Big hair is officially back. After years of sleek, understated styles ruling the day, the fashion world is embracing more-is-more volume. At Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show earlier this month, models walked a disused New York subway platform with cool-girl energy and even cooler, high-impact hair; at the Fashion Awards the same night, Gwendoline Christie added a few more inches to her 6ft 3in frame with a princely, candyfloss halo of a bouffant. Gucci’s Milan show in September leaned the same way, with scaffolded, almost architectural styles – and pop star Sabrina Carpenter’s large-haired persona has helped make her cut one of the most requested of the year.
It’s a shift reflected in sales, too. When Sam McKnight launched a limited-edition set of rollers and a gleaming golden hood attachment for hairdryers last Christmas, it sold out three times. Never mind that it looked like something your nana might have used decades ago – this is exactly the sort of glamour hitting the right note.
Now a permanent fixture, the Big Set has been one of the top performers on his website all year. “Big hair is in the air,” McKnight tells me at a Telegraph shoot last month, where three staffers had volume styles created for them. “Nineties volume is cooler and more pared back than Eighties backcombing – people want to look good without looking overdone.” And with searches for “how to style thin hair” up 1,000 per cent on TikTok, those with fine or flat hair are especially eager for lift.
Here, McKnight shares his golden rules for achieving more volume, whatever your hair type – or jump ahead to see how he transformed the Telegraph beauty team’s own locks.
Prep the roots
“The secret to getting more volume is to focus on the roots,” says McKnight, who recommends applying a root-lift spray to clean, still slightly damp hair.
“The old method of tipping your head upside down and blow-drying works because you’re directing the roots opposite to their natural growth pattern, and that shift helps boost volume.” Try Cool Girl Superlift Root Lift Spray by Sam McKnight, which gives root volume lasting hold.
Hair by Sam McKnight Cool Girl Super Lift Root Boost, from £14, Space NK
Apply velcro rollers
“If you have very short hair you won’t need rollers, but for everyone else, old-school velcro rollers hold the hair against gravity,” he explains. “You only need half a dozen, placed where you want the lift. Slide the roller along a two-inch section and roll it up to the scalp.” If your hair tangles easily, you can use the roller just at the roots and leave the ends out “so you get a little movement”.
Alternatively, if you have a tool such as the Dyson Airwrap, you can use it to hold a rollered section in place at the roots. “The main thing is keeping the hair held against gravity,” adds McKnight.
Maximise the root lift
While your hair is in rollers, you can maximise the results by using a hood attachment on your hairdryer, creating a chamber of heat around the rollers. You won’t be able to move far – you’re tethered to the dryer – but it’s an ideal moment to do your make-up if you’re getting ready for a special occasion.
“The heat from the hood helps set the root lift, so if you can leave it on for 15 minutes you’ll get a good result,” says McKnight. Let your hair cool for 10 minutes before brushing or applying any other product.
In your toolkit
Once you release the rollers, or finish blow-drying, gently brush your hair to smooth the style. “You may need a little hairspray at this point, but only if your hair is very fine,” says McKnight. Modern root-lift formulas already provide plenty of hold. If you have short, fine hair like Stacey’s (below), McKnight suggests using a dry texturising spray to add some grit. Oribe’s Dry Texturising Spray works well, as does Sam’s Cool Girl Texturising Spray.
The volume haircut
If your hair is all one length, it will never look as voluminous as it could – so reconsider what you ask for at your next appointment. “A few layers can make all the difference, or even just some razoring around the edges to give a light, feathery finish,” says McKnight. This instantly lifts the hair and makes it appear bouncier and lighter, creating the impression of more volume.
Big hair, three ways
For fine, short hair
Stacey Thomson, Telegraph Magazine print editor
What Sam says: “Because Stacey’s hair is short, I didn’t use rollers. I created the volume with root-lift spray and a blow-dry using a brush, then tonged sections into curls before gently breaking them up with my fingers. I added a texturising spray just before we went on set to give her hair more texture and hold.”
What Stacey says: “As the owner of fine, shortish hair with a mind of its own (never the same two days in a row), the quest for volume is constant. Day to day, I usually use a Color Wow mousse and blow-dry with a hot brush. It creates a vaguely smooth look but not much lift. Once Sam had blow-dried and tonged my hair, he ‘played’ with the texture, loosening it until he achieved a slightly punky aesthetic. I love the finished look – great for a party and much cooler than my usual bob. Inspired by the big-hair moment Sam created for me, I’ve since asked my hairdresser for more layers to give my cut a choppier, more fun shape.”
For longer, fine hair
Sonia Haria, beauty director
What Sam says: “Sonia’s hair is fine but there’s plenty of it, so she doesn’t need much product – it’s more about the technique. I applied lots of root-lift spray to her freshly washed hair, then set half a dozen velcro rollers around the top of her head. The real magic came from the heated hood placed over the rollers, which helped to ‘set’ the volume.”
What Sonia says: “I’d describe my hair as flat; the only way I usually get any volume is by tipping my head over while blow-drying, but even then it’s back to flat within a couple of hours. I loved seeing my hair in velcro rollers on the shoot, along with the glamorous hood I wore for about 20 minutes, and I noticed a huge difference afterwards. The volume lasted all day. One tip I picked up from Sam was to move away from my usual middle parting – a side parting instantly boosts the look of volume.”
For frizzy, unruly hair
Jessica Burrell, acting fashion editor
What Sam says: “To increase the density of each strand while keeping the hair smooth, Jessica could use a volumising shampoo and conditioner. For styling, I’d suggest avoiding anything too heavy – no one wants their hair to feel weighed down. A light mist of texturising spray is all she needs.”
What Jessica says: “All too often my hair is big in a bad way – frizzy and untameable. So I loved embracing glamorous volume for this story, especially in the hands of the master himself, Sam McKnight. He brushed it out far more than I usually would and used liberal amounts of his genius, beautifully scented Cool Girl Texturising Spray. I’ve since started doing both at home and have been enjoying XL volume just in time for party season.”