With a few twists here and a couple of pins there, Michael Douglas shows us just how easy styling a short hairdo can really be, even where a tousled, French-style updo is concerned.
Short hair, and in particular a bob, is truly the hairstyle that keeps on giving this year, with chic and modern iterations of the classic cut constantly dominating the list of 2026 hair trends. That said, they aren't without their drawbacks, as the cropped length can make them seem quite limiting to style. Celebrity hairstylist and founder of mdlondon (home to some of the best hair dryers on the market), Michael Douglas, however, proves that an updo is still very much on the cards, and it can actually involve far less effort than styling long hair.
In fact, his 'French pleat' method actually makes it look easier, as there's no hair ties or copious brushing involved - just five or so hair pins, and a few spritzes of texture spray. Below, Douglas breaks down the look, step by step, and shares tips for adding height to your roots and elevating the 'do with accessories.
How to create an effortless updo on short hair, by Michael Douglas
"The trick with making something look effortless is to actually just put in less effort," Michael Douglas tells us, adding that when styling short hair, you can only put up the hair you've got, "so, it’s just a case of scooping some of this up, really and trying to pin it in place."
To recreate this chic look exactly, we suggest starting with a similarly wavy base using one of the best curlers for short hair. You'll also need a few curved hairpins (like these, available at Boots), a backcombing brush and a texture spray.
RRP: £159
To add some soft waves, curls and bends to your short hair, a tapered curling wand, like this one from ghd, is a great tool to add to your kit.
RRP: £13
For creating height and volume at your roots, a backcombing brush, like this one with its thick bristles, is a great option and the very brush Douglas uses to create this look.
RRP: £8.99
To ensure your strands have grab and hold when styling, a texture spray like this one from Umberto Giannini really comes in handy, and is the very one Douglas uses throughout his tutorial.
1. Add some height at your roots
Douglas recommends adding some volume at your crown, with a bit of backcombing. "We just use this little teasing brush here," he can be seen using the Tease brush from his brand, mdlondon, which he explains has dense, different-length bristles that make it 'mega' easy and quick to backcomb the hair with.
"Just grabbing the hair, all we’re really doing is this root area here. We’re just going to push down once and then twice - that gives us just that little bit of extra height."
Then Douglas says, "What I want to do really is just grab quite a bit of this hair and then just start to pin it up, while leaving some of it down."
2. Twist, pin & spray
As we can see in the video above, Douglas just scoops up the hair at the back and twists it, rolling the hair in on itself to create almost a chinigon style look.
Douglas recommends using a sticky spray, like a hair spray or texturising spray, at this point, as this will help you grab onto the hair and make it do what you want it to do.
Onto the method, "I’ve literally just grabbed the hair and I’m just trying to twist it in on itself. So I’ve rolled the hair, a bit like a French pleat there, and you just get a curvy grip. If you can run one of the ends of the curvy grip across the scalp and the other one into the pleat itself, you should find that it’ll stay there. And once that’s in, you do the same, but coming from the top to the bottom." Douglas then proceeds to add the two-pronged grips through the sides of the twist, too, to ensure it's really secure.
If you're going out, Douglas also suggests sticking a few of these pins in your handbag.
3. Don't be afraid to start again
"I always say this: when you put your hair up, you can never put it up the same way twice, you know, so if you put it up and you don’t particularly like it, then just take it down and do it again," says Douglas.
"You can do the same thing again, but it’ll look different. So, it’s just a case of finding like something that you feel like best represents you."
4. Add accessories or change up your fringe
Once you're happy with your twisted updo, a lovely way to finish or add interest to your 'do is with a hair clip or accessory.
"What’s also really nice is if you have a little hair accessory like a hair slide, diamanté grip or something like that - just bang it straight in that crease there. Super nice, a flower looks really good in there, sometimes you get a butterfly or something, you know, it really brings the whole thing to life."
Your fringe styling can also help to change up this look. Douglas opted for a sideswept fringe, which he said really helped the style 'pop.'
