‘Dos to Zoom Into
5 Easy Videoconference-Friendly Styles for Every Hair Type
As we work out new ways of working while staying in, the new reality of doing business has us spread thinly across different platforms more than ever before. Seemingly overnight, we’re juggling multiple contents across different tabs with an e-mail client open as we’re sending out Zoom invites via instant messaging right before a scheduled teleconference call! Phew!
Adjusting to the new work-from-home landscape can be especially disorienting for those of us navigating it for the first time and negotiating the new boundaries between our home and work life. And just when you think you’re finally getting the hang of this quarantine work-life – sitting there in your pj’s with your laptop and a fresh cup of coffee – an impromptu conference call that actually requires you to be on video snaps you out of your comfort zone. What to do?!
Unsurprisingly, not every hairstyle is videoconference-friendly. Fuzzy backgrounds and spotty connections can exacerbate the appearance of frizz. Poor laptop angles too quickly throw us under the bus. And lousy lighting breeds bad optics, leaving little room for negotiating that look.
Fortunately, we did the hard work for you. Fearlessly zoom into that next conference call with these tried and tested looks that are simple, real-time video-friendly, and incredibly practical too!
1. JUST GOT UP-DO
Perfect For: Medium to Long Hair
Whether you’re up and early or just got out of bed, you can’t go wrong with the classic updo. Work that Markle magic with a royally chic chignon or confidently channel hair icon, Chrissy Teigen, with a top-notch top knot!
For an easy chignon, celebrity hairstylist Jonathan Colombini[1] recommends starting off with a low pony. Take the base of your ponytail and start twisting it clockwise until fully twisted from the base to the tail. In the same clockwise motion, carefully wrap the twisted pony around the base of your ponytail until the whole length is wrapped in a bun. Wear it loose and casual by adjusting the tightness of the wrap and then secure everything in place with a hair tie and bobby pins. Feeling a little extra? Add a touch of romance by leaving some loose strands in the front to frame your face.
Sweep everything off your face with a top-notch top knot and follow celebrity hairstylist (and Chrissy Teigen BFF) Jen Atkin’s quick tips. Apply a little texturizer like Enjoy Haircare’s Texture or Kérastase’s Eau de Vagues Travel-Size Beach Wave Spray throughout your hair and flip upside down. With your hair and head facing down, gather your hair to a high pony and secure with an elastic band. Make sure your top knot is perfectly centered then use a flexible to medium hold hairspray like Kérastase’s Laque Couture Hair Spray to smooth your baby hairs and ponytail out. Finish by tying an actual knot with your ponytail, using hairpins to secure it around the base.
2. Business Braids
Perfect For: Medium and Long Hair
Let them know you mean business by whipping out some serious braids! Perfect for hiding frizz and flyaways, the time-honored braid has been taming wild manes for centuries – literally. Hair historians have, in fact, noted the presence of braided hair that looks like cornrows in sculptures of Indian gods from the 1st century BCE![2] Get straight to business with a hairstyle that’s been perfected through the ages.
Renowned hairstylist and braid whisperer James Pecis suggests a simple French braid undo for a quick back-in-business look. Introduce some lift and texture to hair by applying a texturizer like Enjoy Haircare’s Texture Cream to damp hair. Blow-dry hair to soft waves. If you have naturally straight hair, run through your hair with Kérastase’s L’incroyable Blowdry Hair Lotion and quickly use a curling iron when dry to style some loose waves.
Create a casual side parting and take a section of hair from both sides of the parting, creating three sections and starting a loose French braid. Once you’ve braided through the length of the hair, secure with an elastic hair tie. Reach your fingers behind the braided area right above the nape of your neck and feel out space underneath. Gently roll the length of the braid inwards towards the direction of your neck until you can tuck it inside the space behind the braided area near the nape of your neck. Secure with bobby pins and a medium to firm hold hairspray like Kérastase’s Laque Noire Hair Spray.
3. HALF-UP HALF-DOWN
Perfect For: Short, Medium and Long Hair
Let your inner Markle sparkle with another royally-inspired do! Go full-on with the half-up, half-down hairstyle that lets you mix casual with professional in this clean, but wonderfully stylish look.
Infuse some lift and volume to hair by applying a dry shampoo like Kérastase’s Fresh Affair Dry Shampoo for all hair types or Ouidad’s Advanced Climate Control® Featherlight Styling Cream for frizz-prone wavy or curly hair types to the crown of the hair. Gather the top portion of your hair and make one small ponytail, secured with an elastic hair tie. Carefully divide the ponytail down the middle and loop the bottom through.
4. STRATEGIC SCARF
Perfect For: Short, Medium and Long Hair
French celebrity hairstylist and entrepreneur Frédéric Fekkai is making it easy for you to roll out of bed and straight into work mode with this Pinterest board of fabulous headscarf looks. There’s one for every hair type (from Type 1 to Type 4) and for every length (from a pixie cut to rapunzel length locks)!
Whether you’re chasing time or just aching to accessorize, the strategic scarf look is the perfect go-to. An added bonus? If, like most of us, you haven’t been to the hair salon or seen your hair colorist because you’re doing your bit to flatten the curve, hide those grown-out roots behind your favorite scarf or headband!
For a natural head wrap look that’s perfect for all types, from straight to textured black hair, comb through the front part and base of your hair with a styling product like Ouidad’s VitalCurl™+ Define & Shine Styling Gel-Cream to lay down any frizz or baby hair. Gather into a tight ponytail and tie it back into a cute low pony or bun. Grab your scarf or head wrap and place it on your head until you’re satisfied with how it’s laid.
Once you get it in place, take both ends of your scarf and tie it back under your low pony or bun. Once secured, pull the extra fabric from the middle of your scarf over your bun. Take the two tied ends of your scarf and start twisting both until they’re taut all the way through. Once fully twisted, begin wrapping around the area with the fabric covering your bun, crisscrossing around the bun, tying it, and tucking it under your headscarf.
5. HIGH PONY
Perfect For: Medium and Long Hair
Ever since Rugrats’ Charlotte Pickles debuted the taut high pony, this ‘do has been the definitive look for many an iconic boss girl out there. JLo. Kim K. Even Beyoncé. But to achieve THE ultimate high pony to end all high ponies, who better to turn to than celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton, AKA the man who brought Arianna Grande’s iconic towering ponytail to life.
In his ultimate masterclass, Appleton gives us the lowdown on the much-coveted voluminous Ari pony. Start off with some hairspray throughout the roots to break up the hair a little bit to get a nice clean finish. Dress the hair up to a high ponytail, getting the hair as high as possible by leaning your head upside down and gathering your hair into a ponytail as high up as you want. To secure, use a bungee cord in your roots and hook it underneath, wrapping around your ponytail. Take a second elastic hair tie and tie it around the base and lock it over the top.
Take a third elastic and tie it around the pony about half an inch above the second elastic band you just wrapped around the base. Spray a firm to extreme hold hairspray like Kérastase’s Laque Extrême Hair Spray on a toothbrush and comb through the front of the head to the base of the pony in the direction of your eye line. Finish with a finishing spray like Enjoy Haircare’s Super Hold Hair Finishing Spray.
We hope you’ve found at least one practical ‘do you can quickly do among these celebrity stylist approved looks. If we missed a look, you love, feel free to share, and DM us on Instagram!
And hey, if all else fails… the potato filter always works.
my boss turned herself into a potato on our Microsoft teams meeting and can’t figure out how to turn the setting off, so she was just stuck like this the entire meeting pic.twitter.com/uHLgJUOsXk
— Rachele with an e but pronounced Rachel (@PettyClegg) March 30, 2020