How to Make an Updo Look Expensive
People ask me all the time what makes red carpet hair look so expensive. They assume it's the products, or the hours in the chair, or some technique they could never do at home. Usually it's none of those. It's a handful of small decisions that most people skip.
Here's what I actually look at when an updo isn't reading as polished as it should.
1. The hardware disappears
Nothing cheapens an updo faster than visible hardware: a black elastic in blonde hair, a cluster of bobby pins at the nape, a plastic claw clip holding everything together. Your eye goes straight to the tool instead of the shape.
An expensive-looking updo is held by something you can't see, or something that looks intentional. That's why I care so much about color matching. A pin in your exact shade melts into the style. We make every Day Rate pin in nine shades matched to real hair, because a pin that only works on a narrow range of hair colors isn't a professional tool.
2. Fewer pins, better placed
A style held with twenty bobby pins usually looks like it. You can see the bumps where each one grips, and the whole thing feels stiff. One or two well-placed French hair pins anchored at the base of the shape will hold more securely and leave the surface smooth.
When I need more support, like an updo that has to last a twelve-hour day, I build the structure underneath with small U-shaped pins like our Foundation Pins, then finish the visible shape with one larger pin. The support is there. You just don't see it.
3. Softness at the edges
A completely slicked, airtight updo can look severe unless that's the specific look you want. What reads as expensive is usually a smooth shape with a little softness around the face: a few loosened pieces at the temple, a bend at the front, a nape that isn't scraped tight.
Pin the shape first. Then loosen. If you loosen first, you lose the structure.
4. Shine, not crunch
Hairspray holds, but too much of it looks stiff and flat in photos. I use just enough to control flyaways, then smooth a drop of shine product over the surface with my palms. Light reflecting off a smooth shape is a big part of what makes hair look healthy and expensive.
5. The shape has a point of view
Decide where the volume lives. A low chignon with all the fullness at the nape. A French twist with height at the crown. A bun placed slightly off-center. An updo with a clear shape looks considered. One that's a little bit of everything looks accidental.
6. Healthy hair underneath
This is the one nobody talks about. The most expensive-looking updos are on healthy hair, and the tools you use every day affect that. Tight elastics, plastic clips with rough seams, and pins with chipped paint can all snag and stress the hair over time. Every Day Rate pin is plastic-free, made in the USA from upcycled stainless steel, and coated in a smooth plant-based nylon so it slides in and out cleanly. That matters for how your hair looks tonight, and for how it looks a year from now.
Hair for Alix Earle by Mark Townsend
For more on choosing accessories that look elevated, read elegant hair accessories that don't look cheap. Or start with the full hairpin guide and find your hair pin.