Black Hairstyles

By Instyle
Updated Mar 04, 2015 @ 6:50 pm
Sara De Boer/Retna

Black Hairstyles

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1 of 12

Zoe Saldana

Jason Merritt/Getty
  • THE LOOK Hollywood Waves
  • HOW-TO Hairstylist Mara Roszak, who created this look for Saldana, calls it "a modern day Jessica Rabbit inspired by old Hollywood." She applied foaming mousse to damp hair, parted it to one side and blew dry with a round brush. Roszak then curled one-inch sections which she pinned to the scalp for ten minutes. She removed the pins, gently brushed and pulled one side back behind Saldana’s ear. She finished with a mist of hairspray.
  • INSIDER TRICK Use a small drop of anti-frizz creme to flatten roots and tame any flyaways.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW TRESemme 24 Hour Body Foaming Mousse, $4.99; walgreens.com
  • Try on Zoe's many styles now!
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2 of 12

Rihanna

Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic
  • THE LOOK Mini pomadour
  • HOW-TO “Rihanna's hair was between lengths here-a little bit like a grown-out pixie," says her hairstylist, Ursula Stephens. She tightly coiled the hair on top with a curling iron, and finished with pomade for hold. "I didn't even take any of the curl out because I wanted that pompadour effect,” she says.
  • INSIDER TRICK Slick down the sides of the hair with a bit of pomade to accentuate the volume on top.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Motions At Home Shine Enhancing Pomade, select retailers; motionshair.com
  • Try on Rihanna's many styles now!

3 of 12

Taraji Henson

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
  • THE LOOK Modern Day Mullet
  • HOW TO Hairstylist Dante Blandshaw washed and conditioned Henson’s hair, then dried it under a hooded blow dryer. “Then I flatironed it, adding bending at the tips,” says Blandshaw. To finish, he curled the hair throughout in different directions and break up the curls with his fingers.
  • INSIDER TRICK “Aveda's Air Control Hairspray is the secret to getting that just got out of bed look,” he says.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Aveda Air Control Hairspray, $7.50; aveda.com
  • Try on Taraji's hair now!
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4 of 12

Halle Berry

John Spellman/Retna
  • THE LOOK Soft bangs with long loose curls
  • HOW TO Mara Roszak applied a smoothing cream on Berry’s wet hair before blow drying with a boar bristle brush, giving strands a slight bend on the ends. “Then I curled all of her hair, twisting the spirals away from her face, but left the bangs alone,” she says. She kept the height on the top of the head, but lightly pulled back the sides, and secured with bobby pins. A mist of hairspray kept the look in place.
  • INSIDER TIP “The curve of your bangs should follow the shape of your forehead so you don’t get a bubble effect,” says Roszak.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW TRESemme Anti-Frizz Secret Smothing Creme, $4.75; drugstore.com
  • Try on Halle's hair now!

5 of 12

Beyonce

Denise Truscello/WireImage
  • THE LOOK Wild curls
  • HOW-TO "Starting on wet hair, I used a quarter-size amount of Kimble Hair Care Systems Leave-In Conditioning Styling Serum,” says Beyonce’s stylist Kimberly Kimble. “It defrizzes the hair and holds the curl.” When the hair was partially dry, she diffused the rest for texture. Then, she wrapped small sections around a one-inch curling iron for tight spirals.
  • INSIDER TRICK “Once you’re finished curling hair with iron, use your fingers to gently separate the curls,” explains Kimble.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Leave-In Conditioning Styling Serum, $13, kimblehaircare.com.
  • Try on Beyonce's hair now!

