What the heck is the 'tendy' trend?

The nostalgic and ‘90s-inspired tendril trend has reigned supreme for the last few years with celebrities like Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa and Megan Thee Stallion all trying various styles of tendrilled updos.

But as far as 2023 is concerned, the tendril trend’s reign is over.

The hairstyle has since evolved into a single stranded tendril that the self-referential cultural hype machine is affectionately referring to as a ‘tendy’.

How to style the ‘tendy’ trend

Aesthetically speaking, the ‘tendy’ is far more romantic than its predecessor. In fact, it’s been spotted in the streets of romantic cities like Paris and Milan during their respective Spring/Summer fashion weeks.

Hailey Bieber tried the trend while in Paris and nailed the French Girl look with a half-up ponytail she secured with a black velvet ribbon. 

Gigi Hadid debuted a wispy ‘tendy’ that showed off her naturally wavy hair texture, and softened an otherwise severe ‘French roll’ updo while attending the Miu Miu Dinner Party at Laurent during Paris Fashion Week. 

Although it’s obviously a genius way to make full use of all the summer’s hottest haircut trends that call for shorter face-framing strands (like the layered butterfly cut and nostalgic Birkin Bangs), the versatile styling technique can be used on different lengths of hair too. 

For example, during her concert in Sydney in September, Nigerian singer Tems put her own spin on the trend and showed off a lengthy braided ‘tendy’ while performing on-stage.

If you’d like to try the trend for yourself, we’d also encourage you to play with textures during the styling process, much like Vanessa Hudgens, who styled her hair into a wet-look, braided chignon with her ‘tendy’ separated into piecey wisps using wet-look styling products for the Vanity Fair Oscars After Party earlier this year.

The best hair styling products for achieving the ‘tendy’ trend

Even if you’re scraping the rest of your hair back into a Sofia Richie Grainge-style sleek bun, we’d recommend using lightweight styling products that won’t add weight to your hair, promote the definition of your natural texture and help to smooth frizz and flyaways.

For wave and curl definition, hold, and a shiny (almost) wet-look finish, we’d recommend reaching for the MOROCCANOIL Curl Control Mousse ($48.50 at Adore Beauty). 

Similarly, ColorWOW’s Dream Coat Supernatural Spray for curly hair ($56 at Adore Beauty) provides definition and a sleek shiny finish, however as it doesn’t provide any hold, it’ll allow more natural movement of the hair. It’s perfect for when you want to look put together but don’t want to compromise on bounce. 

If you’re thinking of using hot tools to style your ‘tendy’, we’d advise you try something along the lines of the OUAI Finishing Creme ($43 at Sephora). It provides protection from heat, whilst helping to smooth frizz, and enhancing shine and body. 

There are more curl-defining products where that came from — check out our favourite curl creams here.

Image credit: Getty