We’re a nation of suckers for 70s nostalgia. Psychedelic prints, flared trousers and floaty ‘fits are all the rage on the high-street (and catwalk) right now, bringing vibes straight from summertime discos to an otherwise cold and drizzly March.
It’s not just the 70s style that has had a recent resurgence – the mammoth popularity of London’s ABBA Voyage, as well as the hotly-anticipated release of Amazon’s Daisy Jones and the Six have seen us longing for a time gone by: an era culturally defined by an easy, effortless cool.
In the show, Riley Keough’s Daisy Jones boasts the long, loose waves and full front fringe more typically attributed to the more folky performers of the 70s.
However it was the short, choppy layers of Suki Waterhouse’s Karen Sirko that appealed to me the most – so I decided to give it a go.
Armed with a photo of Suki and a dream, I rocked up to a hair appointment, but when I showed my stylist, his lip curled slightly. ‘You know this will be a huge change?’ he warned me, looking at my boob-length blonde hair. ‘You have a very different face to hers.’
Nonetheless, as soon as I gave him the nod to go ahead, he lopped off three and a half inches and carved a fresh set of layers into my hair, before I scuttled over to Limoz Logli’s South Kensington salon to get my hair blown out, 70s style.
Limoz, who has been cutting, colouring and styling hair for over 20 years, was not surprised by my request.
‘With all of these influences already we are seeing a huge rise in requests for 70s inspired hair,’ he explained. ‘With an air of sophistication, but also sexy and playful, the style is definitely on trend and is here to stay.
‘For those wanting to fully embrace it we are seeing shaggy cuts and long curtain fringes to suit all hair lengths – even bobs.’
To get the finishing look, Limoz started with a root smudge to make my fresh gold and caramel highlights look a touch more natural, before flexing his fingers and starting on my blow dry.
He focused on smaller sections with a round brush, to create tight curls for a longer hold.
‘Blowdrying backwards in a slight upwards motion on with medium heat creates volume but no frizz,’ Limoz said while working his magic through his nimble fingers.
Then he pinned every curl to keep the volume and liberally applied hairspray to stop my thin but dense hair from weighing down volume.
After my hair had cooled down, he removed the pins and brushed the hair through. As a finishing touch, Limoz used heated tongs on the front sections to create the windswept curtain fringe.
‘I hope you’ve got a fabulous party to go to now,’ he added, applying a fresh spritz of hairspray to my new ‘do.
‘Yes,’ I lied, before skulking back to my flat to change into my boxing gear, as my usual Wednesday evening plans tend to involve punching things over fabulous parties.
How to create Suki Waterhouse hair at home
Want a big, bouncy blowdry? Limoz Logli has some tips for you
1. Prep by applying volumising spray to the roots working section by section to ensure you get volume hold all over.
2. Use heated rollers or a heatless curler to achieve your big curls. We love heatless curlers – but heated rollers are best if you want to get ready quickly.
3. If using a heatless curler, clip in place on rough dried but slightly damp hair and with the piece of hair closest to parting (starting at front), begin wrapping hair around the curler away from the face.
4. Working your way downwards to the under sections, take additional sections of hair and wrap around the curler until all hair on each side has been wrapped. The bigger the section and the more widely they are wrapped, the bigger and bouncier the 70’s wave.
5. Secure the ends of the hair with your hair ties, remove the clip. Spray the hair with hairspray to ensure better hold. When the hair is dry you are ready to unwrap your locks and reveal your gorgeous curls or waves.
6. Similar principles apply if you use heated rollers, although it is important to start with completely dry hair.
7. To create the iconic windswept fringe use smaller sections and roll the hair backwards vertically. When they are removed they will give that curtain fridge affect which falls forward on the face.
8. Brush through all your hair with a big paddle brush or large comb to separate and give that smooth sophisticated finish. Et voila – 70s success!
It’s a high intensity 45-minute session where I punch a bag until I hear my knuckles crack, but despite the sweat pouring off me at the end, my hair still mostly looks knock out – bar my windswept curtain fringe, which is plastered to my forehead.
By the following morning, my hair had, for the most part, had gone completely flat – the steam from the hot shower after boxing unlikely to have helped. However, I could mostly put something together myself in about an hour thanks to Limoz’s extensive instructions.
Naturally, it wasn’t as good as the professional hairdresser’s blow dry, but it still had a little bounce to brighten up my otherwise flat and boring natural hair.
So, can 70s hair work in 2023?
If you want a shorter, sharper take, then Suki Waterhouse’s effortlessly chic look in Daisy Jones and the Six is a winner. However, this style definitely works better if you have hair that can keep volume, as with my fine yet weighty locks, tonnes of hairspray was needed to keep it in check.
Nonetheless, the look would be killer for a party or late-night disco. Now, where have I put my bell bottom trousers…?
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