When Rihanna hit the stage at the iHeart Radio Music Awards in green fur and blunt bangs to perform her new single Bitch Better Have My Money, we knew we had to get the details on her 90’s vibes. “The inspiration for this look was a 90’s meet hip-hop glam look,” says celebrity hairstylist Yusef Williams of his inspiration for Rihanna’s award show hairstyle. “We worked with her pixie cut and added extensions to create a messy, but polished look for the show!”
To begin, Williams flat ironed Rihanna’s hair and bangs toward the front to give it body. Next, he blow-dried the hair with a round brush to create movement and really give it a “very full feel,” says Williams. Using a medium curling iron for the back of her hair, he took her hair piece by piece, in about 1-inch wide segments, and curled it around the iron to create loose waves and build out a more textured look.
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“This look really gives the illusion of the hair being pulled back behind the ears,” says Williams. “We really wanted the front of the hair to be sleek and straight and wanted the back of her hair to have more texture.”
To give the hair a messier feel, Williams used Matrix Style Link Texture Builder to seal the hip-hop/glam look that he was going for. To finish off the look, Williams played with the Matrix Style Link Over Achiever to hold the hair in place, and then used the Matrix Style Link Finishing Spray to give the overall gloss and shine to her hair.
DYI tip: Longer hair is better! Williams used 18-inch hair extensions and trimed the hair to match the 90’s look.