Jennifer Aniston's hairstylist swears by these 3 tips for mastering a vintage blowout

When it comes to hairstyles, few are as iconic as a '90s-style blowout. Locking in that signature tousle and bounce is no easy feat, but thankfully, Jennifer Aniston's go-to hairstylist Chris McMillan is no stranger to the look - and has shared some easy but transformative tips.

While trends come and go, some haircuts and styles never diminish in popularity, like a voluminous blowout circa the 1990s. Amongst the fringes and bobs topping the 2025 hair trends, we know the look - with its gravity-defying bounce and designer muss - will still be in high demand. Despite its fame, it is notoriously hard to master. It feels akin to witchcraft how the stylists of the decade managed to create such swishy and bouncy strands on the likes of Cindy Crawford and Pamela Anderson.

According to celebrity hairstylist, Chris McMillan, it's less about witchcraft and more about tactical product placement and using the correct tools...

3 tricks for achieving a bouncy blowout, per a celeb hairstylist

A voluminous '90s-style blowout - or a 'va va voom blowout' as McMillan calls it - captures the coiffed and windswept effect of a professional blowdry, in a way that lasts all day. This is done with the help of product, rounded brushes, sometimes rollers and often, the addition of feathered layers and curtain bangs too - for extra texture and a vintage feel.

Layers afford that flickiness and effortless tousle that we've come to associate with the likes of Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Aniston's iconic 'Rachel cut' (created by McMillan, in case you didn't know). So, we recommend requesting some from your hairdresser, especially around your face, as a starting point.

Now for the styling. When we say product, we don't just mean emptying half a can of hairspray into your lengths. No, this sort of tousled volume requires a bit more manipulation as Chris McMillan shares.

Taking to Instagram, the hairstylist posted a video showing the entire step-by-step process of sculpting the perfect blowout, all of which, we've outlined below...

Our blowout styling picks

Three key elements mentioned in McMillan's video were a styling balm, a rounded brush and a texturizing spray. While he didn't reveal the exact products used, we've sussed out the exact brush featured and shared a few of our hairstyling favourites

How to replicate the look

1. Add a styling balm to your ends

In the video, McMillan begins by adding a balm to his client's damp hair: "I always like to use a little bit of balm, just kind of a like a heat styling cream - it's a before, during and after thing," meaning you can use it throughout your styling routine

"With a balm, I always start at the ends," McMillan says and then proceeds to rub the balm between his hands, before running it through the ends of the hair.

2. Use a rounded brush at the roots & twist

Then comes the actual 'blowing out' part of the process. McMillan grabs a small rounded brush - from Ibiza Hair - noting that the hair is going to fall, so you want to use your brush and, "lift it up at the root."

McMillan then says to twist the brush two to three times whilst pulling the hair downwards and blasting it with one of your best hair dryers (with a concentrator attachment), to add a soft curl - before letting the strands cool.

"One of my tips, one of my tricks or as you kids say, 'hacks,' I use hairspray as a root lift and it also acts as a heat protector." We recommend Color Wow's Cult Favorite Firm + Flexible Hairspray, (available at Amazon).

3. Flip you hair upside down & spray a texture mist

McMillan then says you don't even have to brush your hair out at this point, simply flip it upside down, "I always like to take the hair, kind of lean it forward and run your fingers through it."

Then you want to take your texture spray and gather your hair together and twist it up (while you're still upside down) and spritz at the front and then, "do it in sections," with the rest of your hair. Flip your hair back up and voila.

Once you're happy with the touseled texture, try not to brush or run your fingers through it too much. As McMillan says: "It's like baking, the less you touch the better."