How to Copy the Olsen Twins’ Effortless Waves

I’ve always felt a special kinship with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. We’re nearly the same age, so they’ve basically been with me at every stage of life. They were building a billion-dollar brand as tweens, what with their iconic collection of straight-to-VHS movies and Walmart line, while I was watching said movies with my friends during sleepovers. When they turned 18, moved to New York, and became the fashion icons they are today, I was longing to do the same thing. I even bought a knockoff pair of Mary-Kate’s Balenciaga booties circa 2010, so desperate was I to channel some of that Olsen coolness. And, of course, I was paying attention to their hair—those loose, slightly beachy, Olsen waves, which soon became one of their trademarks.

While I’ve always idolized those effortless waves, the rest of the world moved on and we’ve been in an era of bouncy supermodel blowouts. But the pendulum always swings back, and beachy, mid-aughts “indie sleaze” waves are once again having a moment, and no one better encapsulates the look than Mary-Kate and Ashley—it’s impossible to scroll TikTok without seeing a tutorial for their perfectly mussed waves.

Ahead, everything you need to know about the origins of the style, plus how to get the look.

The Look

The sisters’ longtime hairstylist Mark Townsend recently revealed some of the secrets of those signature waves when he appeared on the Gloss Angeles podcast. At first, the sisters would get a full blowout and then wrap their hair around a curling iron to create the beachy bends, following it with serums and creams for a piecey look, though Townsend noted they soon transitioned to air-drying their hair and using dry shampoo and salt spray.

Townsend also shared that despite the fact that Ashley and Mary-Kate are twins, they have different hair textures. “They have such different hair, I approach it completely different,” he said on the podcast. “Ashley’s hair is much curlier and much darker, but Mary-Kate’s is a little bit more coarse.” Because the sisters are fraternal twins, not identical, that tracks. Both sisters have been pretty faithful to their wavy styles for years, and they add yet another layer to their signature effortlessly cool style. 

How to Get the Look

If you, like me, have been coveting the sisters’ waves and their wardrobe for well over a decade, one is a lot easier to recreate at home than the other. (Sorry, but a head-to-toe Row look is a bit out of budget.) “I love these waves because they’re so versatile,” says editorial hairstylist Heggy Gonzalez. (Ashey did wear her air-dried waves with a Dior gown to the Met Gala in 2013 and they looked just as perfect as they do with her usual day-to-day uniform; Townsend simply set her wet hair with clips and let it air dry.) 

There are a few different ways to get Olsen-worthy waves at home, including air-drying your hair if you have a natural wavy texture like the sisters. “It’s all about starting with the right base,” Gonzalez says. For straight to wavy hair, she recommends Aveda’s Be Curly Advanced Curl Enhancer, a lightweight cream that has also been my personal go-to product since the late 2000s; it defines waves and curls and reduces frizz. Distribute product through damp hair, part it where you prefer, and let it air dry until it’s 60 to 70% dry. Then, Gonzalez recommends sectioning your hair into about four sections, braiding each one, and securing the ends with a scrunchie, not a rubber band, to reduce creasing.

Let your hair dry naturally or speed things up with a blow dryer or diffuser, then undo the braids and run your fingers through your hair. For extra lived-in texture, try spritzing in a salt spray like the classic Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray or a texturizing spray like Oribe’s Dry Texturizing Spray—Townsend previously told us that he uses the Dove Dry Shampoo like a texturizer. It’s okay if the waves aren’t uniform; we don’t want them to be too perfect! They should be tousled and undone but not frizzy.

If you’re short on time, try loosely braiding dry hair and hitting it with a flat iron, letting it cool, then undoing the braids. A waver tool, also known as a three-barrel iron, can give you that beachy texture fast—just make sure you prep with a thermal protectant! 

All you need to complete the look is a big cup of coffee, some chic Teva sandals, and maybe a beat-up, stained Balenciaga bag and you’re basically MKA.