6 of 12

Mary J. Blige

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
  • THE LOOK Above-the-ear bob with bangs
  • HOW-TO Apply a relaxing gel to wet hair. Using a large nylon-bristled brush, pull two-inch sections of hair taut and blow-dry aiming the nozzle down in order to get the hair straight. "Use a small round brush to smooth out ends and give a little flip to the bangs without making them poufy," says stylist Joaquin Hortal of N.Y.C.'s NAO salon.
  • INSIDER TRICK "Nylon brushes are best for managing super thick hair," says Hortal.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Spornette Provo Tourmaline Round Brush Series, $14; www.folica.com.
  • Try on Mary's hair now!
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7 of 12

Jennifer Hudson

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
  • THE LOOK Beveled bob
  • HOW-TO Start with clean, wet hair, says stylist Jim Wayne. “If you have fine hair, add a thickening spray,” he advises. Then use a nylon bristled round brush to blow-dry. “If you have thick hair, you’ll want to use a flat iron after to achieve the slanted look,” Wayne says.
  • INSIDER TRICK “If you put in too much curl when drying, rake your fingers through the hair,” says Wayne. “This gives a straighter but keeps some fullness and volume.”
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Conair Tourmaline Ceramic Nylon Round Brush, $8.69; drugstore.com
  • Try on Jennifer's hair now!

8 of 12

Joy Bryant

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage
  • THE LOOK Soft waves
  • HOW-TO "Apply blow dry spray through the length of the hair, paying special attention around the scalp,” says hairstylist Ted Gibson, who created this look for Bryant. “After blow drying, I used a small curling iron to create soft waves." He finished with heavy duty hairspray to hold the look in place.
  • INSIDER TRICK “I use clip-in extensions to add volume and texture,” says Gibson.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Ted Gibson Build It, $20; beauty.com
  • Try on Joy's hair now!

9 of 12

Eve

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
  • THE LOOK Asymmetrical rocker ‘do
  • HOW-TO “Blow dry with a round brush and build volume from the root,” says hairstylist Kim Kimble, who has styled Eve’s hair in the past. Before flatironing, she spritzed hairspray at the root to hold volume without making hair stiff. Rubbing a small amount of Kimble Hair Butter between her hands, she pulled all of the hair to one side, and finger-styled strands around the face for texture and separation.
  • INSIDER TRICK Kimble Shape & Hold Spritz, $11; target.com.
  • Try on Eve's hair now!
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10 of 12

Taraji Henson

Jason Merritt/Getty Images
  • THE LOOK Layered bob
  • HOW-TO Hairstylist Dante Blandshaw of Warren Tricomi applied a leave-in conditioner to Henson's clean hair. “To make hair really straight, I blew her hair dry, then followed up with a flatiron” says Blandshaw. He finished by parting it low and on the side, bending the ends slightly with a 2-inch barrel curling iron, and using a silicone based serum for shine.
  • INSIDER TRICK "Blow dry hair with the ceramic comb attachment to get it as straight as possible,” says Blandshaw.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Redken Glass 01 Smoothing Serum, $18, folica.com.
  • Try on Taraji's hair now!

11 of 12

Kerry Washington

Jean Baptiste Lacroix/FilmMagic
  • THE LOOK Voluminous curls
  • HOW-TO “Always start with volumizing shampoo and conditioner,” says celebrity hairstylist Daniel Fortunato. “It’s a great way to add texture to the roots.” Then spray hair from scalp to ends with mousse and blow it out with a round brush. Once each section is dry, put hair in hot rollers. Before removing them, spritz hair with hairspray to avoid frizz.
  • INSIDER TRICK “When blow drying, pull hair up, and dry the roots vertically for added height,” says Fortunato.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Kerastase Mousse Volumactive, $34; kerastase-usa.com
  • Try on Kerry's hair now!

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Tyra Banks

Sara De Boer/Retna
  • THE LOOK Long sculpted waves
  • HOW-TO “Working with one-inch sections, I created ringlets around the entire head with a curling iron," says Lawrence Davis, who styled this look for Banks. After spritzing each section with hairspray, Davis brushed gently through the spirals to form soft waves. “To finish, I misted with Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Shine amp Define Spray,” he says.
  • INSIDER TRICK “Adding curls or waves to existing layers in the hair adds so much volume,” explains Davis.
  • BUY ONLINE NOW Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Shine & Define Spray, $29.95; folica.com
  • Try on Tyra's hair now!
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