Holiday Hair Inspo: 4 Easy Hair-Healthy Looks For Your Next Party

The holiday season is upon us, and whether your calendar is full of soirées or you have a single small get-together planned, one thing is for certain: You don’t need to damage your hair to get the styles that you want! 

We chatted with INALA’s Photoshoot Hairstylist, Jessica Portillo, to get the scoop on how to create beautiful hairstyles this holiday season while keeping your hair healthy and happy! Read on below for your ✨ holiday hair ✨ inspo.

Low Ponytail, High Impact:

High and tight ponytails have been having a moment over the last couple of years, with several celebrities (and our very own La La Anthony) flaunting the style both casually and on the red carpet. Ponytails are so versatile and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion and work for all hair types and textures, but don't count out the low ponytail when planning your holiday hair! Not only does it put less stress on the scalp, but with the right accessories and styling, it can look just as dressy as a high ponytail!

For our INALA Holiday photo shoot this year, Jessica decided to do a spin on the low ponytail, which is definitely not low on impact! With the help of Put Me Up, our new 100% mulberry silk oversized scrunchie and Triple Threat Tonic, this low ponytail gets a holiday party makeover just in time for your next party!  

How To:

1. Start by making sure that the hair is dry and detangled. You can use a little bit of Triple Threat Tonic to help with slip for detangling and to reduce breakage. 
2. Make sure the top of the head looks flawless and smooth. Getting a glossy and high-shine look for the hair is key for this look! Use a comb or brush made of boar/nylon bristles to make sure the style stays sleek and smoother. Jessica prefers to use a teasing comb for this. 
3. Add some shine. Jessica used a little bit of shine spray and gel over the top of the crown to get extra shine for the photos - you may be able to skip this step and just use Triple Threat Tonic depending on your desired look and hair texture. 
4. Use an eye-catching statement accessory to tie the ponytail. Put Me Up works great for this, as it is in a versatile neutral color that goes with just about everything and is in a fun oversized shape that makes it suitable for even the thickest of strands. Jessica loves using a scrunchie for a modern Y2K look that is so popular right now: “Scrunchies are very 90’s and they are back better than ever!”
5. Pull out two face-framing tendrils to add a bit of drama to the look. Jessica lightly curled the model’s hair to give them a little movement and texture since the model's hair is naturally straight, but curly girls can rock their natural texture for this!
6. To give the hair a little more movement, Jessica curled the ends of the ponytail after it was already tied with the scrunchie. She used a bigger barrel curling iron to just give a slight bend and bounce rather than a tightly defined curl.
7. Set it for the night - to give the look extra shine and light hold without using hairspray, Jessica finished with a little bit of Triple Threat Tonic on the crown of the head and on the ponytail to make sure that the style lasts all night! High shine is what makes this style stand out, so try to avoid products that will make the hair more matte, like hairspray, if you want to replicate this look. 

Jessica’s tips: “If you need this style to last all night, especially if you plan on dancing or being more active, you can use a smaller elastic first before putting the scrunching over the top. This will help make sure that the scrunchie doesn’t fall out of fine or soft hair. Of course, it’s always better to just use the silk on the hair to avoid breakage, so see what works best for you! ” 

Scrunchie “Bubble” Ponytail:

Add even more drama and flair to your low ponytail by adding another scrunchie at the bottom of the tail for a unique style! Follow all the steps above and then add the remaining steps below.

How To:

1. Follow steps 1-7 above. 
2. Add some volume to the middle part of the ponytail. You can do this by using a texture spray and roughing up the hair a bit. When you do this, make sure you are leaving the top part of the ponytail that will be seen as smooth as possible and teasing the hair underneath it so that the style still looks smooth and glossy. 
3. Secure a second scrunchie at the bottom of your hair to create that “bubble” effect. 
4. Depending on how long your hair is, you can do multiple scrunchies to recreate a more traditional “bubble” ponytail look! 

The Double Clip Half Up & Half Down:

Best suited for textured and/or very thick strands, this style is a play on the everyday half-up look but incorporates two claw clips for a new fresh take on the style. Jessica wanted to play up the model’s natural hair texture with this look while making it look fresh and fun. She used our new holiday claw clips, Clip Me Up, and used two of them to not put as much stress on the hair as using one clip.

Jessica explained that when hair is this thick, using just one clip to pull up a large section of hair can cause strain on the strands (which is definitely what we are trying to avoid!) so by using two clips and forming two different sections, the hair still gets pulled back but in a stylish and healthy way!

How To: 

1. Prep natural hair texture with Triple Threat Tonic to add a bit of shine. You don’t need a lot - just glaze the formula in a “praying hands” method over your strands.
2. Starting at one side of your head, take the portion that will be clipped up and roll/twist it so that it creates a tightness on that side. Once the hair is twisted, secure with a claw clip.
3. Follow the instructions with the other side of the head.
4. Refresh and re-coil any face-framing curls with Triple Threat, using the finger coil method. 

The Single Clip Half Up Half Down:

This style works great for all hair types, but especially for fine to medium hair that is straight or wavy. This is because the style can give a little volume at the crown for the illusion of thicker and fuller hair. All you need for this style is a Clip Me Up and Triple Threat Tonic!

How To:

1. Prep hair with Triple Threat Tonic to provide a little “grip” to hair that doesn’t have much natural texture. Jesscia loves using Triple Threat for this purpose on fine or straight hair because it gives just enough hold and texture without being sticky, tacky, or hard. 
2. Grab sections of hair to be clipped from the sides only and not the top of the head. This will help with the illusion of thicker and fuller hair at the crown. 
3. Clip side sections together and if desired, use the tail of a rat-tailed comb to slightly lift the hair in the middle of the crown to give a more voluminous look.
4. Depending on the desired look, you can take out some face framing tendrils and curl them and curl the ends of the hair to match!

The Double Clip French Twist:

This style is truly a showstopper, but Jessica assured us that it’s really quite easy to do! For this look, you’ll need two Clip Me Up claw clips and a little bit of Triple Threat Tonic. Better yet - this fancy-looking style works even better on slightly dirty hair, so if you’re on day 2 hair or longer, give this style a try!

How To:

1. Prep with Triple Threat Tonic to smooth out any frizz, add shine, and add a little “grip” to the strands. Pull some face-framing pieces out if desired.
2. Twist hair and use the first clip near the base, with the remainder of the hair pointing up. 
3. Take the remaining hair outside of the clip and twist it again (can either be around the first clip or on its own) and then clip the extra part up. 
4. Curl the face-framing tendrils if desired and smooth over any frizz with Triple Threat Tonic. 

As you can tell, the all-star of these looks is the Triple Threat Tonic. Because it is so lightweight and versatile for all hair types, this is a personal favorite of Jessica’s to create any hairstyle on set. When describing what she liked about using Triple Threat Tonic for this look, she said, “I honestly really love it because it has a weightless feeling so it doesn’t make the styles too oily but it gives them just the right amount of shine.”

Want to see more of Jessica's work? Check out her Instagram and website to see more of her incredible work!