I am a basic b*tch. I’m not the pumpkin spice latte-drinking, Taylor Swift-loving, quotes the show “Friends” every chance she gets, type of basic b*tch, though. Instead, I’m a Kim Kardashian-loving, Hailey Bieber-following, Erewhon smoothie-drinking type of basic. I drool over the Kardashian’s makeup looks and hairstyles, and I get most of my outfit and manicure inspiration from Bieber. Sorry, not sorry. So, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that when I saw Chris Appleton – hairstylist to stars like J.Lo, Kim K, and Sofia Vergara – showing off a tutorial for how to get the wet hair look the Skims founder is known for, I watched it immediately no less than 10 times.
In the video, Appleton says he gets asked all the time how he creates the wet look that Kardashian pulls off so well. “First of all, you want to use some of the Extra Shine Spray ($29) by Color Wow,” Appleton says as he sprays it onto a model’s hair. From there, he uses a waving iron to get loose waves. “Just from roots to tip; you can either do braids or a crimping iron,” he adds.
“This is the secret sauceL the Color Wow Pop and Lock ($22),” he says while squirting product into his hands and then combing it through the model’s hair. “You saturate it from root to tip.” In the video, Appleton calls it a “controlled wet look” and says that it doesn’t actually feel wet but instead has a high shine and a little sparkle – but won’t feel greasy whatsoever. “Finish with some extra shine spray, and then pull one side back,” he says before showing off the final result, which looked absolutely perfect.
@chrisappletonhair How I create the oil wet look hair
Although I was seeing him complete the look with my own two eyes, I was still a little skeptical. It’s hard to know with social media videos what’s real and what isn’t, but I was game to give this one a try because it only required three products to get the job done. Although Appleton said you could braid the hair instead, I’m impatient, and I wanted to see waves immediately, so I opted to use the Mane 1.25″ Jumbo Hair Waver ($50).
I started with two-day-old dry, straight hair. I wanted to make sure my hair was protected from heat, so I spritzed on the Oribe Gold Lust Dry Heat Protection Spray ($46). I’m not as good as I should be when it comes to using heat protectants, but this one is easy to use because I can spray it on dry hair rather than needing to use it immediately out of the shower or on damp hair.
From there, I divided my hair into three sections, clipped the top two up, and then took the Color Wow Extra Mist-ical Shine Spray, shook it, and applied it onto the bottom section of my hair while holding it about eight inches from my head. (It was my first time using this product, but I immediately noticed the delicious smell.) Next, I started waving the bottom section of my hair using my Mane Jumbo Hair Waver.
After I was done with the first bottom section, I repeated the steps on the middle and top areas of hair. Then, it was time to go in with the “secret sauce,” the Color Wow Pop. I took about six pumps into my hands, rubbed my hands together to emulsify it, and then started raking it through my hair with my fingers. I was surprised to find that the texture wasn’t sticky. It gave my hair a wet look even though my hair didn’t feel wet at all.
I ended up needing another six pumps to get the other side of my hair saturated, but once I had enough product in, the final result was exactly as Appleton said it would be: a Kim Kardashian-worthy hairstyle that didn’t feel greasy or gross, but instead looked like it belonged on the head of a celebrity.
This isn’t a hairstyle I would wear every day, but I love it for nights when I’m going out with my girlfriends or to concerts. It’s especially perfect for the days I don’t want to wash my hair because I’m adding so much product into my hair that you can’t really see the oily roots underneath. In fact, I think a little oil makes the style look even more authentic.
Renee Rodriguez is a staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.
