Perfect ponytail styling tips from Anthony Nader

Anthony Nader flew in from New York to style the hair for the Gary Bigeni show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia and gave me his secret tips for styling the perfect ponytail.

Your hair is your best accessory, and it should be the perfect complement to your style. Gary Bigeni’s graphic new summer collection needed simple, beautiful hair. A perennial runway favourite, the ponytail is a classic that never goes out of style.

Behind the scenes

Anthony kept the low ponytail because he wanted it to look restrained. “We didn’t put the ponytail on the crown because when you walk the tail will swing which is playful, and we didn’t want playful, we wanted serious.” The front is defined by a deep side part. Anthony says “what I like about a deep side part is that it is dramatic and I think it adds a little bit more sexiness.”

Backstage styling secrets

You’ll never believe the tricks Anthony Nader has to style a runway ready sleek ponytail.

A blush brush – recycle your old blush brush, or keep a second brush for taming those fine hairs. Anthony never sprays hairspray directly onto the hair. Instead spray it onto the brush.  This allows you to control the amount of product and evenly distribute it on your hair. Then lightly sweep the brush over your hair to catch those stray flyaways.

A toothbrush – tidy up a stubborn hairline with a toothbrush. Spray some hairspray onto the brush head and use the firmer bristles to put your hair in place. A tiny head works best so you can tidy those baby hairs without disturbing the rest of your hairstyle.

Tissue – take a tissue (or even toilet paper!), fold it in two and pin in place to catch any flyaways. Don’t forget to remove it before you go out.

Dry wax – Anthony loves KMS Dry Wax Spray as it has a matte finish and workable texture. Rather than lacquer sprays or oils that can leave the hair looking translucent, Anthony loves the matte finish that leaves hair looking thicker and fuller.

The finished look

A bold red lip, Napoleon DeVine Goddess lipstick in Aphrodite to be exact, finished the strong modern aesthetic that complements Gary Bigeni’s covetable summer collection. The rest of the face is kept quite bare with some subtle contouring and defined brows.

Several pieces from the Gary Bigeni show are going straight to my shopping list. The best thing about hair trends is that you don’t need to wait for them to land in store to try them out.

Have you ever tried the toothbrush trick on your hair?

Images by Hair Romance, runway image by Lucas Dawson