As your bleached Agy crop grows out and parts of your Amy beehive are still scattered across the floor, a new It-do is emerging. Blame it on her edgy alter ego Sasha Fierce, or the 34 million YouTube followers engrossed in her Single Ladies video, but Beyoncé's influence is spreading to a hair salon near you.
"The Beyoncé is basically a streamlined backcombed bouffant", says celebrity hairstylist Errol Douglas. "It's very contemporary, a more tailored version of the big, glam bouffant hair in the 80s. This style is easier to do but the transformation element is still there - you feel different instantly. It's a sassy look, popular on the catwalk, and it's very versatile - you can dress it up with makeup or leave it without.
"Beyoncé has become so big … everyone wants a piece of her, and this is an easy, accessible way to get that," he adds.
With its nod to the 80s, the Beyoncé confirms that it's not just stonewashed jeans and leotards that are coming back - hair is having a revival, too. The main appeal of the style is its convenience factor: it doesn't require you to cut or dye your hair; it works on afro and Caucasian hair; it suits most ages.
At a top London salon, such as Douglas's in Knightsbridge, the look will set you back between £45 and £200, depending on how much time is spent creating it. Stylists are currently doing half a dozen interpretations of the Beyonce daily. However, it is also a style you can recreate on a smaller budget at home (see below).
Keen to be transformed into a popstar lookalike, I visited Douglas's salon to try out the style. Having been with the same hairdresser for years (except for a period in my late teens when I tried a DIY weave with terrible consequences), I was apprehensive about letting someone else loose on my hair. Stylist Emily Hart began by straightening my hair along the hairline to obtain a sleek look, before backcombing the rest, tying it into a tight ponytail, and attaching extensions with pins.
After an hour my afro hair, which is relaxed and normally worn in a bob, became long and glamorous. The ponytail reached the middle of my back - according to Douglas, any longer and it's not believable. I flicked my hair as I stepped out of the salon. In my head I was a diva; in reality it was more Jamelia than Beyoncé.
My backcombed tresses were streamlined and not too severe in a softened take on the look, and the ponytail made the style more practical. Douglas explained that just as designer clothes are watered down on their journey from the catwalk to the high street, the same is possible with hairstyles. The subtle but noticeable puff at the front of my hair was sleek, and I looked like the well-kept girl I've always dreamed of being.
Another benefit of this version of the look is its age-defying properties. "A tight ponytail actually softens the face", says Douglas. "Back in the 40s and 50s, before facelifts, they would pull the hair back, which automatically pulls the skin up, and then add a wig on top."
Back at the office, my 'Beyoncé' style was greeted with compliments and questions (how did my hair suddenly grow? What products did I use? Would I do the Single Ladies dance?). Colleagues kept trying to touch it but I ducked for fear that it would all come loose. I found myself happily twirling the long locks around my finger and by end of the day I was quite attached to the extra hair. Taking the extensions off I was sad to lose the length and style, but happy to get the 20-plus sharp, painful pins out.
How to recreate The Beyoncé at home
If you don't have long hair and you're looking for a quick fix, you can buy ready-made ponytails from hair shops that attach simply with a hair band. The other option is to buy the hair and attach it yourself. If you are doing this, wash and blow-dry your hair the night before (if you wash it on the day you won't get longevity out of the style).
On the day, straighten your hair to smoothen the hairline - don't forget the hair at the back of your head. Then leave an inch of your hair at the front (this will cover over the backcombing) and start backcombing the rest of your hair, taking it a section at a time. Use a non-aerosol spray for afro hair, such as Matrix Air Trix Strong Hold Non-Aerosol spray. Use a lighter spray for Caucasian hair, such as Matrix Vavoom, which won't make the hair greasy. Hold the comb at a 45-degree angle - this will give you more height.
Tip your head forward and spray underneath lightly to brush up short bits of hair. Then brush the inch of hair at the front to slick over the backcomb effect, pulling the whole thing together into a tight ponytail. Create the ponytail just below the crown - it can look severe if it is too high up.
If using synthetic hair, take a section and use as many kirby grips as necessary to attach it to your own hair. Once one section is secure, continue to unravel the synthetic hair around the ponytail and secure it to your hair - be sure that the attachment is nice and tight. Ask a friend to help and check that the hair is symmetrical. Then take two inches of synthetic hair and wrap it around the join so it looks seamless, and pin this in place.
Finish by trimming the ends of the ponytail and adding shine wax to the front of your hair for a sleek look.
Errol's ten-most requested celebrity hairstyles of all time
In no particular order:
1. Amy Winehouse (beehive)
2. Cheryl Cole (extensions)
3. Rihanna (shortened bob)
4. Lady Gaga
5. Posh Spice (pixie crop)
6. Helen Mirren (power bob)
7. Mia Farrow (Rosemary's baby)
8. Agyness Deyn
9. Rachel, aka Jennifer Aniston
10. Kate Moss (shaggy bob)
• Carlene was styled at the Errol Douglas salon, 18 Motcomb Street, London SW1X 8LB, erroldouglas.com
