Jennifer Lopez's Hairstylist Revealed the Secret to Achieving Her Iconic Super Bowl Hairstyle
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Jennifer Lopez's Super Bowl performance hairstyle seemed to defy logic. While Lopez jumped, danced, and spun around a pole, her bombshell curls stayed perfectly intact. Her routine included so many hair flips, you'd almost think she was trying to test fate. (ICYMI, here's how J. Lo and Shakira prepped for their epic Super Bowl performance.)
If you've wondered "But how???" you have your answer. Lopez's hairstylist, Chris Appleton explained exactly how he created a style that would remain intact throughout J. Lo's routine, yet wouldn't read as tight curls.
Appleton posted a YouTube video demonstrating how to recreate the look:
In the video, Appleton says he wanted Lopez's hair to remain smooth in spite of Miami's humidity. So, in his tutorial, he starts by spraying Color Wow Dream Coat (Buy It, $28, amazon.com), a water-resistant sealant, on his model's wet hair. Then, he blow-dries her hair with a Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer (Buy It, $389, amazon.com) and Tangle Teezer The Ultimate Vented Hair Brush (Buy It, $16, amazon.com), making sure to point the nozzle of the dryer downward to encourage the cuticle to lie flat. (Appleton has worked with Color Wow, Dyson, and Tangle Teezer.)
Next, Appleton clips in several wefts of hair extensions, positioning them diagonally, which he says allows the extensions to fall around the face rather than over the cheekbone. His trick for securing clip-ins for an all-out dance performance? Clamping the natural hair a few times with a straightener before clipping in the extensions, then hitting them both with Color Wow Cult Favorite Hair Spray (Buy It, $26, dermstore.com) once they're in place. To blend extensions with natural hair, he applies Color Wow Root Cover Up (Buy It, $35, amazon.com) at the root of the extensions. (Related: The Easy At-Home Root Cover-Up Jennifer Lopez Uses, According to Her Stylist)
As for the "secret to this look and why the hairstyle stayed so well," Appleton credits a "double curl" technique. In his tutorial video, Appleton curls his model's hair away from her face with a Harry Josh 2-in-1 Ceramic Marcel Curling Iron (Buy It, $185, dermstore.com) then pins it to her head until the hair is cool. Once cooled, he curls the same section of hair, this time with a wider Hot Tools Professional 24K Gold Marcel Iron (Buy It, $40, amazon.com), before clipping it up again. (Appleton previously told Vogue that he used a one-inch iron first, followed by a two-inch iron on Lopez's hair.) Then he lets everything cool for 15 minutes before unpinning the curls. "If I left it just with the smaller curl, it would be way too curly, and it really wouldn't have that sexy, bombshell finish," he explains in the video. (Related: This $40 Curling Iron Has Been My Go-To for Beachy Waves for the Past Decade)
To further soften the curls, Appleton brushes them out and sprays Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray (Buy It, $29, amazon.com). Voila: soft, voluminous curls that wouldn't fall flat even during the apocalypse.
If you're looking for a low-effort hairstyle, blowdrying your hair and curling each section twice isn't going to be ideal. But if you ever want a bombshell look that could withstand a Super Bowl performance, now you know what to do.
