A Photo Gallery of Popular Hairstyles on Asian Women

By
Julyne Derrick
Julyne Derrick
Writer
  • B.A., Communications, Texas Luthern University
  • American University
Julyne Derrick is a freelance beauty writer specializing in mature skin.
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Updated on 05/23/19
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Fei Fei Sun

Asian Model

Philosophy Di Lorenzo Serafini - Backstage: Milan Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019/20/Rosdiana Ciaravolo/Getty Images

More and more Asian models, vloggers and "It Girls" are hitting the fashion runways, the most popular Instagram feeds and the pages of fashion magazines. In this gallery, review their fabulous hairstyles as well as how to best care for Asian hair.

Known for their fashion and beloved for their arty Instagram photos and blogs, these women are ones to watch and to follow in the next few years.

But first, let's talk styling Asian hair. Rule No. 1: Find a hairdresser who knows how to cut Asian hair. That's pretty much a given. But once you have a great cut, you need to know how to style it.

Asian Hair: Silky & Slippery

Not all Asian hair is silky and slippery, but most is. Some Asian women report their hair can be silky and straight -- like flat-ironed straight -- one day and wavy the next. But most Asian hair tends to be thick and silky. This means it's hard for hair to stay in a curl, a wave or an updo. The heaviness of hair causes it to fall out quickly.

The secret to keeping a style is to create texture. You can do this in a number of ways:

  1. Texturizing spray. Spray this on hair to create that coveted piecey-ness. Use Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. Prive Finishing Texture Spray is also nice..
  2. Dry shampoo. Usually used to soak up oils from second-day hair, dry shampoo also works to create texture in freshly-washed hair. Just make sure you buy one that works with dark hair. 
  3. Matte shape paste. Thick in consistency, these pastes work as volumizers and texturizers, allowing you to create volume at the roots and crown that will last all day. Try Alfaparf S4U F'nK Matte Molding Paste or Shu Uemura Art of Hair Shape Paste, also. 

To create volume, you need different products. Try:

  1. Mousse. Mousse fell out of favor years ago, but now is back. The new formulations are great for adding body at the crown and root. Apply to towel-dried hair before blow-drying. Try Kenra Professional Extra Volume Mousse.
  2. Volumizing spray. Spray this on the towel-dried hair before shampooing to add volume at the roots and crown. My pick: Bumble and Bumble Thickening Hair Spray.

How to Get Beachy Waves

Because Asian hair tends to be silky and slippery, it may seem impossible to keep a wave or curl. Curls and waves fall out almost immediately.

To keep the kink, you need product. Texturizing spray and dry shampoo (see above for recommendations) help. But there are other methods that work, too.

One blogger swears by twisting her medium-length hair into Princess Leia buns on the side of her hair. She starts by spritzing her dry hair with texturizing spray and a little bit of water. She then twists her hair into buns, securing with a ponytail holder. About half an hour later, she unwinds her buns to reveal perfect waves.

Vivian Vo-Farmer is a well-known vlogger who is famous for taking the twisted hair even further. She has a famous YouTube video that describes how she gets perfect beachy waves overnight without using hot tools or even very much product. Her method involves what she dubs, "twist braids." She twist braids each side of her hair very tightly, winding her hair into (again) two Princess Leia side buns. She then sleeps on it. Her YouTube video, "My Everyday Hair: Heatless Wavy Hair," has gotten millions of views.

You can also get beachy waves with a Korean Digital Perm. This specialized perm leaves you with waves, not curls. Your hair is soaked in perming solution then rolled into rollers subjected to a heating machine. Great things have been said about the digital perms done at Kim Sun Young Salon, which is based in LA, New York and Seoul. 

The Best Dry Shampoos

Dry shampoos are an oily hair girl's best friend. These work to soak up oils from your scalp, which can flatten hair, but they also add texture, which is needed when you want your hair to stay in a loose bun, a ponytail or an updo.

The secret to Asian hair and dry shampoos are to find ones that work with dark hair and won't leave a white cast on your hair.

How to Go Blonde

More and more Asian women are stepping out as blondes, while others are embracing the ombre look (dark on top, light on the bottom). You'll see many of these examples in this gallery.

But going blonde can be utterly time intensive. The double processing required can take all day and in many cases several days as your colorist takes your hair from dark to blonde. They will first bleach your hair, stripping it of its existing color and then they will tone your hair to achieve your desired shade.

The most important consideration when going blonde is a great colorist who is genius at matching your skin tone to the right shade of blonde. Anyone can go blonde, what counts is the tone of blonde. You may read all sorts of salon-speak about skin tone and blondes, like cool, icy blondes work best on yellow-toned Asian skin, while warmer, caramel hues flatter darker complexions, but leave that stuff up to the colorist. Hair color, after all, is a science.

