Pearls in your hair

Pearls have replaced diamonds as a girl's best friend. For centuries, these understated jewels have adorned the necks, ears, wrists and fingers of women. Even if visualising a modern spin on pearls is almost unthinkable, as the adornment is practically a classic, in a most creative twist of events, the accessory has now been gorgeously repurposed to embellish the tresses. No, not pearl set pins, those have been around the block already. The newest from these accessories is weaving them directly in your hair!

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

The trend is called a pearl scattering or "pearlcore," as per Pinterest. Whatever the name, the dreamy inlay of smooth, white pearls on hair, especially dark, Asian hair creates the effect of a starry night. Ever since celebrity hairstylist Justine Marjan, who has styled the likes of Kim Kardashian, Kerry Washington, and Olivia Culpo, spearheaded the look with Lucy Boynton, it was heralded as something of a hair movement. Boynton's pearl embellished part at the Oscars red carpet has only moved up the popularity curve, with people adopting the trend and giving it their own, creative spin.

The technique is pretty simple, albeit painstaking, as shared by the pioneer of the look, Marjan. Her weapons for the kill — lash glue and tweezers. It's all in the method, she claims. She uses a thin pair of tweezers, and dips it in the smallest amount of glue before carefully placing it on the hair. The glue should dry a little bit, says the stylist so that it is more tacky than gooey. She also recommends cleaning the tweezers after placing each pearl because any residual glue on the equipment could hinder the placement of the ornament, resulting in a gloopy mess.

Photo: Sazzad Ibne Sayed

To get the floating effect, she reveals another surprisingly easy trick — use transparent glue for light hair and brown glue for darker shades of hair. As long as the adhesive blends into the hair, the pearl looks neat and effortless.

There are plenty of ways one can wear the resplendent baubles in their hair, and they are easy to customise as per quantity and style. Along the hairline, on the crown, woven into braids and everything else in-between, one can play around with styles, sizes, and colours of pearls to create the look they want. The jewels can dress up an otherwise plain ponytail and lend an ethereal touch to boho braids. If one's dress is simple, they serve to elevate the glamour. If the attire is heavy, they demurely complement the ensemble. The style has already showed its magic on the runway and it looks equally mesmerising at proms, and weddings.

Truth be told, achieving the trending look does not even warrant a trip to the hairstylist anymore — stick-on pearls are easily available in the market and that makes placing them easy and hassle-free. Not to undermine the beauty of the look in any way, but the relatively simple method of working the ornaments into hair is one of the prominent reasons why the trend has taken off so much. So, what's stopping you from trying it?

Model: Antora

Makeup: Sumon