The Beauty Routine Hairstylist Matt Newman Has Been Using As Of Late

Since the viral TikTok that started it all (a dry shampoo hack!), Newman's page has skyrocketed in popularity—now, over a million users eagerly consume his hairstyling hacks, expert product recs, and, of course, his bouncy blowout tutorials. Recently, I was lucky enough to chat with Newman about all of the above, including the face mask that got him through a six-hour flight, the brow gel he was desperate to get his hands on in Europe, and the hair balm that's 100% worth the steep price tag. Below, he shares everything he swears by right now. 

"If you have tight coils or tight waves, that's the right way to style it to smooth it out. But I even believe that for fine hair, if you ultimately want to put bend and lots of bounciness in it, you are better off building that in from 20% rough dried than 80% rough dried." 

"I thought it was going to be too intense, and it would be flaky and gross, but I totally effing love it. You definitely shouldn't apply too much, or you will get flakiness, but oh my gosh, it freezes my eyebrows. I did a wear-test video one time, and it was like 12 hours without them budging."

"I forgot my little travel-size [lotion], and I saw the cleanser, so I just picked it up to use it, and I was blown away by how much I loved it. I have tried everything over the years to get away from [traditional] shaving cream. It makes a really good shave for me, but it dries me out to no end. This has been the most perfect product ever. I've never finished a skin care product faster." 

"Mane Method has a batana oil mixed with castor oil mask. It comes in a tin, it's solid, and when you rub it in your palms, it breaks down completely into an oil, and I'm obsessed. 

"It's interesting that I finally got to the place of using castor oil because it's so thick. I'll style my hair with argan oil for no-blow-dry days—I don't tend to go for castor oil because it's just too heavy for those moments. [This] is a pre-shower mask, so I will use a really heavy application before a wash day for air dry waves and a very light application before a wash day for a blowout… I adore it. It's so good. I've gone through almost all of it already." 

"Something [else] that is a higher ticket item but is absolutely worth it and I buy for myself on repeat are Slip Silk Elastics. Not the Silk Scrunchies, the Silk Elastics—they're the tighter thinner ones. I use nothing else."

"I filmed it and posted it from an airplane as a stunt. It was a quick clip of me putting it on, and I used text to explain that I asked the flight attendant to put it next to the ice bin so it would be cold. The opening shot is me putting it on and saying, 'I begged the flight attendant to put this next to the ice bin.' I cannot tell you how much hate this got, [but] I asked super-duper nicely…we had so much fun. They were dying that I asked them to do that, and they thought it was so cool. I obviously picked my moment respectfully.

"I literally came from a week of New York Pride events and a full day of Governor's Ball with a brand partner, working until 10:00 at night and had a 6 a.m. flight to go to Pride with TikTok in LA. I was going from the plane to an LA pride event, so that's why I did it on the plane, because I was literally going [right to] an event and [to] be photographed. I would otherwise just bring it with me and use it after the flight in a reasonable capacity." 

"I specifically remember, I had my favorite brown leather belt I always wore with blue jeans and a T-shirt. And then when I moved [to New York], I ended up in all black all the time. I remember saying, 'Can I still wear this belt, even though I'm wearing black jeans and a black shirt instead of blue jeans and a white shirt?' I thought that was a rule, that you can't wear black and brown. She goes, 'I think all those rules are stupid. I don't think any of those rules are even valid.' I was like, thank you. This was 10 years ago, and I needed to hear it then, and it stays in my mind today."