It's easy to feel limited when you have a short cut, but when Rachel McAdams decided that she wanted to wear her hair up for her appearance this week on The Today Show, hairstylist Mark Townsend knew it was an opportunity to "show how versatile a bob haircut can be," he says. The result, as you can see below, is a textured, twisted, and all-around inspiring style that's the perfect way to try something new and fresh — long length not required.
As a precursor to the how-to, Townsend gave a fair warning: "It's important to know that this isn't a quick-and-easy style to achieve," he told us. "This was one of those incredible opportunities when a client lets me play and sculpt the hair into a style." Translation: Take Townsend's tips and techniques as guidance; then, use them to create a version of this that suits both your time frame and exact hair length.
To begin, Townsend misted McAdams' damp hair with Dove Oxygen Moisture Root Lift Spray (he is a spokesperson for the brand) and blowdried her locks with a round brush for volume. "Then, I sprayed Dove Style+Care Strength & Shine Extra Hold Hairspray throughout her hair and curled two-inch sections with a 3/4-inch curling iron," he told us. "This takes some extra time, but it helps all the layers blend together when twisting the hair back later."
The chignon came next — a two-part process that, in short, included artfully twisting and pinning small sections of the hair back, and then twisting the lengths all together. Townsend coated his hands with a thin layer of Sally Hershberger 24K Texturizing Paste and twisted large sections of hair toward the center of the back of the head, securing each twist with a bobby pin once he liked the look of it. "The texturizing paste gives the hair shine and keeps the twist in place," he says. Then, once all the different lengths and layers were twisted and pinned, Townsend created little knots with the the additional length, securing with a second round of bobby pins.