
We've all been there: You're hanging out with your friends in an abandoned castle, trying not to fall in love with a dragon-obsessed woman who is also secretly your aunt, devising a plan to save the world from an ancient race of undead creatures, and you *just* can't figure out what to do with your hair.
Enter half-up hair, a ridiculously simple style that's excellent for any brooding Northern king or kween.
Sure, the majority of hairstyles in the Seven Kingdoms are actual sorcery, with crisscrossed braids of sculpturesque perfection, but who has time for that?
Not you, you cave-exploring, snowstorm-bearing, White-Walker battling hero. You've got wars to wage! Your quasi-sister steals faces, and your quasi-brother has turned into the creepy equivalent of a search engine! Winter is here! You're busy!
Hey, we get it. Instead, try a half-up, half-down ponytail, which takes those somehow perfectly defined and frizz-free curls out of your face, while still leavin' a little somethin' somethin' in the back for your people.
Just scoop the top half of your hair into a ponytail, twist it into a topknot, and secure it with a tiny elastic, or a stray piece of twine, or a strip of leather from literally any of the clothing you've ever worn.
The key, here, is to make it look like you're not trying too hard, so avoid hairsprays, gels, and pomades, and instead let the scalp oils that come with bathing once per month add a natural-looking shine and hold.
Yes, it really is that easy, and yes, you'll probably want to wear this style every single day until you get killed by a mob of White Walkers that you're totally unprepared to battle. Enjoy!
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Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan, overseeing the editorial content and growth strategy of the hair, makeup, and skin space on digital, while also obsessively writing about the best hair products for every hair type (curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare routines that really, truly work (follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She brings nearly a decade of writing and editing expertise, and her work has appeared in Allure, Health, Fitness, Marie Claire, StyleCaster, and Parents. She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.
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