‘Indie Sleaze Waves’ Is the Only 2000s Hairstyle You’ll Be Rocking This Spring

Hair as lustrous as a raven's wing has been the dominant aesthetic of late. But coming in strong right now are indie sleaze waves—a.k.a. the complete antithesis to a fresh, bouncy blowout. 

So rather than channel our inner J.Lo, we're looking to Kate Moss and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen circa 2006 for our hair inspiration. And it's a vibe we're 100% on board with.

It's fair to say that, ever since the pandemic lockdowns, there's been a move to embrace our hair's natural texture and take a more laissez-faire approach to styling. Hence the popularity of wash-and-go haircuts like the cub cut that require a blast of volumizing spray and little else.

Indie sleaze waves certainly scratch that itch for something altogether less polished. And it's a trend that's even managed to infiltrate Paris Fashion Week and that most institutionalized of glamorous events, the 2023 Oscars. At the ceremony Olivia Wilde and Nicole Kidman rewrote the rules for red-carpet hair, opting for effortlessly cool waves and a puffy bedhead crown rather than sleek Old Hollywood ringlets.

“The only difference is that in 2006 we were actually living the indie sleaze moment,” says Michael Lendon, Aveda's senior creative director. “We genuinely didn't really care too much about our hair and so the look became the trend naturally. It phased out around the time of Instagram being launched, when we started to want more polish and style. 

“But now we are starting to see the perfect blow-dry and sleek snatched pony being phased out,” he continues. “It won't happen overnight, but, as ever, we crave the opposite for our hairstyle after a period of oversaturation.”

Put simply, the indie sleaze trend in 2023 is intentionally messy hair that looks like you've slept in it, with texturizing sprays and puffs of dry shampoo scrunched in. 

As for how it differs from other undone styles? “Beach waves are slightly more polished and often a bit more uniform, as if your hair has dried naturally in the sun,” says Lendon. “Indie sleaze is more rock-and-roll. It's like you styled your hair for a gig, had a messy night out, slept in it, woke up and thought to yourself, Actually, it looks quite cool—I’ll just give it a shake-out and a blast of dry shampoo. And then you go out again that night.”

How to create indie sleaze waves

As ever, it depends on whom you ask. Jen Atkin, who posted a step-by-step tutorial on her Instagram, likes to use a three-barrel waver to create a deep bend two inches away from the root and lightly move it down the hair shaft “to get a loose, natural-looking bend at the bottom,” she says. 

Meanwhile, Peter Lux revealed in a post that he gently waved Simone Ashley's hair with a large-barrel curling iron so that it mimicked a natural air-dried texture and then finished the look with Fable & Mane's HoliRoots MahaMane Smooth & Shine Hair Oil “to add a slightly languid, sexy vibe.”

Lendon prefers a more organic route, preferring to “apply a texture spray such as Aveda’s Texture Tonic and a pump of Nutriplenish Multi-Use Hair Oil to damp hair before rough-drying it with a hair dryer until it is about 70% dry.” He then recommends separating your hair into three sections that are roughly the same size. 

“Loosely twist each section before plaiting and leave them to dry, either overnight or by applying warm air directly into the braid,” Lendon advises. “Once dry, undo the plait, but don’t brush out or rake your hands through it too much. Just go about your day and let it evolve into your very own sleazy look.”

Then turn up the Arctic Monkeys, slip on your Converse, and dance toward the brightest lights you can see. 

6 ways to wear indie sleaze hair

This post was originally published on Glamour UK.