Hairstylist Mark Townsend breaks down how to get Dakota Johnson bangs for yourself.

Loose beach waves, a warm brown tone, and Dakota Johnson's signature bangs&mdash;effortlessly elegant, perfectly styled, and classically chic curtain bangs&mdash;make up the actress' widely envied hair look. Spotted everywhere from your Pinterest board to the red carpet, Johnson's famous fringe has been the talk of celebrity stylists and TikTok alike, especially as the curtain bang style has skyrocketed in popularity throughout the past few years.&nbsp;
To understand Johnson's lived-in, yet artfully styled bangs, L'OFFICIEL went straight to the source&mdash;Johnson's longtime hair stylist, Mark Townsend, who has worked with the actress for over 10 years. Townsend often draws inspiration from voluminous '60s-'70s bangs looks, but prioritizes wearability, classic elegance, and above all, achieving a look that is quintessentially Dakota.&nbsp;
Speaking to L'OFFICIEL, Townsend broke down exactly how he achieved Johnson's look for her March 2024 cover shoot, how to get "Dakota Johnson bangs" at home, and what hairstyles he is rooting for heading into spring.

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: What was the thought process behind Dakota's look for this shoot? Did you plan the hair around the outfits or did you have something in mind going in?
Mark Townsend: The first thing we always do is look at the clothes just to get inspiration. A lot of times there are high necks, low necks, sequins&mdash;things to think about with a hairstyle. But when we started the shoot, we had our creative meeting and it was very much about like, Let's keep this Dakota. We didn't want to do anything very different. We wanted to keep it like her classic style. So we really just did the editorial version of Dakota, which is just a little fuller, a little bigger. We cut her bangs a little shorter that day. I mean, those things are iconic. They're a hairstyle all on their own. 
L&rsquo;O: I heard about cutting Dakota's bangs on set that day. What&rsquo;s the secret to getting those perfect face-framing bangs like hers?
MT: She has a very heart-shaped face. Her forehead is much wider than her jaw. Heart-shaped faces call out for bangs. We do all these little changes here and there, sometimes she likes them above her eyebrows. My favorite is when they're between the brow and the lash which is a very tiny amount of space so I have to see her every two weeks to cut her bangs when we keep them there. But the day of this shoot, she had been on vacation and she trims them herself while she's away sometimes. She doesn't do a bad job, but we definitely needed to even them out a little bit. She only does the middle. She doesn't get into trying to cut the sides. We always like a little bit of a connection into the sides of her bangs into her face-framing layers.
On that day, she wanted something new and I have been requesting shorter bangs. We did them the first time and then she was like, &ldquo;Let's go shorter.&rdquo; So there were like two big trims on the day of the shoot. And I think it worked out perfectly with everything she was wearing because again, it's very Dakota but just Dakota elevated.
Once I cut those and then did the sides, she blow dries them herself. The real key to them being so perfect is that after I've done everything on her hair, then she goes into the bathroom, soaks her bangs to completely wet, and she blow dries them straight down with a flat brush to get rid of her cowlick. Then she uses the round brush to flick out the sides. She has it down to science. There are so many Old Hollywood stories like Joan Crawford always did her own brows. Dakota always does her own bangs.
 L'O: Do you have any tips for people who want to do their own bang maintenance?
MT: I mean, the real key is that you want to blow dry them from wet, because the hairs on our hairline have the most tendency to go in different directions which is why so many people have cowlicks on their hairline. She has a doozy of a strong one, and hers is just slightly on her right side. The real commitment here is that you have to style your bangs. It's very rare that someone can fully air dry their bangs and them be flattering. As long as you spend five to 10 minutes on your bangs, you're gonna have a hairstyle. And bang trims&mdash;I certainly don't recommend people cut them themselves, even trims, so talk to your hairstylist. I have clients come in every two weeks just for a quick bang trim when I'm already in the salon and I'm sure a lot of hair stylists will do that. 
L'O: Do you have any tips for people switching up their hairstyle this spring? Is there a style that you want to see more of this season?
MT: After watching the beginning of awards season, I am living for the lob. I mean, we're seeing them everywhere. Emma Stone looked like spring in a dress [at the Golden Globes]. I loved it so much. That vibrant red hair blown out to perfection and shine, and then that flick&mdash;it makes me so happy as a hairdresser. So many people are afraid of a lob, but it's so versatile. You can wear it down, you can wear it up, you can go very sleek. It's long enough to put cool texture in it if you want that look. So I think that now we're seeing so many people doing such great lobs and bobs. I'm such a long hair hairdresser but we might be losing some length on a lot of people this season. Carey Mulligan and America Ferrera, their bobs are so chic.

<h4 style="text-align: center;">Get Dakota Johnson bangs at home with Mark's product recommendations:</h4>

"We never ever put product in her wet bangs. I find that it's better to get them blown out without any product in. You can use product afterward and you want those products to be very dry like dry shampoos, dry texture sprays. Dakota turned me on to this product by Kevin Murphy called Doo.Over. It's a powder-based hairspray. Wet hairsprays want to stick hairs together to lock in a style, whereas powder helps keep the hair separated. So unless you're purposely going for very piecey bangs we try to avoid anything with silicones, any kind of pomades, creams, lotions. We only use those for the mid-length to ends of her hair."
Kevin Murphy Doo.Over, $37, <a href="https://fave.co/3uo5DQM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Murphy</a>

Kevin Murphy Doo.Over, $37, Kevin Murphy.

Kevin Murphy

"It did get a little windy at the Paramour Estate where we were shooting, so I did have to put extra hair spray in her bangs to keep them down. Hair Rituel by Sisley. They have a hair spray called Invisible Hold. It's amazing. It truly is invisible because it's so so so fine. But even then, we only spray the root of her bangs and not the ends because, again, we never want them to get piecey."
Hair Rituel by Sisley Invisible Hold Hairspray, $110, <a href="https://fave.co/3OyQhjl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sisley</a>

Hair Rituel by Sisley Invisible Hold Hairspray, $110, Sisley

Sisley

"For all over, I usually go for super volumizing. I do love a good old-fashioned mousse and her hair really does like it too because she has very straight hair, so we wanna get as much movement and body in there as possible. Roz Root Lift Spray is everything in her hair, because Dakota always likes a little lift right at the crown. It's such a classic, late-&rsquo;60s, early-&lsquo;70s kind of silhouette. I always have to do a little bit of backfilling right there, just to give it that good little lift plus because her bangs are so far back. That little bit of a lift makes her look a little bit taller when she's being photographed straight on, and it balances out the silhouette of having such a heavy bang. It makes the bangs look a little less heavy by having a little lift back there."
Roz Root Lift Spray, $42, <a href="https://fave.co/4br7DIM" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Goop</a>

Roz Root Lift Spray, $42, Goop

"I always tend to use dryer products for most of her looks, but there's this new product called Days of Dirt. Dakota likes to start every photoshoot and every event with very clean hair. I love the look of second-day or even third-day hair so much better. So to fake her hair being dirty, I use this product called Days of Dirt. Especially down on the ends where you want those waves to piece out. Her hair is very long right now, so I only use it on the bottom six inches or so."
California Born Days of Dirt, $35, <a href="https://californiaborn.com/products/days-of-dirt?variant=42973119611106" target="_blank" rel="noopener">California Born</a>

How to Get Dakota Johnson's Signature Bangs

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