The Idol’s Hairstylist Christopher Fulton Shares Tips For Summer-ready Hair
When summer strikes, the world rejoices by racing to music festivals and boardwalks on their favorite beaches. With people’s clocks set to vacation mode, one of the top priorities on everyone’s beauty agenda is tackling unruly, frizz-endowed hair. Whether it is a new way to wrap your hair or discovering new products, people are always looking for the best-kept hairstyling secrets. Sometimes, videos and tutorials are not enough and the need to dive deeper into solving this fickle frizzy problem rears its head.
Just in time for the sunny season, celebrity hairstylist Christopher Fulton shared his best tips for summer-ready hair with EnVi. Fulton is known for creating meticulously detailed comb-overs and sculpted bobs that tell a lifetime of stories with one glance. In 2019, his work on the eight episode miniseries Fosse/Verdon earned him an Emmy Award in the “Outstanding Hairstyling in a Limited Series or Movie” category. The Kansas native-turned-hair genius worked his magic once again on the set of HBO’s latest drama, The Idol (2023), which features some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Lily-Rose Depp, Jennie Kim, and Troye Sivan. Since this steamy show also features opulent frizz-free hair, we asked Christopher everything you need to know about summer hair with a side of show business secrets.
Tackling Frizz Head On
Summer is in full swing and everyone is looking for the next trendy hair look that they can run out the door with. As tackling frizzy hair with ease is part of Christopher’s everyday work, he shared easy but impactful hair tips for people on the go. “For frizz-free summer hair, I love to blow dry the hair with COLOR WOW Dreamcoat. It coats the hair and stops it from frizzing in the heat,” he said. “I also love Leonor Greyl Éclat Cream, it lightly smooths without ever weighing the hair down.”
Styling Cream
After heat-styling the lengths of your hair, applying frizz-control products is a must. Christopher emphasized the importance of not over-styling summer hairstyles. After all, overdoing the hair can cause more frizz and unwanted static. “SexyHair makes an anti-humidity hairspray I’m obsessed with. I think it’s important not to over-fight frizz and wave. Using a little dry shampoo or texture spray and actually working with the wave is best,” he told EnVi. “For go-to texture without hairspray, my favorite product is the IGK Beach spray — for perfect waves.”
Volume Texture Spray
Effortless Beach Waves
Tousled waves, fluffy fishtail braids, and piecey updos are just a handful of vacation-ready hair looks that have one similarity: radiating the fun and flirty spirit of the summer. Yet, almost every year, beach waves take the throne as the summer hairstyle on everyone’s minds. During her on-screen debut on The Idol, BLACKPINK’s Jennie graced the screen with the perfect lived-in summer hairstyle. Dancing under the blistering sun, the rapper-turned-actress looked stunning as effortless beach waves flowed over her shoulders without a bit of frizz in sight.
Thankfully, Christopher was willing to break down how he created Jennie’s iconic look. As mentioned above, a great hairstyle always starts with the right preparation. Blow drying Jennie’s hair with the Dyson Supersonic™ Hair Dryer Professional Edition was the first step. “For Jennie’s hair in The Idol, I used the Color Wow Dreamcoat to blow dry her hair. [Then] I used a Harry Josh 1 Inch Pro tool wand to create the waves,” the hairstylist shared.
Professional Edition
To style the waves, Christopher combed through them with COLOR WOW One Minute Transformation Anti Frizz Styling Cream and COLOR WOW Pop + Lock Frizz Control + Glossing Serum — as an extra layer of protection from the humid breeze. Christopher’s final step to attaining the perfect je ne sais quoi to Jennie’s hairstyle was applying his go-to anti-frizz products. “After styling, I used the IGK Beach Spray with Lenor Greyl Eclat Crème. To finish, I used the Sexy Hair Anti Humidity Hairspray. I never touched the curls again, it was perfect.”
Targeting the Root of the Problem
Honing his skills on the set of Orange is the New Black (2013), The Greatest Showman (2017), and Quantico (2018), Christopher has found himself working on a plethora of blockbuster hits and household favorite TV shows. Whether it is an action film shot in the alleyways of West Morocco or a comedy shot in the metropolitan streets of Astoria Park, every movie set comes with different conditions that Christopher has to work around.
Filming under the sweltering hot sun, actors and actresses can be prone to flat and product-logged scalps after long days of shooting. Christopher shared some of his staple products in his kit for these quick hair pick-me-ups. “On every set, I use COLOR WOW Bombshell Mousse and SexyHair Root Plumping Mousse. For the blowout, I use COLOR WOW Dreamcoat. I finish off with the SexyHair Anti Humidity Spray, it’s genius,” he mentioned.
Bombshell Volumizer
Telling Stories Through Hairstyling
Over the years, Christopher has learned to love the art of telling unspoken stories through hairstyling. The Emmy-winning hairstylist broke down the creative process of deciphering characters’ unique looks. “The first thing I do when creating the character is look at their clothes and accessories,” he shared. “I meet with the stylist or costume designer, and then we go to the actor or actress with ideas. It’s a major collab.”
The 1990s-inspired styling of Jocelyn, the tumultuous vixen and main character of The Idol is a great example of how Christoper tells a story through visuals. The hairstylist explained the thought process behind styling Lily-Rose Depp for this role. “Jocelyn/Lily-Rose Depp in The Idol is the perfect example of a character going through a hard time. Her hair is never fully done, and she is never fully glam unless she is performing. She’s going through a lot, so we wanted this hot, ’90s Kate Moss, cool girl vibe [to be] a little messy.”
Bringing countless stories to life with brilliantly crafted hair looks, Christopher has created a fruitful legacy of work and style to look back on. Discussing his favorite moments of storytelling through hair artistry, Christopher recounted his favorite project so far. “The Idol is one of my favorite productions I have worked on. It’s not your average TV hair. From the clothes to the makeup to the hair, every day was like a fashion show!”
Want more Jennie Kim beauty moments? Check out the breakdown of her look from the Cannes Film Festival here!
