(Celebrity)
To Get Bangs Like Sabrina Carpenter’s, You Need To Set Aside A Full Day
Time to put in work.
Internet-shattering red carpet moments don’t just happen — especially when it comes to major pop stars. The MTV Video Music Awards offers one of the biggest stages a burgeoning icon can take, and it was critical that Sabrina Carpenter cement use her big performance to cement her status as the industry’s hottest singer. Along with her archival Bob Mackie dress, the “Please Please Please” singer had to make sure her hair and makeup was absolutely budge-proof through the red carpet and a three-song medley — which meant the pre-event prep process needed to be a truly all-day affair. Carpenter’s bangs alone, as it turns out, took a full six hours to style.
To complement Carpenter’s red carpet gown, which was actually once worn by Madonna and inspired by Marilyn Monroe, her team leaned into the retro bombshell vibe that’s become the aesthetic trademark of the singer’s Short N Sweet album cycle. Celebrity hairstylist Evanie Frausto was the mastermind behind her bouncy, voluminous curls at the VMAs, and started the prep process long before Carpenter was expected at the venue. It all started with wrapping the singer’s long bangs up in a medium-sized roller where they would sit for a full six hours, Frausto shared in a press release. Only when it was time to actually start the getting-ready process would he take them out.
From there, the hairstyle’s main structure is first built around Frausto’s signature blowout, followed by a pretty gutsy move: cutting Carpenter’s hair to sit right on her shoulders — crucial for nailing the “chic and elegant Old Hollywood look,” Frausto says. Next up was the actual styling, beginning with dampening the singer’s hair with a bit of water, then layering in some Redken Volume Maximizer (Carpenter was just announced as the brand’s new celebrity ambassador) from roots to ends. Brushing all-over with a round brush helps distribute the product, too.
A one-inch curling iron created the big spirals through the lower section of her hair, and a smaller, 3/4-inch barrel made tighter, bouncier curls around her face. Finally, Frausto spritzed a coat of Redken Dry Texture Spray all-over, then locked everything in place with the brand’s Brushable Hairspray.
Considering how flawless Carpenter’s curls — and those bangs — still looked at the VMAs after-party, it seems like the all-day prep process was well worth it.
