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How does someone's beauty “thing” become their beauty “thing”? That’s the question we’re posing to celebrities and their beauty pros in our new series, Just One Thing. Of course, journalists that we are, we’re also taking the opportunity to ask about the one product that helps keep their thing… thing-ing.
This time around, we caught up with hairstylist Scott King, who has tended to Sabrina Carpenter's famously bouncy hair on-stage (Coachella), on-screen (her just-dropped “Taste” music video), and on the red carpet (the Vanity Fair Oscar Party). Just a few weeks before he joins her on the Short n' Sweet tour—and prior to the announcement of her new role as celebrity ambassador for Redken—he took some time to answer the beauty question that's been on our minds all summer: How do Sabrina's bangs always look so darn good?
The first time I worked with Sabrina was nine years ago; it was for a photoshoot for an online magazine. I remember it was the day before her sweet 16. It’s crazy to have seen her grow from that to where she is now.
Back then, her hair was long, thick, very beachy... It was similar to [the vibe of] her character at the time on Girl Meets World. Bangs came into the picture only three or four years ago for the Emails I Can't Send album. I don't [cut] her bangs—her colorist and the person who cuts her hair, Laurie Heaps, who worked with her on Girl Meets World, does—so it was just a new look one day when I saw her. I feel like the bangs definitely started a new era for Sabrina and a new form of self-confidence came out.
I think curtain bangs work so well for her because they really soften her features. They’re shorter in the center and get a little longer as you reach the outside of her face which opens her face up, like a curtain. She's also a girl who, when she puts her hair up, loves to have pieces down, and I think it just is the perfect way to just keep it soft and frame your face and enhance the cheekbones.
Sabrina has shorter curtain bangs, so they also offer a lot of flexibility—we can split them in the middle or slightly off to the side. I recommend somebody who's newer to bangs go longer, and then you can gradually go shorter if you want. But I always say the shortest piece in the center should be right at the bridge of your nose and then angle [the rest] outward.
To style Sabrina's bangs, I blow dry with a round brush or use a Dyson Airwrap with the round brush attachment. We sometimes put a Velcro roller in [and turn it forward] to give her bangs more of that fluffy bend. We like it to have a little bit of a curl under, which makes the bangs more bouncy and 60s-inspired.
To keep them in place, I love to use Redken Max Hold Hairspray, which is also an anti-humidity spray. It has a really fine mist, which is important when you want coverage. We do probably three layers of it before Sabrina hits the stage. There’s the initial layer, another one maybe a half hour before she goes on, and then, right as she’s about to walk out, we’ll do one final mist.
Her bangs pretty much behave very well. They looked great when she was opening up for Taylor [Swift] earlier this year. [That said], I’m so glad that for Sabrina's tour coming up, we’re going to be in indoor arenas. We’re not going to have to deal with humidity and the elements. I can’t really tease anything [about the tour], but I will say everything will be cohesive and classically Sabrina.
Read more about bangs:
- 13 Bangs Trends To Help Frame Your Face Because You’re a Work of Art
- Your Guide to Styling, Maintaining, and Growing Out Curtain Bangs
- Hairstylists Think This Is the Best Bang Style for People Over 40
Watch Sabrina Carpenter try nine things she's never done before:
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