‘Half wave’ hair is everything - and Hailey Bieber's stylist showed us how it's done

There's one hairstyle we keep spotting all the celebs wearing: loose-textured hair that's not quite straight, but is more low-key than a beach wave. Half wave hair is taking off and it's already assembled an A-list fan base that includes Hailey Bieber, Kaia Gerber, Jasmine Tookes, Kendall Jenner and Ciara.  

“The half wave is laidback glam at its best,” says Jason Collier, A-List Hairstylist and Bblonde Brand Educator.  It mixes in straight and wavy sections to keep hair multi-dimensional, a little mussy and a lot cooler. “The half wave consists of a straight root, with a loose wave from the eye lid, or ear lobe, with loose, relaxed ends,” he explains. 

It's perfect if you want a style that's a little more undone and natural-looking – like you woke up and shook your hair out, rather than spending the morning coaxing it into shape. Plus it works beautifully worn casual, alongside a T-shirt and jeans, or to create a more laidback, high-low feel for glam occasions, like a wedding…or if you're Hailey Bieber, the red carpet. 

As one of the style's biggest fans, Hailey has made the style her signature and worn it repeatedly for high profile and off-duty occasions. The pared-back look matches her approach to minimal(ish) makeup and her bare, but better approach to glazed donut nails.

But, like no-makeup makeup, there's some behind-the-scenes styling involved to create the relaxed look, unless you're blessed with natural half-wave textured hair already. “To create a half wave style, use a medium sized barrel tong, and gently wrap chunky sections around it to create an 'S' shape bend,” explains Jason. “This is super easy to do,” he adds. But before you grab your tong, it's important to pay attention to what you leave out, as well as the bits you're waving. “Take hair from ear length and wrap it once in the shape of an 'S', leaving out the bottom lengths. That creates the half wave,” confirms Jason.

Sounds a bit complicated? The good news is one of Hailey's favourite hair stylists (and the woman behind her Coachella looks this year) has shared how to get the technique. Irinel de León posted a video on her Instagram of the wrist-flick S-bends that she creates on her famous client.

The looser you want the wave, the wider you want to make those S bends and to muss it up, shake the wave out with your fingers. And if you prefer a tong over straighteners, a top tip to getting that second-day texture is to avoid wrapping your hair in tight spirals. “People can often go wrong by wrapping the hair too tight around the tong. The hair needs to be stretched and pulled out,” explains Jason. "My top insider tip is to carefully hold the tong vertically against the head, as this will help you get the 'S' shape that you're looking for."

Once you've got the rough shape, you can set and distress it. “To smooth down the root, I love the Jerome Russell Bstyled Smoothing Spray,” says Jason. “You can then run your fingers through the waves to separate them," he says, which helps to ensure your hair looks more casual and less uniform.

Here's 10 of our favourite ways to wear the half wave hair trend…

Kendall Jenner wore the style while out and about on errands

Jasmine Tookes is serving up low-key beach goddess vibes

Eiza Gonzalez' half wave hair looks like she could have woken up with a slight wave left from the day before.

Actress Kristine Froseth rocked the style with lob-length hair.

Ciara's subtle half wave and loose ends are a perfect summer hairstyle.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's glam take on the half wave gives a brushed-out glossy finish.

Kaia Gerber's messy brushed out waves look a little more undone.

Maddie Ziegler's long deconstructed half waves give a relaxed vibe to her satin outfit.

Influencer, Sophia Culpo paired a stretched-out half wave with baby braids for a Coachella-worthy style.

Addison Rae chose the half wave for her red carpet appearance at this year's Grammys.

 For more from GLAMOUR's Beauty Editor, Elle Turner, follow her on Instagram @elleturneruk