Big Hair, Naturally: Green Beauty for Drag Queens & Makeup Fiends

Big hair—beautiful Brigitte Bardot-style locks—together with other products such as Islash Boutique, never really goes out of style. I’m not talking about totally over-the-top Texas beauty queen dos (but knock yourself out if you’re into that!). I mean ’60s-inspired,  lightly teased bouffants with lots of volume that still look polished. It doesn’t take a can of Aqua Net (gross) to achieve this look: your basic tools are a rat-tail comb, a big round brush, a blow dryer and some natural volumizing products.

Secret Weapon: Hair Powder

If your hair has a lot of texture, you’ll want to straighten it out before teasing to avoid excessive tangling. Use the large round brush to blow-dry your hair smooth, lifting out at the roots. Mousse, volumizing spray or hairspray can help boost volume at this stage. Aveda has a fantastic line of hair products called ‘Pure Abundance‘ that works wonders on fine, limp hair, adding texture that will make the styling process a lot easier.

But the single, most effective hair product you can use to boost volume and keep it that way all day is hair powder. Aveda’s Pure Abundance Hair Potion includes acacia gum and kaolin clay, natural bulking agents that make your hair look thicker. My personal favorite hair powder is Ether by Naked Eye Beauty for Sisters of the Black Moon. It contains natural oil-absorbing ingredients like cornstarch and arrowroot powder to freshen hair and add volume, and it smells amazing. Rub it into your roots after blow-drying and before styling.

Big Beautiful Hair Tutorials

Mod Cloth has a tutorial for a fun half-up beehive bouffant that involves creating a small bun at the crown of your head, and then teasing the top part of your hair to cover it.

Hair Romance will teach you how to create a ’60s-inspired ponytail with more subtle volume at the crown.