The Secret Sauce Behind Janelle Monáe’s Met Gala Hair

Fashion’s Superbowl has come and gone, and as we reflect on both the iconic and less-than-memorable looks that flooded the tealed-out carpet at the 2024 Met Gala, we’d be remiss to skip over the beauty moments that accompanied these all-out looks.

This night of fashion flair and extravagance naturally has all eyes on the surplus of lewks, but the carefully curated beauty moments are nothing to scoff at, especially those of the coiffure variety.

Janelle Monáe is the perfect case study for the importance and intention behind these beauty moments as the Yoga singer has more than mastered the balancing act of dawning a hair look that dazzles without taking away from the supreme excellence of their outfit.

Monáe wore a custom Vera Wang gown complete with holographic disks, skin-bearing paneling and a pair of sky-high pleaser heels, a futuristic take on the Gala’s “The Garden of Time,” dress code and accompanying “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” theme.

With that much going on with her outfit, Monáe’s simplistic hair styling makes sense, but that does not make the look any less remarkable.

With the help of Olaplex and renowned “Hair MacGyver,” Nikki Nelms, Monáe’s hair elevated the look without overpowering the statement-making garment, an intentional goal shared Nelms, who has also worked with the likes of Zoë Kravitz, Yara Shahidi and Solange.

“We followed the lead of the dress – which has a lot of details and is ‘simply extra.’ I didn’t want the hair to be too over the top but a subtle extravagance, a nice and clean look with detail in the bang,” says Nelms.

Luster was the name of the game for this look, and that required intentional prep work to ensure Monáe’s strands glistened in tandem with the light reflective gown.

“We prepped her with OLAPLEX’s Nº.4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo & Nº.5 Bond Maintenance Conditioner and OLAPLEX Nº.3 Hair Perfector day-of to make sure her hair was as healthy and shiny as possible to make this beautiful sculpted look,” says Nelms.

Monáe’s natural hair was already short, so Nelms simply touched it up with a trim to give that ultra-sculpted and precise shape. 

The temple-grazing cut was perfect as it left Monáe’s décolletage a blank canvas for the high neckline of the gown.

To further pull the look together and match Monáe’s overall vibe for the night, Nelms added adornments to Monáe’s elevated pixie cut that matched the holographic spheres that litter the dress.

Interested in getting a similar look to Monáe’s? Here are a few OLAPLEX products that can get you a gala-worthy pixie cut.