13 Slicked-Back Hairstyles to Wear for Any Occasion

For this look, slick your hair back but leave the middle part intact à la Kendall Jenner. A middle part with a bun will allow your facial features to stand out better. To accomplish this style, Brook recommends: “Section hair before you start smoothing, not after. This is where most people lose their symmetry before they even begin.” The expert also recommends using “a rattail comb for a razor-sharp part.”

If you have a bob or a lob hairstyle, flipping out the ends for this half slicked-back, half side-part style is one of the chicest looks you could do now. “This one has a confident, playful energy that I absolutely love,” says Brook. “Use your round brush only on the ends, not the roots. The slicked crown and the flipped ends are meant to contrast each other.”

Tying your hair back into a braid is one of the fastest ways to elevate your look, regardless of where you’re headed. “A sleek, low slick-back ponytail finished off with a long braid is considered çağdaş,” says Stephen. Though Miley Cyrus wears her braid on a red carpet, you can easily create the same look for a night out with friends or even a Pilates class. As Stephen says, this look “gives off a low maintenance beauty vibe.”

A slick low bun is one of those looks that will never, ever go out of style. In fact, it’s why many people fall in love with the hairstyle in the first place. To best accomplish this look, Brook recommends smoothing the temples “after the bun is secured, not before.” As she explains, “Trying to do it before loses all the tension you just created.”

You’ll never have to choose between leaving your hair down and putting it up again, even when it comes to slicked-back styles. “This style can give off youthful or young vibe depending on the execution,” says Stephen. “The shortcut to creating this look is using a pre-styled half wig in the ‘half down’ section. Then create your ‘half up’ section.”

Keep things a little more relaxed with face-framing tendrils and a looser slicked-back bun. “Pull your face-framing pieces out before you slick, not after,” says Brook. “After looks like you changed your mind. Before looks intentional. That tiny sequence change is the difference between effortless and messy.”

You may think you have to slick your hair down until it’s rigid and unmoving to achieve the look, but a soft slick is another—and way more wearable—way to go. “Use your fingers to pinch and pull pieces out to create softness around your face,” recommends Brook.

Low-key aren’t typically words used to describe a slicked-back hairstyle, but this low pony proves otherwise. Rather than a dressier bun, this hairstyle feels more wearable and versatile. Plus, it’s great for special events: “A mid-nape placement photographs so much better than you expect,” says Brook. She suggests wrapping a small piece of hair around the elastic. “That one move changes everything.”

Dressing up your sleek low bun is easier than you think. Like Gabrielle Union, the side-part knot is a fun twist on the usual slick-backed fun. According to Sunnie, “a tentative side part reads as a mistake. A deep side part reads as a statement. Commit to it fully.”

Though the wet-look hairstyle has been around for years, especially on red carpets, combining the wet look with a slick-back style is especially popular with celebs (as Zendaya proves here). “I love this hair when a client is showing lots of skin,” says Stephen. She adds that the wet-look “can give off a variety of vibes, such as editorial, edgy, sultry or grungy.” To keep your strands to stay in place, Stephen recommends using gels, oils, pomades, and serums. She likes the Moroccanoil sculpting pomade specifically “to create those face-framing pieces.”

A lot of people think wearing a slicked-back hairstyle involves pulling their hair up, but you can totally get a slick look while leaving it down. It’s simple, but transformative. A slicked-back bob “gives off a strong, sexy and sophisticated vibe,” says Brook. To get this Jessie Buckley-approved look, here’s what you’ll do: “On damp or dry hair, rub a sculpting pomade through, adding more if needed. Comb and style the bob into a sleek foundation.”

Whether you love a braided moment or something more structural like the one photographed here, adding a little extra oomph to a bun will really do the trick for a special occasion. As you can see, Margot Robbie took it to the next level with her artful take on the style while attending a Wuthering Heights premiere. “Once you create your slick-back foundation, divide the hair into even sections, then twist and pin each individual section into a cool shape, and secure to the head,” says Stephen. Nervous that it will fall? Stephen suggests using a strong hairspray (she likes the Moroccanoil luminous hairspray) to keep it all in place.

Don’t feel like you have to go all out on a trendy new slicked-back style every time. “There’s something almost architectural about a perfectly executed tuck that feels sophisticated without trying too hard,” says Brook. Sometimes, the classics are the classics for a reason. “That tension through the temples creates a natural lift that makes everyone look more awake and more radiant. It’s the style equivalent of a really good night’s sleep.”