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Beauty Tutorial: The Trendy Topknot

April 11, 2013 By Lena

I’m a huge fan of hairstyles that look chic and effortless. Unfortunately, these are often the styles I spend the most amount of time putting effort into. They include:

a) beachy waves
b) volumninous bed hair
c) tousled waves
d) unstructured topknots

I firmly believe that anyone who believes women can “roll out of bed and look gorgeous”… is a man.

Case in point: tousled waves. For me to achieve tousled waves, I normally have to blowdry my baby-fine wavy hair straight with copious amounts of volumnizing spray. Next, I ruin all that straightening work by putting a curling iron to my hair; reconstructing the curls section by section. Next, I’ll pin the curls up and secure them with bobby pins, spritzing a setting spray and allowing them to dry. Finally, I’ll comb out the curls, strategically placing the pieces to frame my face. (Once in a while I’ll hit it with dry shampoo as well to give a tousled and bed hair feel.) Et voila! “Effortless” tousled waves.

And so when the recent topknot craze swept Hollywood by storm, I questioned the “effortless” factor.

Thankfully, Dove Celebrity Stylist Mark Townsend, who created Rachel McAdams ‘do for the premiere of To the Wonder, breaks down the hairstyle for us:

“For the To the Wonder screening I created a fun topknot for Rachel McAdams. I love a topknot and I am so happy this trend is sticking around; they are young, cool and super modern. To keep a topknot looking more chic and polished (instead of like you just left the gym) follow these easy steps:

1. I started by spraying the Dove Refresh +Care Invigorating Dry Shampoo on Rachel’s dry hair, focusing at the root. This dry shampoo is amazing at giving you a clean scalp and also amazing texture.

2. Next, I raked a dime size amount of Dove Colour Care Leave On Conditioner through Rachel’s newly dyed hair to condition and add lots of shine before gathering her hair just in front of the crown of the head and pulling it into a ponytail.

3. I sprayed Sally Hershberger Genius Spray Wax into the ponytail to give the hair rich texture and then twisted the hair around the base of the ponytail, tucking the ends under the knot to hide them away and then secured with 12 bobby pins. I always make an X with two bobby pins when securing, and I always spray dry shampoo on them for extra security (the starch in the dry shampoo sticks to the pins and gives them a matte finish and creates a little extra friction with the hair for tighter hold).

4. When the knot was secured, I pulled out some flyaway hairs to soften the hair around the knot. To add to the look, I used a strip of black satin as a headband.”

Okay ladies, are you taking notes? For the topknot trend, be sure you’re armed with dry shampoo, leave-in conditioner, spray wax and perhaps a little hairspray to keep everything in place.

I love the addition of the thin satin headband to add a little interest to the hairstyle. The best part? You really can’t go wrong, because the unstructured topknot is just that – unstructured. For more information on the latest from Dove Hair, visit their Facebook page.

Filed Under: Beauty, Fashion Tagged With: celebrity hairstyles, Dove Canada, topknot tutorial, trendy hairstyles

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anne Taylor

    April 11, 2013 at 11:44 am

    I really love this look! I actually wear my hair like this every day, mind you it doesn’t look as stylish as any of these beautiful women’s hair!

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:17 pm

      Love that you wear it often!

  2. Lisa H

    April 11, 2013 at 2:46 pm

    Im not a fan of this style – looks like wearing the Eiffel tower on your head ;p
    Now dont get me wrong, I love a messy bun but placed farther back on the head

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:17 pm

      Hahaha Eiffel Tower – you’re too funny!

  3. Kat E.

    April 11, 2013 at 3:11 pm

    I’m not totally loving this style either. The low messy one on Julianne is okay, but when it gets too high, I think it looks weird.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:18 pm

      I don’t think anyone should EVER wear it like Kelly Osbourne.

  4. Soozle

    April 11, 2013 at 7:11 pm

    Ehhhhh.. I don’t know.. I have personally thought the topknot was great for the gym/housework but not a fancy evening look… It just doesn’t seem to match with the gowns to me.. :-/

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:18 pm

      Great observation! I think it’s more of a “going out to lunch with friends” kind of style too.

