Blake Lively’s hair holds its secrets, and now she’s ready to spill them. “With how much I love butter, I’m honestly surprised there isn’t a butter scent in these products,” she admits, hinting at the launch of her hair care brand, Blake Brown. Lively has already revolutionized hair care by advocating for moisturizing hair masks over traditional conditioners.
Today, she’s sharing more hair wisdom, demonstrating a live hot roller tutorial for beauty editors using her niece, Kate. To prep, Lively hands Kate her rings. A set of 30 hot rollers heats up nearby. She applies a generous amount of Blake Brown mousse to Kate’s wet hair, blow-drying it with a Mason Pearson brush. Kate’s strawberry blonde hair impressively doubles in volume.
For the next hour, Lively expertly rolls Kate’s hair, teases it to a cotton-candy texture, and infuses the room with the sweet scent of berry and vanilla from the new Blake Brown Classic Hairspray. She lost count of the sprays after 37.
“I was once on a shoot and the hairdresser used three full cans of hairspray in one day. Three!” she exclaims. This inspired her to create a buildable, flexible, and non-sticky hairspray. The result? Kate sports bouncy, smooth curls, akin to a Hollywood starlet.
What’s happening in the background of your hair tutorial video?
Addressing internet theories, Lively clarifies: “Someone asked me, ‘Who is shaving in the background?’ But no, it’s someone painting their toenails.”
Why Black Currant Vanilla for your hairspray?
Lively explains her scent choice: “In my late teens or early 20s, the candles I was most drawn to were that scent. It’s a smell that is nostalgic to me. Layering in vanilla and woodsiness modernizes the scent a bit. I always like when things have a bit of femininity and masculinity.”
Your worst hair days?
“My bad hair days are usually when I have done a lot to my hair,” Lively shares. “On a movie, you can be doing many different looks and time periods. It’s not a normal thing to go through six distinct hair looks in one day.” She emphasizes the importance of replenishing her hair’s health after intense styling.
And your best hair days?
“If I am doing my own hair, then it’s when I use hot rollers,” she says. “It’s so plumping and it quadruples [the size of] my hair.” She also praises hairstylist Jennifer Yepez for creating a unique, spirally curl pattern with an iron that makes her hair look like a princess’s or a mermaid’s.
Was your *Gossip Girl* hairstyle “The Rachel” of the 2000s?
“To be compared to ‘The Rachel’ is the highest compliment,” Lively states. She credits her hairdresser, Jennifer Johnson, a close friend. “We had so many looks, and we would do maybe 18 different ones in an episode.”
She believes the style’s popularity stemmed from its familiarity and aspirational quality. “You get to know a person, character, style, and look. It was also aspirational, because [in real life] people don’t get dressed [like that] and do their hair every day.”
Did *Gossip Girl* hair involve air-drying and chignons?
“For years and years, we did a curling iron,” Lively reveals. “There was a period where I was trying to help my hair because it had been through a lot.” She experimented with braids and buns to minimize heat, achieving a nice, smooth wave. However, she clarifies, “I did not only have air-dried hair during *Gossip Girl.* We were shooting in New York City, in the heat.”
The power of a “snatching” ponytail?
“Sometimes that is the intent,” Lively acknowledges. “You wear a ponytail to pull your face back.” She notes that while she hasn’t tried specific temple braids for this effect, a tight bun or ponytail can subtly alter one’s facial appearance.
She recalls attending the Golden Globes around 2017, shortly after giving birth. “I remember seeing the pictures, and I was like, ‘Oh, my face looks different because my hair was pulled so tight.’” For everyday wear, however, ponytails serve as her “day off” look, often paired with Blake Brown’s Pre-Shampoo treatment.
Your claw clip is lovely.
“Oh, thank you, I think it’s a brand called Emi-Jay,” Lively replies. She shares a humorous anecdote about a disappointing Etsy purchase: “Then I went to Hobby Lobby, and I saw all the details that were on the Etsy ones, and I was like, ‘That’s where they get them from!’”
Your dedication to bedazzling?
Lively reminisces about bedazzling her phone and iPod in high school. “Then it got stolen. I was sad, but I didn’t blame them either because I understood—it was so pretty.”
“I like a sparkle,” she admits. “There was a period where I thought, ‘Okay, I’m a New Yorker. I’m meant to grow up and modernize.’ Then you get old enough to really think, ‘No, I want to have the things that make me happy.’” This includes pink glitter tape on her car dashboard, a choice she suspects her children find either endearing or embarrassing.
Shop Blake Brown Hair Care Products
Blake Brown Classic Hairspray
Blake Brown All-In-Wonder Leave-In Potion
