How to… create a ’90s glam up-do

Recreate this stunning up-do for your Christmas clients with the help of session stylist Ryan Steedman 

When our It List Salon Stylist 2022 winner Ryan Steedman decided to take the plunge and go freelance, we couldn’t help but reach out. Ryan’s been making major waves with his TV, editorial and event work – not to mention his experience creating trends with the ghd team, and his work with the legendary Sam McKnight’s team. 

Ryan created this fun and flirty up-do to tap into those ultra-relevant ‘90s vibes that your clients will go wild for. “I’m taking inspiration for the season from Pamela Anderson, but this look has been seen most recently on Kim Kardashian at the Dolce and Gabbana runway and it’s everywhere on the red carpet right now,” says Ryan. “This is the perfect look for the festive period.” 

Lights, camera… ACTION!

Step One  

Prep the hair for heat protection and volume. Ryan used ghd bodyguard throughout the hair, followed by L’Oréal Tecni.ART Pli on the roots for volume. 

Step Two 

Blow-dry by taking horizontal sections and a small round ceramic brush. Dry the hair with volume, turning under the end to encourage movement, then wrap and pin to set the hair and allow it to cool down. 

Step Three 

Once the hair has been pinned and cooled, remove the pins and brush out in different direction to keep ultimate volume in the hair. 

Step Four 

Take away hair from around the hairline to soften the style and keep movement around the face (you’ll come back to this later). 

Step Five 

Brush the remaining hair up above the crown area and use the cheekbones as a guideline of where to secure the ponytail. Take a hook band or a hair tie and secure a nice tight ponytail. Once this is in place, manipulate the hair around the base of the ponytail to create width and that effortless feel. 

Step Six 

Taking the ends of the ponytail, spray them with hairspray or heat protection spray – Ryan used Hair by Sam McKnight’s Modern Hairspray. Then wrap the hair around a medium tong, feeding in the ends to create a classic shape and pinning the curls in place to cool down and set once more. 

Step Seven 

Once the curls have cooled down remove the pins and brush out. As you brush out the curls, spray Hair By Sam Mcknight Easy Up Do or another dry texture spray. Then start to pin the hair in place, moving in a clockwise direction. Remember to leave the ends out to keep in line with that effortless feel. 

Step Eight 

Now the up-do is all pinned and in place, move onto the front sections you left out. Take a medium curling tong and wrap the hair away from the face holding the tong in a vertical direction, to keep length but encourage width. 

Step Nine 

Spray in place and use a shine spray to finish – or, for that extra festival fun, sprinkle in a little glitter (we all love glitter!) 

Looking for some more inspiration? >>