Over the weekend, fashionistas, influencers, and music enthusiasts turned Splendour in the Grass into their own personal runways. Bold colours, eclectic boots, and oh-so-chic hairstyles adorned every nook and cranny of the music-thumping fields. So, we decided to do a little digging... from the Splendour Influencer House, populated by the social queens of Australia, to the music-bopping crowds on the grass, we discovered the best festival hairstyles of Splendour 2023. Not stopping there, we gathered the best in the business to give us a step by step guide of how to recreate these winning looks.

The Space Braided Buns 

Stepping into the future never looked so chic! These were the RAGE at Splendour 2023 for all the right reasons. The playful double buns embellished with colour, glitter and more added an out of world experience to the festival vibe. While not a new festival look, these buns are very much still on trend. 10/10 and applause emoji!         

Step One: Start with clean dry, combed hair for the best results. To maximise detangling, and minimise breakage, the experts recommend a Tangle Teezer. Let's be real, the only thing you should be snapping for a festival is glow sticks. 

Step Two: Part your hair down the middle of your head, dividing your hair into four equal sections, two equal parts at the top of your head, and two lower parts. Use a comb with a tail to ensure the parting is even. 

Step Three: Create two high ponytails with the two high parts. Don't forget to keep them symmetrical, might be a great time to bring in a friend to check the back of your head - we know you can't see back there! Leave your lower parted hair down, we will get to this later.

Step Four: Braid each ponytail right to the end, securing with a hair tie and wrap it around to create that ICONIC space bun formation. Ensure both space buns are at the same height on your head - if your friend is still there have them check - what are friends for if not to check on our space buns? 

Step Five: Now it's time to get creative. For your lower parted hair we recommend taking some small parts no bigger than an inch and creating some tight braids through your hair for a fun other-worldly touch. For even more fun, think glitter and hair gems – if you need some accessory ideas click here. 

Oooohlala you look festival ready! Are the 2024 Splendour tickets on sale yet?

The Couture Framing Bun

Who needs two buns when you can rock one? The prom inspired look gave a splash of couture and elegancy to the day and was dawned by no other than bohobarbie__. Showing us all yes Barbie inspired looks do belong at Splendour. What we love about this look is the simplicity and elegancy, not to mention the cheekbones that pop.

Step One: Start with clean dry hair for the best results.

Step Two: Take two small sections of hair from the front of either side of your face, adjust the thickness based on your preference, but aim for a strand that is about one to two inches wide.

Step Three: Secure the back by gathering the rest of your hair into a ponytail at the back of your head. We recommend securing it tightly for all that head bopping to come.

Step Four: Make the bun by twisting the ponytail around the base. Wrap the hair until it forms a neat and tight bun – for my shorter hair gals check out synthetic hair scrunchies which gives us all the volume without the maintenance). Secure the bun with bobby pins – again head bopping.

Step Five: Let’s get down to face framing business! Take your heat protectant, we LOVE the AG Care Firewall Argan Shine & Flat Iron Spray, adding shine while protecting us from heat and frizz, yes please. Take one section and twist into your flat iron to create that curl, one of our favourites is Cloud Nine’s Evergreen Touch Iron. Or if you want a little more of a curl, check out our Curling collection. Whatever the tool just remember twist away from the face!

Sep Six: Hairspray that style! Give it a light mist while holding the hairspray at least six inches away from you. PPS Original Lacquer is one of our best sellers, and will keep you holding strong all night long. Remember, unlike the bars in NSW the party goes past 3. 

Bubble Braids for Days 

Bubble braids deserve a special mention for being a festival statement since the beginning of festivals – or at least Splendour. Those whimsical bubbles down your hair give a frolicking along the grass to music vibes. While it may look like a nightmare to do, it’s actually pretty easy – all you need is a hairbrush, hair ties and a pinch of trust! For that hairbrush that does it all, SPS Ceramic Round Barrel Brush comes with a handle pick to make sectioning a breeze. 

Step One: We are gonna need combed hair here!

Step Two: Part your hair down the center of your hair into two equal sections.

Step Three: Take one section of hair and secure it into a hair tie. The ponytail should sit at the crown of your head, near the middle part.

