Here's How to Get Rihanna's Aaliyah-inspired Side Swoop

Sometimes, TikTok is wrong. There, we said it—but here’s the thing: although most of HairTok deemed the side part as good as dead, celebs (including Kim Kardashian, Amal Clooney, and Bella Hadid) have recently shown their support for a side-part revival. Rihanna is the latest celebrity to don the style over the past few weeks, and has been spotted with a deep side bang on more than one occasion.

Lately, Rihanna has been stepping out in some glamorous looks, which typically include a neutral-toned outfit paired with dazzling jewelry and iconic hair and makeup. It’s a look that serves ‘90s upper-echelon glamour, and there’s no sign that Rihanna is stopping. Just last week, the songstress walked the streets wearing a long-sleeve black velvet dress with a deep-v and a slit in the back. The dress is the epitome of cozy chic, and her layered diamond necklace, glimmering earrings, and brown grungy makeup take her overall look up a notch.

She finished the look with what her hairstylist and Color Wow’s newest hair ambassador, Kendall Dorsey, deems a “90’s Traditional Aaliyah-inspired sweep.” The hairstyle features lengthy texture, a face-covering side bang, and hair tucked behind the ear and over the shoulder on the other. Rihanna's wispy bangs and her along with flowing, shiny tresses are a quintessential feature of Aaliyah’s iconic look.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a superstar to achieve a similar look. When creating the style, Dorsey reached for the Color Wow Dream Coat Supernatural Spray ($28), which acts as almost as a mini-keratin treatment to enhance gloss and shine while minimizing frizz.

Now, if you look at Rihanna’s hair, you’ll notice that you don’t actually see a stark part—instead it appears as though the hair is simply sprouting out of the side of her scalp. Achieving this invisible part relies on a cohesive color job throughout with no root growth or scalp showing, which is why Dorsey applied the Color Wow Root Cover Up ($35) to Rihanna’s roots. This product offers a one-two punch, since it presses pigment into the roots without a stiff or sticky feeling, while the mineral powders inside offer a reflective sheen.

Finally, Dorsey applied the Color Wow Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer ($26) to Rihanna’s lengthy locks to add density and volume to the hair without dulling the shine, the way some texturizing products tend to do.

To maintain volume when recreating this hairstyle, make sure to blow your hair out for a bouncy yet sleek texture and lock your bangs into place with your favorite hairspray. Add a brown lippie and your favorite jewels and you’ll be just one velvet dress away from looking like Bad Gal RiRi.