the length of the hair, makes a huge difference to the feel and look of your hair,” he told Porter magazine. “If you avoid getting trims because you don’t like your hair to look like it’s freshly cut, opt for little and often instead.”
Build volume with styling products
He suggests using lightweight styling products like volumising sprays and mousse on damp hair before drying to provide lift. However it’s important to not add too much.
In a styling explanation he shared on Instagram, he says he uses his own brand Serge Normant Meta Lush Volumizer through the hair from roots to ends. It’s a root-lifting spray that provides fullness, flexibility, and shine without a sticky or crunchy finish.
He then divides Roberts’ hair into sections and works through, blow drying from the bottom section up, using a medium-size round brush.
‘Once dry, I apply Dream Big Instant Volumizing Spray to give volume at the roots and spraying a little on the mid section to create a natural textured look.”
Using a 1” curling iron, her then curls each section. He chooses to curl each section in an opposite direction, for a more tousled, relaxed finish and so curls don’t tuck into each other.
“When finished, toss hair upside down, adding texture spray to the bottom, then flip head back up,” he says. Another tip? “When doing pieces around the face start curl halfway down, avoiding the roots to frame the face.”
For more height around the top, once styled he lifts the top layer up and teases a section of hair underneath with a Mason Pearson hairbrush. Then, the top layer is smoothly brush over to hide the teasing.
“It will give you that structured fullness without it looking teased,” he advises.
Brush out curls
Normant told Porter the less contrived curls are, the more natural they’ll feel and look.
“For example, I don’t like to see the ridges from a curling iron used on hair,” he says, preferring to let curls cool from the tong before brushing to separate.
“Sometimes, people are afraid to brush their curls out too much, as well. But if you brush hair out, the wave pattern will be more visible and you’ll get more natural volume and movement.”
He says if you have any pieces that need to be worked on more, you can always top up the curl on those pieces with a tong and brush it out again.
Add a touch of oil for shine
For beautiful shine, use the lightest touch of hair oil.
“Once hair is styled, finesse the hair with fingers by running through with a touch of oil for definition and to separate waves.”
Normant uses his own Meta Sheer Dry Finishing Oil, applying the dry oil by spraying a touch on his hands, then running his fingers through the mid-lengths and ends.