  5. NT

    April 11, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    Ha! I actually wore a topknot for my prom many moons ago. Love it on Rachel McAdams.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:19 pm

      Wow! You are obviously very fashion forward :)

  6. Priscilla

    April 12, 2013 at 8:38 am

    So much chemicals on hair?! I would loose all my hair that I am trying hard to save – strand by strand! This hairstyle…mmmm…I like buns..but they sit too high on the head.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      Oh my Priscilla… you would be astonished if you knew how many chemicals I put on my hair… OMG.

  7. Debbie Bashford

    April 12, 2013 at 9:24 am

    I just cut my hair short, but I wore my hair lower and on the back of my head, not sure I like this style

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      I like short hair too!

  8. Teresa C.

    April 14, 2013 at 1:04 am

    I love this hairstyle! I just had about 4″ cut off so I don’t think I could place it on top but maybe a little lower. I wear my hair like that a lot in the summer because my hair is still long and so thick.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      Jealous that you have long, thick hair :)

  9. amy lovell

    April 14, 2013 at 9:08 am

    great tips thanks

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:20 pm

      You’re welcome!

  10. Amy Heffernan

    April 14, 2013 at 9:57 am

    Don;t like this look at all!

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Another vote for no! Thanks for weighing in!

  11. Victoria Ess

    April 14, 2013 at 10:16 am

    I feel like you just described my process of getting effortless waves in my hair.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Hahaha right??? Effortless… no way!

  12. mrdisco

    April 14, 2013 at 12:03 pm

    not a fan of those hairstyles. They look like Hershey Kisses.

    • Holly

      April 14, 2013 at 9:17 pm

      lol, they do!

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Hahaha nice observation!

  13. denise

    April 14, 2013 at 5:43 pm

    this is the first time i have heard of top knot hair styles

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:21 pm

      Really? Happy to introduce you, then!

  14. Joanna

    April 14, 2013 at 6:07 pm

    I love this look! I’m still trying to perfect it for days I don’t feel like letting my hair down…

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:22 pm

      I’m trying to perfect it too, but it’s not working for me yet….

  15. Tammy M

    April 14, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    Great tips! Thanks for these, I have long hair and I’m always looking for new styles.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:22 pm

      You’re welcome Tammy!

  16. caryn s

    April 15, 2013 at 6:43 pm

    Can’t say that i would ever wear my hair in this style. These ladies are all beautiful but the hair is a little too much for me!

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      :) Looks like we have an even split between yays and nays.

  17. Krystal Waters

    April 16, 2013 at 6:31 pm

    I only like the top one on the far left. Kelly’s is just too tall. These styles are so “in” right now, my teenage daughter loves the messy bun.

    • Lena

      April 17, 2013 at 12:23 pm

      And that’s how we know it’s popular – when the teens take over the style!

  18. southernbelle

    April 17, 2013 at 7:43 pm

    i looove this look too, but i wish she would’ve made it a bit more structured. this look would be perfect for a dinner date or out with friends, but a movie premiere? thank goodness she had such a fabulously fancy dress on to save her whole look! i personally love this look and wear it often- love playing with headbands and different accessories! i finally found success with the hunny bun…my bun/top knot would be a bust without it!

    • Lena

      April 19, 2013 at 9:08 pm

      LOVE that you found success with it, and that you experiment with headbands!

  19. Debbie Bashford

    April 20, 2013 at 10:25 am

    yeah, I still don’t like it

  20. Karen

    August 12, 2013 at 7:20 am

    I hate the topknot. This looks like a deflated, sloppy, lazy-person’s version of the BeeHive. I would rather be caught with my go-to ponytail than this glaringly obvious (yet nobody seems to notice?) fashion faux-pas and hair-DON’T.

  21. Susan T.

    February 27, 2014 at 3:16 pm

    I’m not loving this look! It is what I look like in the bathtub! Lol!

  22. Debbie White Beattie

    September 14, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    This post is from 4 years ago but the content is still great !! The topknot trend isn’t going anywhere because it’s a really cute hairstyle.

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Lena Almeida

Toronto Blogger, Social Media Strategist for Listen to Lena Inc. Television & Radio Personality, Columnist and Speaker. Family Travel Expert. Star Wars Fanatic. Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion. Read More…

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