Hairstylist Breaks Down Selena Gomez’s Slicked-back Bun

At the head — literally — of the slicked-back hair trend is Selena Gomez.

The 33-year-old was spotted walking in and out of NBC studios at Rockefeller Center in New York City on Tuesday night, putting her own twist on the sought-after style that promises to be a top trend this fall. Instead of the run-of-the-mill gelled ponytail, Gomez’s dark brown hair was set in a bun.

Crafted by the hands of hairstylist Renato Campora, artist to Kate Hudson and Jessica Chastain, Gomez’s bun was nestled on the crown of her head; her baby hairs were swept away from her face. Campora combed the body of her hair back, forgoing a part entirely. To do so, he used a lineup of products by Alterna Haircare.

“On clean towel-dried hair, I sectioned out large three-inch sections and used both the Alterna Universal Heat Styling Spray and Alterna Rapid Repair Spray from mid-sections to ends,” Campora said in a press release. “Using a round brush, I dried the hair using upward motions so the roots could be directed upward for a beautiful, clean nape for the chignon.”

For optimal grip, Campora sprayed the dry sections in the back of Gomez’s head with Alterna’s Perfect Texture Spray. Once each section was coated in the product, he pulled the hair into a high ponytail. Campora then followed the same steps — minus the texture spray — to the front and side pieces, applying each product carefully from the middle to the ends. He only applied the texture spray to the roots of these three sections after brushing them back.

“I added the Alterna Replenishing Moisture CC Cream to the top layer for shine and married the front section with the back section, creating a snatched pony,” he continued in the press release. “Next, I curled the tail of the pony with a large barrel iron.”

Campora then lathered Gomez’s hair with the Alterna Replenishing Moisture CC Cream before adding a chignon net, a mesh or nylon hairnet, over the oval-shaped bun and spraying it with Alterna’s Working Hairspray. The beauty visionary praised Alterna, crediting the products as essential steps in creating the 1960s-inspired hairdo.

Slick-backs infiltrated the fashion sphere throughout the summer, popping up on major runways and having their moment on red carpets. The style is thought to have sprung to stardom out of Hailey Bieber’s popularization of the “clean girl” aesthetic in 2022. Dewy skin, strawberry glaze nails and sleek buns were the main pillars of the sought-after style. Yet, even with the pendulum swinging back now, giving rise to a new kind of beauty, one messy and imperfect, the slick-back continues to lead as a top hairstyle of choice for the forthcoming autumn.