From J.Lo to Lana Del Rey, these 5 A-listers all used one haircare brand before the Met Gala 2024

Aside from sporting some of the most iconic looks in the history of the Met Gala, Jennifer Lopez, Willow Smith, Lana Del Rey, Lily James, Riley Keough and Kaia Gerber all had a beauty secret in common on last night’s white carpet: Olaplex.

While adorned in couture creations by fashion powerhouses such as Erdem, Schiaparelli Haute Couture, and Alexander McQueen by Seán McGirr, these leading ladies of Hollywood entrusted their tresses to the beloved products of high-street hero brand Olaplex to create stunning hairstyles and rich hair color that chimed with the evening’s theme: The Garden of Time.

Renowned for preventing the damage associated with bleach and revolutionizing the way stylists worked with color, the cult brand has been a go-to for health hair since its launch ten years ago. Now a whole host of celebs, from Jennifer Aniston to Margot Robbie swear by it to keep their locks in shape between glam shoots and red-carpet events.

Below, 4 celebrity stylists reveal what beloved products they used from the Olaplex range to create some of the iconic hair dos from the Met Gal 2024.

1/ Willow Smith

Celebrity hairstylist Vernon François worked with Willow Smith on a look emulating African Royalty and told WH ‘When crafting this look, I didn’t adhere strictly to transient trends. Instead, I focused on accentuating specific features to ensure a timeless appeal while infusing an element of allure and sophistication. The intention was to evoke a sense of tradition intertwined with seduction, ultimately embodying elegance and romance.’

To achieve the look François braiding the hair backwards before pulling up the loose hair at the back into the braided section of the hair to maintain a neat appearance and a defined shape. He then employed lightweight Polystyrene circles as stencils to shape the hairstyle, maintaining precision and structure. This was followed by wrapping natural kinky hair around hair donuts and placing them strategically to add volume and shape to the hairstyle before binding the entire head with 100% cotton, incorporating loose Afrokinky straight hair for a realistic look and securing the shape of the hairstyle. Finally, he sculpted

the hairstyle further and weaved Afro kinkystraight hair extensions, through the cotton binding to add texture and dimension.

As for the Olaplex products used to bring this look to life:

OLAPLEX No.3 Hair Perfector: Applied as a pre-treatment to strengthen and repair the hair. I love this product. It’s a staple in my kit.

OLAPLEX No.6 Bond Smoother: Applied to damp hair to provide moisture, and protect against heat damage. I really use this on most of my clients. It’s a great preset.

OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Oil: This product serves multiple purposes: besides massaging it into the scalp, it acts as a finishing touch, enhancing shine and smoothing where necessary, all while offering protection against environmental damage. Keep this close to you!

OLAPLEX No.4D Clean Volume Detox Dry Shampoo: As a personal touch, I love applying dry shampoo at the end of the styling process. It not only refreshes the hair but also adds a subtle, natural finish. I particularly enjoy using it on hair extensions, especially curly ones, to tone down any excessive shine. This technique works wonders for red carpet looks and special events, giving the style that perfect finishing touch.’

2/ Lana Del Rey

OLAPLEX Global Ambassador and celebrity colourist Tracey Cunningham worked with Lana Del Rey to refresh her honey blonde hair. The look, known as “Desert Sand” is one Cunningham believes ‘will definitely be a trend this summer! It’s the perfect honey blonde, but with a new twist that gives it more depth than traditionally seen in past iterations.’

To achieve the look Cunningham explained to take Lana from dark to light it took a lot of OLAPLEX, since we wanted to be really careful in order to protect her hair. Even though Lana is naturally blonde, you still need a base color for more depth to get the final right look. The whole process happened over a three day period to get to the final look.’

‘ I stripped the hair with a clear color three times, then highlighted the hair with bleach and a hair lightener using a quarter oz. or OLAPLEX No.1 Bond Multiplier. Then I went through with highlights and lowlights and treated the ends with more OLAPLEX No.1 Bond Multiplier. Then we glossed the hair, coating it in OLAPLEX 4-in-1 Moisture Mask to finish off the process.’

3/Jennifer Lopez

Cunningham also created J.Lo’s honey hued updo, which she titled “Golden Barbie.”

‘The focus was on refreshing Jennifer’s look, so we kept the color process simple and just worked to amp it up a bit to heighten her natural beauty.’

‘We started by dipping her hair straight into OLAPLEX No.1 Bond Multiplier, and then coated it with the OLAPLEX No.1 4-in-1 Moisture Mask – she loves this conditioning treatment. We finished this look off with some highlights to touch up her hair and add brightness to the overall look.’

4/ Lily James

Celebrity stylist Halley Brisker worked with Lily James on a neat and tidy chignon to enhance her natural beauty.

‘The design went through a few stages, but we landed in the end on something that felt stripped back and simplistic while also being elegant to compliment Erdem’s slight touch on vintage styling. The enhancement of Lily’s natural beauty was the goal.’

‘Beginning with a pre styling regimen of OLAPLEX No.4 and No.5 Bond Maintenance Shampoo & Conditioner with the OLAPLEX No.3 Hair Perfector prewash to create an optimum condition to work with, we then created a sharp center part and a luxurious blowout using a base of OLAPLEX No.6 Bond Smoother and OLAPLEX Volumizing Blow Dry Mist.’

5/ Riley Keough

Tracey Cunningham also worked with Riley Keough to richen and deepen her hair color.

‘We did a simple color and gloss to darken and richen her hair color. We wanted to focus on an overarching glossed look and the deeper color really brings that out. The overall goal for this look was to make the hair more rich in color to bring out the shine.’

‘The focus after this colour/gloss We used OLAPLEX No.1 Bond Multiplier inside the gloss, and shampooed with OLAPLEX No.4 and No.5 Bond Maintenance Shampoo & Conditioner.’

6/ Kaia Gerber

Celebrity colourist Jenna Perry worked with Kaia Gerber for a rich and glossy brunette colour. The Look titled “Bombshell Brunette” was inspired by Cindy Crawford (Kaia’s mum). Perry added ‘We’re seeing a lot of nostalgic looks that are revisiting childhood hair and youthful lightness. 90s supermodel hair is also making a huge comeback this season. ‘

‘I did a rich enhancing gloss using the OLAPLEX 4-in-1 Moisture Mask. I finished it off with OLAPLEX No.7 Bonding Oil to achieve the rich glossy look and to prepare and protect Kaia’s hair for MET day heat & styling.’

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