Luxurious hair, the kind that seems to literally scream at whoever is looking at it “You may not know it, but I don’t come cheap at all,” is something most women only get to experience once a month, if they’re lucky, the moment they step out of the hair salon. Yet, cheating is possible here too and, what’s more, it can be done quite easily: famous hairstylist John Barrett says that there are just four little things we should keep in mind to get the most expensive looking hair ever. 

Speaking with SheKnows on the issue of getting that costly looking mane for much less money, Barrett reveals that the first thing all women must take into account to even get close to it is the high-shine of the hair. All expensive treatments imply conditioners, masks, and all sorts of serums to keep the hair shiny and eliminate frizz. However, since not all of us can afford to spend our rent money on getting our hair in top shape, Barrett recommends we use, to get precisely the same results, a daily leave-in conditioner, as well as sleeping in a deep-conditioning mask at least once a week.

The shine factor now taken care of, expensive hair also means the closest thing to natural hair. Of course, we’re not to take this literally and all go natural because that’s not what Barrett recommends. In his own words, more or less, the stylist says that natural-looking hair is not the hue we were born with, but the one we should have been. The secret to that is to always keep the base within three shades of the natural color and, if a lighter tone is desired, a visit to the salon for highlights is first on the priorities list. Improper at-home attempts of going from brunette to blonde, or from blonde to red should be avoided at all costs, because they are, as Barrett says, the “enemy of chic.”

Next up on Barrrett’s list is “simple, chic accessories.” Since you would never catch a rich girl with just a rubber band in her hair or God knows what other piece of plastic, we too must match our expensive looking (with plenty of stress on the latter term) hair with genuine leather items, or soft, cotton or silk headbands and scarves. Tackiness (which also goes under the guise of childishness) must be avoided when it comes to hair too.

However, none of the above is worth anything if the cut is not right. Rich women, Barrett points out, will never go for trendy haircuts, simply because they’re not the type to rush out the door and go straight into the salon to get their favorite sitcom star’s do. They will, instead, go for classic cuts that come spiced with just one thing, like bangs or several layers. Moneyed locks also means no split ends, so we should all start by making a note on our calendars to visit a hairstylist every six weeks to make sure that never happens.

This being said, having expensive looking hair is not hard, as Barrett also points out. It is, in fact, nothing but minute work that any woman out there can easily accomplish.