EXCLUSIVE: How to recreate Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's incredible Cannes film festival hairstyle

Publish date: 2024-07-13

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This year's Cannes Film Festival has been a fantastic source of celebrity fashion and glamour. A celebration of cinema, the stars take turns in walking the red carpet setting plenty of beauty trends along the way.

One such star being supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Seen at the Croisette wearing a particularly striking Victoria Beckham jumpsuit and earrings by Tiffany & Co., she wore her hair slicked back into a style we want to recreate all summer-long so, we asked her hairstylist exactly how he created the incredible look. 

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Behind every incredible Cannes look is a team of expert makeup and hairstylists and Rosie's was no exception. Her luxe-looking, slicked back bun was created by celebrity hairstylist Christian Wood, an expert in expensive looking hair and thankfully for us copycats, he was kind enough to walk us through his exact steps in creating the look. 

How to recreate Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's Cannes bun:

Healthy hair is key

"No glam is possible without a healthy foundation," says Christian. Looking after your hair through nutrition and great products is essential for healthy hair growth. "Hence why my constant pre-carpet care tip is always scalp care. My go-to is Champo's Pitta Growth Serum, which is clinically proven to reduce hair loss and shedding and visibly improve hair's thickness and fullness."

Prepare the hair

"For Rosie's hair, I started by applying the Champo Leave-In Perfecting Cream on 50 per cent damp hair. Then added a layer of the 'Weightless Hair Oil' from root to tip. This will give you the perfect amount of shine and sleekness for a snatched up-do while also leaving the hair very malleable so you can get a sleek and bump free finish. 

"Using products like gel or mousse which dry super fast doesn’t leave you with much room for mistakes. I also think using products that have treatment benefits is great tip while do a sleek 'do. It’s like a mini treatment on the hair while it’s up leaving it perfect for a next day glossy down look."

READ: Cannes Film Festival 2024: the best street style looks

MORE: Cannes Film Festival: the 20 best beauty looks of all time

Style time

With hair fully prepped, Christian created Rosie's middle part: "Using a tail comb I added a sharp centre part lining up the part with the tail comb between the brows as the starting point. Then, using a Mason Pearson I brushed the hair into a ponytail slightly lifting the sides while working which alway's works well for a red carpet as this slightly lifts the eye. It takes about five minutes of continuous brushing to remove any bumps to achieve a sleek smooth finish."

When all bumps were smoothed, "I secured the ponytail with a snag free band and blow dried the ponytail straight using a brush before running some GHD hair straighteners through the ponytail," says Christian. "I then twisted the hair into a figure of 8 bun securing with pins for all night security. 

Leaving the ends out of the pony to a "modern twist" Christian then added a little more hair oil on the ends to leave hair extra shiny. 

Finishing touches

No red carpet hairstyle is without a spritz of hairspray to lock it all into place. "I finished Rosie's hair with a blast of hairspray all over the hair and used a clean toothbrush to remove flyaways and imperfections," says Christian. 

Et voila. Hair worthy of a red carpet in Cannes. 

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