Royal Stylist Shares the Surprising (and Easy!) TikTok Hair Hack for Perfect Kate Middleton Waves

Kate Middleton’s new hairstyle may be easier to create than you think!

The chic royal mom recently debuted a fresh look for fall: curtain bangs and tousled waves longer than ever.

“I think it added softness around her face and lifted her hair,” Michael Van Clarke, an award-winning hairstylist who styled Princess Diana in the 1980s, tells PEOPLE. “Fringes require a little more maintenance to style, but they’re very versatile.”

Although achieving fringes is harder than it looks, loose waves can be styled using a variety of techniques.

“You have to use big tongs, flat irons or – even better – use a no-heat version by wrapping your hair around soft sponge rollers or even a toweling robe belt, a technique you see a lot on TikTok! It’s actually very easy to do! It’s basically replicating the old idea of ​​wrapping your hair in rags, but it works,” he says.

Kate Middleton visiting children with special educational needs in Sittingbourne, UK on September 27, 2023.

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Kate Middleton showed new bangs! See photos of the Princess of Wales fringe from every angle

When it comes to middle- and side-parted bangs, Van Clarke, who has run his eponymous salon in London’s Marylebone for more than 35 years, says less is more: “I would use a hairdryer and a round brush, but a heated brush can be easier at home. Just be careful not to add too much curl. This Princess of Wales look is subtle — it should look like it’s falling naturally.”

As with most styles, a lot of the work is in the preparation.

“I would use a product like my Eureka! Blowdry Balm, which works as a heat protectant, shine booster, and curl booster—you put it on wet hair, brush it, and style it,” he says.

For those not blessed with Kate’s thick, shiny locks, he also recommends his Thicker Quicker Blow Dry Spay “to go after heat protection.”

Kate Middleton at Bisham Abbey National Sports Center with SportsAid on October 12, 2023.

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Having styled many European royals throughout his career, Van Clarke, known for his dry cutting technique, says he understands why many royals opt for longer hair.

“I think long hair is more reliable, it’s more likely to keep doing what it’s supposed to do, and once you blow dry it, the weight of it helps hold the style,” she explains.

Princess Kate, known for her signature big blowout, has been a client of Richard Ward since her university days and has been loyal to the salon ever since. In 2015, she debuted a darker, shoulder-length style, again with side-swept bangs. At the time, her stylist Ward told PEOPLE, “It’s a practical style and a great option for the mom who has long hair, who has a busy life and doesn’t have time—it’s a little more sophisticated, but with all the benefits of long hair.”

Kate Middleton’s best hair looks through the years

Kate Middleton visits Action on Addiction in Wiltshire in 2015.

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Although her “royal hair” was the shortest Kate’s hair we’ve ever seen, she’s experimented with bangs on numerous occasions. She even graduated from the University of St. Andrews 2005 with slight side bangs.

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Kate Middleton at the graduation ceremony at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland on June 23, 2005.

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“She has good hair and keeps it really well,” says Van Clarke, winner of 16 British hairdressing awards. “What’s nice is that when the hair comes back, it looks much softer in the front – that’s a positive change.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education