Madison Lecroy was kind enough to film a video tutorial of how she creates Patricia Altschul’s signature swoop hair style. Luzanne of the amazing and must follow @welovepataltschul Instagram account re-posted the video with some extra details:
I have taken it upon myself to further break down this tutorial for people who need ALL the details on how to get the perfect hair swoop.
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Tip: If you are determined to learn this and need to watch it a few times record your screen while playing the video to save a copy. That way you can pause, rewind, and select exactly which parts you need to rewatch.
Here’s a photo of the final effect so you know what we’re going for:
Here’s Madison LeCroy’s Hair Swoop Tutorial broken down:
Blowdrying
- Blow dry damp hair with a round brush. If you’re towel drying your hair I LOVE the Aquis Lisse Hair towel. It’s light weight so it won’t stretch or damage your hair and it helps it dry more quickly with less damage.
- The brush should be positioned at the hair line where the hair and forehead meet. The bangs section of hair goes under the brush and then back towards the back of the head. She holds the blowdryer at the root for a few seconds then pulls the brush and the hair toward the blowdryer, then up and out and to the back of the head.
- When pulling the hair up and out with the brush she twirls the brush towards the back of the head to make the ends smooth and so they curl under.
- Madison is using a BaByliss Blowdryer.
She also wraps the hair around the brush and holds it in place for a few seconds. This looks similar to when you put your hair in a hot roller or a velcro roller and is going to give Madison a similar effect- big volume with a sexy wave at the end.
After she’s blowdried the ends a few times around the round brush, she pulls the hair up towards the ceiling and uses the brush to twist the section away from the face.
When Madison blowdries the hairline of the non-swoop side she holds the brush up and down/vertically instead of more horizontally. This will give the hair on that side some lift and volume, but not the same swoop you’re going for on the opposite side.
For contrast here she is blowdrying the swoop side and the brush is turned the other way. She is blowdrying the underneath part of the swoop side in the opposite direction to give the hair more volume and lift. The hair is not wrapped around the brush here she’s just brushing it to the opposite side and blowdrying the root.
Using the Curling Iron
Madison uses a T3 Twirl Convertible 1.25-Inch Interchangeable Clip Barrel Curling Iron. She posted on Instagram that it’s the only curling iron she’ll use.
Madison takes the front/forehead section of the swoop and holds it straight up to the ceiling. She takes a T3 curling iron and puts the clamp about 3-4″ from the root. She curls the hair under while pulling the curling iron towards the back of the head. She rolls the hair up, loosens the clamp, pulls the curling iron forth down the hair and wraps it all the way up again. She repeats this unclamping, moving the curling iron further down the hair, reclaiming and winding up and under until there’s maybe 2″ left which she leaves out on purpose.
Madison’s Southern Charm castmate Naomie Olindo loves this curling iron too.
Madison’s look here is sexy wavy beauty Victoria’s Secret angel hair. Patricia Altschul’s is typically more polished and has the ends curled under as well. If you wanted a look more similar to Patricia’s then be sure to curl the ends of the hair under as well. After you’re done with the curling iron you could even use a velcro roller to set the front of the hair.
For the non-swoop side Madison holds the curling iron vertically and curls the hair away from the face while holding the iron up and out to keep the hair’s volume. She starts a few inches away from the root again, clamps the hair, and rolls it up around the barrel.
She then loosens the clamp, moves the curling iron a few inches towards the ends of the hair this time while twisting the strand of hair to make the curl less prom like and more beachy.
She clamps again and rolls the hair around the barrel again and repeats until she gets almost to the end, but again leaves a few inches out so they remain straight.
Hairspray
Madison uses Moroccan Oil Luminous Spray Extra Strong finishing hairspray after finishing curling the rest of the hair.
Notice how she’s spraying the hairspray at the roots and lifting the hair in the front with her fingers then spraying it in place.
Here Madison is curling the underneath layers of her hair. Notice how she leaves the swoop/bang portion out. If she clipped it up too she will lose that volume she just worked to build. When she goes to pin up the swoop section she pulls the hair loose a bit so it stays big.
After curling the rest of the hair, she brushes through it again to loosen up the curls.
When she brushes the swoop side she holds the hair and the roots to keep the volume intact.
Dry Shampoo
Madison uses dpHue Apple Cider Vinegar Dry Shampoo in the front and roots of her hair to add even more volume and a little texture.
Hair Oil
Madison uses dpHue Color Fresh Oil Therapy to add some shine back to her hair. Notice in the photo on the left when she goes to put oil in her hair she’s starting from mid-shaft down. She then dainty applies a teensy bit near the front of her hear.
At the end Madison uses her fingers to perfect the style and separate the curls.
I also noticed Madison has highlighted her face for the gawds in this tutorial. To learn more about how to highlight your face like Madison’s check out this blog post.
My Results after following Madison LeCroy’s Hair Swoop Blowout Tutorial
I tried this Madison LeCroy/Patricia Altschul hair swoop out myself and I think it turned out pretty good!
Madison makes this technique look easy because she’s a pro, but it takes a lot of practice and trial and error to really nail this look!
You can use my code HOLLYWOOD for a discount on Girl Get Glamorous clip-in hair extensions.
I used a few wefts of my Girl Get Glamorous clip-in hair extensions to give my hair some extra body and volume.
Hair Swoop Hack Using Velcro or Hot Rollers
One way I “cheat” this look is by using a velcro roller. First I get my hair hot either by blowdrying it with a round brush or flat ironing it. I then wrap my hair around the velcro roller and leave it in while the hair cools. Here’s a photo where Madison has her hair in a round brush, but you would position a velcro roller the same way:
I use these Conair Mega Self Holding 2.5″ velcro rollers to get this look.
If you want to see another AMAZING Bravo hair tutorial with huge volume and sexy minx waves check out my blog post on Sophie Stanbury from Ladies of London’s Hot Roller Hair Tutorial.
Products Used
Products Madison LeCroy Used
T3 Twirl Convertible 1.25-Inch Interchangeable Clip Barrel Curling Iron
Moroccan Oil Luminous Spray Extra Strong finishing hairspray
dpHue Apple Cider Vinegar Dry Shampoo
Other Recommended Products
Conair Mega Self Holding 2.5″ velcro rollers
Madison LeCroy’s Hair Swoop
Here’s some more photos of Madison and Patricia Altschul’s hair swoops for inspo:
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Read More Southern Charm Blog Posts
Read More Patricia Altschul Blog Posts
Cameran Eubanks’ Beauty Secrets
Naomie Olindo’s Beauty Secrets
Kathryn Calhoun Dennis’ Beauty Secrets
Sophie Stanbury’s Big Voluminous Hair Tutorial
How I do My Ombre Blonde Highlights at Home like Jessie James Decker
Wedding Hairstyle ideas using Girl Get Glamorous Hair Extensions
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