Despite what you may have seen online, Gisele Bündchen hasn't buzzed off her famous mane. And here's why she never will.
"I grew up in a household of six girls. That's a lot of hair to deal with. My mother, tasked with caring for all our tangles, tried to make it easy on herself by cutting everyone's hair short. Somehow, though, I managed to run off during those group haircuts and was able to keep mine long. It's been that way pretty much ever since.
My oldest sister was big into at-home, DIY highlights; she used to rinse her hair with chamomile tea to lighten it up. By copying her, I learned to perfect golden highlights of my own. You know, I'm Brazilian. I love the summer, the surf, that whole beachy look.
While people today know me for my waves, I wasn't always into them. As a kid I wanted straight hair so badly. On one of my first modeling jobs in Brazil, the stylists straightened my hair for the shoot, and, completely obsessed with the sleek look, I kept it that way for my debutante ball that night. Now I see photos from the event and cringe. I looked like I was trying so hard, not like myself.
When I moved to New York at 16 to model, I got back into wearing my hair natural. But it was the mid-nineties, and waves weren't exactly in style. There was an androgynous thing happening in fashion: Girls had these serious, conceptual, very cool-looking haircuts. As I started to work more, I noticed how models had to change their hair a lot—different cuts, new colors, really radical stuff. But I pushed to use wigs on shoots instead of giving in to cuts. Like recently on the Balenciaga shoot—I loved doing this campaign because I could transform myself without really cutting my hair. It was cool to see myself like that, but, personally, I've always liked having long hair. And, I'll be honest, it gives me confidence. In my 20 years as a model, I tried only a couple of drastic hair changes: I once dyed it dark, and another time I cut it shoulder-length. For the most part everyone on set and backstage at shows left it with loose, natural waves—and over time it just became my thing.
Then at some point wavy hair became super popular. It first struck me when one of my sisters went to a salon and asked for a loose, wavy effect. The stylist, without knowing she was my sister, referred to the look as the Gisele Bündchen. I thought that was pretty hilarious.
Since I've become a mom, wearing my hair naturally wavy is still the most practical option for me. Plus, I've never had a lot of patience for sitting around in a salon. I don't get my hair done that often, so I pack those little hair-conditioning ampoules from Pantene to keep my hair healthy between shoots. They're small and easy to carry; that's how I avoid wonky hair days when I'm away from my regular routine.
It's still funny to me how I used to want straight hair. I've learned a lot during my years in the modeling business, but at the end of the day, wavy is just more me."
How to get Gisele's perfect waves:
"While I love my natural waves, I'm also a fan of the curling iron. The key is to keep the look imperfect." Here are the steps:
Blow out hair first, then wrap sections around an iron, focusing the curl at the ends, below ear height.
Mist hair with a light styling spray. [Try Pantene Pro-V Stylers Flexible Hold Hairspray, $5, target.com]
Now loosen the strands with your fingers and give your head a good shake. This helps soften the curls and gives you a lighter, less "done" look.
