Mrunal Thakur’s Hairstylist Shows Us How To Style Hair Just Like The 'Jersey' Actress

If you’ve been hearing a lot about actress Mrunal Thakur a lot lately, we suggest you sit up and take note. Her body of work, spanning only a decade and as an ‘industry outsider’, is nothing short of impressive.

Mrunal was most recently seen in the April 2022 release Jersey where she co-starred with Shahid Kapoor. In 2018, she also received critical acclaim for essaying the titular role in her international debut, the Hindi-language drama film Love, Sonia. For her role, she won the Best Newcomer Award at the London Indian Film Festival. Mrunal in fact began her acting career in Hindi television soaps back in 2012, then went on to do Marathi films, and later made her Bollywood debut with Super 30 in 2019 alongside Hrithik Roshan. She’s also done Batla House with John Abraham in 2019, and the sports drama, Toofaan, in 2021 with Farhan Akhtar. Television, films, music videos, and even awards under her belt – Mrunal’s done it all and she’s definitely going places.

Hair & now

We caught up with her trusted hairstylist to get insights on the actress’ style, hair looks and more. Describing Mrunal’s style, Mallika Jolly, celebrity hairstylist, says, “Mrunal can pull off any look, really. Her personal style is comfortable, casual and cool.” Talking about the actress’ hair, Mallika shares that Mrunal’s hair is naturally straight and thick, and it has a lot of volume. “The hairstyles I’ve created for her recently that I’ve loved are the straight, sleek look, textured waves, voluminous curls, and a smart high ponytail braid.” Mallika decodes these hairstyles for us and shares easy-to-follow pointers on how you can achieve these looks:

Beachy textured waves

“I love doing textured waves for Mrunal. I think whatever outfit she wears, whether it’s casual or glamorous, these textured waves go well with everything, and she carries it off beautifully. These waves can give you a very cool and effortless look,” says Mallika.

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Get the look

• Start with a heat protectant spray like the Moroccanoil Perfect Defense spritzed all over the hair to protect against thermal damage from tools.
• If your hair is naturally straight, spritz on a texturising spray like the Toni&Guy Sea Salt Texturising Spray for some added volume.
• Divide the hair into equal sections.
• Take a medium-sized tong such as the 25mm Ikonic Curling Tong and curl the hair in left and right directions alternately; this gives the curls that effortless, natural look.
• Spritz on some more of the texturizing spray and finish off by opening up the curls by running your fingers through them.

The straight & sleek look

Mrunal’s hair is naturally straight, so it’s always very quick to achieve this sleek look. Straight hair looks great on her and looks very sharp. This look can be left open as is or you can take the hair neatly into a low or high ponytail as well. It’s a clean look that will suit many.

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Get the look

• On freshly washed hair, apply a blow dry primer like the Kerastase Genesis - Defense Thermique.
• Blow dry the hair completely to ensure it’s not damp at all.
• Divide the hair into sections and apply a heat protection spray such as the Schwarzkopf Professional OSiS+ Flatliner.
• Run a straightening iron through each section until smooth. We like the Dyson Corrale hair straightener that gets the job done.
• Pick a parting for your look, be it a neat centre, a side or a deep-side parting.
• Complete the look with a serum such as the Wella Professionals SP Luxe Oil Reconstructive Elixir at the end for finish and shine, and to settle any flyaway.

Elegant voluminous curls 

Voluminous curls look great on Mrunal. They lend a neat, finished look as compared to beachy waves. These big curls look great on any Indian outfit, or something formal.

Get the look

• Begin by spraying on with a heat protectant like the Sebastian Professional Trilliant Shine & Heat Protection Spray which will protect from heat damage and also adds a bit of shine and reflection to the hair.
• Section the hair into equal parts.
• Work in a volumising spray or mousse such as the Fix My Curls Weightless Whip Volumizing Mousse which will add volume and let those curls hold. 
• Then use a big or medium-sized tong depending on the size of curls you are aiming for. (Small tongs will give tighter curls while bigger tongs give softer, bigger curls.)
• Once tonged, neatly run a comb through them just to open up the curls slightly. 
• Set the hair with a finishing spray like the Bblunt Hot Shot Hold Spray that will ensure your hair-do stays intact.

The chic high ponytail braid

The outfit Mrunal had on for this specific shoot had a printed bomber jacket, and we wanted the jacket to show, hence the hair was lifted up. The brief was the look needed to be very stylish and sharp, that’s why we chose this hairstyle.

Get the look

• Spritz on the Toni&Guy Heat Protection Mist or similar to start off by protecting the hair from hot tools to follow.
• Section the hair and then using a hair iron like the Philips Advanced KeraShine Hair Straightener to fully smoothen and straighten the hair.
• Gather the hair into a high ponytail and secure it.
• Smoothen out the front with a gel such as the Sebastian Professional Gel Forte to avoid flyaway; this also gives the hair a shiny, glossy finished look.
• Braid the ponytail and add a hair extension if needed, depending on the length you’re going for and secure it. Voila!

So, which look are you going to try out first?