Here's Exactly How Blake Lively’s Hairstylist Creates Her Magical Hair Looks

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How does Blake Lively's hair always look so damn good? Perhaps you've chalked it up to some enviable superpower (she does have a thing for superheroes) or a lineup of expensive haircare products, but the secret behind Blake Lively's iconic hairstyles is shockingly simple. 

"I don’t use a lot of products,"says Rod Ortega, her longtime hairstylist and the man behind some of her most famous, Pinterest-worthy looks. Instead, Ortega focuses on building the health of the hair — with a strong foundation, few products are actually necessary.

Ortega likens the approach to skincare before applying makeup — you have to start with a clean, healthy, nourished base in order to get a beautiful result. That means a solid shampoo and conditioner. 

"Everybody is about cleansing their face and purifying their face, but the same goes with hair," Ortega says. "Once you lay makeup on that face, if you have a great cleanser and a great toner, it goes on smooth and looks shiny and luminous. It’s the same thing for hair. You might just use hair and your fingers and your hair will look fabulous with no product and no iron. You balance, cleanse, treated it with a good product." 

When he does reach for styling product, it's incredibly minimal: Oil at the tips, a little volumizing spray, and setting spray here and there, depending on the style. This gives Ortega plenty of room for versatility, which is important on those days where Lively has five or more style changes. 

After you've got that part down, you can move onto technique. To help you out in that department, we asked Ortega to breakdown four of Lively's most popular hairstyles, all of which he created. Keep scrolling to find out how to recreate her '40s waves, that beachy texture, and more. 

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'40s Waves

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"What was iconic was the Savages premiere," Ortega said. "That’s what that led that whole '40s wave trends."

The key to acing this look and getting that shine? It all starts the Kiehl’s Silk Groom Serum, which he applies to the ends of the hair. "It’s protectant, and it really helps with the shine," Ortega notes. "The object is to not saturate it with silicone and alcohol. It tends to dry the hair and pull the moisture out. When you blow-dry, the heat will help penetrate the moisture [of the serum] into the hair."

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'60s Body with a Mod Headband

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For this '60s moment, you'll need a set of hot rollers and L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray, which Ortega loves because it provides a light hold, but is still brushable and doesn't leave the hair looking stiff. To get the look, he started by applying oil to the ends and blow-drying. Then, he put the hair in rollers and let them sit. When he took the hair out of the rollers, he brushed it out, sprayed it with hairspray, teased the hair at the crown of the head, and put on the headband. 

To eliminate hair looking crunchy from hairspray, Ortega says it's important to spray it and let it dry before gently brushing it out. 

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Beachy Waves

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When it comes to conquering Blake Lively's signature tousled beach waves, it's important to limit your product use. So don't go crazy with a sea salt spray.

While the process changes a bit depending on the climate or the final look, Ortega generally applies an oil or a cream at the ends of her hair and Christophe Robin's Instant Volumizing Mist with Rosewater at the root. Then, he'll blow-dry the hair using his fingers, or he'll lightly diffuse the hair. 

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Defined, Voluminous Curls

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After spraying her hair with volume spray and finger drying, Ortega brushes out Lively's hair to create some texture.

Ortega then uses the smallest barrel of the T3 Trio curling wand to curl small sections, wrapping the hair forwards and backwards over and over again. Finally, he lightly paddle brushes the hair and spritzed on a little more of the rosewater spray – nothing else. 

"You don’t need to bring 20 liquids," Ortega says. "The less, the best. It’s what I’ve found and that’s what I like. I like the hair light."

 

 

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