The girls’ guide to gorgeous graduation hair

Short on hair ideas for your looming graduation? Want to look glam fab but lacking the funds for a stylist?

The pressure to look gorgeous is mounting, and those photos are being sent to absolutely every long lost relative your teary-eyed mum can find. Luckily, getting beautiful graduation hair is a doddle when you know how.

The sleek pony

Perfect for: Mid-length to long hair

What you’ll need: Straighteners, gel or styling mousse (but greasy hair will do if you’re feeling lazy), a hair band, hair grips and hair oil (optional)

Step one: Due to the sleek nature of this style, you’ll first want to prep the hair with a small amount of gel to smooth it out. Find where you want your parting to sit and brush hair back, taking it to the nape of the neck. A middle parting looks particularly chic in this style.

Step two: Once secured with a hair tie, take a small piece of hair from the pony and wrap around the band. Secure this section with a grip on the underside of the pony.

Step three: Optionally, gently pull at the hair above the pony to give extra body.

Step four: Pull the length of the pony towards the front if you feel conscious about having it all to the back under the graduation cap. Optionally, run the straighteners through the pony for extra sleekness and add a pea-sized amount of smoothing serum (argan or coconut oil work well) to the lengths.

The pony with a twist

Perfect for: Shorter and long hair

What you’ll need: Clear elastic bands, hair grips and a hair band

Step one: Starting with clean, straight hair, take a small section from around the front of the head and twist the section inwards. Repeat the twist on the other side of the head.

Step two: Join the twists together with a clear band. For those with shorter hair, you can finish at this step and add waves for a soft, effortless look, or even add a hair broach over the clear band for an extra touch of glam.

Step three: For those with longer hair, pull all the hair, including the twisted sections, into a low ponytail. Take a small section of hair from the ponytail and wrap around the band to disguise it. Secure with a grip.

The messy pony

Perfect for: Mid-length and long hair

What you’ll need: Curling wand, sea-salt spray (optional), a hair band, a paddle brush and hair grips

Step one: Start with a wavy/textured base. If you do not have this type of hair naturally, spritz salt spray throughout and scrunch, or use a curling wand on random sections of hair.

Step two: Pull hair back into a pony, don’t worry about it being neat – the messier the better, leaving out the sections round the front you might want to frame your face.

Step three: As with the previous styles, take a small section of hair from the pony. Wrap the small section of hair around the pony and secure on the underneath with a grip or two.

Step four: Tease the end of the pony lightly with a paddle brush in an upwards/back-combing motion to add the appearance of thickness, et voila.

The plaited bun

Perfect for: Long hair

What you’ll need: Clear elastic bands and hair grips

Step one: Begin with clean hair and brush through, sectioning into three pieces.  Braid the hair in a standard three-strand plait to the end of the hair.

Step two: Twist the plait into a low bun at the nape of the neck and secure with grips.

The side pony

Perfect for: Long hair

What you’ll need: A clear elastic band or hair band, a paddle brush and hair grips

Step one: Bring hair to desired side and tie with a hair band.

Step two: Take a small piece of hair from within the pony and wrap hair around the hair tie, covering the band.

Step three: Brush through the pony and lightly back-comb the ends with a paddle brush to make it look fuller and you’re done – super easy.

The fishtail plait

Perfect for: Long hair, or shorter hair with sneaky clip-in extensions

What you’ll need: A clear elastic band

Step one: Brush hair over to one shoulder and separate into two sections. Take a small piece of hair from the outside of one of the sections and bring over to join the other section.

Step two: Then do the same on the other side, taking a small section from the outside and bringing it over.

Step three: Continue this method, pulling the plait tight each time you bring the piece of hair over to the other section.

Step four: Secure with a clear band and gently pull the plait apart – working from the top down.

Step five: Pull out sections of hair at the front to frame your face and wand them to create a messy, undone look. Alternatively leave neat for a chic look.

The faux loop braid

Perfect for: Long hair

What you’ll need: Plenty of clear elastic bands

Step one: Brush hair through thoroughly and pull over to one shoulder. Secure into a side pony with a clear band and brush through the hair.

Step two: Divide the pony into two equal sections – one section on top and the other on bottom (rather than side-by-side sections).

Step three: Tie a clear band a little way down the top section. Now pull this section apart, making a loop.

Step four: Now push the underneath section through this loop and tie a clear band a little while down the hair you just pulled through.

Step five: Make a loop in this new top section and once again pull the underneath section through the loop.

Step six: Continue for as long as you want the braid to go on for, and secure with a clear band. Gently pull each section of the braid apart as fat as you want it and pull out some hair around your face.

The roller girl

Perfect for: Shorter and longer hair

What you’ll need: Heat defence spray, heated rollers and hair spray

Step one: Take freshly washed hair, spritz with heat defence and section. It’s personal preference whether you want to start top-down or bottom-up, but as a general rule you should use the smaller rollers on the bottom section to give you tighter curls, and bigger rollers on top for volume. If you have shorter hair, you may wish to use large rollers all over to give you volume with a slight curl rather than ringlet curls.

Step two: Repeat the process, rolling in the direction you want your curls to sit and securing with a hair grip. The direction you roll the hair in will be essential if you have short hair – rolling towards your face will curl under, and away from the face will give you flick.

Use the larger rollers on the top of your head, pulling sections upwards and rolling down to create extra volume.

Step three: Once you’ve secured the whole head, leave to cool before removing the rollers. Obviously the longer you leave them in for the more bounce you’ll get.

Step four: Unravel each roller carefully one by one and there you have it. Lock the curls in with hair spray so it lasts all day.

Loose curls with straighteners

Perfect for: Shorter and longer hair

What you’ll need: Heat defence spray and hair straighteners

Step one: Start with clean hair which has been blow-dried straight. Divide into sections and spritz with heat defence.

Step two: Run straighteners through hair, starting from the top of the section to half way down the hair. Turn the straighteners inwards at a 90 degree angle about half way down the section. Continue to pull the straighteners through at this angle for the rest of the length.

Step three: When you’ve finished each section, you should end up with something like this – effortless. Spritz with hairspray to keep it curly through the ends.

The beach babe

Perfect for: Shorter and longer hair

What you’ll need: Heat defence spray, a curling wand and dry shampoo

Step one: Once hair has been spritzed with heat defence spray, take a curling wand (a conical wand – where the thickness of the curler goes from fat to thin – works wonderfully) to random sections in a downward motion. Curl hair away from the face for the perfect wave. If you desire a neater look, simply divide the hair into sections and wave piece by piece.

Step two: Optionally add small braids or twists to complete the look. It’s also perfect on shorter hair. Simply wand your hair and then spray with dry shampoo to give texture and volume. Make a deep side parting and tuck one side behind your ear for added glamour. Alternatively sweep the waves to one side and add small braids to the other to keep it quirky.