Mark Townsend Shares His Three Favorite Dakota Johnson Looks & How He Created Them

Mark Townsend is one of the most highly regarded hairstylists in the industry. He's the man behind the beautiful hairstyles of some of the top stars in Hollywood including Dakota Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. He sat down with us to take a look back at three of his favorite Dakota Johnson hairstyles and how he created them.

1. Top Knot at the Toronto Film Festival

This is one of my all time favorite red carpet looks I’ve created! The top knot worked so perfectly with her dress and while the look is “effortless” it did take some effort to create, here’s how I did it:

I applied Dove Volume and Fullness Mousse to her damp hair and blowdried with my Harry Josh Pro Dryer and Spornette Porcupine Round Brush. When the hair was dry I took large sections of hair and wrapped them through the R Session Pro Tools Tidal Waver to create imperfect waves throughout the hair. I love this iron so much because it’s like having 10 different irons in one. I wrap the hair in a figure 8 for loose waves and I hold the hair between the barrels and then turn the iron for a few seconds to create uneven bends.

I do a mixture of both techniques for that lived in texture, like you set your hair in braids or loose buns. To give the hair a piecey look before putting it up, I sprayed Oribe Apres Beach Spray all over and then loosely gathered her hair at the crown and twisted it into a knot and secured with tons of Bobby pins. To keep the hair in place all night I finished with Dove Micro Mist Extra Hold Hairspray.

2. Modern Beachy Waves at the Governors Awards

I absolutely love this sexy, modern, beachy wave! Here’s how I got the look:

Dakota’s hair is so long and so healthy and we want to keep it that way so I try to protect it as much as possible so I started by applying Virtue Labs Split Ends Serum to the bottom 3-5 inches of hair and Oribe Royal Blowout Spray all over.

Then I blowdried her hair with my Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000 and Spornette G Porcupine Brush. I ALWAYS use these brushes for my blowouts because I love how the longer plastic bristles lift the hair from the root for volume and the shorter boar bristles really smooth the hair.

When her hair was dry I sprayed Dove Dry Shampoo on her roots at the crown and lightly back combed the roots for extra volume (I used the Unscented version back then but it’s now discontinued so I would replace it with the Volume and Fullness version) I then took 2 to 4 inch sections of her hair wrapped each section in the R Session Pro Tools Tidal Waver for uneven bends and waves throughout the hair.

To give the hair that beachy texture I sprayed Kevin Murphy Doo.Over Spray all over and scrunched the hair with my hands. To tame any flyaway hairs at the crown I spray Dove Micro Mist Extra Hold Hairspray on a natural bristle toothbrush. I like Gaia Guy Bamboo and Boar Bristle toothbrush because I can wash them and reuses them over and over.

3. Ponytail at The Peanut Butter Falcon Premiere

A hairstyle I turn to very often when working with Dakota is a ponytail. We’ve done so many different ponytails over the years and she even wore a ponytail for her first time presenting at The Academy Awards. A high pony can be sporty, young, and fresh while a low pony can be super chic. For The Peanut Butter Falcon premiere Dakota wanted to go with a high ponytail with textured waves so here’s how we got the look:

We started with dry, second day hair so the first thing I did was spray Dove Re-Hydrating Mist all over the length of her hair to refresh and nourish her hair and brushed through with my Sheila Stotts Removal Brush. I love this brush for removing tangles or brushing through conditioners or other wet products.

Next I sprayed Oribe Royal Blowout Spray from midlength to ends and blowdried with my Harry Josh Pro Dryer 2000 and Spornette porcupine brushes. I use the small one for her fringe and face framing layers and the XL for the rest of the hair.

Next I very liberally sprayed Dove Invisible Dry Shampoo throughout all of the hair for texture and then gathered the hair into a high ponytail at the crown of her head and secured with a Blax Snag-Free Hair Elastic. The elastic gets a little stretched out while securing the pony so I always use a second elastic around the first one for extra hold.

Then I wrapped 2-4 inch sections of the hair in the ponytail around the barrels of my R Session Pro Tools Tidal Waver. The barrels on this iron are different sizes so wrap the hair around the smaller barrel for tighter waves and wrap the hair around the larger barrel for looser waves. My secret is to combine both for uneven waves that don’t look too perfect. I finished by spraying Dove Micro Mist Extra Hold Hairspray on a natural toothbrush and brushing through bangs to keep them in place.

For more on everything that Mark Townsend used for these looks, and other essentials in his kit, check out his shop below.