Step Four: A few inches under your first hair hand place another hair tie and in between these two bands gently pull on the sides of the trapped hair to create a bubble effect. Make sure those ties are tight, honey. We don’t want to have to start again! 

Step Five: Create bubbles down your hair at regular intervals, always securing tightly with a hair tie. You are going to need a few, but don’t worry if you need to stock up we have hair ties that will make those bubble braids come alive!

Step Six: Secure any flyaways or loose hairs with bobby pins and hairspray. Add any hair accessories you like - I am talking gems, glitter – you go girl!

Mermaid Waves for the Win

Mermaid Waves are definitely on trend in 2023 so there was no surprise we ran into some of the trendiest influencers rocking that look. No other than @itsshaylajay and @bohobarbie__ showed off their mermaid waves courtesy of  Cloud Nine styling tools and the @priceattackhair styling team at the Splendour Influencer House.

These ultimate waves were done using Cloud Nine’s incredible styling tools, using their straighteners to rock back and forth creating that wavy look. Then taking the two strands framing the face with the ultimate styling curlers. So if you don’t have a mermaid wave curler we have you covered:

Step One: Comb heat protectant through your hair, removing any knots or tangles. This will shield it from the heat of your straighteners - trust me your ends will thank you later. 

Step Two: Divide your hair into manageable sections using hair clips or hair ties. Start by parting your hair down the middle to create two main sections. Then, further divide each section horizontally, creating multiple layers. Remember the SPS Barrel Brush comes with a handle pick for sectioning that makes styling a breeze (Bonus point it also comes in Rose Gold). 

Step Three: Take a small section of hair from the bottom layer and clamp the hair straightener at the root, press downward for two inches, and then holding the hair pull the straightener upward for the next two inches – this back and forth motion should create the mermaid effect. Continue this motion on each parting until all the hair is on point (or should we say wavy).

Step Four: Allow the hair to cool. Only once it is cooled, gently comb through the mermaid waves with your fingers or wide-toothed comb to separate and soften the waves, giving them a more natural and effortless appearance.

Step Five: A light mist of hairspray will enhance that hair. For an extra touch of mermaid magic, consider adorning your hair with mermaid-inspired hair accessories, like the gems we can’t get enough of – very festival if we do say so ourselves.

Now, these looks all created waves (sorry bad pun) but one was requested in the Influencer House more than any other. We shall call it the reigning supreme look of Splendour 2023... 

Drum...Roll... 

Curls, Curls and more Curls

Overall, while many hairstyles rocked over the weekend, loose curls won for the most requested hairstyle in the influencer house and out! It’s not surprising nothing gives endless festival nights vibes quite like locks of loose curls running over our shoulders. So here is our guide for the festival goddess of looks:

Step One: Protect your hair from heat! We can't highlight it enough AG Care Firewall Argan Shine & Flat Iron Spray protects your hair and gives that Argan Oil shine. You can learn about the unending benefits of Argan Oil on your hair here. 

Step Two: Section your hair into manageable sections. We recommend starting with two main sections down the middle and then parting from those. Let’s just say a little prep creates winning results.

Step Three: Set the temperature – for finer hair get that lower setting girl – for thicker hair we can handle a little hotter styler. Always err on the side of caution when it comes to heat on locks.

Step Four: using your straighteners or curling iron grab your first small section of hair and wrap it around the iron, curling away from your face. If you have trouble with curling iron's Mermade's Spinning curler has changed the game, check it out!  Hold it for 5-10 seconds and then release. Repeat this process with each section until you have them curls honey. Check out Cloud Nine's styling tools here, for luxury tools you just can't beat (and lets be real your hair deserves the best). 

Step Five: As you are going through alternate the direction of the curls. Some towards and some away from your hair will create a natural curl pattern which will give those whimsical festival curl vibes we want. 

Are you as obsessed with the results as we were? 

Overall, the looks were on point, the glitter pouring, the braids wound tight and the music loud. The festival hair styles of Splendour left us in awe and we can't wait to see what you pull off next time! 

Check out our collection for festival inspiration!