If you have long hair, you can skip the bun, and just pull your hair back into a ponytail and bobby pin it up so it’s upside down on your head. If you go this route, curling the pieces in your ponytail before securing it can help create that rose-shaped bun that sits atop the French roll later on.
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Once you have your drawstring or natural ponytail secured, “take that hair you left out on the side, comb it across the drawstring ponytail, and pin it underneath the upside-down ponytail,” says Campo. “Make sure to use big bobby pins.” Once you have your roll in place take the pieces sticking out at the top and twist them into a bun, using more bobby pins to keep them in place. Lastly, from the section you parted in the front from the same side, take out about an inch of hair and comb it back (again, in the same direction as your roll) securing it with bobby pins. If you haven’t figured already you’ll need a lot of bobby pins for this look.
Remember the rest of that piece you left out in the front? “That remaining top section of hair can be styled in many different ways including a swoop side bang, a pompadour, or Shirley Temple curls,” says Savoy. “Think, ‘party in the front, business in the back!”
Mara S. Campo
Mara S. Campo
To keep all your hard work in place, you’ll want to spray your artful updo with holding spray. Campo used the Fantasia Spritz Mega Hold Spray; we love the Living Proof No Frizz Smooth Styling Spray which keeps fly-aways in place and adds an immovable, but moisturizing top coat to your hair.
As the final step, you’ll want to top it all with a sheen spray to add a bit of shine. “I love Luster’s Pink Oil spray,” says Campo. “You can’t have a French roll without this ‘90s Black hair staple.”
Savoy says this French roll hairstyle can last up to two weeks with no restyling required—but be sure to sleep with a hair scarf on at night. Speaking of sleep, you may have to sacrifice your favorite sleeping position while you have this style in. The vertical structure of the roll makes it hard to sleep on your back comfortably so the alternative is “sleeping on your sides or with your hands under your chin,” says Savoy. “We call it, ‘Sleeping Pretty.’”