It's not abnormal for Lizzo [1] to hit a red carpet wearing a jaw-dropping gown paired with an even more stunning hairstyle to match, but when the singer attended the Billboard Music Awards on Oct. 14, she let her dress and nails do all the talking, pulling her hair back into a sleek ponytail instead.
For the event, Lizzo [2] came dressed in Christian Siriano's now-iconic "Vote" dress [3], a black, one-shoulder mini-dress with the word "Vote" printed on it in all-capital white letters. She matched the dress with an equally-powerful manicure [4]. Celebrity hairstylist Shelby Swain [5] styled the singer's hair for the award show, telling POPSUGAR that she decided on a low-maintenance look to avoid taking away from the important message that her dress and nails were both driving home.
"Since Lizzo was wearing a dope statement dress tonight with a very important message, we wanted to make sure her hair was slicked back off her face so we could let the dress shine," she said. "We wanted something sleek and simple but still super edgy."
Swain created a slicked down, wraparound ponytail look for Lizzo [6] with a chunky bang and extensions that flowed all the way down to her waist — a style she decided on after weighing in with the singer's team. "Lizzo is always down to let me create," she said. "I love that about her, she totally trusts me and my vision. We chatted with her and the whole glam team about options, but ultimately she let me go with my gut on this look."
For a style like this, a major key, according to Swain, is making sure you have a trusty hairspray on hand to keep every single strand in place. Her favourite is the Dove Style + Care Compressed Micro Mist Extra Hold Hairspray [7] ($5) because "it truly secures any style in place without a crunchy or flaky feel."
Swain added, "Also, bobby pins! Bobby pins are my best friends." If you're interested in re-creating Lizzo's sleek, waist-length ponytail, read ahead.
Step 1: Start with clean and detangled hair. Then blow it out (Swain used the GHD Helios Professional Hair Dryer [8] ($249)) before pulling it together into a super tight, high ponytail. Leave out a chunky section of the hair in the front.
Step 2: Take a long, flowy ponytail (like one of these [9] from Bellami hair) and secure it to the high ponytail you've already created. Add extra shine to the ponytail and protect it from frizz and/or flyaways by spraying it with a generous amount of Dove Style & Care Smooth & Shine Heat Protection Spray [10] ($5).
Step 3: Straighten the ponytail (Swain used the GHD Platinum+ Styler [11] ($259)), then use a curling iron (GHD Curve Soft Curl Iron [12] ($199)) to create a soft wave a the end of the ponytail. Then curl the bang left out in the front of your head.
Step 4: Finish with Dove Style + Care Compressed Micro Mist Extra Hold Hairspray [13] ($5) to ensure your hair holds all throughout the night.