If you are in the New York area and looking for a great colorist that specializes in Asian hair, visit Williamsburg's Shizen salon.

Product Recommendations

  • Keep your dry ends or processed hair in good shape with a decent leave-in conditioner like Mixed Chicks, which was formulated for ethnic hair.
  • Nano Amino Mist from Japan is revered for conditioning hair damaged by processing.
  • Shiseido Tsubaki Shining Shampoo is wonderful for Asian hair.
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Jihye Park

Jihye Park. Melodie Jeng for Getty
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Models Jing Wen and Sunghee Kim

Models Jing Wen and Sunghee Kim. Getty: Melodie Jeng
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SungHee Kim

Model SungHee Kim. Photo by Melodie Jeng/Getty Images
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Ellen V Lora

Ellen V. Lora, Jenn Im and Eugenie Grey attend the JustFab Launch of Ready-To-Wear at Sunset Tower on April 1, 2015 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for JustFab)

Known for her amazing hair color, blogger Ellen V. Lora uses her blog to share her favorite hair and beauty tips. Here, she is pictured with fellow beauty bloggers.

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Liu Wen

Liu Wen. Photo by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for Burberry

One of China’s biggest supermodels

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So-ra Choi

So-ra Choi. Melodie Jeng for Getty
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Bai Ling's Topknot

Actress Bai Ling arrives at The 2nd Annual The Peace Fund Celebrity Poker Tournament on September 26, 2015 in Playa Vista, California. Photo by Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for The Peace Fund
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Luping Wang

Luping Wang. Melodie Jeng
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Michelle Phan

YouTube Channel Personality Michelle Phan attends the 2015 Endemol Beyond NewFronts at Chelsea Piers, Studio 59 on May 7, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic)

Michelle Phan, who is Vietnamese-American, was the first Asian vlogger to hit the YouTube scene back in 2008. She became famous with her Lady Gaga makeup tutorials and went on to become a famous woman entrepreneur. She's now focused on growing her business, which means less vlogging, but she's always one to watch.

Don't miss her YouTube channel.

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A Model in a Bob

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A model in a perfect bob hairstyle at Paris Fashion Week. Pascal Le Segretain // Getty Images
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Ming Xi

Ming Xi. Dimitrios Kambouris for Getty
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Trang Pham

Trang Pham. Trang Pham Instagram screenshot of Elle advertisement for TRESemme

Vietnamese model, follow her on Instagram

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Sayo Akasaka

Model Sayo Akasaka attends the Tory Burch fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2015 at 583 Park Avenue on February 17, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tory Burch
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A Side Ponytail on a Model

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Brian Ach for Getty Images
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Aya Sato and Bambi

Aya Sato and Bambi. Instagram AyaBambi

Follow them on Instagram

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HyunJeong Ji

HyunJeong Ji. Getty
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Maryam Maquillage

Maryam Maquillage. hoto by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for NYX Cosmetics

Maryam Maquillage is a New York-based blogger who is Eurasian, with Russian and Bashkort lineage (read more about what Bashkort means on Maryam's blog). 

 

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Sui He

Sui He. Photo by Marc Grimwade/WireImage

Chinese supermodel

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Soo Joo Park

Model Soo Joo Park attends amfAR's 22nd Cinema Against AIDS Gala, Presented By Bold Films And Harry Winston at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc on May 21, 2015 in Cap d'Antibes, France. Photo by Ian Gavan/Getty Images
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Ping Hue Cheung

Model Ping Hue Cheung. Photo by Marc Stamas/Getty Images
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Margaret Zhang

Margaret Zhang. Photo by Don Arnold/WireImage
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Bloggers Dani Song and Aimee Song

Bloggers Dani Song and Aimee Song attend Beverly Center 'Show Us Your Style' Challenge 2015 at Beverly Center on September 2, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images The Beverly Center
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A Cool Street Shot

A guest, detail, is seen wearing a thrift-store jacket during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week TOKYO 2015 A/W at Shibuya Hikarie on March 20, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Alfie Goodrich/Getty Images
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Jessie Setiono

Jessie Setiono. Jessie Setiono's Instagram

Follow her on Instagram

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Nicole Warne

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Tokyo Street Style

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Alfie Goodrich for Getty Images
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More Tokyo Street Style

A guest is seen wearing two-piece suit by Garrison during the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week TOKYO 2015 A/W at Shibuya Hikarie on March 19, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Alfie Goodrich/Getty Images
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Girl's Day

Girl's Day arrive for the 4th Gaon Chart K-POP Awards at the Olympic Park on January 28, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images