How to Achieve Textured “Chai Tea with Heidi” Locks

So many have reached out asking what texture products I used on Heidi’s hair for the Heidi + Snoop Dogg collaboration “Chai Tea with Heidi” video.

Firstly, we were filming this video in Mykonos under torrential wind conditions. This was my first sign not to stress and work organically as I always do, counting on my 2 serums for texturizing and to stay right away from any product that would fix the hair in place.

The reason I used both serums was the weight difference between the Iles Formula Finishing Serum that delivers a lighter silkier texture and the Curl Revive Serum that delivers a heavier cashmere texture. Don’t be fooled by the word curl, this serum is equally ideal for thick coarse straight hair, therefore can be blow-dried into straight voluminous looks.

Read on to know my techniques and achieve Heidi’s textured locks:

1/Heidi is a user of Iles Formula – so by the time she reached my chair that morning, her Iles shampoo and Iles conditioner were already done.

2/ First step is blow drying in the Iles Formula Finishing serum with a 1.38-inch medium round brush into section by section throughout Heidi’s hair. This builds up the volume and delivers the perfect weightless luster throughout the hair, which not only delivers an organic memory to hair but also delivers heat and humidity protection.

3/Because of the torrid wind conditions, I took a smaller size 1.5-inch hot tong than I’d normally choose, as I knew the strength of the wind would immediately make the curl appear looser. The curls were formed on vertical sections, taking sections like bicycle wheel spokes around the head, wound all toward the center back, and clipped into place until cooled.

4/On removing the clips I broke the curls up with my Iles Formula large tooth comb and started to apply the Curl Revive Serum throughout the hair in sections with my fingers applying it here and there on sections, throughout the style, avoiding the root area completely.

Piecing through cur revive serum with fingers as seen on Instagram @wendyiles_hair

5/ On that note, I sent Heidi out into the wind and trusted my serums and the wind would create some magic, and that’s exactly what happened. Let’s not forget Heidi is a champion at moving her hair, which kept me even more sure this was going to be an iconic hair moment. We did 6 hours of filming outdoors then moved into the studio where I recreated the wind with 3 wind machines, two from the back and one from the front. I did no heated tool touch-ups, the movement stayed all day and into the night.

So the lesson to take from this is to stay away from any styling product that will freeze the hair’s memory, allowing the hair to live freely with organic styling like Iles Formula which protects hair against UV and humidity so the hair can move without restriction, and stay fresh, allowing an easy touchup if it’s necessary.

Enjoy the full video published on Instagram @wendyiles_hair here.